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McCain Has The Answers Veterans Are Searching For
Submitted by Pat Smith on October 15, 2008 - 1:15pm.
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All our active duty military deserve the best Commander In Chief and veterans also deserve the best. McCain knows were he’s been and knows the way our country must go…
There is absolutely no debating the fact that with Senator McCain not voting for bills laced with pork and ear marks especially on bills for other veterans; he does put our country first.
If anyone bothered to read or listened to his words – they would already know he wants these billions in wasteful spending to go directly to Veterans Affairs.
While a good president knows there would be no United States without veterans he would-not rightly put veterans in front of our Country (what true veteran would even want that?). Veterans barely survived these last thirty years and our funding has finally been getting on the right track, and with no thanks to this congress for adding billions in back door pork, earmarks and/or amnesty for illegal’s etc…
Straight from McCain:
“I'm not here to tell you that there is a cost that is too high to be paid in the care of our nation's veterans. I will make sure that Congress funds the VA health care budget in a sufficient, timely, and predictable manner. But I will say that every increase in funding must be matched by increases in accountability, both at the VA and in Congress. And this requires an end to certain practices and abuses that serve neither our veterans, our country, nor the reputation of Congress itself.
Exactly because funding VA programs command bipartisan support, some in the Congress like to attach unrelated appropriations and earmarks to VA bills. The result is to mix vital national priorities with wasteful and often worthless political pork. Earmarks show up in bills of every kind, and not just VA bills. That's how we end up budgeting hundreds of millions of dollars for bridges to nowhere, or lesser sums for Woodstock museums and the like. When that earmark for a million bucks to fund a Woodstock museum didn't come through, I don't imagine that many veterans had to change their vacation plans. And the principle here is simple: Public money should serve the public good. If it's me sitting in the Oval Office, at the Resolute desk, those wasteful spending bills are going the way of all earmarks, straight back to the Congress with a veto.
When we make it clear to Congress that no earmark bill will be signed into law, that will save many billions of dollars that can be applied to essential priorities, and above all to the care of our veterans. But reform doesn't end there. We must also modernize our disability system to make sure that eligible service members receive benefits quickly, based on clear, predictable, and fair standards. And we must address the problems of capacity and access within our VA health care system. While this will involve a wide range of initiatives, I believe there is a simple and direct reform we should make right away.
Reform must also recognize that greater care is needed for certain types of injuries. In the Senate, I co-authored the Wounded Warrior Act, which was the first major legislative initiative to address post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. As president, I will build on this legislation to improve screening and treatment for these severe injuries suffered by many in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA must also broaden its care for the women who are entering the armed forces in greater numbers than ever. The growing ranks of women in uniform have left the VA lagging behind in the services it provides. And here the Veterans Care Access Card will prove especially valuable, affording women medical options while the VA improves capacity and expands services.
These are among the elements of my reform agenda for the VA system. And today, as other occasions, I have stated in the plainest, most straightforward terms that the Veterans Health Care Access Card will expand existing benefits. I don't expect this will deter the Obama campaign from misrepresenting my proposals, but lest there be any doubt you have my pledge: My reforms would not force anyone to go to a non-VA facility. They will not signal privatization of the VA. And they will not replace any scheduled expansion of the VA network -- including those facilities designed to serve veterans living in rural and remote areas.”
While McCain is expanding services for Veterans out-side of the VA - And the VA is government run – Obama wants government run universal health care for our whole country. For decades the VA has been underfunded because of our elected officials’, with veterans being such small minority in the whole population of the United States that the VA budget which was only 1.15% of the total federal budget spent in the fiscal year of 2007 (sept. 2006 to 2007) was approx. 80.6 billion. 80.6 billion was only 1.15 percent of the total 2.77 trillion dollars budget spent in fiscal year 2007. One again the VA budget has not been passed and is running on the even lower funding of the (CR) continuing resolution, and Obama wants this for our whole country! Elect McCain/Palin
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Text of whole speech here
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfAUG08/nf081908-6.htm
To use the song that best describes what is going on with the lives of many veterans and VA funding this ones explains it the best:
To see White Snake performing: Here I Go Again
Just click on the youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs
Here I Go Again
I don't know where I'm goin
but I sure know where I've been
hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time
but here I go again, here I go again.
Tho' I keep searching for an answer
I never seem to find what I'm looking for.
Oh Lord, I pray you give me strength to carry on
'cos I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams.
Here I go again on my own
goin' down the only road I've ever known.
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs
WE HAVE NO MORE TIME TO WASTE
VOTE FOR CHANGE
VOTE MCCAIN
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Boy, McCain sure has a funny...
