I think its the one glimmer of hope the fact that he at least had the decency to stand up for gays rights to lease an apartment and other civil liberties.
What I continue to find ironic is how the conservatives could see this as a possible negative "ideology" for their party.
He was paid, the firm wasn't. SM
Either way, he could have said no and he didn't. Mind you, I have a limitation on what I think gay rights should extend to, but I won't go into that here because I will get slaughtered.
I am a firm supporter of the military, but --
My exhusband was a soldier the entire 20 years we were married and is in fact in Iraq right now; my son, whom I love dearly, is graduating from basic training on Friday. I support the military wholeheartedly, but that does not mean I have to support McCain.
I don't believe that our soldiers should be where they are and I don't believe they should have ever been where they are. And I believe that when they come home, they should have better support and better care than they are getting.
But I have the utmost respect for the military and their families and would always hope and pray the best for them. They did after all fight to give me the right to disagree on who their commander-in-chief should be.
That being said, I also do not think that serving in the military should be experience that counts in running the country. Just because McCain is a a war hero and former POW does not make him entitled to be the leader of the United States of America. That would be the same as saying my ex-husband could have that job; he has just as much experience in the military as McCain, not as a POW, but he has served many more years than McCain did.
ok, here goes - I know I'll get flamed, but I am firm on my stance. SM
Well over 50% of the American population is either Hispanic or African American (I am being conservative because it is probably higher). This population IMO voted for Obama because of his skin color, without researching his view on major issues that revolve around being capable of tackling the presidency of the U.S. I think it is only a matter of time when this will come back and kick all who voted for him in the "you know what." It's not about our ethnicity or religion, but rather about a candidate who is experienced enough to tackle the job. I just cringe at the fact that someone as inexperienced as Obama is now running this country.
*Heckuvajob Brownie* starts disaster planning firm
Ex-FEMA Head Starts Disaster Planning Firm
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job.
If I can help people focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses — because that goes straight to the bottom line — then I hope I can help the country in some way, Brown told the Rocky Mountain News for its Thursday editions.
Brown said officials need to take inventory of what's going on in a disaster to be able to answer questions to avoid appearing unaware of how serious a situation is.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, critics complained about Brown's lack of formal emergency management experience and e-mails that later surfaced showed him as out of touch with the extent of the devastation.
The lawyer admits that while he was head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency mistakes were made in the response to Katrina. He also said he had been planning to quit before the hurricane hit.
Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be, and there's an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is, he said.
Brown said companies already have expressed interested in his consulting business, Michael D. Brown LLC. He plans to run it from the Boulder area, where he lived before joining the Bush administration in 2001.
I'm doing a lot of good work with some great clients, Brown said. My wife, children and my grandchild still love me. My parents are still proud of me.
Ohio Republican Sen. Mike DeWine is sticking with the political advertising firm that doctored images of the World Trade Center to make it appear as though the footage came from the September 11 attacks. The video was used in a 30-second campaign spot that has aired throughout Ohio since last Friday, accusing his opponent, Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown, of being weak on national security. An investigation by U.S. News revealed that the images, which show the south tower ablaze and the north tower untouched –– contradicting the chronology of the day's events –– were bogus.
The firm that produced the commercial has been the subject of controversy before. Alexandria-based Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potholm produced the famous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that challenged the war record of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry in 2004. Still, the DeWine campaign has no plans to ax the ad agency. Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potholm is a nationally recognized firm, and they will continue to do media consulting for the campaign, said DeWine spokesman Brian Seitchik.
The DeWine campaign learned of the faked video when contacted by U.S. News Wednesday evening. DeWine promised to immediately replace the video in question with a still image of the World Trade Center taken before the attacks. The campaign says the spot, now modified, will not be pulled anytime soon, despite ongoing controversy that has threatened to drown out the commercial's message. Long before yesterday's revelation, Democratic critics were lambasting the ad as an attempt to capitalize politically on the terrorist attacks. Republicans have made similar charges about the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's use of images of flag-draped coffins in ads criticizing the war in Iraq.
Still unclear is why DeWine's advertising firm would doctor an image of the twin towers when numerous photos and video accounts of the actual event are available. A source with some knowledge of the ad called the entire commercial graphics based, with the computer-generated smoke just another part of the mix. Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potholm did not return phone calls requesting comment. A source says no one has been fired from either the campaign or the ad agency as a result of the fallout.
Brown's campaign, already enraged over the ad, called the doctored images shameless. Brown has seized this opportunity to question DeWine's character. Mike DeWine has always run campaigns with attack ads and distortions, Brown said in an interview. For his part, DeWine insists it was an honest mistake that doesn't detract from the message of the ad. The fact is we stand by the ad. Sherrod Brown and I have very different views and approaches to the defense of this country, DeWine said.
