Time to set aside politics
Kelly Everitt

Time to start on baby steps

Posted Tuesday, December 23, 2014, at 1:44 PM
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  • Bradbury, just has one song to sing, one we've heard many times before, a song that was never accurate but reflected what the extreme Conservatives wanted him to believe and he was very willing to believe.

    "And the beat goes on, beat goes on

    Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain

    La de da de de, la de da de da" -- Sonny and Cher

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Nov 22, 2014, at 11:19 AM
  • How about if we calm down, Bradbury, and honestly look at the mistakes that were made and how to correct them?

    Now what is your beef about Hillary Clinton? After about a dozen investigations Congress, after the election, admitted that there was no evidence of wrong doing in Benghazi.

    It looks to me like you are just repeating an old, long, sad song that was out of key in your version of it from the start.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Nov 22, 2014, at 8:43 PM
  • The reason why there were constant investigations in the House of Representatives was because the Republicans had a majority. Their motivations for the investigations is because Hillary Clinton may run for president in 2016 so they were trying to discredit her.

    Duh, Cool Breeze, the House Republicans have been in Charge in the House. There will still be a Democratic president in 2015. Yes, the Senate Democrats will now be in Charge of the Senate, and they may start indulging in these frivolous investigations, like the House did, if they aren't worried about the 2016 election. You don't seem to understand how our government works. Are you really from another country?

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/225129-gop-led-benghazi-report-...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Nov 23, 2014, at 10:49 AM
  • Again, Cool Breeze, you have no valid argument but are looking for an error in the writing with me substituting the word Democrats for Republicans. You are presenting an Ad Hominem argument, the second weakest argument.

    But lets look at the point that you tried to make earlier. You can't support your argument because the Republicans aren't in charge in 2015. They will have the majority in the Senate, which they will be wise to not go for more silliness such as continual investigations. They haven't and probably will never again be elected to the Presidency.

    In order to try to raise the discussion to a higher level, I'll repeat the hierarchy for you.

    DH0. Name-calling. This is what you use when you have nothing else.

    DH1. Ad Hominem. This is a weak argument where instead of arguing against what was said you attack the author.

    DH2. Arguing against the tone of the argument rather than the argument yourself.

    DH3. Contradiction. Presenting contradictory facts while ignoring the argument.

    DH4. Counterargument is DH3 with some evidence thrown in.

    DH5. Refutation. You quote part of what was said and then refute it, but stopping short of refuting the main point(s).

    DH6. Refuting the Central Point. This is the best thing to use.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Nov 23, 2014, at 6:33 PM
  • I was looking for the political issue that you were trying to make Cool Breeze, but am failing to see it. Can you delete the side DH0 and DH1 comments and try to get to the heart of the matter?

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Nov 23, 2014, at 11:17 PM
  • Cool Breeze, try reading the second paragraph of my comment in which I refute your claim.

    Stranded Ranger, I agree that there are both R's and D's that think that Bigfoot is real. I think it is more likely that R's think the government is hiding the truth.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Mon, Nov 24, 2014, at 11:38 AM
  • Take Duck away

    lame-duck Congress and you have a Lame Congress Ha Ha just my observation

    -- Posted by MsMarylin on Mon, Nov 24, 2014, at 12:50 PM
  • I agree with most of what you said Stranded Ranger. The thing is that some of the loudest, and most obnoxious people who accuse other Americans of being stupid are just as stupid if not more. I would guess more stupid.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Nov 25, 2014, at 11:19 AM
  • Yes it is, and the country and the Supreme Court need to understand these things.

    1. Their needs to be limits on campaign contributions so that a small group of wealthy men aren't running the country.

    2. Denial of vote needs to be addressed as a constitutional issue.

    3. Gerrymandering in order to win elections needs to stop.

    4. Dishonesty on the Web about a politician needs to be punishable and I am talking about lies, Photoshopped pictures, and edited videos. Right now this is rampant and it makes people distrust government maybe more than they should.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Nov 25, 2014, at 4:06 PM
  • I think that somebody has his needle stuck on the Gruber broken record. Hey Cool Breeze, Gruber is old news (October 2013).

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Nov 25, 2014, at 9:52 PM
  • Brenda I am honestly trying to see why my Forbes quote has been deleted. Now I've removed another word that might be the cause. I ask that you give me a reason if you delete this again.

    "I'm not here to analyze Gruber's infamous remarks. Instead, I am here to remark upon what Gruber has not said about Obamacare. Like the dog who didn't bark, it is what Gruber hasn't said that reveals the most about his opinion of the law.

    Gruber, you see, did play a fundamental role in the development of the ACA. He was paid gobs of money by the Obama administration, but not to estimate the intelligence of the American public nor to advise the administration on the best way to sell the public on the merits of the legislation. Gruber is not an expert on politics or public opinion. Instead, he was paid to tell the administration what the economic impact of the law would be. Budget hawks, like OMB Director Peter Orzag, were fixated on making sure that the ACA didn't balloon the federal deficit. So when crafters of the bill bandied about potential policies -- "should we expand Medicaid to 133% of the federal poverty limit or 150%" -- Gruber ran the numbers to tell them how much each option would cost.

    If Gruber had said his economic model was (slang for very incorrect - word deleted) -- that it was a charade to fool the American Public -- I would be angry as (word in this context as very angry - word deleted).

