Hi Betty.
Canada is here. Where is Texas, Iowa and Pennsylvania tonight? Still eating dinner I guess.

Numb by Linkin Park

The real crime is that it is Wikileaks that is doing the job that CNN, ABC, FOX, NBC, in fact the whole mainstream media should be doing on our behalf.

glaciers

Firstly about law enforcement. Frank Serpico said it best when he said "10% of cops are honest. Then there is the 20% that are completely dishonest with the remaining 70% wanting to be more honest than they are." the "blue wall" does not allow for cops to investigate cops and civilian oversight is toothless. I also have a friend who is a PI who quit the force because the corruption is top to bottom.

About my post about high school economics, firstly I was cranky yesterday when I posted so forgive me for being blunt and confrontational.

Take here in Canada, conservative gov'ts like to send out money in the mail as a tax cut which has very short term effects and the average voter spends it, which is good but has no real effect other than to buy votes.

The reason I mentioned the past 4 administrations was they believed more in tax cuts for the rich which they do not spend to stimulate the economy or hire new workers. Supply side or trickle down economics does not work, large business are still not hiring and use lay-offs too often to have short term financial gain, pleasing their investors.

But invest in the SME's (small and medium sized enterprises) is a great thing. SME's create more jobs and hire more people than big business and this is true in all industrialized nations. SME's will spend the money on growth and keep jobs in their local economies which has direct impacts. SME's do not outsource to foreign countries. Invest in SME's today and the results will be felt within 5 years. Invest in restructuring the railroad infrastructure would bring immediate effects with 3 to 5 years, possibly less.

One final note, I am a very big supporter of smarter taxation. Lower income tax and use tax shifting policies on the things we buy or consume. Low taxes on the products and services that have positive health effects and new innovation. (low taxes on renewable energy, health foods, etc.) Tax high the things that are unhealthy (gas, junk food, etc). This puts the power in the hands of people to make the lifestyle choices that fit them best. The tax levels can be raised or lowered depending on spending habits, making it revenue neutral in relation to the lower income tax. IF you must use a car for business, deductions can be implemented come tax time.

I got rid of my car three years ago, moved to an apartment on a major bus route and bike almost all year round. Fortunate for me since I can do this since because I live in an area that has a decent transit system. My health and wallet have seen immediate improvements. I am also part of a car sharing network like Zipcar, which I use maybe 4-6 times per year.

Democrats and Republicans are two faces of the same coin. Don't trust either of them as they prefer the "too big to fail" concept instead of the SME's. I now need to back and read why the senate is not supporting the small business plan which was recently tabled.

Isaac_dede, I think you are clearly missing the point. It takes a lot more than two years for initiatives to be felt by the population. What part of this can't you grasp? The legacy left by the last four administrations are not going to be fixed overnight.

High school economics will teach you at least that much.

"Lovers in a Dangerous Time" Studio versions

The 1984 version by Bruce Cockburn is great and I love it.
But the 1991 version by The Barenaked Ladies is in my opinion, an improvement on an already great version.

Your post was correct in almost all aspects except the above. There are more animals being researched and identified everyday that have self awareness. Pigs, chickens, in fact many bird species just to name a couple. Sentience as we know it, no, but self awareness, absolutely.

I don't eat a lot of meat but I do believe we can humanly farm animals for human consumption.I got no problem with that but do be aware that they have intelligence and self awareness. We just hadn't researched it up until recently. New Scientist Magazine has a great selection of articles regarding this.

It is going to take a bit more than 2 years to fix the messes left behind by the last four administrations.

Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Cheney left behind some bad legacies.
Obama is in a near impossible situation and if anything, needs to be a bit more forceful in his economic plan but the initiative of loan guarantees for small business is great, to name just one. Clean energy Tech should be lead by the US but China and Europe are leading instead.
Fixing up the railroad infrastructure would create more jobs than all of the automotive jobs combined.

msharmony made some great points above. One big issue is still that the US primary and secondary education system is dead last amongst industrialized nations and although the post-secondary is second to none, it is too expensive for many to be able to enjoy the benefits.

L.A. Confidential

Hello. I got to go put on a pot of coffee and do a little Mingling.

And what's this I read today, Lake Delhi in Iowa is empty because of some damn problem with the dam?

Speaking of Iowa, while I was involved in the railroad industry, one the kindest, nicest people I ever spoke to was with the Iowa Interstate Railroad working out of Council Bluffs. Carrie if I'm not mistaken in the Intermodal department. What a great group of people they were. Same thing with some of the truckers I dealt with. Must be something good in the Iowa water.

If we are not supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?

Thanks TonkaTruck3, I am happy you agreed on a few points if not a bit surprised. I think I was beginning to make judgments based on just a few posts which I shouldn't have done.

It does make you wonder what can be done if anything. I just have a hard time admitting defeat so I still vote knowing it really doesn't matter who I vote for.
All we can do is be good neighbors and take care of our own by protecting and strengthening our neighborhoods. I hate Canadians that bash the US and have a hard time explaining to them about what men like Washington were all about.

I'm not a fan of using violence as a first option but have no problem if violence becomes absolutely necessary. My father was wounded serving in Korea and I grew up in a military household where I learned how to use my rifle in a safe manner.
I'm an enigma in that I hate violence but loved firing my rifle as a teen.
I got rid on my 1911 and a vintage Russian sniper rifle, a Mosin-Nagant years ago. The rifle was a gift from my Uncle who was a POW in WWII. He befriended many soldiers in the camp and collected weapons, knives and uniforms after the war. I wish I still had them but since there are very few places I can practice with them, they became to much of a burden and at the time my fiance freaked out when she found out I owned them.

Anyway, stay strong. I will continue to try being a voice of reason and listen to whatever is said, even if I may not always agree.

Both very good points above and yes, the Framers would not be happy with partisan politics which really is controlled by national and international business interests; not the people. And I assure you that Canadian politics is no better and may in fact be worse with more centralized power with weaker checks and balances.

My main point was, although I may have not made it clear, is that the name calling and drawing of lines in the sand is doing more harm than good. So yes, it is people here and everywhere who talk but don't act that cause harm. No offense intended.

The USA is too strong to be able to be torn apart by a Reagan, Bush, Clinton or Obama. Or Fox, MSNBC and the rest of the rabble known as the Fifth Estate, who are the true failures in any democracy. It is their job to act on our behalf and hold the proverbial gov't/big business feet to the fire and ask the tough questions.

I was involved in politics and unfortunate as it was, I failed in trying to bridge the differences between the left and the right which caused me to quit. I guess I was too ignorant and altruistic to be effective but I tried. Tried and failed.
I now work in my community and try to help by supporting local, small and medium sized business. I am a member of BALLE (Business Alliance of Local Living Economies) which is a US effort with a couple of Canadian chapters.

If you really want to do something, support your local businesses and stop the name calling. Try to listen to both sides of every issue.

I am not left, right or centrist but a bit of all three. I understand the need for self defense but just giving everyone a gun may not be the best way. That can lead to anarchy and way too many gun deaths as statistics prove. But individual gun ownership with the organized support of militias and national guardsmen, I can understand and support that. These are the people that should have helped victims of Hurricane Katrina as one example.

If you/we are going to be angry with someone, let it be both republicans and democrats; two faces of the same coin. Also big business, banks, pharma and the insurance companies could use a little more scrutiny and disdain. Your country is not going to be socialized or turn communist and I would be surprised if you truly believed that. Heck, become an elected official and everything is socialized, free health care as well as so many other perks it makes me sick just to think about it.

As long as the Democrats and Republicans have you fighting amongst yourselves or the strawman they hold up for you to fight, they win and laugh all the way to the bank.

The reply is a bit long and a bit disjointed but do know that your forefathers would expect us all to fight back against this rich and political elite and they did not anticipate ideological political parties having you fight amongst yourselves. I'm sure you do know that. In my books, George Washington is almost a god he was so visionary but he would not be happy with any of what he would see today.

Yes and sweet dreams to us all. Good night.

I have studied the origins of the US Constitution and the original intent of your forefathers, known as the Framers of this most amazing document. No doubt one of histories finest moments and they were true visionaries. I am quite certain too, that they would be ashamed and appalled at how their original intent has been perverted over the years.

They never anticipated party politics along ideological lines but did understand regional considerations and arguments.

They surely would not be amused with the infantile rhetoric I have seen on this site with people peppering their drivel, from both the left and right, with lines like "Oblowme and the criminals in the white house"

They would hang their heads in shame and would have said, "maybe we should have been more clear in some aspects but we thought they would be able to see beyond their own interests and worked together."

What a pity.

Hi carol, don't go trusting those boyz from Toronto. I live here and know how weird we all are.

I haven't hated anything since I quit drinking in 1996. Life became much clearer then. Now it's too much love and passion without a reciprocal outlet for it.

So you've seen my baby pics?

Party is next

1999

My baby movies.