Brooks Jackson, director of the watchdog publication publication FactCheck.org, expressed mostly bemusement. This seems to be a case of incompetence on the part of the media consultant, Jackson said, not an attempt to deceive voters.
We aren't living high on the hog, and we've opened our home to those less fortunate. Over the past 25 years, we've had 10 people (friends not strangers) live with us until they could get back on their feet, rent-free, taking none of the money they could make, all meals provided.
Yes, welfare is very backwards, but if I knew of anyone abusing the system, I would report them. I don't know anyone on welfare or living in Section 8 housing since I now live in the country. If other people would do that, it would soon straighten out.
at the polling place yesterday. Then we had a party. There were only 4 present who voted for Obama and my husband and I were 2 of them. We had an enjoyable time and on one thing all of us agreed. ALL of us must get involved if we want to save this country.
He owned the company and he when quit smoking (or more accurately, he quit buying) any time he wanted a cigarette, he would 'bum' it from one of his employees. Since O cannot nip out and get a pack of smokes now, maybe he gets by this way. Would some secret service guy or Whitehouse domestic employee refuse him?
My old boss should have run for Congress, so out of touch was he with his 'little people.' Payday was Friday and the checks were locked in his desk until 4:30 Friday afternoon. (This was to prevent someone from going to the bank at lunch and never returning, I guess.) And I might add this was back when bankers hours were truly that, not open until 6 on Friday, and until noon Saturday.
Trouble was, sometimes he would not return from lunch, or at all on Friday, so we did not get paid until Monday. But he helpfully said that nobody should be living so hand-to-mouth that they absolutely needed their 2-week check before the weekend. I mean, if you can't go to the grocery and therefore cannot feed your kids, you obviously are not budgeting properly. Another neat solution, don't you think? If only I had listened to this man, I would be wealthy today.
Did you get this worked up when
the Bush administration eviscerated the Bill of Rights? When they targeted any vocal opposition in a position to be heard using clandestine means and government resources? When they doled out multimillion dollar no-bid contracts to their cronies paid for by taxpayer money and loans from foreign countries?
Let's see how worked up we can get now -
Did you see that President Obama is going to get to appoint a Supreme Court judge already? Why would that get anyone worked up.
Isn't that one of his responsibilities as President?
Serious question for you - Are you serious about your statement or are you trying to start something so more people will be bickering.
Worked for me
Don't put a space between American and solution, just americansolutions.com
Worked for me; thanks, LVMT Posts to get you worked up
are obviously not what 'liberals' are about, any more than posts comparing Hillary to Hitler are what 'conservatives' are all about. The terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' are pretty much useless anyway because everyone has their own definitions. It's lumping together people that are not necessarily the same.
You might want to ask Obama how it worked for him....
coming out calling the NRL and others liars (saw the video where he said it, "Hate to call them liars but they are liars" and now is having to back up because...whoops. He is the one who lied. He should have taken your good advice and kept a low profile...
Okay, worked together. He was friends with Rev.
nm
You certainly have worked yourself up into a lather
Perhaps you may considering reserving your judgment of the situation until the story and the facts come to the light of day. If the woman shuns the limelight, papers her walls with photos of her nephew and sends small contributions to his campaign when she can, she obviously holds him in very high regard and is bearing no grudges over what you refer to a hording his wealth. Again, it taked a LOT of gall to sit in judgment of something you know absolutely nothing about. Get over yourself.
Dad (pharmacist) worked at
was Cunningham Drug Store. He was the manager at the store from 1969-1981.
Did you see the one about the young guy who worked
at McDonald's for 4 1/2 years? He couldn't get another job and wanted to know what O was going to do about it. I was absolutely shocked!
and collects SSD for his "mental illness." He checks himself into a state hospital when it comes close to the time when he has a review coming up. This is what I heard from my son, so I don't know how true it is, but I do know that he is healthy and doesn't seem to have any mental health issues.
His one brother is on disability because he was on the drugs so much, they fried his brain and another brother had cirrhosis. He couldn't get help and died.
So why do you keep trying to demonize the Democrats. Both parties made compromises - I believe the Democrats initially wanted about $20 billion more for the program, but they negotiated with the Republicans to secure their votes.
You seem so worried about the cigarette tax not covering the program, and yet what we spend in Iraq in a day would cover the S-CHIP program for a year. The money is there, but people don't want to make it a priority.
