Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Fwd: Poll: More Americans fear higher national debt than default


From:
larry.r.trout

'The debate over whether to raise the legal limit on government borrowing has riveted Americans, with a large majority worried about the potential consequences regardless of whether Congress votes to allow the national debt to keep increasing.

But when pressed to name their biggest concern, nearly half of respondents say they are alarmed by the prospect that the debt could grow beyond its current limit of $14.3 trillion, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. Only 35 percent say they are more worried about the risk of default and economic destabilization if Congress does not raise the debt limit.

The poll vividly illustrates the dilemma facing lawmakers as they approach an Aug. 2 deadline on the debt ceiling.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/poll-more-americans-fear-higher-debt-than-default/2011/05/24/AFiVZdAH_story.html

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Senate Clears Way to Renew Patriot Act

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43687

The Tornado Year

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43690

'Bibi' Votes Republican

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43685

Fwd: Israel


From: larry.r.trout@L-3com.com
Date: May 24, 2011 1:01:36 PM MDT
To: "Poole, Jeffrey H @ CSG - CSW" <jeffrey.h.poole@L-3com.com>, <john2001plus@gmail.com>, <andrewjj20@gmail.com>, "Marticorena, Fernando R @ CSG - CSW" <fernando.r.marticorena@L-3com.com>, "Mergenthal, Ryan W. @ CSG - CSW" <ryan.w.mergenthal@L-3com.com>, "Wendel, David J @ CSG - CSW" <david.j.wendel@L-3com.com>
Subject: Israel

'"(W)e know that we cannot relent, we cannot yield, and, as president, I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security ... not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust, not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction, not when there are maps across the Middle East that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence, and government-funded textbooks filled with hatred towards Jews, not when there are rockets raining down on Sderot, and Israeli children have to take a deep breath and summon uncommon courage every time they board a bus or walk to school."

"there is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations."

"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." '

Obama 2008

Friday, May 20, 2011

Fwd: Treatment of women


From: "Larry Trout" 
Lot's of disgusting cases talked about but...
'Karl Marx kept a female slave from the time she was 8 years old, eventually using her not only as a servant but as his mistress, never acknowledging his child with her or paying her at all. She waited on him hand and foot while he explained to the world that profit is the stolen surplus value of the laborer. Like so many liberal icons, Marx seldom bathed and left his wife and children in poverty.'

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Healthcare Debate

According to the news, more than 50% of healthcare costs are being paid by the government now.  Unless we do something drastic, within 20 years, entitlement programs will cost as much as all the federal spending does now.  Some kind of program to contain costs needs to happen.  I believe that a free market approach to contain cost would be to shift to medical savings accounts where people make choices about spending.  (I think that the existence of third party payers encourages people to spend money.)   This will increase price competition in the medical field.  Barring something like that, we will be forced to a system where government dictates prices:  like a single payer system.  That is not my preferred choice, but  we are rapidly driving off a very tall cliff built out of debt.    This will force us to make some hard decisions. 

We can't keep doing what we have been doing.  We will run out of money.

Fwd: Americans Have Hit The Ceiling Over Debt





The Medicare and Social Security Trustee reports warn that both entitlement programs will go broke much sooner than expected. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office reported that — oops! — its baseline forecast of $5.6 trillion surplus for 2002 to 2011 was off a tad — $11.8 trillion to be exact.'

'Asked to what extent they support or oppose legislation raising the debt ceiling, 40% of 917 adults surveyed May 1 to 6 were strongly against increasing the debt limit, while another 23% opposed it somewhat. Only 18% said they "support somewhat" raising the ceiling, while just 10% strongly support doing so.

Even "if Congress promises not to increase federal government spending as a precondition," anti-debt increase fervor remained. Some 51% were still opposed to raising the debt ceiling — including 30% strongly opposed. Only 40% supporting raising the limit, including just 13% strongly in support.'

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/572237/201105131859/Public-Reaches-Its-Own-Limit.htm

Demagoguery 101

"The [border] fence is now basically complete," asserted the president. Complete? There are now 350 miles of pedestrian fencing along the Mexican border. The border is 1,954 miles long. That's 18 percent. And only one-tenth of that 18 percent is the double and triple fencing that has proved so remarkably effective in, for example, the Yuma sector. Another 299 miles — 15 percent — are vehicle barriers that pedestrians can walk right through.

Obama then boasted that on his watch 31 percent more drugs have been seized, 64 percent more weapons — proof of how he has secured the border. And for more proof: Apprehension of illegal immigrants is down 40 percent. Down? Indeed, says Obama, this means that fewer people are trying to cross the border.

Interesting logic. Seizures of drugs and guns go up — proof of effective border control. Seizures of people go down — yet more proof of effective border control. Up or down, it matters not. Whatever the numbers, Obama vindicates himself.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/demagoguery-101/2011/05/12/AFu6CV1G_story.html