Owner: The Cyberbeggar Times URL:http://youandicandoit.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:55:01 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: From Riches to Rags in this Globalized Economy. Site statistics:Click here
The Costs of War 2007-09-25 18:05:00 I had planned to do a post about the upcoming battle between Congress and the White House over the SCHIP, or State Children’s Health Insurance Program. I know how bad our health care system is today and totally support expanding this program that will cover more of our nation's children.While researching, I always like to read those opinions that don't mesh with my own so I searched several sites to get an idea of exactly why some people oppose this. Unbelievable! The majority of those opposed to this plan to increase coverage state that their primary reason is due to fiscal concern. This comment is typical:"So we should all march lock step toward socialism because "It is for the children"?Perhaps we should be more concerned about "Doing it to the children" as we burden future generations with an unbearable tax burden so that we can feel good."They will be so tax poor that they will beg for the government to take care of them.Or how about the illegal immigration angle brought to yo Read more:Costs
Record Winter Heating Bills on the Way 2007-09-25 17:29:00 Record prices are in store for heating oil, propane and electricity this winter, government officials said today. According to this AP article:"Heating
fuel expenses this winter will be highest for heating oil, with the average family paying $1,834 for the season, up 28 percent or $402 from last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. The group expects propane costs to average $1,732, up 30 percent or $384. Consumers that rely on electricity for heat will pay $883 this winter, up 7 percent or $58. Natural gas expenses will be the cheapest of the major heating fuels, averaging $881, up 5 percent or $50, the group said." the group said. Read more:Record
, Bills
Existing Home Sales Drop 2007-09-25 09:49:00 Existing home sales dropped for the sixth straight month. This is the slowest pace since 2002. In the article, Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, predicted "worse to come thanks to tighter credit conditions."I talked with a family member yesterday that is contemplating selling her home and she sadly stated that she probably could not sell it for what it was originally bought for. Frankly I do not see the housing market improving anytime in the near future. Read more:Sales
, Existing Home
, Existing Home Sales
The Hypocrisy of the GOP 2007-09-25 08:49:00 An issue ad. A single issue ad in the New York Times. A single issue ad in the New York Times that ran for one day. A single issue ad in the New York Times that ran for one day that many people would have never seen.But wait.....the single issue ad in the New York Times that ran for one day was destined to become one that everyone would see or hear about. Thanks to the 'manufactured outrage' that so characterizes the right wing noise machine, the ad became the topic of discussion. Not the war, not the results of the 'surge', but an ad in the New York Times.The Republicans have propped up General Petraeus as the 'Savior of Iraq' for a while now. For months were told that no decisions regarding funding or troop levels in Iraq could be made until the famous September Petraeus Reports made the scene. Well, MoveOn changed that.The conversation has turned from the ad to the substance of the ad. Did the General 'cook the books', as MoveOn puts it? Is the current strategy really workin Read more:Hypocrisy
Bush to Skip UN Global Talks 2007-09-24 15:17:00 Once again, Bush will shrug off another meeting of world leaders who will gather Monday at the UN to discuss climate change and global warming. His only appearance in connection with this event will be his attendance at the dinner that will be held later that evening. In his place in the meeting will be Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.He plans the same old tired ploy of having a parallel meeting to discuss his own plans in regards to this issue. The argument is that it is up to each nation to set their limits on emissions that cannot be forged under an international agreement. Read: We will do what in the hell we want to do because business will not be held to any type of standard regarding the environment and/or emissions. In polite speak, James Connaughton, the president's chief environmental advisor, stated "It's our philosophy that each nation has the sovereign capacity to decide for itself what its own portfolio of policies should be."One of the critics of this policy, Timot Read more:Global
The Falling Dollar 2007-09-24 13:07:00 I have read with much interest about the falling dollar. As with everything, there are always two sides with different perspectives on what this means to the economy. Let's take a look.On one hand, there is the belief that the declining dollar can be a good thing for the overall economy. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com is one of those who see the benefits of a weaker dollar. He says "After the pluses and minuses are all netted out, I think the lower-valued dollar is good for the economy. The growth we're getting from trade is helping to cushion the blow to the economy from housing." Others state that American exports will inevitably rise and with that increased jobs for manufacturing employees.On the other hand, there is the feeling that a decline in the dollar is not healthy for the economy. They base this on the belief that a falling dollar will not significantly effect the out of control trade deficit. The argument goes that the two main components Read more:Dollar
Greenspan Bashes Bush and Republicans 2007-09-15 14:07:00 In his new book The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, Alan Greenspan
