The House has solved all of our country's problems

Unfortunately, Steve, they don't tend to "represent" their constituents' positions the vast majority of the time.

I honestly think Pelosi is waiting on the new administration to pass anything because of the damage it might cause. Why pass something now when you cannot hold the current administration accountable? I, personally, doubt off-shore drilling is going to solve the problem because we have billions and billions of barrels still waiting to be refine.

We need more refinary compacity now, then more refinaries. The problem with this is the amount of toxins concentrated in a localized area. The problems keep getting bigger and bigger. So this is alot more complex then people realize.

The only way to solve the problem right now is to change the local politics, kick out the waste, we have leaders locally that are scared to make decisions because they want to be re-elected. Well tough, we elected them because they said they could make them. We are at a crossroads for the next few years, and the pressure is building for them to step forward and do something. I have seen alot of progress the past couple of months but alot more pressure is needed. Let's hold them accountable.

I agree with you Brian........why spend any time at all on this issue? It sickens me that anyone in America today thinks that they have been a victim of slavery. No one, and I repeat, no one knows about any of that. Not unless you are up in your really late years of your life. Maybe your distant ancestors were, but not anyone today, personally. Most races we know today are spoiled and out of control from having too much freedoms and rights given to them. Besides, every race has known slavery roots, not just one. All I want to say is, move on and get over it already!

Darrick.........Your statement of "uncontented power" I'll take as a mistake such as I usually make. I think you meant uncontended, but the problem is the requirement of a super-majority vote in the Senate, due to the filibuster rule. I know you are knowledgable of this situation but others may not be.

I agree both Partys have had contol of both Houses and the Presidency for extended time periods in the last several years so the persistant problems that plague us should have been solved long before now. Right? Apparently not.

The do nothing Congress of the last two years is caused by a number of factors, but the threat of veto is much less than the reality of the filibuster rule in the Senate. Funny that when the Republicans were in the majority, they wanted to change the rule. The Democrats said no way and by use of the Rule they could stop such a move. Now imagine, if you can, only a short time later and the Democrats are in the majority and now want to change the Rule and the minority Republicans don't!!...Go figure.

A couple of hours ago, I heard on the news that the Republicans in Congress were presenting & debating a resolution to a new Energy Bill. Trying to get this resolved as soon as possible. Nancy Pelosi had the electricity turned off, C-Span cameras turned off and reporters escorted from the room by armed guard.

Her last statement was she was looking forward to going home to have 2 weeks with her families.

What is this woman thinking. It appears it is not in her interest to resolve Americas many problems.

To me, this is the start of Socialism and in the background comes Communism. We pay for this?

Her trip to the Middle East, where she was snubbed by the Arab community.

Republicans are attempting to re-convene Congress to hammer out a resolution on the energy bill.

My grandfather spoke about communism when I was was young. Think about it. My opinion is this woman is dangerous. She needs to be home making ravioli. No political sense at all. Your vote is important this fall. God help us if it goes the wrong way.

Darrick_04, you do realize that Pres. Bush is not running for pres again right?

Darrick_04, you do realize that Pres. Bush is not running for pres again right?

-- Posted by greasemonkey on Mon, Aug 4, 2008, at 11:09 AM

Yup, and as I clearly stated "So yes, when you vote this year, forget about someone's name, forget about their age, race, etc, think about what a hole the current administration has dug the American people into, and which candidate contributed a very large shovel to that constantly growing hole..."

You agree that Bush has been a failure, well so has McCain since he agreed with nearly everything Bush did, until this year.

I'm almost to the point of voting for Obama simply so he can get in there and either perform the miracles (walking on water, bread to fishes, water to wine) that the Democrats expect him to. If he can't then maybe that will at least shut up the loud-mouths that choose every single opportunity to spout off the same old rhetoric time after time after time after time after time after time after time...well, you get the idea.

-- Posted by Thom on Mon, Aug 4, 2008, at 11:51 AM

By "old rhetoric" were you hinting about McCain's lack of plans and his age?

can you not see when you take money from someone and give it to someone else, that is STEALING. I dont mind paying taxes if they are fair, because I like roads, and I like having soldiers defend me,etc etc. What I dont like is people that are so jealous of someone just because they have more money. They think they owe them something, thats a bunch of crap.