Back to page topBoy, McCain sure has a funny way of supporting our troops. Why did he vote against the new GI Bill increasing benefits for our brave soldiers? Why did he vote against body armor funding? Barack Obama will take care of our soldiers both during service AND after. I think you have not researched the candidates very well.
To check up on politians -...
Back to page topTo check up on politians - http://www.veteranreportcard.org/ - non-partisan look at who voted for what.
McCain - D - The big GI Bill, well, McCain thought a fundraiser in San Fran was more important than his vote . . .
Barack - B
Biden - B
As a disabled vet I used my...
Back to page topAs a disabled vet I used my VA benefits to earn a BA in the BS of political science (class of '97), so all I have is time to watch and research. Since college is definitely not for everyone, McCain just wanted for our brave troops to be able to transfer their educational benefits to their children or spouse. It will cost billions more in funding because it is impossible to calculate the college tuition and living allowance’s for a presently only1 month old baby. Like I said McCain knows were he’s been and the way our country must go. . .
The GI Bill passed and takes...
Back to page topThe GI Bill passed and takes affect Fall of '09. McCain didn't bother to show up to even vote. This new GI Bill DOES allow you to pass down your unused portion of GI BILL benefits to your spouse and children, but I believe there is an amount of service required for the portability portion. I know with hubby being in 8 yrs, he can't pass his on . . . maybe it's a 10 yr req?
Here is what you need to...
Back to page topHere is what you need to know ,and thank Senator McCain for the NEW GI bill educational benefits being allowed to pass to spouse or children.
Get the FREE GI Bill Benefits Guide
http://edu.military.com/gibill/?ESRC=ggl_edu_gibill.kw&np=1
Eligibilty
http://education.military.com/money-for-school/gi-bill/gi-bill-eligibili...
What a wonderful article!!...
Back to page topWhat a wonderful article!! Although I like "lesleyK" alot, I must take great exception with her ananysis of McCain's voting record on veterans. Her comments are in direct relationship to the thinking of the Democrats!! Only read into it, what you want to believe!! Sure, McCain may have missed a vote or two, but he was probably out campaigning for the Republican party, and his colleagues in the Senate probably knew the bill would pass overwhelmingly and did not need him to come back to Washington just to add another "yeah" to the vote. When I got back from my vacation "out west", I printed out the entire voting record and analized it, and I came to the same conclusion as the Author of this article [Pat Smith]. One problem the Veterans face is the dwindling numbers of "actual" Veterans serving in the Congress. Years ago, it was common to have dozens of Veterans in the Senate and in the House. Today it is hard to find any at all. So, with that in mind, how can you expect the members of Congress to have any good feelings towards the Veterans, when they don't even know what it is like to serve in the Military, and make many sacrifices for their Country!! Sure you have your "left wing lunatics" like John Kerry and Jim Webb! But they could give a Rat's A$$ about the Veterans. If John Kerry had even cared one bit about the Military, he may have been elected as President. But, he loathed the Military AND the Veterans. So, "My Friends", I ask that you take an HONEST look at the Candidate's TRUE "Veteran" records, and not with a Partisan viewpoint. I know it's cold up in your part of Minnesota, but I think a part of your brain is still not frozen.
Roj2000: Thank you; you hit...
Back to page topRoj2000: Thank you; you hit the nail right on the head. This election there is quite a few veterans running for office and I hope a few do get in. I watch the House and Senate on C-Span when they are not on vacation and too many democrats make it into a romper room for adults with their fighting. If more people watched them hard(?) at work they would register Republican. Remember Senator McCain even postponed his campaign because he knew he was needed back in Washington with the bank bailout, but not Obama. And by the way McCain saw this coming and tried to stop it back in 2005 with the
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (Introduced in Senate January 2005) and McCain then became a sponsor of this bill. If this was passed in 2005 MUCH of this problem today could have been avoided. You can find the full text of the bill here http://thomas.loc.gov/ It is 206 pages long, but this is to give you a brief idea of it.
`(2) AUTHORITY OVER FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC, THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS, AND THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK FINANCE CORPORATION- The Director shall have general regulatory authority over each regulated entity and the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, and shall exercise such general regulatory authority, including such duties and authorities set forth under section 1313 of this Act , to ensure that the purposes of this Act , the authorizing statutes, and any other applicable law are carried out.
`(ii) the operations and activities of each regulated entity foster liquid, efficient, competitive, and resilient national housing finance markets (including activities relating to mortgages on housing for low- and moderate- income families involving a reasonable economic return that may be less than the return earned on other activities);
SEC. 111. LIMIT ON GOLDEN PARACHUTES.
