It’s The Little Engine That Couldn’t.The reason why the GOP is trying to postpone the individual mandate, even at the cost of a shutdown & an economic crisis, is this:Healthy people will sign up for insurance in much smaller numbers. People with pre-existing conditions will still be able to sign up for insurance. If that happens, premiums in 2014 will be artificially high. The GOP will point at that & say, “See! It’s not working.”Political cynicism at it’s darkest, courtesy of the Tea Party. I’ll admit this much- they aren’t as totally stupid as some folks here say they are.
The latest approval figures now show that president Obama’s approval rating now stands at a somewhat dismal 36%. However, when compared to the approval rating of Congress which is an almost non existent 5%, it is only some 700% higher!!
“He’s just stating a fact.”George W Bush was alleged to have taken drugs while his father was in the White House. W refused to even answer questions about his drug use during his campaign. If anyone cared about past drug use, that would have been made a bigger issue.
@Mikefive and Landers – Yes his poll numbers are dismal and yes Congress is even worse but each congress person has very high poll numbers. Obama is a screw up plain and simple.
My Representative (And I think I speak for many) is doing exactly what we (my local peers) voted them in to do and if it were for those stupid OTHER congress people we would have a perfect country.
Obama is a stupidly poor leader. Reagan, Clinton, even W had hostile congresses to deal with but they managed to show leadership and work with congress to acomplish something that the majority of voters wanted. Obama is so dead set on making his signature bill work that he will sacrifice the country to achieve his legacy. That is the worst form of leadership because he isn’t serving the people – He is serving himself.
Congress has always been a mess. Obamacare is a brand new one brought to you by the Democrats and Democrats alone. That’s what we get for electing the boy who would be king.
We obviously have different sources. Mr. Bush (you brought him up, not me) is a recovering alcoholic whose wife required him to start his recovery or she was leaving. He has been recorded talking about smoking pot, and there is questionable evidence about other drug use. When asked about it on the campaign trail, he flatly stated he would not talk about anything that happened before his fortieth birthday. To my incredible surprise, the “liberal” press seemed to drop the subject. I did not see any hounding in that regard, especially since a couple of Supreme Court nominations had been recently scuttled simply because of admitted pot use twenty years prior to the nomination.
So there is precedent for the press not pushing Obama on his past.
And, as an aside, I saw a Texas Rangers game Mr. Bush attended a couple of years ago. A foul ball hit the top of the wall, right in front of Mr. Bush, who was in the first row. He didn’t even flinch. I know of no one who wouldn’t move at least a little when a baseball was coming towards him at greater than 70 mph. Draw your own conclusions.
" If he was doing all these drugs during his time at a demanding college, it would be obvious."
Not necessarily true. I have a friend who got 1600 on his college boards (100% correct) and on three additional achievement tests. He graduated with a 4.0 with a degree in physics, and is now a well-established neurologist. And he has smoked pot every day since he was in high school.
Blanket assumptions can lead to inaccurate conclusions.
You need to put this into context. Where does the money come from when those same sick people go to emergency rooms for “free” care? And which do you think costs less: providing meds for diabetes, or providing dialysis and/or amputations as a result of poor control due to lack of affordability of those same meds? Waiting for people to get very sick, and then having them use the emergency care system, is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Actually, I recall the lack of fuss over W not answering questions about his alleged drug use. Also, the allegations weren’t of him doing drugs in college. At least not that I recall. They were of him doing drugs some 20 years later while his father was President. The fuss that was raised was over allegations surrounding his time in the National Guard. If you recall, the only evidence he produced that he actually served was a dental check-up.The so-called “Birthers” repeatedly asked for Obama’s birth certificate, which he produced. They then called for his long form certificate, something the state of Hawaii normally doesn’t allow. It was finally produced. It was then that they demanded to see his school transcripts. From what I saw, the transcripts demand was little more than the continuation of the incessant and ridiculous “Birther” movement. Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. To quote your post, “If he was doing all these drugs during his time at a demanding college, it would be obvious.”
“The so-called “Birthers” repeatedly asked for Obama’s birth certificate, which he produced. They then called for his long form certificate, something the state of Hawaii normally doesn’t allow. It was finally produced. It was then that they demanded to see his school transcripts.”-And these same birthers are conspicuously silent about Rafael Cruz’ constitutional eligibility to be president.
Thank you Martens,Many of those ideas in the article are ones I’ve been tempted to raise based on my deep south experience in the 1960s. However, the ‘opposition’ finds such comparisons no longer valid and/or arguable.Thank you for the article. It’s always comforting to see one’s own thoughts more eloquently stated.Sincerely,C.