2 thes 3:8 nor did we eat anyones food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

2 thes 3:10 for even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "if a man will not work, he shall not eat"

-- Posted by greasemonkey on Tue, Aug 5, 2008, at 8:16 AM

What book? And state the prior verses, as well as the following...

Divide and conquer was the Bush plan, so you can talk about United all you want... He United us all in fear and hate for people who do not deserve it. Now that attitude is slowly fading. Thank GOD.

Thom,

You are right if people would work harder they would get more. Every person in this country has the same chance at being rich or famous or whatever they want. This is one of the only places in the world where you can be as rich or poor as you want.

Sharon22,

Thank you its not often someone on here agrees with me,lol. My feelings are that if the government is supplying my needs they can take them away. We have an amazing system in this country, everyone has a chance to be great.If someone is poor they have probably made some bad decisions, (I know not all the time) and they shouldnt be rewarded for those bad decisions. We all have to learn from our mistakes, I am sure learning from some of mine.

Another thing is when someone gets handed money they start relying on that, they dont have to try anymore. They dont realize that money comes from someone who worked their butt off for it.

I thought I would get some liberals to argue with me by now. Oh well, lol. Just kidding.

Meanwhile, back on the Hill...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008...

The Republicans are at work in Washington while the Democrats go home for a month-long vacation. How much vacation do YOU get? The Democrats were sent home for vacation with instructions from Nancy Pelosi. She told them that they could tell their constituents that they are all for drilling in the U.S. because she's never going to let it come to the floor of the House for a vote. Yep, Adolph Pelosi rules the house with an iron fist. If you don't like it, tough. That's the way she sees it. She's third in line to the White House, and she doesn't let anyone forget it.

Obama's even chimed in on the energy issue. Air up your tires, folks...it'll save you about 3% maximum on your fuel. That means that if your car gets 20 miles per gallon, airing your tires up will get you to a whopping 20.6 miles per gallon. Meanwhile he's flying around the country in a 757 jumbo jet that gets WAY less than 20 mpg. I wonder if he checks the air in that thing's tires before they take off.

Hey greasemonkey,

I think the "liberals" showed up.

Yep, same as always...the Republicans suck, Clinton was the second-coming (and everyone missed it), and Barack is a ROCK-STAR!! Fun, ain't it?

Jesuslovesevery1,

Here we go again. OK, we are not talking about Bush (who I would label as a liberal by the way.) Im not going into why I dont like Pres. Bush for the millionth time. That being said, why is it that if someone gets a flat tire the appropriate response seems to be "well that wouldnt have happened while Pres. Clinton was in office, that Bush administration has just ruined everything. Why did they put them nails in my driveway?" CHANGE THE RECORD ALREADY. Who controlled congress during the Clinton administration?

Sharon22,

Lucky for me when they show up, I already know what they are going to say. Same junk over and over and over and over. "Obama will solve all the problems, and save my everlasting soul" "The Republicans are bad, I dont know why, they smell funny too" "If they have a D by there name they have to be good honest people"

Nascarfanatic,

I have tried to talk "substantive" issues with you and all you can come up with is that Pres. Bush is bad and Sen. Obama isnt. You cant see past the parties. You have been brainwashed by someone and cant seem to think for your self.

Cherokee2,

Yeah you are probably right. I will probably be throwing that line around myself, lol. Its a lose lose situation thats for sure.

I'm with all 3 of you on that one. If these blogs are still around in a couple years the chatter should be interesting.

Greasemonkey,

I'm glad they showed up too, it would be a boring world if we all actually agreed on everything.

Btw, I don't know what substantive issues you have talked about... You are no better about having nothing good to say about someone who ISN'T president, than my disdain for someone who FAILED at being president.

By the way, did ya'll read that post someone made in another blog.