    If he had said that the administration had hired him to run his model because that model gave them the answers they wanted to hear, rather than more accurate numbers they didn't want to know about, I'd be extremely concerned right now.

    But that's not what Gruber said. Everything I have heard from people involved in drafting the ACA reassures me that when it came to the numbers, the Obama administration was honest and earnest."

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Nov 26, 2014, at 2:00 PM
    Brenda Fincher, Publisher, MHNews
    That'l do it!! Thanks, B
  • Yes, except that isn't happening except in the dreams of the Tea Party old guys banded together in the Mountain Home blog. They have no true facts just wild paranoid claims. Good luck fellas. Try to convince yourself that everyone but you is stupid.

    Ha, Ha, Ha!

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Nov 26, 2014, at 9:07 PM
  • "It's us "Tea Party" types who are the "stupid" ones." -- Mike Bradbury on Thu, Nov 27, 2014, at 7:44 AM

    You are right about that Mike. You know not of which you CAPITALIZE, and drone on and on about.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Nov 27, 2014, at 9:56 AM
  • Take an honest look at who is actually ranting, raving, name calling, and spewing Mike.

    January isn't a dreaded date for me. You keep forgetting, apparently,that the Republicans didn't win a 2/3 majority in either House of Congress.

    The new Republican Senators and Congressmen for the most part ran on a platform of removing the gridlock in Washington and working across the aisle. Optimistically, maybe there will begin to be a reduction in Tea Party generated silliness as Republicans are realizing that the Tea Party is bringing them down.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Nov 27, 2014, at 10:23 AM
  • PERSONALLY.........CONSERVATIVES WHO PREACH NO COMPROMISE DO NOT HAVE THE PEOPLE OR THE COUNTRY'S BEST INTEREST AT HEART.The maintenance of the same old status quo serves no one.Lft to states rights my wife and I could not legally travel this country my country.As it is as a black man I have a target on my back and I am tired of being stoped because.........because of what?????? When America is for all of us let me know and the conservatives who want to tell me wether to have sex or not can go take a bath,they stink.

    -- Posted by lamont on Tue, Dec 2, 2014, at 7:23 PM
  • Racism never dwindled.........the president didn't promise blacks anything.........last hired first fired has not changed......... states rights for some is not settled........I AM STOPED ALL THE TIME RIGHT IN TOWN.......DIDNT STOP TILL I TOLD THEM I WAS GETTING READY TO SUE THEM,AND HAD MY LAWYER CONTACT THEM......This whole thing is very tireing and I am tired of fighting for everything all the time, having to keep my guard up etc enduring insults from people for no reason other than speaking the truth.28yrs for this, what a waste.

    -- Posted by lamont on Tue, Dec 2, 2014, at 10:09 PM
  • Part of being a Christian human being is always endeavoring to remove human frailties and make ourselves better people.

    In regards to the word prejudice, that means preconceived opinion that isn't based on real information. I don't like the Tea Party but I am not prejudiced against them. I base my dislike on what they espouse and the way that a lot of them behave.

    Just because you supported Herman Cain and Sarah Palin, doesn't mean that you aren't a bigot in regards to race and gender. As a matter of fact your calling them by their first name, as you also do Hillary Clinton, is a sign of disrespect because you aren't on a first name basis with these people.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 3, 2014, at 10:59 AM
  • I was responding to Mike's assertion that everybody is prejudiced against something, and his trotting out a token black man and a token woman as proof that he has no racial or gender issues. I kind of believe that he has no racial issues because he served in the military and that might have helped him get past that.

    On the issue of race and gender, the Republican Party needs to step it up a little. It's reputation is horrible and getting worse. The GOP has a chance to step up their game in the next two years or not only will we have a Democratic president elected in 2016 but maybe we will again have a Democratic majority in the Senate and House of Representatives so that important things can FINALLY get done.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 3, 2014, at 1:55 PM
  • BAD INSTRUCTORS MIKE,THEY DIDNT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.I hated them they gave us a bad name.You would have enjoyed a good one.When you were in the marines the program hadn't started yet. You would have really hated it if you had stayed a marine the navy taught the course......ha !!!!!!!!!.ANYHOW GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIFULL SUNDAY. THERE SHOULD BE MORE OF THAT EVERY WHERE.PEOPLE GET MORE UNDERSTANDING OUT OF FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATIONS makes me feel good........ take care

    -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Dec 3, 2014, at 11:14 PM
  • You are right Mike, we can choose to be the person that we are.

    Let me share something that one of my brothers told me. We were a "blended family". Our father had died young and our mother remarried and my mother and my stepfather had more children, one of which was this brother.

    Being a blended family, with two different fathers, we were all influenced by our Mother but had different influences from our paternal relatives. Also the older kids had memories of our father and how he felt about things.

    This brother, was a Marine, but has since worked in the private sector and has children that are now young adults. He told me that he had learned from his father to be prejudiced against Mexicans or Mexican-Americans. He felt guilty about it but that was the way that he felt deep down. He said that he would never act on it, but that was the way that he felt.

    One of his daughters is a very pretty redhead that has lots of young men interested in her but she is only attracted to people of color, except for the color white.

    He feels that she will marry a non white American and maybe even not an American. She is learning Japanese and wants to teach in Japan. He said that he is making himself adjust his thinking because he knows that he is wrong and he really loves and respects his daughter's lack of prejudice because he knows that is right and is thankful that even with his feelings he raised someone that apparently has no racial prejudices.

