Re: HEALTH CARE

Even President Obama cited UPS and FedEx as success stories. The USPS is controlled by the government and can hardly be labeled a success story now that they are in financial trouble looking to cut services and locations.

Re: Health Care Debate

To legal employee DOD,
I did not know that Obama labelled opponents of his plan to bail out GM as unpatriotic. Where did you see this?
Where does the dictatorship idea come from? I have seen nothing that says Obama is a dictator. If anything, Bush was the dictator with his Patriot Act. Criminals are entitled to lawyers period. Criminals do not have to testify against themselves period. We cannot use enhanced methods called torture to gain confessions period. These are constitutional items. Terrorists are criminals and should get a jury trial. Calling them enemy combatants is a perversion caused by Bush and his cronies. If they are not criminals, then they are POW's subject to those rights.
Don't start calling Obama a dictator. Bush went alot further.

Re: Health Care Debate

Report misinformation isn't authoritarian? Obama's done nothing decrease Executive control, and on the contrary is seeking to extend it.

I'm so disappointed but not surprised. Remember when we were going to get five days to read a bill before he signed it?

Re: Health Care Debate

To NA State,
Did Bush do anything to reduce executive control?
Where does this 5 days for us to read the bill before he signs it come from?

Re: Health Care Debate

The five days promise came from Obama when he was a candidate. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5t8GdxFYBU)

I think he broke this particular promise when it became convenient--in the first two weeks or so of his administration.

Re: Townhalls

To Nameless faceless,
Excellent point. Neither radical leftists or rightist should be allowed to drown out the other side. And I do know it happened as I was around during the 60's and 70's.
Then it was the ultraleftists doing this. Now it is the radical rightists doing this. I condemned the shouters during the 60's and 70's and I condemn the shouters now. Both sides should be alloed to speak.
To retired Fed and Analyst:
Your side does not represent the American people. You have no right to pretend that it does. You have the right to express your opinions. You have the right to petition and to vote. You do not have the right to stage a mob scene by trucking in people and calling them the American majority. We willo find out in 2010 and 2012 whether you are the American majority. The elections of 2008 show you are not.

Re: town hall fracas orchestrated

These meetings are indeed sideshows. Since when did Democrats learn to have meaningful dialogue and debate? NOT. Democrats are the ones stirring people up with inuendo and outright lies. It IS a tragedy that so many Americans are so ridiculously gullible. Apparently people can't think for themselves anymore. Anyone who watches speeches regurgitated off a teleprompter but written by someone else ought to have their head examined. Same for all the liberal media. This country IS great and can still be saved, but we're apparently overrun by a bunch of sheep who need zealots and crackpots to tell them how to think! If I make it to retirement I may have to move out of the country just to escape its utter stupidity. By the way, kudos to Fedsmith for actually factually reporting both sides of the story. EVERY news station could learn from you how reporting is supposed to be done.

Re: town hall fracas orchestrated

Back in the Vietnam protest days at a certain Midwest University, it was a daily occurrance for the student body to be treated to street theatre, whistles, Coke bottle ringing, and plain pld harassment - esp if one was on campus in an ROTC capacity. That was 40 years ago...39 years later it's acceptable for "Code Pink" grannies to do the same in congressional hearings, or for SF Bay mother to stalk the president. The fallacy is that these guys on Capitol Hill are immune from the public, especially one that opposes their viewpoint. Even Nixon had the guts to meet the anti-war demonstrators. My congressman now holds staged conference calls.

They deserve no more respect than they give their neighbors.

Re: town hall fracas orchestrated

To Analyst outside,
You blame the Dems for stirring up the people. You should look at the example of Karl Rove and his techniques. An example of his tehniques was to question John Kerry's patriotism when he went to Viet Nam to fight for his country. (This is not to comment on the validity or lack of validity about that conflict). George Bush defended Texas. yet the sneaks branded Kerry as unpatriotic.
Don't talk about the Dems without looking at the radical right in the Republican Party.