McCain has missed 63% (over 330 missed votes) of the bills that the Senate voted on this year, and hasn't voted on anything in 4 months. He didn't even show up for the new GI Bill or Veteran's healthcare increases, but he said he would show up for big oil... That has got to strike a nerve as SOMEONE who WAS ONCE a soldier and is NOW a veteran, yet he can't show up to vote for THEM? I hope all of you who see yourself as voting against Obama just as miserable in 3 years (if McCain wins) as millions are now...

That's what I would like to see also, is civilized debate. I keep looking at the top two canidates wondering what the difference is between them. It seems like both of them would fit a more liberal agenda, except one is labeled Democrat and the other Republican. We have one that is a vibrant, enthralling speaker and one that much more sedate, but both seem to have the about the same message when you dig under all the PR stuff. I would love to see us as a country get back to where work was valued and there was less dependance on government. I am also going to step out on a limb and state I would love to see a canidate that would get the FEDERAL government out of healthcare. I am not opposed to state funded assistance following national standards, but socialized medicine will not "fix" the perceived healthcare issues. Personally, I don't want the government telling me who I can see or not see for my medical care which is what would happen with socialized medicine. We would still have a tiered system with the very rich obtaining the healthcare where they want and the rest of us stuck with what available.

And No Clinton was no Savior, just like Obama will not be a Savior, but common sense budgeting (being as most Americans have to do that every single day) replacing the "spend it even if we don't have it" attitude, will release people off of these welfare programs, off the medicare rolls etc... and thus you begin balancing budgets when you rid those once helpful programs of lazy, unworthy recipients!

On a side not... We have not begun drilling more oil, and our supply has only minutely dropped off, and all of sudden the STOCK MARKET is "selling off oil" and our prices are coming down... But wait, I thought it was all supply and demand, because after all nobody on Wall Street would inflate an actual value of something to pocket hundreds of millions in profits, while the American people suffer.

Perfect timing for election season.. Wonder who approved this "ride in and rescue" the people in a mere three months so they'll forget the last absolutely disgusting 8 years...

Sorry, I shouldnt have said that. It is kind of silly to think that a government that cannot do anything correctly on time or under budget would provide everyone with good quality health care.

I have spoken to my own relatives who have experienced socialized medicine. My mother lost an aunt to socialized medicine when she was placed on a list to wait for availability for open heart surgery. She died before receiving the needed surgery. This is what happens with socialized medicine you are placed on a waiting list for surgery. I also wonder why we have so many Canadian MD's pracicing medicine in the states if socialized medicine is so wonderful. How do you make the decision for who is a worthy recipient of healthcare? My brother was dropped from Tenncare during its first purge of the rolls several years ago. He has Down's Syndrome, something that can not be changed. I spoke to several people in government all the way to the governors office and basically recieved the same answer. He is not an expectant mother nor a child and there was not much anyone could do. He was working part-time at that time and interesting enough they were taking taxes out of his paycheck just like they do with mine and yours. We have people on our Tenncare rolls that have smoke, drank, or ate themselves into poor health and provide for their needs, would you condider them unworthy? I think we need to make more of an emphasis on personal responsibility, esp. when related to healthcare and that might make strides toward decreasing the cost of healthcare.

Nascar,

You may do commom sense budgeting everyday, but I would say that most Americans don't. CNNMoney.com reported back in May that personal debt rose from 15.3 billion(Feb.) to 2.6 trillion (March) in one month, excluding mortages. This was revolving debt, other wise known as CREDIT CARDS.

Yep, that would be the one.

Actually, I believe he did keep the flag that was adjacent to the registration numbers. The flags that he had removed from the tail and fuselage were actual registered trademarks of the company that his campaign is leasing the plane from. Personally, I think they would have been more than happy if he had wanted them to remain, but I don't fault him for removing the trademarks of North American Airlines.

I still wish he would wear the lapel pin either not at all, or all of the time. Rather than wearing it just when it suits his purposes.

How do you make the decision for who is worthy of receiving healthcare?

-- Posted by Sharon22 on Tue, Aug 19, 2008, at 12:01 AM

Why don't you ask this question to the multi-million dollar insurance companies, you know those people who deny health coverage to at least 50,000,000 Americans. I mean really.