criticizes both Bush and the Republican Party for lack of fiscal restraint and out of control spending. He even singles out Bill Clinton for some well deserved praise in regards to the economy. Some of his thoughts:"My biggest frustration remained the president’s unwillingness to wield his veto against out-of-control spending,” Greenspan writes. “Not exercising the veto power became a hallmark of the Bush presidency. … To my mind, Bush’s collaborate-don’t-confront approach was a major mistake.”As to Congress, "The Republicans
in Congress lost their way,” Greenspan writes. “They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither.” He singles out Dennis Hastert and Tom Delay and says "House Speaker Hastert and House majority leader Tom DeLay seemed readily inclined to loosen the federal purse strings any time it might help add a few more seats to the Republican majority".The book, w
Jack Kingston- Leave Rush Alone! 2007-10-01 17:35:00 Rep. Jack Kingston
(R-GA) has introduced a resolution in the House praising Rush Limbaugh for his "relentless efforts to build and maintain troop morale". WTF?The right wing in this country are among the most hypocritical beings on this planet. While quick to jump on any bandwagon of controversy that arises from the left and conjure up the manufactured outrage each and every time, nothing done or said by any loyal right winger is up for any scrutiny. In this case, it's just the opposite.Soon after this controversy started, Rush was quick with the usual schtick of 'I am a victim of a smear campaign by the drive-by media'. He claims in his defense that he was referring to only one soldier, Jesse MacBeth. His sycophants in the right blog-o-sphere were quick to his defense, as well.As Media Matters reported, "During the September 28 broadcast, Limbaugh asserted that "Media Matters had the transcript, but they selectively choose what they want to make their point." To support this claim, Read more:Leave
John McCain and Religion 2007-09-29 11:33:00 Take a look at this interview in which John McCain
speaks of politics and religion. I found this interesting:Question: A recent poll found that 55 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. What do you think?McCain responds: "I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, “I only welcome Christians.” We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles."Wow, I never knew! Read more:Religion
, John McCain
Bush Climate Conference Charade 2007-09-29 11:09:00 As expected, the much touted Bush meeting on climate change produced nothing of substance. In fact, the US nows finds itself totally isolated on this issue. According to the Guardian,"George Bush was castigated by European diplomats and found himself isolated yesterday after a special conference on climate change ended without any progress.European ministers, diplomats and officials attending the Washington conference were scathing, particularly in private, over Mr Bush's failure once again to commit to binding action on climate change."They go further and state that "The conference, attended by more than 20 countries, including China, India, Britain, France and Germany, broke up with the US isolated, according to non-Americans attending. One of those present said even China and India, two of the biggest polluters, accepted that the voluntary approach proposed by the US was untenable and favoured binding measures, even though they disagreed with the Europeans over how this would be ac Read more:Climate
Voting Styles of the Texas Legislature 2007-09-28 10:26:00 What ever happened to the concept of 'one person one vote'? Take a look at this video to see the Texas
Legislature in action while voting on bills. If this is the way it is supposed to work, I think I'll just vote for everyone in my neighborhood in the next election. Ah, Democracy in action... Read more:Styles
, Voting
Rush Limbaugh and 'Phony Soldiers' 2007-09-28 08:33:00 During his September 26th nationally syndicated radio broadcast, Rush Limbaugh
stated that service members that oppose the current policy in Iraq and dared question the war effort were, in his view, "phony soldiers'. What the hell? To repeat...the men and women who have served in the travesty that is known as the Iraq War and who dare question the policy are simply "phony soldiers" (generals included).This coming from the man who squeezed out of serving when his time came in Vietnam due to a pilonidal cyst or a knee injury (take your pick). This from the man who just the other day was 'outraged' over the MoveOn controversy.This daily schtick brought to you by Rush, Hannity and the rest is a little tired. These millionaire radio and television hosts always seem to be aghast at anything that the Democrats do or say. The Republicans in Congress are no better when it comes to manufacturing outrage.It's past time for the so-called angry citizen to quit 'getting their daily marching ord Read more:Soldiers
, Rush Limbaugh
GOP No-Show for Morgan State Debate 2007-09-27 19:00:00 Once again, the GOP leading candidates have decided to ignore a debate that was to be held at MorganState
University. The topic was minority rights. The reason? Scheduling conflicts, of course. That seems to be the standard line these days. To their credit, Sen. Brownback of Kansas, Mike Huckabee, Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Conservative activist Alan L. Keyes, who announced his candidacy last week, will attend.Remember shortly before this, Univision, the Spanish language network, had also proposed a debate amongst the GOP field but only John McCain signed on.Frankly I am not a bit surprised that these candidates would rather be a no-show at these types of debates considering the track record of the GOP in relation to minority rights. Switch on to Fox News for about five minutes and see how long it takes for you to hear about the evil and scheming illegal immigrants. The Republican mantra of 'welfare queens', which has been a Read more:Debate
Ron Pollack on SCHIP 2007-09-27 12:43:00 This clip illustrates the anger that many Americans feel, including Republicans, over the White House decision to veto any expansion of SCHIP. Ron Pollack
, Executive Director of Families USA, was on CSPAN and responds to a caller about this issue. Take a look...