    Our family goes to the Catholic church and we find the same sense of community that you found this year at the LDS church. Part of the service is people saying "Peace be with you" as we shake the hands of the people sitting around us. We are all of different races, and it makes it interesting to me to see the different families that come to Mass, and the warm feeling of community that we feel.

    As we discuss political issues, it gets pretty heated because we all have strong feelings. However, we are all Americans and all want to do right by our country. I only served in the Army for a few years, and I truly do respect yours and lamonts military service. I'm hoping that we can change the discussions to something that is more respectful. I will try.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 12:15 AM
  • Mike, by blended family I meant that the children had two different fathers. We were all from the same race. Our opinions, apparently differed about race because of the two different fathers.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 11:06 AM
  • the country is not on the verge of economic collapse,so lets tell the truth.There are no factual numbers that say that at all so before you start that rumor ck the numbers. See who and what is doing just fine.Slow but sure and that's ok.It took us a long time to create the mess so we cant exspect to change it for the better over night.YOU KNOW EVEN THE ECONOMIST ON THE RIGHT HAVE AGREED THAT THE ECONOMY IS GETTING SOLID,NO BOOM TIME BUT SOLID.YOU MUST WANT BOOM TIME WELL, THAT WOULD SHOW A NOT SOLID ECONOMY A FALSE ONE.Then we would be right back in the mess.Going to war again will not help anything and it will destabilize us.War creates a false economy based on a temporary footing that is not what we need.The return of manufacturing jobs to our shores is what we need and it is happening.This serviced based economy cannot and will not help middle class America we have had it to long and we did that to ourselfes with outsourcing.......ceo's and stock holders made money, the people did not.We flipped hamburgers and SERVED,not good........LATER

    -- Posted by lamont on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 11:20 AM
  • Rather than build up the economy through war it is much better to spend money on transportation (highways, bridges, new transit systems), alternative forms of energy, education, and small business incentives.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 12:06 PM
  • Well, Mike, two wars on a credit card does get expensive and not only did Obama inherit Bush's debt but he also was having to deal with troops with boots on the ground (thanks to Bush), and a terrible world wide economy.

    In fairness, you should admit that the high debt is the blame of both parties. Obama, alone, couldn't possibly be blamed for everything.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 7:18 PM
  • It just excludes kids under the age of 16? Not every parent wants their children in high school to have a job. It sounds like these numbers are including children 16, 17, and 18 and college age to make the numbers seem higher. Again, you seem to be having a problem with basic logic, or just want to send out false numbers.

    Oh, and a quick search of the web shows that your numbers are coming from extreme right wing web sites from 2013.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 4, 2014, at 11:47 PM
  • I don't have time to respond to the about 20 items that you listed so I've just picked one.

    "why do YOU & I have to account to the IRS, but Lois doesn't have to account to ANYBODY?------REPUBLICAN or DEMOCRAT---EVERYONE who pays taxes should be offended by THAT, unless they're brain-dead)." -- Mike Bradbury

    I'm sure MS Lerner also pays taxes the same as you and I. Again, calling someone that you don't know by their first name is disrespectful to that person.

    MS Lerner was not found to have done anything wrong, so she hasn't been charged with a crime. The Republican's in Congress however, have attempted many times to score political points over her but this is just another investigation that is a political witch hunt, wastes tax dollars, and goes nowhere.

    Some people are fooled by this, and it sounds like you are one of those people.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 5, 2014, at 10:06 AM
  • Mike the same points over and over again and even when a point has no meaning because the person is gone fired etc you keep at it .It is like a broken record.HATE is distructive and your hate for liberals and democrats is overwhelming,I have to admit it is starting to bother me.I DONT NEED FRIENDS WHO HATE......I CAN HAVE FRIENDS WHO DISAGREE,HATE THAT IS ANOTHER MATTER.Take care and have a good day.....

    -- Posted by lamont on Fri, Dec 5, 2014, at 12:45 PM
  • Oh yes, I understand more than you would like Cool Breeze. I tried to take it easy on you but let me now share my understanding. In order to inflate the numbers the 90.5 million consists of people 17 years old and above, in other words, a lot of people in high school and in college that may not be wanting to work. It also includes retirees, housewives or househusbands not looking for work, people who don't need to find a job, and so on.

    I'm sorry to tell you that factcheck.org got a whiff of that statistic and they thought it smelled really bad. Here is an excerpt from what they said.

    "There are several categories in the BLS report for Americans who are unemployed (9.8 million), underemployed (7.5 million) and those not in the labor force who want a job but aren't actively looking (6 million). That all adds up to 23.3 million, a far cry from 90 million."

    http://www.factcheck.org/2014/05/perry-misleads-on-jobs/

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 5, 2014, at 7:00 PM
  • BETTER YOU THAN ME .....SAM THANKYOU !!!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by lamont on Fri, Dec 5, 2014, at 7:40 PM
  • Believe me, lamont, it was my pleasure. :-)

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 5, 2014, at 7:44 PM
  • Cool Breeze, time to man-up or woman-up and face the fact that you've been caught grossly exaggerating to the point of lying.

    The U.S. Economy did very well in November. The Wall Street Journal says this: "U.S. businesses ramped up hiring across the board in November, putting 2014 on pace to be the best year for job growth since 1999."