Oh, so not covering 50,000,000 people makes more sense than losing money. Hmm, very Christian of you to place dollar signs on people's lives. With trash talk like "all the liberals seem to have all the answers" nothing gets accomplished. You've been to Mexico plenty of times, giving health care to needy, homeless people... Now, all of a sudden you ask who is worthy of health care and who isn't? Weren't those people JUST AS ABLE to go get health care as the 50,000,000 Americans who can't...?

It is a responsibility, of each person to get health care.. but when jobs are being taken away and corporations are offering "temp-to-hire" positions rather than offering their employees benefits and health coverage, WHO is supposed to do that? I am not advocating free health care for any adult who doesn't work, even though they are highly capable, it is for the millions of children who have no choice, and millions of hard working Americans who have pre-existing conditions, have been dropped (even though they have paid for insurance for decades), or denied for other red tape reasons. The question is not up to you and me of who is or isn't worthy, but if all you have to offer to the conversation is terms like "liberal" then you'll never get your head far enough out of the sand to actually THINK, like a liberal.

Who are the uninsured?

* Nearly 47 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2005, the latest government data available.1

* The number of uninsured rose 2.2 million between 2005 and 2006 and has increased by almost 9 million people since 2000.1

* The large majority of the uninsured (80 percent) are native or naturalized citizens.2

* The increase in the number of uninsured in 2006 was focused among working age adults. The percentage of working adults (18 to 64) who had no health coverage climbed from 19.7 percent in 2005 to 20.2 percent in 2006.1 Nearly 1.3 million full-time workers lost their health insurance in 2006.

* Nearly 90 million people - about one-third of the population below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2006 or 2007 without health coverage.3

* Over 8 in 10 uninsured people come from working families - almost 70 percent from families with one or more full-time workers and 11 percent from families with part-time workers.2

* The percentage of people (workers and dependents) with employment-based health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 59 percent in 2006. This is the lowest level of employment-based insurance coverage in more than a decade.4, 5

* In 2005, nearly 15 percent of employees had no employer-sponsored health coverage available to them, either through their own job or through a family member.6

* In 2006, 37.7 million workers were uninsured because not all businesses offer health benefits, not all workers qualify for coverage and many employees cannot afford their share of the health insurance premium even when coverage is at their fingertips.1

* The number of uninsured children in 2006 was 8.7 million - or 11.7 percent of all children in the U.S.1 The number of children who are uninsured increased by nearly 610,000 in 2006, the second year that the number of uninsured children increased.

* Young adults (18-to-24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance in 2005 - 29.3 percent of this group did not have health insurance.1

* The percentage and the number of uninsured Hispanics increased to 34.1 percent and 15.3 million in 2006.1

* Nearly 40 percent of the uninsured population reside in households that earn $50,000 or more.1 A growing number of middle-income families cannot afford health insurance payments even when coverage is offered by their employers.

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

The only reason I say 50,000,000 is because if you average in the annual increase of people who continue to lose health insurance, along with those who simply can't get it, or are on a waiting list because of a "pre-existing" condition... then the number I use, is probably far less than the actual number. For instance, my 4 best friends work hard, over 40+ hours a week, none of them have private health insurance... two of their employers don't offer it, one can't afford it (because they only make $8 an hour supporting a child), and the last one just graduated college in May, so they are no longer on their parents coverage...

I myself, have NEVER been without health insurance, and I will graduate MTSU in December, therefore I will have to begin looking into something affordable in cost, but not cheap in coverage. With the dramatic increase in the cost of energy, food, and life itself, this is but one more burden...

Alright Thom..

Sorry for hi jacking the blog. Though I was trying to respond to a poster ;)

Look forward to the new blog. The only thing I wish we could find is more up-to-date information.

I am glad you can understand that the health of American citizens is not a blue or red, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican issue.. It is simply an imperative duty in which we should ALL work together to reform.

Tom,

Thanks for the other blog, I didn't mean to hijack this one either, just a subject that is near to my heart.