Thanks, kim. We are encouraged and grateful that we can benefit from what our great American ingenuity has accomplished. Could there be a more important time for us to pray for boldness and speak out?
BHO is a bully. As I sit waiting for my dad to get out of a 10-hour surgery, I have nothing but time to reflect on the fact that the Avastin that has kept him alive for the past four years is not even distributed in the U.K. unless the cancer patient is blind in one eye. I sit in a state-of-the-art hospital with the world's best doctors at our disposal. If the rest of the world knew what it was like to have what we have, they would be clamoring to pay. The more advancements in medicine, the more global our economy, the more privatizing makes sense. Last year my dad was operated on by a 5-million-dollar robotic arm. Instead of the federal government hiring all our workers, we should be inspiring people to work in the medical profession. We could then, truly, be the last best hope for our world.
I refuse to consider Al Franken important enough to be the end of things!! We still can get the word out before the Senate vote so people know exactly what they are getting with Cap and Trade. And, as I watched CSpan the day of the House vote, I was heartened that a few of those against the bill had not only found their backbones, but their intellect as well. There was even evidence of one or two critical thinkers in the bunch! Let's not lose heart. We cannot admit defeat because we cannot stop fighting! Think Washington at Valley Forge. All hope seemed lost, then the tide was changed completely.
You are right, Mike. The only issue at hand of true importance is that we must derail this monster. It will be tougher with #60, now, true. But, at least we have an opportunity to inform our fellow Americans of exactly what they are getting with Crap and Tax, unlike when it went to the House! Let's get the word out first, then we can start sharpening the pitchforks...at which time I will happily lend you my block of flint.
In context, it seems to me that what Maxine Waters and Barney Frank did (see the end of the article) were far more troubling. They actively, personally, sought the bailout on behalf of their interests. If the reports are true, Inouye's aide just querried. If a bad decision was made, it is the fault of whomever granted approval. Look, we all know it's "who you know" in our culture, and a lot of good Americans get ahead that way, too. The problem starts when the Federal Government plays banker with our monopoly money.
Inouye is a bona-fide war hero. He just happened to be invested in a bank too small to be a part of the original bailout. I am far more concerned about the actions of Waters and Frank. They demonstrate the real crime, here: actively seeking control of government resources for personal gain.
Here is a critical thinking question: Why is this Heritage Foundation research only just appearing today? I posted this article to my Facebook page, but by the time most of my contacts read it, the vote will have already taken place. A lot of lesser-informed people may have liked to have called their Congresspeople once they became fully aware of this situation. Yet, such processes take time. So why is the WSJ offering this incredibly well-written, concise, informative piece at the 11th hour?!?
Rubio gives us Floridians hope. He represents the new blood we are looking for. We should all be following him. His career could be a model for 912 candidates, (with which, by the way, Rubio has publicly stated his alignment).
How are we going to tell those who are unfaithful to us unless we have a standard of integrity and morality with which to compare? That's why this is so bitterly dissappointing. Sanford had been one of those few we held up for such a comparison. Now that we are seeing he lacks integrity, we are forced to ask: "Is there anyone out there who can lead us?" We can't change the direction fo this country by criticizing those who are doing the job of government badly without trying to find and edify someone who can do it well. This whole fiasco just makes that task more difficult.
Although part of me agrees with cajunpatriot ("too tired to care") another part of me must care. Politicians set precedent in ways other than legislatively. They set public and social precedent. Unfortunately, he has betrayed the public trust, his good deeds have been undermined because of this, and his losing everything may be the only thing that doesn't lower the bar even further. For the sake of my children's future I think he will have to pay the price in full.
We must remember politicians are not hired and fired as if in a corporate setting. They are dependent on the public trust and elected based on their platforms. His platform is one of conservative ideals. His betrayal of his wife is a sad thing, but his betrayal of his conservative voters is what is at issue, here.
Most gifted, serious people I know do need time away from others to decompress. It's a requirement for them to process the insanity around them and stay sane themselves. I worry about politicians who don't need to shut down from time to time. That tells me they thrive on the corruption, deceit, self-interest and pragmatism that surrounds them. I much prefer this very human "erratic" response to political life over a self-promoting 24/7 career politician--don't you?