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-payrolls-in-november-grew-321-000-jobless-rat...

    The information that the WSJ gets, of course comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which says this:

    "Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 321,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

    Job gains were widespread, led by growth in professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and manufacturing."

    On the topic of the blog, on what Congress can do, we can probably start with the good economic news is probably not too much from what Congress did last year. After all, they stopped the government. The Fed has been part of the reason for success by using interest rates to encourage spending.

    Congress does need to get to work. Republicans have said these are some of their priorities:

    1. Make the federal tax structure better

    2. Regulatory reform

    3. Improve the Telecommunications act

    4. Work on improving our energy infrastructure.

    We'll see if they can pass things that can be signed into law, or will the silliness continue and they pass laws that Obama will feel that he needs to veto?

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Dec 6, 2014, at 9:41 AM
  • FACT CHECK IS NO BETTER OR WORST THAN ANOTHER INTERNET SOURCE WHATEVER THE POLITICAL AFFILIATION.It would seem to me that the truth is probally somewhere in the middle.The need for the acceptance of the interpretation of the right side of everything by some here has left a quandary.If you don't accept it you get innuendo's aimed at you on the end of posts.About straight jackets and crayons , intelligence or some other childish antidote.

    I wonder is a left wing radical any worse than a right wing one?????The ANN COULTURE'S OF THIS WORLD ARE OK !!!!!! YEP,EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG... HELLO!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by lamont on Sat, Dec 6, 2014, at 3:41 PM
  • You bore me Cool Breeze. You are not apparently capable of a logical conversation, it's just one insult after another to cover up the lack of facts that you are not able to produce. You continue to post from incredibly unreliable web sites, trying to make us believe that they are reliable sources of information.

    Try this. Learn some manners and talk to people respectfully, do some actual research and maybe someone will engage you in a discussion.

    I'll respond to you anyway at some point despite your lack of factual data, and your lack of manners, however I prefer to bask in the Boise State victory tonight.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Dec 6, 2014, at 11:48 PM
  • I post from mainstream and some leaning left sites that are actually news sites with awards in their fields. When fact checking, I rely on factcheck.org and snopes.

    To try to discredit factcheck.org, you just posted from an anonymous person who posted to Free Republic which s just an extreme right MESSAGE BOARD.

    It's just about impossible to provide respect for that.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Dec 7, 2014, at 10:18 AM
  • Back to the topic of the blog ...... the lame duck Congress, yes the Republicans in the House, need to pass a government funding bill that is enough of a compromise to pass in the Senate and get signed by Obama.

    Instead of a straight forward bill, they are talking about a "cromnibus" which promises more brinksmanship and threatened shutdowns into 2015.

    "The final week of the congressional session will be something less than lame if GOP leaders succeed in approving a government funding bill -- avoiding a shutdown. That's House Speaker John Boehner's goal, made slightly easier by the symbolic vote he had his members take this past week to rebuke President Obama's move on immigration. The mechanism Congress is using to avoid a shutdown has been dubbed a "cromnibus," silly DC speak that combines a "continuing resolution" for stopgap spending with an "omnibus" bill that funds all government agencies. It brings the calories of federal spending with none of the nutrition that comes with certainty that it will last all year for all of the government. (Just in case you thought bipartisanship was about to break out before Christmas, there's a Benghazi hearing on Wednesday.)"

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stories-care-politics-week/story?id=27399142

    "And the beat goes on, the beat goes on

    Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain

    La de da de de, la de da de da" - Sonny & Cher

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Dec 7, 2014, at 12:27 PM
  • I'd ask what the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are telling you to do, Mike, but you seem to be off topic.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Mon, Dec 8, 2014, at 10:54 AM
  • On the topic of the blog, it appears that a massive spending bill is in the works. It isn't perfect and may get some things added to it to make it too bad to pass, but we will see.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress-on-verge-of-releasing-massive-sp...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Mon, Dec 8, 2014, at 11:12 AM
  • The budget bill is still being negotiated. It includes spending for some things that the Republicans want and some things that the Democrats want. Anyone that thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.

    To not pass the bill would furlough government workers which won't save money because they would get back pay for the time that they were furloughed. A smart person should be hoping that the bill will get passed.

    http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/congress-cromnibus-bill-113381.html

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 10:21 AM
  • Speaking of lying Cool Breeze, let's just say that you are factually misleading people.

    While a full budget bill in one bill has not been passed for decades, appropriations bills, i.e. budget bills have been passed in 2014 such as the Farm Bill.

    However, you have made my point which is that a budget bill (or 12 budget bills to cover everything) needs to be passed so that extending from previous budgets and sequestering is not used to handle the budget.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 4:25 PM
  • I wasn't recommending any particular bill, just an agreed upon budget that makes more sense than sequestering as a way to budget.

    Your insecurity must be causing you to try to put words in my mouth that were not said.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 5:33 PM
  • Mike it looks like the extreme right wing web sites, what Geordie calls the "Tea Party News" are already blasting the budget bill THAT THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN.

    What do they hate about it you might ask? They think that the budget should be a lot smaller yet they don't want to lower the National Defense budget and later when tax structures are looked at they want the top 1% of the wealthy to get a lot of tax breaks. So basically, they just want what they want with NO COMPROMISE.