Why is it so hard for you to believe that Democrats that voted yes on the bill (and don't forgot some Republicans did too) actually CARE ABOUT THE CHILDREN? Is it so hard to believe that they actually want to do something to help kids? I'm glad they are getting headlines, not because they are against Bush, because really - could public opinion get any worse for him? I am glad because this is an issue that needs TONS of attention drawn to it. I don't really care if more people dislike Bush over this issue. People who like him will continue to and people who don't will continue not to like him. I see bad headlines about him every week, but that is not my concern. My concern is affordable healthcare for all children, no matter how high or low their parents' income level is.
that we have and WE should decide who to give it to, not Nobama. We are living the American Dream and will be penalized for it. If your child got all A's in school and the teacher told you that some kids got C's and B's and your child would have to give up some of their A's so the others would be on equal ground, would you object? Probably so. There is no incentive in socialism to work hard to acheive things when you can have the gov't provide everything for you. Don't you people know that you are playing right into the hand's of more gov't? You are being fed a bunch of lies and you won't even realize it until it is too late.
Coud'a Worked 80 hours too
But after 12 years at my other much better paying job that included 22 years with the company, they eliminated all 8 of our jobs. So here I am still at Medquist and a daughter just turning 18 and not working at all. Would you believe they did this on 11/04. Then I voted for McCain. I was disillusioned with Obama even when he was still running.
Years ago I worked with a rad tech who used to be an MT
I think anything in medical records management or ultraound tech or something like that. DH told me that pcp's are quitting. Must be the same article you posted.
for 30 years at GM. He was a salvage worker so he wasn't one of those guys who sat on his butt all day long making a ridiculous amount of money. My dad retired in his 60s because his health didn't allow him to continue working or he would have. I know how unions work and how they "protect" the employees. I've also seen the proven statistics about how non-union states are more production and have higher job growth and as far as protecting your job.....no ones job is protected especially nowadays. People are getting fired left and right so where is the protection. What good was that auto bailout when all that money pretty much went to pay off the unions. Unions are nothing but democratic pushed BS.
Here is a tad bit on unions:
The truth is that unions are essentially parasitic organizations that thrive only by draining and ultimately destroying the companies and industries they control. The essential goal of the unions is to compel the payment of higher wages for the performance of less work and less productive work. Unions are notorious for their hostility to labor saving machinery and to any form of competition among workers, for featherbedding practices, indeed, for “making work” by deliberately and arbitrarily increasing the number of workers required to accomplish a given task and sometimes even by compelling the disassembly or destruction of products already produced.
It should be no wonder that the percentage of the labor force controlled by unions tends progressively to decline. Where the unions hold sway, companies cannot compete. Their market share falls and they ultimately go bankrupt. The only way that unions can maintain any given share of the labor force is by finding new victims to replace the ones they have sucked dry. The finding of new victims, by means of new government intervention is the unstated agenda of Mr. Stern, Ms. Milkman, and The New York Times.
The actual effects of labor unions are arbitrary inequalities in wage rates, mass unemployment, and substantially lower real wages for the average worker. Labor unions are aptly described as a leading vehicle of what von Mises called “destructionism.”
Whenever a union succeeds in obtaining above market wage rates for its members, it also reduces the number of workers who can be employed in its field. This is because of the operation of one of the best established principles of economics: Namely, the higher the price of anything, including the wage of any kind of labor, the smaller is the quantity demanded of that good or labor service.
Thus, workers who could have been employed in the lines controlled by labor unions are instead displaced and forced to seek work elsewhere. The added competition of these workers in other lines then serves either to depress wage rates in those other lines, thereby resulting in an arbitrary, union-imposed inequality in wage rates, or, if those other lines are also unionized or are forced to pay union wages in order to avoid becoming unionized (which is often the case), to cause still other workers to be displaced. It should be clear that to the extent that the effect of union activity is to depress wage rates in other fields, the union slogan “Live Better, Work Union” turns out to mean “Live Better by Forcing Other Workers to Live Worse.”
If wage rates in all lines of work are forced above the free-market level either because labor unions are able to impose their wage scales everywhere, or because upward union pressure on wage rates is joined by minimum-wage legislation, the effect is mass unemployment. In this case, there is simply no branch of the economic system that is allowed to pay wage rates low enough to make possible the absorption of workers displaced from elsewhere by the imposition of union wages. The result is the kind of situation presently existing in France and Germany, where unemployment is in excess of ten percent. And, of course, the cost of supporting the masses of unemployed falls mainly on the workers who manage to keep their jobs. Here higher taxes are their reward for “working union.”
Now THAT is Economics 101.
It apparently worked in stopping attack on LA
nm
My statement was more sarcasm because it seems to me everyone gets worked up over nothing here latel
Sorry if I offended!