Section 1318 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4518) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(c) AUTHORITY TO REGULATE OR PROHIBIT CERTAIN FORMS OF BENEFITS TO AFFILIATED PARTIES-
`(1) GOLDEN PARACHUTES AND INDEMNIFICATION PAYMENTS- The Agency may prohibit or limit, by regulation or order, any golden parachute payment or indemnification payment.
(2) FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT- The Agency shall prescribe, by regulation, the factors to be considered by the Agency in taking any action pursuant to paragraph (1), which may include such factors as--
`(A) whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that the affiliated party has committed any fraudulent act or omission, breach of trust or fiduciary duty, or insider abuse with regard to the enterprise that has had a material affect on the financial condition of the enterprise ;
`(B) whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that the affiliated party is substantially responsible for the insolvency of the enterprise , the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the enterprise , or the enterprise's troubled condition (as defined in the regulations prescribed pursuant to section 32(f));
`(C) whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that the affiliated party has materially violated any applicable Federal or State law or regulation that has had a material affect on the financial condition of the enterprise ;
`(D) whether the affiliated party was in a position of managerial or fiduciary responsibility; and
`(E) the length of time the party was affiliated with the enterprise , and the degree to which--
`(i) the payment reasonably reflects compensation earned over the period of employment; and
`(ii) the compensation involved represents a reasonable payment for services rendered.
`(3) CERTAIN PAYMENTS PROHIBITED- No enterprise may prepay the salary or any liability or legal expense of any affiliated party if such payment is made--
`(A) in contemplation of the insolvency of such enterprise , or after the commission of an act of insolvency; and
`(B) with a view to, or has the result of --
`(i) preventing the proper application of the assets of the enterprise to creditors; or
`(ii) preferring one creditor over another.
`(4) GOLDEN PARACHUTE PAYMENT DEFINED- For purposes of this subsection--
`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `golden parachute payment' means any payment (or any agreement to make any payment) in the nature of compensation by any enterprise for the benefit of any affiliated party pursuant to an obligation of such enterprise that—
You can’t say we weren’t warned!
Here are some actual facts...
Back to page topHere are some actual facts to help you think about this issue. This is from www.abcnews.com:
"The center tallied money from donors who list the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard as an employer. Overall, these donations are miniscule: Obama got 44 contributions worth about $27,000 and Paul 23 for about $19,300. Republican John McCain, an Iraq war supporter and Vietnam prisoner of war, was third with about $18,500 from 32 donors."
Clearly our military people are favoring Obama with their hard-earned dollars. He has the voting record and plan to take the best care of all of our brave soldiers. Avoid rumor and innuendo and pay attention to facts.
Badjuggler: Obama has no...
Back to page topBadjuggler: Obama has no limit on the amount of money he can accept (beg for), and that in itself shows he has no scruples or respect for the hard earned money from our military members, but McCain does! Now here is a FACT I have been trying to explain to everyone for the last year. I wrote this to Veterans Advocate Jim Strickland around this time last year wondering if anyone else watched C-Span and saw what this congress was doing to us veterans. And by the way it is still the same thing this year our budget has not been passed and we are running on another (CR) that’s a continuing resolution so watch history repeat itself again! It is just a crying shame that veterans think anyone in this congress actually helped us veterans.
Jim;
I was today asked to explain how Congress voting themselves a pay raise last week, when they knew the VA was in such dire need was not ethical. I’ve been trying to explain the last paragraph here for awhile now and was hoping you could tell me what I’m not saying right or simple enough? I will get the exact figures though, before I send it to the newspaper.
The cost of living increase for disabled veterans (COLA) for 2008 was only 2.2% (depending on disability rating & no. of dependants) the highest increase could adv. $79 dollars a month, while congress made heir’s 2.5% which is $4,100 a year, about $433 dollars a month. They will now receive salaries of $169,300 for 2008 and will continue to collect this same salary for the rest of their life even in retirement and will continue to receive the best medical care and medications available. Congress knows all veterans are given the cheapest generic drugs available, even when a more expensive medication is proven to be more effective and beneficial. Veterans are paying eight dollar co-pay at the VA while Wal-Mart is charging four dollars for the same amount of these generic medications. Congress has no ethic’s when their moral principals allows them to vote for themselves’ first!
And last month they did this: Our democrat congress took the needed additional $3.7 billion in funding away from the VA’s 2008 proposed budget, and replaced it with their own personal PORK. It now sits alone and requires a separate signature from President Bush as $3.7 billion in “emergency funding” for Veterans Affairs. It seems congress even forgot to declare the “emergency” or request emergency funding.