    Our forefathers established this government based on Compromise. The Declaration of Independence was a compromise. The Bill of Rights was a compromise in order to get more states to ratify the Constitution. Those that think that our forefathers didn't work things out are deluding themselves, buying into the Tea Party dogma.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 6:16 PM
  • I'm all for eliminating waste but one man's definition of waste, in a free country, differs from another man's definition of waste. That's why deals need to be made through compromise.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 6:18 PM
  • WELL.... THE PRESIDENT HAS STOPED MORE DEFICIT SPENDING THAN ANYONE RECENTLY,CK the stats, he has slowed it way down.Which means the deficit is not climbing as fast.Ideally we would have zero deficit spending but that hasn't happened in a very long time,way before this president.So before you cast stones get in touch with that because you wont get zero deficit spending unless you stop spending period.Our commitments to ourselfes is to big.

    -- Posted by lamont on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 7:00 PM
  • I believe that Cool Breeze just sees the headlines from the Tea Party Gazette $18 Trillion but has never taken a serious look into what caused that debt.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 7:31 PM
  • THIS president inherited a world wide economic decline. He also had a major debt from two wars. He also had to keep troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also is limited by what appropriations the House of Representatives pass.

    It has been proven under FDR for a starter that sometimes you have to spend money to stimulate the economy.

    My grandfather went into business for himself when he was in his 30's. It took an expenditure of money, he took a chance and did pretty well for himself. You can't tight fistedly hold on to your money and improve on your economics.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 7:47 PM
  • SORRY mike but I wont albi the president but I wont jump on your train either.

    The gop and a lot of others to include the tea party arrogantly denergrated his wife his children and him from day one so when you speak of arrogance look at your side of the aisle before you cast words like that around,

    To the subject we cannot stop spending on some things the money has already been committed and to act as though it hasn't is just argumentative.The world wide commitments we are committed for also will not allow us to just stop spending.We are still paying the bill from the 2 wars we are still trying to get out of. Personally I am glad he has been reducing the deficite spending.BECAUSE WE DONT SEE THE NUMBER GOING BACKWARDS DOESNT MEAN PROGRESS IS NOT BEING MADE. IT JUST MEANS NOT FAST ENOUGH FOR YOU.

    IT makes no difference what this man does IT WILL NOT BE GOOD ENOUGH that we know.I don't know why I waste my time,if you want to find something wrong you will.The only ones who are perfect after all is the hard right.??????? the only true americans........hello !!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by lamont on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 8:07 PM
  • Mike, there is no evidence that Michelle Obama at any time said that American was a "hateful nation". It appears that the Tea Party News just announced it and people repeated it. -- I challenge you to provide proof of that.

    Surely a fair minded person such as yourself wouldn't be hating her because of something that she didn't say?

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Tue, Dec 9, 2014, at 10:18 PM
  • On the topic of the Blog which is making the small steps for Congress and the President to move forward, Forbes had an interesting article about the bleak budget compromising. I thought item 4 was especially interesting for those that keep gloating about the 2014 election.

    "But whether or not you knew that a new federal fiscal year had started, there's little that makes you think 2015 will be a happy fiscal year and that we should be celebrating its arrival. Here's why.

    1. The deal cut by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) set spending levels through fiscal 2015. That means Congress is virtually certain to resume its fight over total, military and domestic spending this year when it considers the fiscal 2016 budget.

    2. The possibility of sequestration increases significantly this year with the ceasefire put in place by Murray-Ryan ending. With the Pentagon and the military community pushing hard to prevent sequestration from happening, and with domestic spending advocates insisting that their programs be treated the same as the Pentagon, this fight will last for months and be very ugly.

    3. There is no emerging consensus whatsoever in Washington on the budget and that will make a deal of any kind all but impossible.

    4. As hard as it is to believe, the November election may well complicate budget politics even more than they've been the past few years. The GOP is likely to pick up seats and be somewhat less likely to compromise on budget issues than it has the past two years. But even if the Senate goes Republican, the new majority will likely be less willing or able to go along with the more conservative House because so many Senate GOP incumbents are up for reelection in 2016. That will make voting for a budget resolution, definitely a reconciliation bill and probably a veto override on budget issues very difficult in the Senate.

    5. A failure to override will be difficult for Republican Senators Ted Cruz (TX), Marco Rubio (FL) and Rand Paul (KY), all of who will need to demonstrate their tea party credentials as the 2016 presidential election gets underway. Expect them to disrupt normal order because of that.

    6. The budget debate in the U.S. as a whole is in worse shape as fiscal 2015 begins than it has been in years. The lack of consensus inside the beltway is both a reflection of and a reaction to the emotions surrounding the debate across the U.S.

    7. The federal debt ceiling will have to be raised this year. Although the government's current borrowing limit expires on March 15, the Treasury's ability to use it's so-called "extraordinary measures" and the standard tax collections in March and April mean that the issue may not have to be dealt with until around June. But it will have to be raised in some way at some point this year and that is never easy for Congress regardless of what else is happening."

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/stancollender/2014/10/06/2015-will-not-be-a-happy-bu...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 8:21 AM
  • I AM SO HAPPY TO STILL BE PAYING FOR PRES BUSHES WARS IT JUST TICKLES ME TO DEATH.I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE OIL MONEY THAT WAS SOPPOSED TO PAY for THE WARS......MONEY THAT WAS SOPPOSED TO COME FROM IRAQ.......SEEMS TO ME WE ARE PUTTING MONEY IN AND GETTING NOTHING BUT WOUNDED BROKEN BODIES BACK.......PERSONALLY.....THE QUESTION IS WHY?????????

