YellowLinesandArmadillos

Oh yeh, that

Yeh like singing the National Anthem, not that I mind on that one, but having a prayer moment especially from a specific religion isn't indoctrination, doesn't look good when the shoe is on the other foot. See Mickey's post, indoctrination 101. Seriously though, I want my child exposed to as much different thinking as possible short of drug or alcohol induced coma thinking. P.S. what the heck is advertising on TV or billboards but corporate indoctrination. It is the job of the parent to explain that to a child and explain what the parents values are and why those things are bad or good depending on your values. Otherwise, you are not being a good parent.

Now there is a retirement plan, if only it was tobacco. P.S. now that I am in the Ct river valley, I get to see the best cigar wrapper tobacco in the world grown, once in a while I will smoke an Ashton...Dominican with a Ct wrapper, smooth modero cigar.

So what you are saying is that the expectations on the Feds were unreasonable, I might buy that, except they were so imcompetent in setting them or warning folks that they couldn't be met. Kinda like when I did Ag work and folks wanted to be able to eat hamburger meat raw without worry of any bacteria...folks it is not going to happen...cook your damn meat if you don't want to worry about e-coli. Otherwise the process of cutting up meat is going to expose the meat to it, it is in the air, then grinding it just mixes it in. Of course at USDA we were not allowed to say that#$%! Meat industry didn't want to create a panic.

Glad you solved that issue. P.S. Sabres beat Toronto 6-2!

And another thing, NO is getting a lot of help, though still needs a lot more, what amazed me is the lack of help going to other areas hit just as bad if not worse.

I thought there were requests before and after to mobolize fed assistance, NG you are right..state, sorry. Hey, I am not saying the states and locals didn't F up, just that the Feds are just as culpable, I wish the admin opologists would just fess up, they F'd up at the high levels. P.S. Bush just looked silly and incompetent sitting there not leading the meeting or at least actively participating.

Not sure that I put it in those terms, I was criticizing them for waste fraud and abuse, think it was Ken, not sure, how bout you Bib?

Funny, LOL, don't know how to respond...chuckle, chuckle

Heck the locals pleaded with them to do so, sent them letters to the effect, asked for the army/national guard to show up, they never got the call. Don't know all the bureaucratic red tape that prevented it, but shoot, as an old Buffalo boy who got my first paper route the day the Blizzard of 77 hit, and was affected by Hurrican Isabel personally, I have seen better responses. Something on a small scale so close to D.C. and you would've thought they had learned some lessons? Don't explain why they couldn't do something, explain to me how the couldv'e gotten around these snafus? That is what leadership is all about! In my experience it is usually something silly?

That part I agree with and understand, still, I am basing my opinion on a former OMB guys interpretation, not actual numbers. I will be the first to say I am not an expert. Still don't want to privatize or turn it over to stock market.

Also, the baby boomers while living longer will begin to die off and when they do, it will provide relief hence the estimate 12 year gap.

I don't think they do, except that there is another group larger than the baby boomers that will come into their earnings prime, "generation next" combined with legal immigration increases over the last 10 years that will overcome all the old baby boomers retiring. Also, it is not when the fund pays out more than it receives that is the problem because it is in surplus, once the budget gimmicks are removed, only when it runs out of funds. I have been told by some former OMB economists that the bottom line funding gap could be bridge by only one year of the funding provided for the war in Iraq, about 2.5 billion if I remember correctly. I would have to check back again to see if those estimates have changed drastically, but I don't think so.

You should be able to get hearing transcripts through the library of Congress, let me see if I can find a link...use this one, it is very helpful for all bills and congressional record research: http://thomas.loc.gov/

Don't agree with your blanket assessment of the Feds, but understand that point of view, heard it a lot, still you should go there and check out the massive terroritory of devastation and then tell me if you think Bush's at least number 2 priority should be riding herd and making sure everyone is doing their jobs and if not get some folks that can. Clinton's top folks were famous for their demands to get things done to the point of being unreasonable, but if they didn't heads rolled. Bush is too nice to his staff.

And that is rub, I probably disagree at least two issues you just listed, and someone else would pick two other and I would list a few others you didn't, i.e., anti-trust reform. S.S. is a fixable problem if we just wait it out, maybe cut some benefits around the edges of eligibility, but there is according to experts that I have talked to about a 12 year gap that with the right economic conditions goes away altogether. It is largely a made up funding problem.

Cool P.S. here are the two Senate and House links to Lobbying Disclosure Reports on Capitol Hill, interesting to see how little info is actually filed and few registrants. So much for the last reform bill. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislati...obbyingdisc.htm http://clerk.house.gov/pd/index.html

Did they leave records? Still this is linked directly to Delay.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...av=rss_politics

I still remember a lot of discussion of the integrety of the walls before the storm hit if the water rose to near the top. I vaguely remember CNN ran some sort of diagram and there was concern that in certain areas the soil would not hold the wall. The army corp guy thought it would...but there was some engineering expert who cast doubt on old sections of the levee, regardless... ...I was just pointing out that your pitbull like defense of Bush's is inconsitent with your criticism of the mayor and you try and switch the focus to him off the President. Granted the mayor is an idiot, just wish you would acknowledge the Admin's failure and Bush's disengagement. Probably too much to ask.

Yeh I agree with that part, but he hasn't, of course any agency that is getting cut will cry about it legitimacy and I agree with that. And if I don't agree with the priorities of course I will complain. Clinton and Reagan were just that much more tactful in accomplishing it, forced retirements, moving resources subtly, and buyouts. While I don't agree with his policies, I think Bush gets in more trouble because he is so blatant about it and in some was obstinantly transparent. He would be better served, of course he is not interested in following this advice, if he would just stop acting like an absentee landlord. Reagan and Clinton could pull it off and make you feel okay about it even when they were doing just the opposite. Hence, why everyone says he lacks the leadership skills and something is missing there? When engaged he is brilliant, however, that is so infrequent and his bumbling so obvious that only after 9/11 did I feel any comfort with him, and then it ended quickly. P.S. he may have said he was going to clean up DC but, the muck just switched parties, on that I agree with the libertarians, except Bush and the GOP with no other party in control of any branch, have taken it to another level. I hope the run for the Hills comment was not a personal statement, I spent 21 years in DC, just not a place I think is conducive to raising a kid, if my son wasn't born, I would still be there.

Ah, so you and Ken are of similar stripes, understand. I believe more that government does well with direct income transfers to achieve a goal and should in emergencies respond better if directed to do so, long term beaucracies I agree don't work well.

Oh man you are cynical, didn't realize the depth until that statement, sound like a Clintonite.

Yep, not much as far as alternatives, given the alternatives, I choose to live in the USA with capitalism and a form of democracy with all its warts.

Ha, Ha, even I won't go that far, but I don't think the Press is stupid, just lazy and when they get burned, they retaliate, hence why they did the same with Clinton Admin lies. Oh sure there are partisans, but when everyone gets on the Band Wagon, even to an extent FOX and MSNBC where Roger Ailes and Chris Matthews are, it is getting bad.