Now for the worst part, which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this congress has no ethics? The fiscal year for 2008 runs from September 31st 2007 to September 30th 2008. September 31st 2008 starts the new fiscal year for 2009.
The VA budget should have been passed for the start of this fiscal year which started September 31s 2007. We are now a few days away from the end of first quarter of this fiscal year—4 months on January 31st, (sept 31st 2007 to jan 31st 2008) a quarter of the year with no funding. When the budget is passed we will have lost the funding which should have been spent during these four month’s. The VA has lost the funds for the first quarter of the year, which they (congress) knew was desperately needed to help us Veterans. The VA budget which was only 1.15% of the total federal budget spent in the fiscal year of 2007 (sept. 31st 2006 to sept. 30th 2007) was appox. 80.6 billion. 80.6 billion is 1.15 percent of the total 2.77 trillion dollars budget spent in fiscal year 2007. I am trying to point out that almost one quarter of the 87 billion budget for 2008 is already lost these last four months, so this extra 3.7 billion that congress originally gave us as additional funding and then took it away (for themselves) and made it emergency funding is STILL LEAVING THE VA VERY SHORT OF FUNDING. And congress knew just what they where doing!
For Jim’s totally bipartisan reply it is here the last reply in his column:
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJAN08/nf011808-3.htm
Pat Smith: You are a...
Back to page topPat Smith: You are a pathetic shill for the Republican Party. You refuse to listen to anything but your own weird ideology. You are just another Radical Conservative with no concern for the damage to our great country. McCais choice of the blithering idiot Sarah Palin for VP should have scared any thinking American into running away from this madman. McCain is unstable and erratic and a danger to our great country.
Let's try the smart guy for...
Back to page topLet's try the smart guy for once. We have had an idiot in the white house for eight years. Obama was at the top of his class in Harvard. McCain was in the BOTTOM 1% of his class at the naval academy. I think we need a smart man to get us out of this mess the dumb guy and his friends have put us into. Doesn't that make sense?
Now that was not nice, Obama...
Back to page topNow that was not nice, Obama belongs with Pelosi, Reid and the rest of them that are smart enough to make veterans think that they are really helping them when they are actually prolonging the hurt. Senator McCain is honest and intellgent and will make a great Commander in Chief! I am voting for the smartest and best man here McCain.
Badperson got me so upset I...
Back to page topBadperson got me so upset I actually placed this response to you in the wrong forum:
Badjuggler here is an honest to God true article which I could prove every word of! And you don’t see me using words like you did here; “shrill, weird or unstable and erratic and a danger to our great country.” Give it up liberal! See how normal Democrats welcome a good non-racist article on a Democratic web-site from a (gasp) Republican?
Veterans vs. Amnesty
While our troops are bravely fighting for freedom in the Middle East, at home it appears freedom is free for illegals as they invade our great Nation. The Democrats advocating for amnesty are saying that citizenship for illegals will cost them each a $5,000 dollar fee. In reality what these politicians are saying; is that the lives of the brave heroes we lost in this war on terror are each only worth five thousand dollars?
Here in Pa. we have Veterans living underneath bridges, and employed illegal's living in the rental properties! How can our government propose to give amnesty to 20 million low-wage earning illegal's, all of whom will then be eligible for free government welfare programs, when they can not help just a few hundred thousand Veterans, many who just need proper medical care or are truly homeless, or unemployed? Here in Pa. presently there are Veterans living underneath a bridge in the Wilkes-Barre area, while employed illegal aliens are living in our rental properties!
Just a few months ago I watched Senator Kennedy (D-Mass) hard at work on C-Span showing on his charts how 7 million US citizens are presently unemployed. He also showed how presently there are only 4 million jobs available in the United States. How can Democrats push for the amnesty of 20 million illegal aliens, while providing us with the best evidence against it? Now even if the four million jobs available in the US are all "jobs American don't want to do", and so we then give amnesty to 20 million low wage earning illegal's to fill up these 4 million available jobs, what about the 7 million unemployed Americans and the other 16 million (then) naturalized citizens?? Amnesty would make an already bad situation much worst. Only in America: Veterans vs. Amnesty for 20 million illegal’s. The help needed for this new generation of Veterans has a tangible price tag; the cost of amnesty is infinite....
Illegals are the biggest contributors to unemployment in the US, and they are forcing many US citizens into early retirement. Two illegals are working for the price of one American and with no employee benefits. They help the employer in the present and future. My school taxes have nearly doubled because of the illegal's many, many children in our public schools.