    -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 10:24 AM
  • Me too. I should mention that the Forbes article was just before the November elections and they were predicting the outcome on how everyone was going to work together, or not.

    They were thinking that getting a Republican majority in both houses was going to make things more difficult because the extreme right Republicans would think they had even less reason to compromise and might try to swing people even more to the right.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 10:33 AM
  • WELL THEY PROBALLY FEEL THAT ANOTHER WAR WOULD BE GOOD........FOR WHO ?????

    DEPORTATIONS WOULD BE GOOD.......FOR WHO?????

    police state would be good.......For who?????

    enslavement would be good........FOr who ????

    stop paying our bills would be good....FOR who

    dont live up to commitments would be good... for who???

    stop social security would be good....FOR WHO???

    stop health care would be good .....for who ???

    These are just a few things I THINK THE HARD RIGHT MIGHT WANT........THEY PROBALLY FIGURE IT WONT AFFECT THEM. Well it will as much as anyone else.......be it jobs to health care.SO DO IT !!!!

    AND WE CAN HAVE ANARCHY TOGETHER SELLING SOULS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA.......

    -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 1:43 PM
  • I agree lamont. That is what some people in Congress think.

    Politico had a good article on what was included in the budget and what was not included. I think Congress needs to pass a one page sequester budget. There were too many "gifts" in the budget for example to Wall Street, and for larger campaign contributions. Boehner is once again using a shutdown to negotiate a budget over the backs of the American people.

    http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/11-trillion-spending-package-reflects-repu...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 4:22 PM
  • COOL BREEZE your whole first paragraph is a lie AS A MATTER OF FACT THE POST IS A LIE I have criterzied everything you have said that I HAVNT.I HAVE CERTAINLY NOT SAID RIOTING BURNING AND LOOTING WAS OK SO...ILL TAKE MY CROOKED FINGER AND SAY ..... YOU LIE.......SO YOU GET THAT STRAIGHT.

    I WILL SAY THIS. I lived the 60's, did you??? YOU have no idea what I felt OR endured in the 60's and unless you lived it, it would be best for you not to comment. That was not a good time for me and a lot of us wearing uniforms.Those of us who were black got a double whammy.So save your hatefull comments for yourself.DIDN'T DO a lot of voting in namm.

    SAM Just heard about what is going on in congress with THE BUDGET,I GUESS THEY WANT WALL STREET TO DO IT AGAIN,NOT THAT THEY EVER REALLY STOPED.I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THEY FEEL THE PEOPLE CAN STAND.wHAT needs to be argued is wages and the need for them to proportionatly catch up to what the corporation are making.Inflation is real and people are having to work 2 jobs just for there basic needs,and that includes the well educated.........later

    -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 5:18 PM
  • I know what you mean. I hate it but I'm now in favor of a sequester. I think tying too many budget items together is what is getting those pork barrel stuff in and that needs to stop.

    IMO every bill where Congress wants something needs to be funded with its own timeline not to exceed the end of the next Congress.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Dec 10, 2014, at 5:36 PM
  • It appears that the appropriations bill isn't going to pass today, so there may be a one week funding extension passed and maybe later just a 3 month bill. Either is fine by me.

    I'm sick and tired of these pork barrels being thrown into the big budget bills. The Republicans even decided that they want to override Washington D.C.'s law on marijuana, using the budget bill. Even Rand Paul thinks that the Republican's have overreached on this.

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/2015-gop-budget-back-up-plan-113498.html#i...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 11, 2014, at 9:55 AM
  • As the story continues to evolve on the Cromnibus bill which at least one Congressman calls the "Crummy Bus". Extreme Republicans hate the bill because it isn't extreme right enough and want to add some more pork barrels. Democrats, a lot of them anyway don't like the Wall Street giveaway and other pork barrels.

    Boehner wants to go home but he might not have the votes. Obama is calling Democrats to vote on the bill and just hold their noses.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/politics/spending-bill-brink/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

    CoolBreeze continuing an argument that is personal and off topic is kind of like "beating a dead horse" or as they say in England and Canada "flogging a dead horse". It will just get deleted.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 11, 2014, at 4:45 PM
    Brenda Fincher, Publisher, MHNews
    I appreciate you being helpful but I think we have it under control. We are keeping an eye out as much as we can. We should just leave each to their own commnets and let the delete button be hit where it may on our end. thanks, B
  • I was going to ask you something, Brenda. There is a button to report a comment but that button doesn't seem to work at all. This afternoon, I complained twice about a comment on the political forum that was obscene about Nancy Pelosi and nothing happened. So are we also not supposed to use that button too?

    If we should not complain or push the button then maybe the button should be removed.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, Dec 11, 2014, at 6:54 PM
    Brenda
    Yes we see when the button has been pushed. No not immediately and yes the comment is considered whether action is needed or not. Thanks.
  • Well, it looks like the House did manage the pass the "crummy bus" bill. Now it's going to be debated again by any Senator that can grab the microphone, but I think it's going to pass.

    http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/senate-omnibus-spending-bill-113529.html?h...