@Respectful Troll – My mindset comes from “walking the path” AND looking around. I live in the midwest in a rural home but I work in a city nearby.
I see Millions poured into the inner cities where it is squandered on residents with an entitlement mentality and an utter disdain for the values and norms that would make them and their children successful. All the while I see my rural neighbors with much less then those in the inner city struggle every day with very little assistance from the Federal governement AND I don’t hear them whining and snivelling about how they didn’t get a fair shake.
I and my family support many noble local community organizations like: 4-H, FFA, Boyscouts, our church, etc. because those organizations can be watched and affected. i.e. if we see the money being squandered we can talk to those in charge and make sure the abuse stops. The Federal government approach, in contrast, is to see waste and fraud as inevitable and the fix is to just pour more money in there to make up for the loss.
The Federal government is the worst sort of distribution system because the people in charge or cloistered in Washington where they can’t effectively or efficiently monitor how the program is being administered.
I am not against charity and I am not against the poor. I am speaking out against a system that robs one group to shore up another without ever really trying to fix the problem.
Just giving money to the poor will fend off hunger for a day but unless they teach and REQUIRE personal responsibility we just end up in the same boat.
At the end of it’s dreadful life – Caprini Green (In Chicago, you can look it up) contained 4th Generation welfare moms. Kids would have babies at 14 or 15 and immediately be given an apartment and a meal ticket.
And for all of you who say – bad things can happen to good people; I agree. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t struggled or faced obstacles. But my neighbors and I look to help each other rather then expecting the tax dollars of somebody we never met to be handed over to us.
As for corporate welfare – I’m not really for that either. The welfare you speak of, though, is tax cuts and incentives to make sure jobs aren’t shipped overseas. In all honesty; I don’t think corporations should be taxed at all. I think the earnings should be distributed to the shareholders and the shareholders should pay the taxes.
Dtroutma over 10 years ago
The “engineer” in the House might need a drug test, if you can just get HIM off the golf course!
I Play One On TV over 10 years ago
Takes one to know one.
Darsan54 Premium Member over 10 years ago
Mr. Kettle please meet Mr. Pot. Mr. Pot, Mr. Kettle.
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 10 years ago
It’s The Little Engine That Couldn’t.The reason why the GOP is trying to postpone the individual mandate, even at the cost of a shutdown & an economic crisis, is this:Healthy people will sign up for insurance in much smaller numbers. People with pre-existing conditions will still be able to sign up for insurance. If that happens, premiums in 2014 will be artificially high. The GOP will point at that & say, “See! It’s not working.”Political cynicism at it’s darkest, courtesy of the Tea Party. I’ll admit this much- they aren’t as totally stupid as some folks here say they are.
frodo1008 over 10 years ago
The latest approval figures now show that president Obama’s approval rating now stands at a somewhat dismal 36%. However, when compared to the approval rating of Congress which is an almost non existent 5%, it is only some 700% higher!!
Jason Allen over 10 years ago
“He’s just stating a fact.”George W Bush was alleged to have taken drugs while his father was in the White House. W refused to even answer questions about his drug use during his campaign. If anyone cared about past drug use, that would have been made a bigger issue.
Jason Allen over 10 years ago
Correction: I should have stated " W refused to even answer questions about his alleged drug use during his campaign."
Mephistopheles over 10 years ago
@Mikefive and Landers – Yes his poll numbers are dismal and yes Congress is even worse but each congress person has very high poll numbers. Obama is a screw up plain and simple.
My Representative (And I think I speak for many) is doing exactly what we (my local peers) voted them in to do and if it were for those stupid OTHER congress people we would have a perfect country.
Obama is a stupidly poor leader. Reagan, Clinton, even W had hostile congresses to deal with but they managed to show leadership and work with congress to acomplish something that the majority of voters wanted. Obama is so dead set on making his signature bill work that he will sacrifice the country to achieve his legacy. That is the worst form of leadership because he isn’t serving the people – He is serving himself.
Enoki over 10 years ago
Congress has always been a mess. Obamacare is a brand new one brought to you by the Democrats and Democrats alone. That’s what we get for electing the boy who would be king.
I Play One On TV over 10 years ago
We obviously have different sources. Mr. Bush (you brought him up, not me) is a recovering alcoholic whose wife required him to start his recovery or she was leaving. He has been recorded talking about smoking pot, and there is questionable evidence about other drug use. When asked about it on the campaign trail, he flatly stated he would not talk about anything that happened before his fortieth birthday. To my incredible surprise, the “liberal” press seemed to drop the subject. I did not see any hounding in that regard, especially since a couple of Supreme Court nominations had been recently scuttled simply because of admitted pot use twenty years prior to the nomination.