What we should realize from the cost of this necessary war in the Middle East; is that in just a few short months in time the United States would save very, very much money by invading Mexico and forcing the Mexican government to take care of their own people, instead of the US supporting all the illegal's in our country.
This is not a matter of racism; in high school my best friend was from Mexico and she had nine hot brothers. They did everything legal, was never on welfare, one of her brothers became a Doctor and still gives much to our community. Here is something I can document with real people who already lost doing the work they love thanks to illegals.
A very ex-friend of mine always bragged about the money he was saving by hiring illegals and (of course) what great workers they are (home-depot regional management). He then arranged for some of them to work on and clean his mother-in-law's small business. Then they where hired to do the lawn work at their homes. Actually, the only American they still use is the pool guy. But give the illegal's a bit more time and they will 'pool' enough cash together to invest in some pool cleaning equipment.
At the same time another friend lost her small home cleaning business, two young mothers that were looking for an apartment together so they could move out of the welfare housing project lost also their employment there. You know the job's Americans don't want to do?
One year prior to the above another friend lost their family run small landscaping business. You know the job's Americans don't want to do?
If all these low wage illegal's receive amnesty the already filled to capacity low-income welfare housing projects will become a real war zone! I can add many more pages of information . . .
If you're ever in Pa just e-mail me and you can meet all these people, just please bring ICE with you. And the reason you don't see hungry illegals is because about 20 live in the same house and that is a lot of cash (billions) that gets sent back into the Mexican economy each year. If illegals do get hungry here they just visit the local Catholic Church and polish a few pews. Soon the Catholic church is going to run out of free food because people are smarting up and I am one of many that will no longer pay church dues.
How can our government propose to give amnesty to 20 million low-wage earning illegal's, all of whom will then be eligible for free government welfare programs, when they can not help just a few hundred thousand Veterans, many who just need proper medical care or are truly homeless, or unemployed? Here in Pa. presently there are Veterans living underneath a bridge in the Wilkes-Barre area, while employed illegal aliens are living in our rental properties!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_pat_smit_080508_veterans_vs_amne...
But thanks badjuggler because I love changing the topic while CONNECTING THE DOTS - which is something liberals can't do. Have a nice evening!
badjuggler, Let me take a...
Back to page topbadjuggler,
Let me take a guess, you are voting for Obama?? So, based on your statistics, there are only about a few hundred members of the Armed Forces, right?? It's funny the Democrats can accurately quote regulations regarding welfare programs, welfare housing, free Government handouts, etc., but if it requires reading other statistics, then they are in the dark. THAT is what Mr Obama and the Demonrats are hoping for. But, IF, Obama gets elected, write me back on here, one year after he gets sworn in, and let me know how many of his "freebies" were actually handed out!! Want to take a guess right now?? Didn't think so.
When the Titanic hit the...
Back to page topWhen the Titanic hit the iceberg, a slight bump was felt and the black-tie/evening dress conversations continued as normal for a time.
It seems most on this blog think the current conversation in American media actually matters more than the integrity of the ship they're on.
Obama and McCain are the same in the face of a federal government entering a new financial world order dictated to it by the world, global currency governance, and ultimately, a borderless market state filled with ignorant people whose primary focus rests on celebrity, shallow first impressions, and the false paradigm of false political choices. What a party.
Obama and McCain are the same. Neither can patch the hole in the hull of a failed and quickly sinking American pleasure cruiser. The conversation SHOULD be over and you all SHOULD be searching for life vests and life boats. But it isn't, and you aren't, because human nature hates identifying the framework and topics of the conversations that will save livelihoods and lives. After all, self-preservation takes work that conversation does not entertain.
Enjoy your delusions. Enjoy your lies. And watch as the next President (whoever he may be) becomes the most burdened, the most hated, the most Constitutionally treasonous Executive in American history.
For the wise, the conversation of the nation is not set by anything other than necessity. The wise and the brilliant have a lifeboat. They have their food. They've got their silver. And they respectfully, solemnly, sadly wave goodbye to the party from which they needed to excuse themselves, despite the judgment of those who continue a worthless conversation.
It is clear we can do no...
Back to page topIt is clear we can do no worse with a Democratic president. This president has murdered 4,185 of our brave American troops in a war he lied us into for profit! Bush should be hung for treason. 4,185 murders for oil. But you keep voting for the same old same old and keep your little head in the sand. I will pray for you.
Badjuggler the causalities...