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 8:37 AM
  • Boehner isn't one of "my guys". I do think it is interesting that the Wall Street gift showed up in the bill but nobody comes out in support of it and nobody seemed to be able to get it out of the bill.

    The Tea Party did want to stop all compromise, you are right there, however most Tea Party candidates didn't win. When a Republican won it tended to be a more moderate one that promised that he/she would work in Congress to get things done even crossing the aisle.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 9:08 AM
  • MIKE.....I live in the country and I ASKED A FARMER ONCE if we deport all the illegals who will work your fields??? THE CONSERVATIVE FARMER SAID IF THEY DEPORT THEM I WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS I CANT GET ANYONE BUT THEM TO WORK THESE FIELDS.I put that premise on the radio and guess what ?????? GOT THE SAME RESPONSE !!!!! I think that the misinformed ideas about illegals needs to be changed and people need to look at what is really in the excutive order that wouldn't be to much to ask would it ??????

    I know YOU would like to shut the government down ,don't pay any bills,leave our commitments hanging etc well guess what reasonable people know we CANT.You don't want to pay your taxes don't.I PERSONALLY HAVE MY PROBLEMS WITH THE GOVERNMENT BUT I CERTAINLY CANT CHANGE IT FROM A JAIL CELL OR IN A BUNKER MAYBE YOU CAN.I AM SURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE WILLING TO TRY,DONT BE SURPRISED WHEN THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DONT GO ALONG WITH THAT METHOD.

    -- Posted by lamont on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 12:42 PM
  • Yes, you do compromise with borders that are not wide open, and with an 18 trillion dollar debt.

    How else are you going to get those problems and others taken care of?

    The Tea Party is just a small part of the Republican Party and that small group, through insisting on demanding extreme right wing things, may just force the moderate Republicans to work with the Democrats on getting the votes to finally make some progress. -- Don't forget the Tea Party was also a big loser in the mid-terms.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 1:29 PM
  • I'm having a hard time keeping up Mike. First you were gloating about the "mid-terms" and the big plan for change. Now that you know that the Tea Party lost pretty big in that election you are saying that the American people were the big losers.

    If moderates from both parties are starting to work together that's fine with me.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 3:49 PM
  • MIKE...... I will not keep repeating myself.I HAVE STATED VERY CLEARLY THAT THE BORDERS SHOULD BE SECURED,BOTH OF THEM.

    What I will say is the moment one thing is covered there seems to be lets find something else.We go from migrants taking jobs to migrantS bringing desease, to migrants being terrorist.We seem to shove aside that 9 of 12 terrorist of 9/11 came through Canada.Lets just secure the borders.If a terrorist wants to ENTER the u.s they will and we cant stop them and that's real.

    The majority wont go along so what are you going to do, make this more of a dictatorship than it already is???what is funny to me is if all you want is a country that acts the way you folks DICTATE, why don't you just go to a secluded part of the planet and create you one?? Why did I SAY THAT??? Because as a minority, and already at risk I can just imagine what I would be subjected to in this utopia.,either that or I would be deported. When that doesn't work I am sure you folks will have a final solution.SOUNDS ALL TO FAMILAR TO ME !!!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by lamont on Fri, Dec 12, 2014, at 4:08 PM
  • Our Constitution is a living document and possibly new case law as a result of the Executive Actions taken by Obama will come about.

    Lawyers made up a good number of our founding fathers, and they never intended for it to be set in stone, which is why the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution were created. The Bill of Rights was a compromise, to get all states to accept the Constitution.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Dec 13, 2014, at 12:04 PM
  • I'm still in favor of compromising because that is the only way progress is going to be made. The Republicans don't have a 2/3 majority in either house. They also don't have the same viewpoints: some are the ultra conservative Tea Party, and some are more moderate. They may not even win a majority of the vote in either house because of the blocking by the Tea Party people.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sat, Dec 13, 2014, at 7:42 PM
  • With your representative of the tea party in nevada how can you even with a straight face tell me what the tea party wants.HE told me MIKE, DIDNT YOU HEAR HIM AND YES IT'S ON THE SAME VIDEO TAPE YOU TALK ABOUT.

    What is wrong with you people??????Is the only thing that will satisfy you is to bring the country to a stand still,and then what????????

    Tell us a plan one that makes sense not a wish list but a plan.

    The founding fathers got it right for the era they were living in.They set a standard to live up to but they were also smart enough to know that the document would not do for eternity.

    I guess it's ok with you to throw racial innuendo's "PONCHO MORALES" who might that be????? That is the same kind of disrespect shown the president and his family,to include his minor children.YOur anger overwhelms you,I hope IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD !!!!! PERSONALLY I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT KIND OF HATE AND ANGER,IT'S THE SAME SHOWN TO ME BY SOME REALLY HATEFULL PEOPLE DURING THE 60'S IN THE SOUTH.Takes a lot of energy and shortens your life never mind that it's not the Christian way at least not the one I WAS TAUGHT...........LATER

    -- Posted by lamont on Sat, Dec 13, 2014, at 10:24 PM
  • And I suppose that you are thinking that Bachman and Palin were just innocents, not lying about things, and so on, and the View, Letterman, Maher, etc. just started to pick on them?