More Chinese Toys Recalled 2007-09-27 12:27:00 The lists keeps growing and growing. This from the The New York Times:"Amid a fresh wave of toy recalls yesterday, a consumer advocacy group said it had found hazardous levels of lead in many toys made out of vinyl plastic, potentially expanding the scope of testing and recalls of contaminated toys. A random testing of more than 50 plastic toys found high lead content in 11 of them, according to Mike Schade, a campaigner for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, which helped organize the testing. Ten were made out of polyvinyl chloride, also referred to as PVC or vinyl. Three contained “extremely high” lead levels — a Go Diego Go backpack, a Superfly monkey and a pair of Circo Lulu boots."Product safety laws are pretty useless when we now import just about everything sold here from China where few if any laws exist. Read more:Chinese
SCIP and the Expected Fallout 2007-09-27 12:11:00 First let me admit that I am not a big fan of columnist and 'dean' of the Washington punditry David Broder of the Washington Post but his article today detailing the plight of the Republicans who voted against the expansion of SCHIP is a good read. Read more:Expected
, Fallout
Costa Rica and CAFTA 2007-10-05 14:59:00 The Central American Free Trade Agreement, also known as CAFTA
, was pushed through Congress back in 2005. The 'free trade' pact involved the United States and five Central American nations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica
) and was amended to include the Dominican Republic. Today it goes by the acronym DR-CAFTA.Quickly after the pact was 'passed' in the United States Congress, four of the countries in Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras) were also quick to ram these agreements through their own legislatures despite large opposition in these countries. Shortly afterwards, the Dominican Republic also approved their entry into the agreement. The only country that has not ratified this agreement is Costa Rica.Costa Rica, one of Latin America's oldest democracies, has decided to put the issue of approval to the voters. A nationwide referendum takes place this Sunday and large numbers of Costa Ricans are expected to turn out and vo
Bush: US Does Not Torture 2007-10-05 11:53:00 Bush held a press conference today in which he stated that his administration's interrogation tactics and techniques were both "successful" and "lawful". In his speech he stated, "When we find somebody who may have information regarding a potential attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them, and you bet we're going to question them. The American people expect us to find out information, actionable intelligence so we can help protect them. That's our job."He was defending the policies of his administration following the publication in the New York Times which detailed the decision by the Justice Department to endorse some of the most harsh treatment methods that were employed by the CIA.'We don't torture', the standard line that always comes from the White House is almost laughable where it not so sad. Read more:Torture
100 Dollar Oil by End of 2008? 2007-10-02 18:47:00 Jeffrey Rubin, chief economist of Canadian investment bank CIBC World Markets, said today that oil prices could top $100 a barrel by the end of next year and remain above that point for years to come. That's right- $100 a barrel!Watching oil prices skyrocket over the last few years got me to thinking about a nifty little exchange that took place in the Bush-Gore debate at Wake Foerst back in 2000. Bush talked about the high energy prices at the time (around $27.00 a barrel) and his plans to turn this around. He stated, and I quote:“I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply. Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot.”Fine job, George! Read more:Dollar
The Forgotten War of Afghanistan 2007-10-02 15:39:00 While everyone focuses their attention on Iraq and increasingly Iran, the levels of violence in Afghanistan
has spiked to its highest level since 2001. Attacks alone have risen 20 percent. The AP reports on a particularly gruesome suicide attack on a police bus that killed 13 people."The bombing, which ripped the roof off the bus, was the second to target a bus in Kabul in four days. It came as insurgents turned up attacks against Afghanistan's security forces during a year of record violence.Four children were among the 13 people killed in Tuesday's suicide attack by a man wearing a pakul — an Afghan hat commonly seen in the country's north — and a shawl around the upper half of his body called a chador, said Amin Gul, who owns a metalworking shop next to the blast site. 'When the bus came, an old man got on, then a woman with two children, then the guy wearing the chador entered, and then a big boom,' said Gul, who witnessed the attack. The seats in the front of the bus were Read more:Forgotten
Countdown to Iraq- or is it Iran? 2007-11-04 11:20:00 Listening to the news this morning, one thing became crystal clear. The calls for action in regards to Iran are growing more with each passing day. The media, who were all dead wrong about Iraq
, seems to have no collective memory of the mistakes that were made before that disaster and are ready for the next adventure.I had planned to write extensively about this but instead would like to share this movie with you which shows the many deceptions and outright falsehoods in the buildup to the war in Iraq. We must be careful not to repeat the same mistakes again. Read more:Countdown
War and Iran 2007-11-03 09:14:00 I came across this article the other day which goes into detail regarding some of the more recent developments in regards to Iran. It is a good and not so comforting read...Quoting official sources, the Western media is now confirming, rather belatedly, that the Bush Administration's war plans directed against Iran are "for real" and should be taken seriously.According to official statements, "punitive bombings" directed against Tehran could be launched within the next few months.The diplomatic mode has been switched off: The Pentagon is said to be "taking steps to ensure military confrontation with Iran" because diplomatic initiatives have allegedly failed to reach a solution.These diabolical statements come within barely a couple of weeks following the release of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report. The later confirms unequivocally that Iran's nuclear program is of a civilian nature and that Iran has neither the intention nor the capabilities to develop nuclear we
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