Back to page topBadjuggler the causalities of any war are grotesques and horrendous, but the loss of our brave heroes in this war pale in comparison to the numbers from Vietnam. See what those who fought for this country have to say about the conduct in this election and the fraud from ACORN and party in this news release: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm/page/weblog/subpage/disp...
It looks like the first...
Back to page topIt looks like the first author of this has touched a nerve here and I would like to chime in by linking in Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama yesterday. There seem to be several types of veterans on this issue. On the McCain side are those asking the government what they can do for them. These are the "military safety net" folks. They don't see the irony in thinking that the best person to supply that safety net is the very guy who doesn't really believe in safety nets.
Colin Powell represents the type of veteran who seems to be asking: who is the right person to lead this nation. For him, with his military background, it is apparent that leadership is more important than right wing ideology. Good leadership is good leadership. Ideology is just ideology. So, if ideology is more important to you than anything, vote your ideology. If leadership matters, then you have to ask the tough questions: who offers an image of leadership that is more compelling? I personally think that McCain's choice of Palin showed the weakness of his leadership. If he had chosen Romney, I suspect that CP would not have endoresed Obama and I would not be writing this response. And I would still be in the undecided category.
TLJ, I don't get what you...
Back to page topTLJ,
I don't get what you mean when you say the "McCain side is asking the Government what they can do for them"! I have a very different analysis of Gen Powell's decision, and "by the way" the decision of Colin's son (for McCain). It is obvious that Powell caved into the "reparations for Blacks" idea, and decided the "safe way" was to endorse "the Black Man"! Colin Powell was not that great of a General, but I will credit him with surrounding himself with "competent" OTHER Generals, ie- Stormin Normie, Gulf War I. So, that in itself, made me think that Powell may have some qualities that would have made him a good President. But, then again, I was totally wrong with Joe "2nd banana" Biden. But, it's good to see that Powell's son was able to see beyond "colors" and side with McCain. I tend to agree with you on the Palin pick, but it was "damn if you do, etc....". You know as well as I do that Romney would have been an ideal person to help with this economic situation, but this Country is so backwards, that his Mormon religion would have been used against him. I am trying very hard not to believe that McCain would have been intimidated by Romney, and therefore did not pick him. But, I'm also tired of hearing that Palin doesn't have enough experience, when Obama is obviously far behind her in the experience scheme of things. It's such a sad thing, to think that someone (Obama) who is less qualified than the person running for the GOP VP spot, is just given a pass because he is "the chosen Black One"!! By the way, what happens if experience and ideology fall in line with each other? Or is that impossible?
Obama less qualified than...
Back to page topObama less qualified than Palin? Reakin' of race yet again, you turn Colin Powell, who has never been about race, into some spectre of Southern White Panic [reparations}. Nobody we have ever seen on a national ticket is less qualified than Palin. Period. But she isn't black, not that there's anything wrong with that [quoting Jerry Seinfeld].
Professor TLJ, I knew I...
Back to page topProfessor TLJ,
I knew I could get you on the defense of having to call me a racist "one more time"!!!! It's the same ole liberal "cop out" when us "right wingers" don't cave into your obsession of pandering to the BLACK community. So you are totally comfortable with Mr Obama's qualifications?? Why is he not running as a "white candidate" then? After all he is 1/2 WHITE (like Colin Powell). If he ran as a "white candidate" would Gen Powell endorse him over McCain. I THINK NOT!! At least Gen Powell's son has some sense in that family. Please tell me what makes Mr Obama more qualified than Gov Palin?? Of course I know you will not answer that, so I will let someone else on here answer it for you. This whole Obama thing is so out of hand. I and my neighbors were told today that our "McCain/Palin" signs in our yards could be construed as "RACIAL"!! Of course there are not any Obama/Biden signs within five miles. But, now that the 1/2 black candidate is running, anyone who sides with McCain is now a racist. There, is the left wing fringe at its best. Ole Rush had it "spot on" on his show today, concerning Gen Powell, "IT's A BLACK THING"!! Simple as that. You say Palin is the worst VP pick ever? Did you forget about Dan Quayle?? You would think in the Land of Frozen Brains (Minnesota) you all would be for a strong female "hockey mom" canidate, but I guess that only holds true if she is a Demonrat! Maybe McCain should have picked your Congress Woman, Ms Bachman for his VP. Now there is one tough lady! But I'm sure you don't like her either, because she wants to hold those economics losers on Wall Street and in Congress accountable for the mess they created. I say, throw them all in jail. Bush's fault "MY A$$"!!!!
roj, it's never who you side...
Back to page toproj, it's never who you side with but how and why you side with someone. For you, it gets down to race too darn quickly.