Yeah, well, I've worked 80+ hours this week....sm
like I do every week. I've been busy watching the spell Obama has over you......so gullible. And I'll be watching to see how long it takes for you to become disillusioned.
Well, we all know the old "trickle-down economics" of the past admnistrations has not worked,
ever more greed, and then the removal of the banking regulations really set up the rest of the debacle. The President is fighting a GOLIATH here when it comes to all the problems he has INHERITED, we should pray for his wisdom, strength, and security, and at least he is acknowledging short-falls and problems, trying to reach out to both parties, and trying to ACCOMPLISH something real and LASTING for this country, all Bush could do was give checques away, which was supposed to be a quick "shot in the arm" the for economy, but he did not open his eyes to see that when middle to low income families are living in debth and cannot pay for anything, that they are going to pay bill and save some of their money, not go out and buy more cars, TVs, other big ticket items, as he thought. Good solid work programs was what put the country back on its feet back during the Great Depression, it is not a "quick" fix, but a lsting one that reaches into multi levels of the ecomony, the worker, small businesses, etc. Lets's PLEASE give the President a chance beyond his first week!
My family members have worked in fields and orchards and on farms
and my sons would gladly do that now if the opportunity existed for them--but it doesn't. It's no secret that those jobs are systematically reserved for illegals for purposes of cost savings, and yes, there is resentment among many of us because of it. I'm sure there are a lot of lazy Americans, but most of my friends and relatives are hard working, decent people who think they are not too good to accept any kind of honest labor that will help put food on the table.
NEWARK, N.J. — An FBI intelligence analyst charged last month for passing classified information about Filipino leaders (search) to current and former officials of that nation retrieved the information from the White House, FOX News has confirmed.
Originally reported by ABC News, FBI and CIA officials are saying this is the first case of espionage from within the White House in modern times.
The alleged spy, Leandro Aragoncillo (search), worked undetected for nearly three years. He was most recently assigned to work with Vice President Dick Cheney.
Aragoncillo was a Marine for 21 years.
On Sept. 12, it was reported that the former FBI analyst, who was stationed at Fort Monmouth (search) in New Jersey, has been sending classified information since January, according to an FBI complaint.
Investigators found that between May and August Aragoncillo printed or downloaded 101 classified documents relating to the Philippines (search), of which 37 were classified Secret, the complaint said.
The White House would not comment on the case and only said that it was cooperating, FOX News has learned.
(Story continues below)
At the time of the arrest in September, officials did not describe the nature of the documents. Court filings said the records included intelligence on a defense treaty and the U.S. assessment of the political situation in the Pacific Rim country.
Aragoncillo was ordered held without bail last month following an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Patty Shwartz (search).
Aragoncillo's family members attending the hearing declined to speak with reporters.
The defendant was to face a charge of conspiracy and a charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, the latter of which carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Aragoncillo also was charged with unauthorized use of a government computer, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
The Associated Press and The Newark Star-Ledger contributed to this report.
get off my case
Did it irk you that I asked AG to post here? Did it get you so upset that you had to repost a previous post? For pete sake, what is your problem? You are filled with hate, absolute hate and anger. You need to chill. When you disagree with someone, you continue on and on and on and on, never letting up with the other person. GET OFF MY CASE. If my posts enrage you as so obviously they do, DO NOT READ THEM. You are so whacked out that you state I would chain myself to the WH with explosives. When I read that, I just about coughed up the soda I was drinking I could not believe any sane person would post something like that. As much as I know you are an angry person, no doubt with rage in your heart, I would NEVER EVER think that of you or post something so evil like that about you. Now, Im saying good bye to you as its obvious through you posts over time you cannot post to me without attacking me, so skip my posts, delete them and MYOB when it comes to me and my opinions.
I second Kam's why. I also don't believe that that will be the case s/m
If you are looking at the primary turnouts, record numbers are turning out on the Democrat side, and on the Republican side fewer are turning out than did in 2004 and 2000, and if that trend continues it bodes well for whatever Democratic candidate ultimately gets the nomination. Also, should that candidate be Hillary Clinton, what candidate on the Republican side is, for lack of a better word, sweeping the voters off their feet, whether with agenda or personality? McCain? Huckabee? Romney?, which one?
Actually, the only two candidates that I think have the qualities of real zeal and enthusiasm are Barack Obama and Ron Paul. Ron Paul isn't going to get the nomination, Obama may or may not, and if not, if the Democrat turnouts remain high, and in general the country truly wanting a different direction, they are going to elect a Democrat this time, and if it is Clinton she will be elected, even if she has no more zeal or charisma than Huckabee, McCain or Romney.
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