So there is precedent for the press not pushing Obama on his past.
And, as an aside, I saw a Texas Rangers game Mr. Bush attended a couple of years ago. A foul ball hit the top of the wall, right in front of Mr. Bush, who was in the first row. He didn’t even flinch. I know of no one who wouldn’t move at least a little when a baseball was coming towards him at greater than 70 mph. Draw your own conclusions.
joe vignone over 10 years ago
It’s hardly left the station. And the Reeps are doing everything to derail it.
I Play One On TV over 10 years ago
" If he was doing all these drugs during his time at a demanding college, it would be obvious."
Not necessarily true. I have a friend who got 1600 on his college boards (100% correct) and on three additional achievement tests. He graduated with a 4.0 with a degree in physics, and is now a well-established neurologist. And he has smoked pot every day since he was in high school.
Blanket assumptions can lead to inaccurate conclusions.
I Play One On TV over 10 years ago
You need to put this into context. Where does the money come from when those same sick people go to emergency rooms for “free” care? And which do you think costs less: providing meds for diabetes, or providing dialysis and/or amputations as a result of poor control due to lack of affordability of those same meds? Waiting for people to get very sick, and then having them use the emergency care system, is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Jason Allen over 10 years ago
Actually, I recall the lack of fuss over W not answering questions about his alleged drug use. Also, the allegations weren’t of him doing drugs in college. At least not that I recall. They were of him doing drugs some 20 years later while his father was President. The fuss that was raised was over allegations surrounding his time in the National Guard. If you recall, the only evidence he produced that he actually served was a dental check-up.The so-called “Birthers” repeatedly asked for Obama’s birth certificate, which he produced. They then called for his long form certificate, something the state of Hawaii normally doesn’t allow. It was finally produced. It was then that they demanded to see his school transcripts. From what I saw, the transcripts demand was little more than the continuation of the incessant and ridiculous “Birther” movement. Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. To quote your post, “If he was doing all these drugs during his time at a demanding college, it would be obvious.”
braindead Premium Member over 10 years ago
“The so-called “Birthers” repeatedly asked for Obama’s birth certificate, which he produced. They then called for his long form certificate, something the state of Hawaii normally doesn’t allow. It was finally produced. It was then that they demanded to see his school transcripts.”-And these same birthers are conspicuously silent about Rafael Cruz’ constitutional eligibility to be president.
chazandru over 10 years ago
Thank you Martens,Many of those ideas in the article are ones I’ve been tempted to raise based on my deep south experience in the 1960s. However, the ‘opposition’ finds such comparisons no longer valid and/or arguable.Thank you for the article. It’s always comforting to see one’s own thoughts more eloquently stated.Sincerely,C.
Mephistopheles over 10 years ago
@Respectful Troll – My mindset comes from “walking the path” AND looking around. I live in the midwest in a rural home but I work in a city nearby.
I see Millions poured into the inner cities where it is squandered on residents with an entitlement mentality and an utter disdain for the values and norms that would make them and their children successful. All the while I see my rural neighbors with much less then those in the inner city struggle every day with very little assistance from the Federal governement AND I don’t hear them whining and snivelling about how they didn’t get a fair shake.
I and my family support many noble local community organizations like: 4-H, FFA, Boyscouts, our church, etc. because those organizations can be watched and affected. i.e. if we see the money being squandered we can talk to those in charge and make sure the abuse stops. The Federal government approach, in contrast, is to see waste and fraud as inevitable and the fix is to just pour more money in there to make up for the loss.
The Federal government is the worst sort of distribution system because the people in charge or cloistered in Washington where they can’t effectively or efficiently monitor how the program is being administered.
I am not against charity and I am not against the poor. I am speaking out against a system that robs one group to shore up another without ever really trying to fix the problem.
Just giving money to the poor will fend off hunger for a day but unless they teach and REQUIRE personal responsibility we just end up in the same boat.
At the end of it’s dreadful life – Caprini Green (In Chicago, you can look it up) contained 4th Generation welfare moms. Kids would have babies at 14 or 15 and immediately be given an apartment and a meal ticket.
And for all of you who say – bad things can happen to good people; I agree. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t struggled or faced obstacles. But my neighbors and I look to help each other rather then expecting the tax dollars of somebody we never met to be handed over to us.
As for corporate welfare – I’m not really for that either. The welfare you speak of, though, is tax cuts and incentives to make sure jobs aren’t shipped overseas. In all honesty; I don’t think corporations should be taxed at all. I think the earnings should be distributed to the shareholders and the shareholders should pay the taxes.