Let's talk about the real issue in this election: temperament. Even the Fox News intellectual, Charles Krauthammer, conceded that Obama has a "first-class intellect and a first-class temperament" in his article that claimed, by omission, that McCain has neither. And the reason for Krauthammer's concession was the McCain choice of Sarah Palin, who has demonstrated neither intellect nor temperament. We have already lived through eight years of a presidency that lacked both and eight years of a presidency that lacked temperament. And we have watched the stature of our beloved country fall to incredible depths. When you are dealing with a world of Putin's, Ahmadinejad's, and Merkel's, it's rather critical to be at least perceived as having the temperament to be the officeholder of the most important secular office in the world. So if race trumps both intelligence and temperament in your little Southern neighborhood, vote your lily-white heart. It would probably be too much for you to see a "half-white" in the oval office. Especially when you thought Clinton actually counted as the first black president.
TLJ, "Right on Brother"!!...
Back to page topTLJ,
"Right on Brother"!! LOL.... It is crazy for you to pick one statement by Mr Krauthammer, and deem Sen McCain as unfit for Office. Just last night I was reading a rather scathing article by him in the paper, in regards to the Dem's treatment of Sen McCain. I would rather have a "crazed [military veteran]" dealing with these world leaders, than a "Community Organizer"!! I will agree with you all day long, that McCain screwed up when he didn't pick Romney, but what to do now, other than wait until 2012, when Romney runs again! It appears the "dark horse" candidate may win, but "polls are just polls"!! One thing I take exception with you on, is that "EVERYTHING" is Bush's fault! The plans for 9/11 didn't start the day he took Office! This financial mess didn't begin with him. So, let's take the race issue out of the equation, and see what you think of the people on here who think Bush should be tried for War Crimes, etc.... Pretty hateful talk I would say. People on here treating McCain's service to his country, as if it was a walk in the park. I guess my point is that in this time of our Country, people are not allowed to criticize a Black candidate or person, for fear of being called a racist. It's time for everyone to get over the reparations and slave issue. It's amusing that when Mr Biden said Obama was a "young, articulate Black man", his election hopes were over! Yet I hear Colin Powel use the black buzz words the other day, "articulate, FOCUS, assimilate, etc....". What side of Colin was showing that day. As Rush Limbaugh said the next day, "IT"S A BLACK THING"!! GET OVER IT!! By the way, you would be happy to know that someone tore up my McCain/Palin sign in my yard yesterday. I got four more to replace it though.
roj2000, you are a horrible...
Back to page toproj2000, you are a horrible racist. That is the most disturbing and despicable posting I have read in a very long time. I have trouble believing anybody in the 21st century could be as backward-thinking as you obviously are. I pity you.
badjuggler, I will take...
Back to page topbadjuggler,
I will take your lable of me as a racist, as a compliment, seeing that it came from someone as narrow and shallow minded as you, who has the guts to accuse President Bush of murdering over 4,000 GI's!! Have you no depths to which you will go in order to spew your vile and disregard for our Commander In Chief?? What about the 58,000 people killed in Viet Nam? Was that OK in your books? What was the reason for that war? You are probably one of the people who climbed up into the attic and got out their tie-dyed t-shirt, and Marijuana bong, and got the grandkids together and said, "look here, this is how we demonstrated against our Country in the 1960's"!! You are probably at the forefront of enlisting all of the young and misguided 18 - 21 yr olds out to vote for Mr Obama. By the way, how about passing on your statistics to Professor Johnson, concerning your study of 100 servicemen, in regards to who they will vote for. Talk about a scientific study!!
What was the reason for...
Back to page topWhat was the reason for Vietnam, roj? Seriously? The NSA disclosed that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was made up, and because of that lie, 58,000 well-meaning kids died.
http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/releases/relea00012.pdf
Governments deceive, roj. I won't jump in between you two, but mimicking outrage when people accuse a commander in chief of treason is often a legitimate call. Bush SHOULD be prosecuted for murder, he's bankrupted the Republic, and his Patriot Act has destroyed the Bill of Rights so fully, I'm sure Obama will have no problem taking our guns and whipping out freedom-loving butts a bright, commie red.
Commanders in Chief deserve more criticism than anyone. Especially when they make the Western world collapse into itself.
"The last official act of any government is to loot the nation."
-Mike Rivero
Just remember, no matter how bad it gets, always remember that Bush took away the Bill of Rights and paved the road to tyranny.
Spoon04, You made my point....