    An example is Palin's story of Paul Revere and his ride. She got some of it wrong and some right. She erred because she tried to turn it into a 2nd Amendments right's story. She makes up things as it goes to suit her and people, of course respond to that.

    http://www.factcheck.org/2011/06/palins-twist-on-paul-revere/

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 12:09 AM
  • The Yamamoto story was refuted long ago. The fact check article is below. In regards to Bill Maher calling people names, well that's too bad. He called them what he thought they are. I just think Palin and Bachman are incredibly stupid and/or dishonest.

    Misquoting Yamamoto

    Posted on May 11, 2009

    Advocates of gun rights often argue that in World War II Japan was deterred from invading the U.S. mainland by a fear of American citizens with guns in their closets. They frequently quote Japan's Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto as saying: "You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass."

    But this quote is unsubstantiated and almost certainly bogus, even though it has been repeated thousands of times in various Internet postings. There is no record of the commander in chief of Japan's wartime fleet ever saying it.

    How do we know? We contacted Donald M. Goldstein, sometimes called "the dean of Pearl Harbor historians." Among his many books are "The Pearl Harbor Papers: Inside the Japanese Plans" (1993) and the best-selling "At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor" (1981). He is a professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He told us the supposed Yamamoto quote is "bogus."

    In an exchange of e-mails he said:

    Prof. Goldstein: I have never seen it in writing. It has been attributed to the Prange files [the files of the late Gordon W. Prange, chief historian on the staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur] but no one had ever seen it or cited it from where they got it. Some people say that it came from our work but I never said it. ... As of today it is bogus until someone can cite when and where.

    We included this in an update to an Ask FactCheck item we posted May 10, debunking an error-filled "gun history lesson" circulating by e-mail.

    We make no argument either for or against gun ownership. But we do object to fabricating quotes and passing them off as historical fact.

    http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/misquoting-yamamoto/

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 9:00 AM
  • MIKE......yOU know people in talk shows is one thing and people in power or power positions are another.If sarah palin was considered a talking head I PERSONALLY CAN AND WOULD IGNORE HER,MS BACHMAN IS A CONGRESSPERSON,THEREFORE I WOULD THINK SHE KNOW'S BETTER.Yes that includes staff personell.

    Please tell US who THEM is ????I certainly would like to know The point is you cant listen to anything but a hard right philosophy and you talk about dictators.You speak of the war on women but you guys don't want to pay them the same and you have stated it.Clive Bundy feels that he ought to graze his cattle for free and then sell them to us.The fact that he has done that for over 20yrs eludes him.

    The way it comes off MIKE is IT'S the same stuff that HITLER said,dont believe me go and check the history books and read some of his speeches.The thing is stalin,hitler Mussolini all there speeches sound the same and the right wing rhetoric sounds the same.The message your trying to get across sounds hatefull.

    I could listen if you were ranting about the corporations that have enslaved millions of americans,who I might add have no voice. To you guys unions are a bad thing. Work them to death the fact that we don't pay ENOUGH that's ok LET THEM EAT BREAD.The nation has been turned into a machine designed to make wealth ,money, the problem is the people who work are not sharing in that were is your outrage about that???They just pushed through a law that allowed Detroit to lower peoples pensions that already retired and paid into them,lowered by up to a third.Guess who's next, MIKE ARE YOUR FOLKS GOING TO RAIL ABOUT THAT??? Or will you call that treason???

    All is not well with democrats anymore than they are all well with repubs but until you folks have a plan that is all inclusive nobody's listening.IF I HAVE TO PICK A SIDE I will pick the one that is all inclusive and without the bigotry of a CLIVE BUNDY......and needless to say I too am pretty good with a weapon.

    -- Posted by lamont on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 10:13 AM
  • A very small few have turned a couple of areas into their own personnel political forum so far off topic it is ridiculous. Move your political banter where it belongs in the corner of all things political or refrain yourself from blowing up other stories. TkU.

    -- Posted by Brenda Fincher Publisher MHNews on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 11:25 AM
  • The "baby steps" that Kelly alluded to in his meanderings, seem to have turned into a 3-stooges slapstick comedy thank to Ted Cruz.

    Cruz wants to "punish" Obama over immigration. To teach him a lesson he started to try to get support for a procedural vote which, if successful, would slow down the passing of the funding bill much like his antics last year when he helped orchestrate the government shutdown.

    The moderate Republicans are fed up with him, particularly after he announced that the 2015 Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority leader wouldn't be tough enough on Obama.

    Huffington had a great article on this and the reaction that Cruz got. As a Democrat I'm a little hopeful that the moderates in both parties will be able to make deals if they ignore the extreme right branch of the Republican Party.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/13/ted-cruz-spending-bill_n_6320228.html

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 8:35 PM
  • For Congress to start making progress I think you hit the nail on the head Sam. People from both parties need to start compromising. Every body hates the Cromnibus but it does have some good things.

    -- Posted by Geordey on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 9:17 PM
  • SAM.......I am a little bit more straight forward I want moderates on both sides to do the negotiating and then maybe we can get something done.I THINK REPUTATIONS PRECEED PEOPLE as a result people are biased before they enter negotiations.

    TED CRUZ does not have the country's best intrest at heart I really would like to know how he got elected with duall citizenship and then he turns one loose after the fact,maybe we need to deport him.

    yes one small step at a time ,lets get it done.

    -- Posted by lamont on Sun, Dec 14, 2014, at 9:18 PM