Expectations For The New Obama Democrat Government

As opposed to unregulated profligate spending?How about:20. A balanced budget and long term reduction in the national debt, as spending is matched to income. Which, curiously, did not do anything for the bottom of the economy and thus was impotent at preventing the current financial crisis.How about:21. Taxes matched to benefit. If you benefit from the American economy then you support the government that protects and enables that economy.The republicans were big on "user fees" a while back, and taxes are no different. It's not "redistribution", rather it is part of recognizing the value of a functioning government to enable an economy in which you can profit.Who knows, maybe the idea of sharing the wealth with those who enable it through paying higher wages might "trickle up" to the small recesses of the mind, rather than greed and selfishness.You want to prevent mortgage failures? Pay a living wage. Feed the bottom of the economy, allow people to enjoy a life with dignity, and it will happen. And when the world doesn't end, then we can start paying attention to real problems.How about25. Stem cell research leading to medical procedures that save the lives of thousands of diabetics, alzheimer's, parkinson's, dimentia, and several cancers (like lymphoma, a personal interest).26. Scientific research in general, an atmosphere of rationality rather than repression. Increased government investment in new knowldege.And let's add a few:31. A return to positive participation in the UN and an easing of artificial restrictions of the use of US money: give with a free heart or don't give.32. An end to wire-tapping of Americans and a return to honoring the constitution.33. Closing down Gitmo, black ops renditions, hiding prisoners, etc.34. Making friends, not enemies.Enjoy.Edited by RAZD, : added re Message 42

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

You're both wrong The gov't would not be interested in producing the grass, just profiting from it, so it would be legalized and regulated like tobacco and alcohol, with a tax to the gov't for their share.The current big movers would become legal producers, like Jack Daniels, and competition would keep the product from going to (pardon the pun) pot.Enjoy.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

Finally, closing a chapter on one of the worst over-reaches of the BushII constitution breaking, treaty busting, human rights violations in american history. BushII has created more terrorist due to locking people up in Gitmo than he and his henchmen kept there, perverting justice, and freedom, and breaking international treaties (Geneva Convention for one), and in the process trashing the reputation of the US as a country that honors justice. Wow! a bug-bear two-fer! You get to "scare" us with both religious fanaticism AND communism.Fallacy of appeal to consequences, Buz.Personally I think closing gitmo will do more to (a) restore the US in the worlds eye as a place dedicated to freedom and justice (as opposed to repression and arbitrary punishment), and (b) reduce terrorism in the long run.Bravo, Obama, well done.Enjoy.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

Why should this make a difference in how people are treated? If our rights and freedoms are truly based on the concept that all people are equal, that all people have basic inalienable rights, that all people should be treated equally under the law, with habeus corpus and trial by one's peers, where they have an opportunity to see and to challenge the evidence against them, etc etc etc ...... where is there a line that can honestly be drawn that excludes some people from these basic principles of justice? And this is sufficient excuse to throw away our heritage of fair treatment, to spit in the face of treaties signed about treatment of prisoners, and to discard so carelessly the best argument we had about the treatment of our people in foreign prisons?Why aren't we better off saying "look how we treat our prisoners, please treat out people the same" from the moral high ground, instead of wallowing in the playground retoric "but he did it first" ... ? The biggest lie ever told. There are three major problems with this argument:(1) If they are not "legitimiate army prisoners of war covered under the Geneva prisoner guidelines" then neither can our soldiers be "legitimiate army prisoners of war covered under the Geneva prisoner guidelines" because they are fighting the same battles.(2) this means that the invasion is not a legitimate war, and that those that started it should be prosecuted as war criminals.(3) The Geneva convention is designed to cover the treatment of prisoners in the most trying of times, when normal laws do not apply. As such it should be regarded as a minimum level of humane treatment of prisoners. How. dare. you.You know nothing of these people or of the conditions that lead to their being incarcerated.I think I'll go be sick.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

Nor is "common sense" used as a measure of rational behavior. People who "need professional help" are generally evaluated based on their irrational behavior and how they react to common experiences. Color for empHAsis.Believing the world is flat at the center of the universe around which all else revolves would be one example of a false belief. If you deny all the evidence that points to an oblate spheroid orbiting the sun in an outer arm of the galaxy in order to maintain this belief, then this is delusional.Likewise, believing that the earth is young would be an example of a false belief. If you deny all the evidence that points to an old earth, with evidence of many things having existed for millions of years and the best estimate for the age of the earth being 4.55 billion years old, in order to maintain this belief, then this is delusional.Common sense has nothing to do with it: for anyone who is clinically delusional it would seem to be common sense to believe what they believe.Enjoy

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

Hey Straggler, But some are better than others. Right now the US system has resulted in lower net wages available for living once health care premiums are paid, and you are screwed if you don't have it. Just my treatments alone would have bankrupted my family. Fortunately I was covered by the medical program from work AND that they kept it going for the 5 months I was out of work in treatment or in recovery. They went above and beyond, and it is a small company. Another nasty element of the US system is that if I change medical programs now, I have a pre-existing condition that can limit my coverage.By contrast, when we lived in Canada I had wisdom teeth extracted and we had our son by C-section, etc, all at gov't cost -- even though we were landed immigrants and not full citizens. There was no question of limited coverage. It is because it is socialist and for the typical right wing-nut anything that even has a whiff of socialism is bad by definition. It doesn't matter that they could benefit from it.You have to call it something else, to get around the programmed knee-jerk automatic response (like using other words to describe evolution). You do benefit, as you do not need to worry about coverage or get a policy, but yes it is very little cost when run properly, for the benefit of the people rather than for the profit of the few.Personally I think the US will still have a tough time getting any kind of system in place, even one that just covers kids. Curiously, people don't seem to mind purchasing car insurance in order to drive, even though it is socialized car repair.Enjoy.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.

---

• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •