rocks

Bush was not blamed for a hurricane hitting New Orleans. He was blamed for the callous and totally inept response of his administration to a major disaster that clearly was beyond the ability of state and local authorities to handle. Obama has hit the right notes with his responses thus far to federal emergencies. FEMA has far more competent leadership than GWB saw fit to appoint during his administration.

The contraceptive pill was $50 a month for me. Very expensive, most people can't afford that. Where I'm from the government provide it for free, so it was really a shock when I found out it was so expensive. The US government should offer it for free too, it is less than they would have to pay for hospital bills on medicaid, SNAP, WIC etc.

They took it from here. It's not Fox.

Actually, in Feb 2009 - the first month Obama was in office - 141,660,000 employed. As of July 2012, there are 142,220,000 employed. That's 560,000 net jobs gained during the fist term. At least keep the numbers straight.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist: Here's why I'm backing Barack Obama
By Charlie Crist, Special to the Times
In Print: Sunday, August 26, 2012
I’ve studied, admired and gotten to know a lot of leaders in my life. Across Florida, in Washington and around the country, I've watched the failure of those who favor extreme rhetoric over sensible compromise, and I've seen how those who never lose sight of solutions sow the greatest successes.
As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I'm confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation. I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility. It is a vision of the future proven right by our history.
We often remind ourselves to learn the lessons of the past, lest we risk repeating its mistakes. Yet nearly as often, our short-term memory fails us. Many have already forgotten how deep and daunting our shared crisis was in the winter of 2009, as President Obama was inaugurated. It was no ordinary challenge, and the president served as the nation's calm through a historically turbulent storm.
The president's response was swift, smart and farsighted. He kept his compass pointed due north and relentlessly focused on saving jobs, creating more and helping the many who felt trapped beneath the house of cards that had collapsed upon them.
He knew we had to get people back to work as quickly as possible — but he also knew that the value of a recovery lies in its durability. Short-term healing had to be paired with an economy that would stay healthy over the long run. And he knew that happens best by investing in the right places.
President Obama invested in our children's schools because he believes a good education is a necessity, not a luxury, if we're going to create an economy built to last. He supported more than 400,000 K-12 teachers' jobs, and he is making college more affordable and making student loans, like the ones he took out, easier to pay back.
He invested in our runways, railways and roads. President Obama knows a reliable infrastructure that helps move people to work and helps businesses move goods to market is a foundation of growth.
And the president invested in our retirement security by strengthening Medicare. The $716 billion in savings his opponents decry today extended the life of the program by nearly a decade and are making sure taxpayer dollars aren't wasted in excessive payments to insurance companies or fraud and abuse. His opponents would end the Medicare guarantee by creating a voucher that would raise seniors' costs by thousands of dollars and bankrupt the program.
We have more work to do, more investments to make and more waste to cut. But only one candidate in this race has proven a willingness to navigate a realistic path to prosperity.
As Republicans gather in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney, Americans can expect to hear tales of how President Obama has failed to work with their party or turn the economy around.
But an element of their party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims.
The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.
Pundits looking to reduce something as big as a statewide election to a single photograph have blamed the result of my 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate on my greeting of President Obama. I didn't stand with our president because of what it could mean politically; I did it because uniting to recover from the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes was more important than party affiliation. I stood with our nation's leader because it was right for my state.
President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. That's what makes him the right leader for our times, and that's why I'm proud to stand with him today.
Charlie Crist is the former Republican governor of Florida and previously was elected as a state senator, education commissioner and attorney general. He currently is registered as no party affiliation. Crist wrote this column exclusively for the Tampa Bay Times.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/former-gov-charlie-crist-heres-why-im-backing-barack-obama/1247631

Both statements are BS. Of all the women I have known, only a few have ever talked of ever being raped. I was in the military. None of my acquaintances had 'stories' about almost going into special forces. The few that did go tended not to boast. The second statement is excusable as it has little in the way of adverse consequences if people actually believe it. The first is toxic in profound ways. It demeans and diminishes women by suggesting that maybe these are just 'stories'! While everyone has probably heard of an occasional false report of rape, the actual statistics on real rape are that more true rapes go unreported by far than false reports filed! By making up BS like this and repeating it the gullible come to believe it must be true and ultimately this affects public policy and whether or not society deals effectively with the very real problem of violence directed toward women.

That is what they said about Clinton's tax increases. You know what happened don't you? Record employment, a balanced budget, even paying down the debt. GWB took care of that problem in a hurry!
What you are unaware of or hoping nobody notices is that those at the very top of the economic ladder are doing fabulously well. If a portion of their good fortune were to be incorporated into the federal budget we could be a lot closer to prosperity than we are now! But you would rather continue spouting the tired, discredited trickle down BS hoping it will still convince people. The only ones that trickle down works for are the ones on top. Everyone else is getting trickled on! Or in some cases hosed!

In the real world of medical care there are some truly tragic and gruesome things that occur to fetuses during development. The government has NO business trying to interject itself into all the heart-wrenching decisions that face mothers, fathers, and their doctors!

Continued from another thread as I did not want to derail the OP's main topic.
I didn't want to ramble too much. You are correct.
Listen, I get the emotional issue of abortion. I think it is sad for women to continuously get abortions for convenience. I would vote for "habitual offenders" of abortions get birth control implants and have to undergo counseling to come off of them to start a family. No unwanted children, no rug rats running the streets, no little criminals or system abusers...... No having to pay taxes to support them..!

Our society is vocal about hand outs to the poor, underprivileged etc..... Another contradiction.
I am for protecting our freedoms here in America. Bring our men and women home and protect our borders.
In all honesty, there are 2 main reasons we are in the middle east. #1- Oil... Americans are SUPER addicted to oil, never mind a heroine addiction, cocaine addiction, we can't break the Oil addiction. I am in the scientific research community. It is absolutely amazing how propaganda from people who have vested interests in making money off of oil can quell the results and advancement of technology (until they figure out how to make tons of money off of it) that would lead to Fossil fuels becoming a Fossil themselves.
We are capable. But Americans are too lazy and greedy.
The next time anyone is in a car and driving listening to the radio... remember this.. Someone DIED for you to put gas in that car and it was NOT an accident.
I wonder what would happen if we put 100 Billion dollars into our society?
My top categories...
#1- Primary education through ONE shot at college. I think everyone should be financially afforded a "Fair" shot at education.
Primary teachers are important. Good solid primary education.
Secondary education, the onus on the parents and the kids. You don't pass high school, you don't get the "afforded" chance at college.
College
No not everyone deserves to be a doctor. If you can not meet the rigid educational requirements, then consider another line of work. Do not cry discrimination. But then, $$$ should not get in the way of a financially poor, yet brilliant student. If you make the grades, great. If you fail a class, then you have one shot to prove yourself. You fail again, figure it out...
#2- Research within the Sciences... How are we going to make advancements without research? Fund the good science.... Unfortunately, astronomy and mars is not on my list. The money spent on the rover should have done something better.
#3- Infrastructure within America.. our roads and bridges are degrading at a rapid rate. Get the frigging red tape out. No gouging on prices, common people on oversight committees..... Our water pipes are in horrible shape. Arguably the number 1 advancement in healthcare over the centuries has been the advancement of CLEAN water.
#4- Arts.. Throughout history, when Arts and Sciences flourished, so did society. We need culture. We need history. We need Art.
Other rants I have.
No salary increases for politicians. In fact, salaries for elected officials at the state and federal level should be decreased.
If you want to serve the public... Do just that, SERVE US.... stop taking advantage of us.
Hold elected officials publicly accountable. Stop the MADNESS regarding getting off the topic. If you ask Rep Joe Blow what he specifically is going to do to increase jobs, as soon as he starts responding with.. "Now my opponent wants toXXXXXXXXXXX" Buzz him like America's Got Talent... What part of the question did you not understand.. What are YOU GOING TO DO SPECIFICALLY....? Place officials under oath every time they give an interview so if they lie, they will now be held accountable in a court of law with charges of perjury. We scrutinize athletes more than we scrutinize politicians. It is time to stop the history of crooked politicians. Become re-sensitized to the bullshit.
If you commit murder in America.... Anywhere... and there are 2 or more credible witnesses to the killing, you get a speedy trial as to NOT waste the taxpayers money. You have essentially declared yourself forfeit of your rights.
Go to a special jail.. in a solitary cell.. No TV.. no recreation... 3000 calories a day... clean water and a toilet. No suicide watch, if you want to kill yourself, don't mess it up!
Prisoners.. if you have been convicted of a crime, you will repay society for giving you room and board by cleaning roads, digging ditches, sweeping streets, etc.... You will wear a GPS locating device inside of the black box for airplanes so that you can't destroy it. If you try to escape... you go to the special jail.
Stop complete handouts. Un-employment benefits.. very temporary. If no job after awhile, then have programs in place that allows work for minimum wage(Street sweeping, public work, so many things can come to mind..), until one can find a replacement job.
Hollywood.... No more news from Hollywood.. EVER... It is purposeful propaganda to keep "average" minds occupied with non-important issues. If I can keep you busy wondering what antics of Lindsey Lohan today, you sure aren't going to pay attention to what is going on in Afghanistan and why we are really there.
Leads me to Music industry.... The problem here is that there is a "fantasy world" portrayed to common people who believes that it actually does exist. A very bad side effect of capitalism.
Professional athletes.. I love sports. I love the competition. But I do NOT idolize athletes. They are paid too much.. PERIOD. I know they risk injury, but it is there choice. They choose to risk injury to play a game. Why don't we just go ahead and build yet another coliseum?
I could go on and on but I digress as I need a cup of coffee....

Did it have a way of figuring in the impact of Rombot being such a flip-flopping, 1 %er, etch a sketch, empty suit with the charisma of a dead fish?! (Or the negative impact the other way of the racists who might otherwise vote for a dem like Obama but can't get past color issues?)

And the results of his presidency will be with us a looong time. The 'gift' that keeps on giving!

First thing is you filed a K-1, so I-864 doesn't apply. Only the I-134 which is not legally binding like the I-864 is. If he get's the K-1 visa it only gives him a single entry visa to the U.S. with the requirement that you marry within 90 days. Afther that you file to adjust status to a conditional permanent resident status (2 year green card)
It's your call, but the fact he has applied for 7 tourist visas, and was denied, sounds like he is more interested in coming to the U.S. than being married to you.
Best bet is to contact the consulate in Kingston, and tell them you are no longer wanting to continue with the process. Better to find out now than later.

Yes, there was no depression, we are not shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs every month anymore, we have started to lay the foundation for a new energy economy. We still have a viable auto industry. Manufacturing is actually growing once more. We've reduced our dependence on foreign oil. Health care reform has taken a first step. I see significant infrastructure work in Tampa Bay thanks to the stimulus. Aside from my home losing significantly in value (something that's not attributable to this administration), I have personally done very well over the last four years. Obama made mistakes. The biggest mistake in my opinion was not grabbing on to the Simpson-Bowles commission recommendations and making those a centerpiece of his fiscal policy. Big opportunity missed on that one. Aside from that, he's made the best out of what he was handed.

This is the closest I've seen.
Nine bystanders were wounded, possibly all of them by police bullets, though none of their injuries were life-threatening, police said. Much of the day, police listed the casualty total at 10 people but late Friday changed the number to 11.
Officials said women's accessories designer Jeffrey Johnson, 58, had been laid off from Hazan Imports a year ago and that while working there, had been locked in a dispute with the victim. Police said Johnson had claimed the victim failed to sell enough of his creations and held a grudge.
Investigators were attempting to determine whether Johnson shot anyone beyond his initial target. All nine of the surviving victims could have been hit by the two police officers who shot at Johnson, officials said.
Several were likely hit by police bullets that ricocheted off large, anti-terror concrete flower pots stationed outside the Manhattan landmark, police said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/25/us-usa-shooting-empirestate-idUSBRE87N0M220120825

I haven't had a police officer point a gun at me. Not on a daily basis and not at any other frequency. In fact, no cop has ever pointed a gun at me. Then, of course, I ain't acting stupid around law enforcement officers either.

Bloomberg is calling them hero's, substitute the word cop for armed citizen, and I wonder what the language would be.

They get gunned down by NYPD?

Right. But with Mitt you getting the opposite - a fiscally liberal, socially conservative. At least as of now. We should check back tomorrow. Might change again. And again. And again. Ad nauseum.

I thought we're looking for someone able to lead. Mitt ain't that guy.

Finally, an explanation for Newt Gingrich having almost 1.5 million followers!
The men aren't that good looking either.

The reporters have been told they cannot ask the questions. This isn't the same as him not responding questions. Read my quote.

Finally, an explanation for Newt Gingrich having almost 1.5 million followers!
The men aren't that good looking either.

If the media isn't allowed to ask questions which the press deems relevant, then there can be no free press. I remember growing up in East Germany where the press only reported what the elite wanted them to report, only asked the questions that were approved by the politburo. Where the press was nothing but the mouthpiece of the politburo. The freedom of the press was guaranteed in the Constitution last I checked. Seems that Mitt and his campaign don't really care much about that ole' document.