Re: Fed employees are conservatives?

You're right TC. Most youngsters/college students start out as liberals. Then they grow up. They then become self-thinkers and/or more conservative in their opinions. It almost NEVER happens the other way.

The fellow poster above yours lamented that the country has become a nation of easily led sheep. He's correct too. That's why we now have President Obama (and apparently a lot of voter remorse).

Re: Fed employees are conservatives?

To TC and LM,
Where did you get the idea that the feds are a bunch of liberals? Where did you get the idea that they are a bunch of conservatives? Who knows? I certainly do not and neither do you.
LM made a good point. He did say that most people are more liberal when they are younger and become more conservative as they get older. I was taught this in school and I have seen it with the baby boomers. However, forget the communist/socialist garbage. That has nothing to do with anything.
LM-Just because your friend lost the election, that does not mean there is voter remorse. Whether you like it or not, Obama won. You have to put up with him until the next election. Then you will vote again. We had the same thing with George Bush.

Re: Recall our Congressman

Well said! I couldn't agree more. Look at the crapola they have pushed thru with no input from the people. Cap and trade is a joke. People don't realize how this is going to affect their own power bills - but they will... The gov running an automaker and now healthcare? They should all be recalled! This country is falling apart and moving further and further away from what America is all about. Our forefathers would be ashamed and disgusted!

Re: Recall our Congressman

Guess what every person in Congress was elected by a majority of the people who chose to get out and vote.
I am certainly not happy with a lot of the results but it seems you are suffering from a case of sour grapes!
Do what you can to influence your fellow citizens to vote in a different way but to call for a "Do-over" because you don't like the current Congress seems childish.

Also rather funny that a Federal government worker is complaining about the Federal Government taking away his life liberty and pursuit of happiness.

If you want a country where there is little interference from the central government you might try the Congo or Somalia. Most countries with a decent standard of living have systems where the government is organized to take care of people's basic needs.

Perhaps that sounds like socialism to you but it sounds preferable to a system controlled by armies and corporations

Re: Town Hall Meetings

Most people who file bankruptcy do so because of inability to pay for their healthcare? Whoa! I'd like to see that documentation! Are you sure you didn't read "cost of homes" or "taxes" or "spending more than one earns"?...things that may really play a part of bankruptcy...??

Re: Town Hall Meetings

Yes, TC, medical expenses are the most frequent cause of bankruptcy filings now - more than house payments, etc. Insurance policies have lifetime limits, and in the event of certain illnesses/injuries, you can hit that limit fairly quickly. After that, too bad. Almost all kidney dialysis, for example, is publicly funded for this reason.

Re: Town Hall Meetings

Our you serious? Do you know how many "Special Programs" are available for people right now and have been for a long, long time? Free programs for kids healthcare, mothers, prenatal, heck even the few guys that worked in construction we knew got FREE healthcare. What are people talking about? The reason people are filing bankruptcy is because there is no work. Small business is dead and construction is worse! And they want you to believe it's getting better? No way, it's gonna get a lot worse and people have had a gutfull.

Re: Town Hall Meetings

The inability of some folks to do their own fact checks is amazing, but you've got to reach beyond FauxNews:
"•A recent study by Harvard University researchers [2005] found that the average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000. The study noted that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses.9 Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.
•A new survey shows that more than 25 percent said that housing problems resulted from medical debt, including the inability to make rent or mortgage payments and the development of bad credit ratings.10
•About 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs. 11

http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

Re: Town Hall Meetings

Program Spec - Don't confuse public health with medical services. The government has a role in stopping epidemics and providing inoculations or certain screenings. It has no business in my medical business, nor yours, nor anyone's. If there is a medical services problem, explain exactly what it is. That the chronically ill can't get "insurance" to pay the cost of their misfortune? That you would prefer to pay 1950s prices for 2009 medicine, from replacement joints to botox? What is the extent of this "right" and from where does it stem?