Back to page topSpoon04,
You made my point. According to the left wing wack-o's, Bush should be tried for killing 4,100 men and women. What happened to the Demonrats who started the Vietnam war, and killed 58K of our troops. NOTHING, ZIP, ZILCH, Natta, that's what!! And Joe, why all the blame on Bush? What about the "do nothing" congress?? They have done nothing in two years, NOTHING!! Just like the 9/11 attacks didn't get planned ovenight, neither did the mess on Wallstreet. A serious Presidential Candidate should get a team assembled and say this, "we will on day one march on Washington and Congress and demand the heads of anyone who contributed to the current debacle! Simple as that. Then they should decend into Wallstreet and start locking up the head honcho's who's greed made the situation happen. And finally as a community service project, All Economics professors should be sent into the prison systems to teach economics to the wallstreet convicts, (that should have been taught in the first place). By the way, Bush has not taken away any rights you now have, he has just "fine tuned" them to fit the current situation. I am doing just fine as things stand right now.
Hey Roj, My point of view on...
Back to page topHey Roj,
My point of view on these things is somewhat complicated, but on the face of what you said, I agree with you. Criminal behavior is criminal behavior, and it should be prosecuted as such. The felonious actions of Democrats and Republicans of history and the present alike should have ended up in charges. In regards to the actions on the bailout by Congress, they (on their face), are just as treasonous as the Executive's.
Now, there are some extra circumstances with Congress' complicity in the bailout debacle that I could be more understanding towards if I allowed myself to consider the mindset of hard-core Washington power plays. For instance, the Patriot Act allowed the Executive legal access into the Congressional phone bank, email servers, and physical offices themselves. Did it take advantage of that legal right and get all the dirt on Congress to use as blackmail to pass what it wanted? It's certainly not impossible, especially in a world of secret prisons, federally-funded mainstream media, and Presidential orders of "enemy combatant" status to define enemies without Congressional oversight. I think that if I was a traditional corrupt politician in Washington, I'd just be waiting to "rally the troops" until Bush gets out of office.
But my view is that anyone who gave the telecoms retroactive immunity against lawsuits of 4th Amendment violations has compromised the trust of the American people. I feel that anyone who voted for the bailout (including Coleman) should be deposed and hauled before a court of law for treason and conspiracy to defraud the electorate. I don't think too highly of many of these folks in D.C., and I believe that most should be tried for crimes against the Constitution. That includes Bush and Congress alike.
I'm not partisan. I believe in the documents that made this country great for 225 years, and to which the fighting men and women of this country made an oath of loyalty, BEFORE they made the oath to the President and chain of command. Our right to have those documents intact should not be infringed.
And if aspects of a nation have to go black and dwell in the shadows (as some aspects of state always must), for God's sake, keep the movements small and humble and out of the limelight of a hyper-connected world. I mean, the "misplaced" $2.3 trillion the DoD announced on 9/10/01 was bad enough, but luckily for them, the next day no one cared. Now the federal government steals $850 billion from the taxpayer right on the headlines and pays off Wall Street firms in front of everyone without another 9/11 occurring? What are they thinking?
Hopefully, the courts will be chock-full of politicians here in the future, because they've sold the next generations into a neo-feudal future they can only hope will still be ruled by both Reps and Dems. Hopefully, America will come to know through the new media that patriots cannot abide traitors from either party, nor should they rest when such federal derision is shown towards the desire for freedom in the souls of men.
Spoon04, You made my point....
Back to page topSpoon04,
You made my point. According to the left wing wack-o's, Bush should be tried for killing 4,100 men and women. What happened to the Demonrats who started the Vietnam war, and killed 58K of our troops. NOTHING, ZIP, ZILCH, Natta, that's what!! And Joe, why all the blame on Bush? What about the "do nothing" congress?? They have done nothing in two years, NOTHING!! Just like the 9/11 attacks didn't get planned ovenight, neither did the mess on Wallstreet. A serious Presidential Candidate should get a team assembled and say this, "we will on day one march on Washington and Congress and demand the heads of anyone who contributed to the current debacle! Simple as that. Then they should decend into Wallstreet and start locking up the head honcho's who's greed made the situation happen. And finally as a community service project, All Economics professors should be sent into the prison systems to teach economics to the wallstreet convicts, (that should have been taught in the first place). By the way, Bush has not taken away any rights you now have, he has just "fine tuned" them to fit the current situation. I am doing just fine as things stand right now.
Good to see Normy took out...
Back to page topGood to see Normy took out the negative ads. Interesting to see that he is letting the Republican Senate Committee run his smear campaign for him so he can introduce us to his wonderful daughters. To see how a Senate candidate can honestly be positive, check out this Paul Wellstone ad in youthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUnnIJQYJgAube: