Steve

Hey HH, how I first learned about it was several years ago. There was a radio talk show in LA that was syndicated called The Larry Elder show. He was a black conservative/libertarian. He had a guest that discussed it. This was during the 'Billary' health plan days. I've posted links to the AMA's wiki info before and I'll do it again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Medical_Association The AMA's political positions throughout its history, however, have often been controversial. In the 1930s, the AMA attempted to prohibit its members from working for the then-primitive health maintenance organizations that had sprung up during the Great Depression, which violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and resulted in a conviction ultimately affirmed by the US Supreme Court.[4] The AMA's vehement campaign against Medicare in the 1950s and 1960s included the Operation Coffee Cup supported by Ronald Reagan. Since the enactment of Medicare, the AMA reversed its position and now opposes any "cut to Medicare funding or shift [of] increased costs to beneficiaries at the expense of the quality or accessibility of care". The AMA also "strongly supports subsidization of prescription drugs for Medicare patients based on means testing".[citation needed] However, the AMA remains opposed to any single-payer health care plan that might enact a National Health Service in the United States, such as the United States National Health Care Act. In the 1990s, the organization was part of the coalition that defeated the health care reform advanced by Hillary and Bill Clinton. The AMA has also supported changes in medical malpractice law to limit damage awards, which, it contends, makes it difficult for patients to find appropriate medical care. In many states, high risk specialists have moved to other states that have enacted reform.

I've read where there is collusion to keep the number of doctors to a certain amount so as not to 'flood' the market. More doctors means less average wage. I have to find that article somewhere. Basically it says that the medical industry, particularly the AMA which is a guild, saw the legal industry and the number of lawyers out there and didn't want it to happen to them. From what I understand (and I dont know for sure) American medical school entry is tougher than other industrialized nations but we all know that European doctors and other industrialized physicians are on average just as good as American doctors. In highy specialized procedures, yes, American doctors are the best but most people don't need complicated brain surgery or a need to have their cojoined, siamese twins separated. Basic medical needs can be done by more doctors IF we will allow them. I have a friend of mine who was a top UCLA student. She's a brainiac. Malaysian Indian descent, very good MCAT scores and had to go to the Caribbean for medical school because she couldn't get into a good enough medical school. She got through the Caribbean school with flying colors and is finally in residency in Philadelphia. (pretty girl as well btw. Just a buddy, like a sista really but hot!!) Plenty of sub continent doctors come to America and easily obtain a medical license because their training was as good as Americans here. The AMA and the medical industry have tried to market the brutal selection process as one of public safety guaranteeing the best medical care in the world but in reality its about keeping the numbers low. The AMA is NOT obligated under the hippocratic oath, its members are but the actual organization is a guild for doctors. As I've posted links to this a few times, the AMA has initally fought EVERY progressive advancement including HMOs, Medicaid, nationalized healthcare because initially they thought it would reduce their wages. They came on board for Medicaid when they saw how much money they could make through their lobbying efforts to change it to their advantage but they were intially against it.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/07/u-s-jews-should-heed-top-israeli-soldiers-who-oppose-bombing-iran.html perhaps American Jews should start noticing that an astonishing number of Israel’s top soldiers and spies are warning against bombing Iran. It began last summer, when Meir Dagan, fresh from a highly successful, eight-year stint as head of the Mossad, called attacking Iran “the stupidest thing I have ever heard.†He noted that while in office, he had joined with Yuval Diskin, director of the Shin Bet, and Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Fund, to block this “dangerous adventure.†Since then, a throng of current and former security officials have issued similar warnings. In December, Dagan’s successor at Mossad, Tamir Pardo, suggested that an Iranian nuclear weapon was not an existential threat. This month, another former Mossad chief, Efraim Halevy, declared that “it is not in the power of Iran to destroy the state of Israel.†Former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz added that “Iran poses a serious threat but not an existential threat†and that bombing would mean “taking upon ourselves a task that is bigger than us.†It’s remarkable, when you think about it. Almost every week, Israeli security officials say things about Iran’s nuclear program that, if Barack Obama said them, would get him labeled anti-Israel by American Jewish activists and the GOP

Flash, I'd be the worse President ever but thanks. Actually, I think you guys on here should be in the room when policy decisions are made.

http://www.thenation.com/article/165979/sure-apple-could-build-iphone-here Sure, Apple Could Build the iPhone Here When President Obama dined with the kings of Silicon Valley last year and asked, “Why can’t that work come home?†Jobs’s reply was “unambiguousâ€: “Those jobs aren’t coming back.†In loyalties, Apple is spiritually offshore. “We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries,†an Apple executive told the Times. “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.†It was the phrase about having no obligation that riled up Clyde Prestowitz, one of the US government’s top trade negotiators in the Reagan years. In an acrid posting on the Foreign Policy website and in a chat over the phone with me from his winter quarters in Maui, Prestowitz efficiently dismembered Apple’s “no obligation†pretensions and its rationale for why it and kindred companies had no alternative to offshoring. In the 1981–86 period, Prestowitz says, Jobs and his executives “had the funny notion that the US government had an obligation to help them…. We did all we could, and in doing so came to learn that virtually everything Apple had for sale, from the memory chips to the cute pointer mouse, had had its origins in some program wholly or partially supported by US government money…. The heart of the computer is the microprocessor, and Apple’s derived from Motorola’s 680X0, which was developed with much assistance, direct and indirect, from the Defense Department, as were the DRAM memory chips. The pointer mouse came from Xerox’s PARC center near Stanford (which also enjoyed government funding). In addition, most computer software at that time derived from work with government backing.†Prestowitz points out that Apple also assumes the US government is obligated to stop foreign pirating of Apple’s intellectual property and, should supply chains in the Far East be disrupted, to offer the comforting support of the Seventh Fleet. “And those supply chains. Are they the natural product of good old free market capitalism, or does that scalability and flexibility and capacity to mobilize large numbers of workers on a moment’s notice have something to do with government subsidies and the interventionist industrial policies of most Asian economies?†What about those jobs that “aren’t coming backâ€? We’re not talking about simple assembly that costs a bundle per unit in America and mere cents in China. In the mid-’90s, at the Apple plant in Elk Grove, California, the cost of building a computer was $22 a machine, compared with as little as $5 at a factory in Taiwan. This is not a dominant factor when the machine sells for $1,500 and you have costs like transport to figure in. Furthermore, stricken America is actually becoming a low-wage magnet. The high-wage, more complicated manufacturing jobs are in microprocessors, memory chips, displays, circuitry, chip sets and so forth. This is where America is supposed to have a comparative advantage. So why are Asian countries supplying the memory chips and microprocessors and displays instead of the United States? Prestowitz points to government subsidies and protection for Asian producers, currency manipulation and bureaucratic pressure on US corporations by Beijing to make the product in China. So there’s nothing irrevocable about the job loss. US workers, taught the necessary skills, can put things together properly. But if the jobs keep going away, why would any American lay out the money to learn those skills? Obama’s recent State of the Union speech was a step in the right direction: calling on business leaders to “ask what you can do to bring the jobs back.†Specifically, he proposed ending tax breaks for US corporations operating overseas, rewarding US-based production and turning the unemployment sinkhole into a re-employment system. “These jobs could and would come back to America,†says Prestowitz, “if Washington were to begin to respond tit for tat to the mercantilist game…. It wouldn’t be difficult to make a lot more of the iPhone in America and to make it competitively if either Apple or the US government really wanted that to happen.â€

http://www.thenation.com/article/165979/sure-apple-could-build-iphone-here Sure, Apple Could Build the iPhone Here When President Obama dined with the kings of Silicon Valley last year and asked, “Why can’t that work come home?†Jobs’s reply was “unambiguousâ€: “Those jobs aren’t coming back.†In loyalties, Apple is spiritually offshore. “We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries,†an Apple executive told the Times. “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.†It was the phrase about having no obligation that riled up Clyde Prestowitz, one of the US government’s top trade negotiators in the Reagan years. In an acrid posting on the Foreign Policy website and in a chat over the phone with me from his winter quarters in Maui, Prestowitz efficiently dismembered Apple’s “no obligation†pretensions and its rationale for why it and kindred companies had no alternative to offshoring. In the 1981–86 period, Prestowitz says, Jobs and his executives “had the funny notion that the US government had an obligation to help them…. We did all we could, and in doing so came to learn that virtually everything Apple had for sale, from the memory chips to the cute pointer mouse, had had its origins in some program wholly or partially supported by US government money…. The heart of the computer is the microprocessor, and Apple’s derived from Motorola’s 680X0, which was developed with much assistance, direct and indirect, from the Defense Department, as were the DRAM memory chips. The pointer mouse came from Xerox’s PARC center near Stanford (which also enjoyed government funding). In addition, most computer software at that time derived from work with government backing.†Prestowitz points out that Apple also assumes the US government is obligated to stop foreign pirating of Apple’s intellectual property and, should supply chains in the Far East be disrupted, to offer the comforting support of the Seventh Fleet. “And those supply chains. Are they the natural product of good old free market capitalism, or does that scalability and flexibility and capacity to mobilize large numbers of workers on a moment’s notice have something to do with government subsidies and the interventionist industrial policies of most Asian economies?†What about those jobs that “aren’t coming backâ€? We’re not talking about simple assembly that costs a bundle per unit in America and mere cents in China. In the mid-’90s, at the Apple plant in Elk Grove, California, the cost of building a computer was $22 a machine, compared with as little as $5 at a factory in Taiwan. This is not a dominant factor when the machine sells for $1,500 and you have costs like transport to figure in. Furthermore, stricken America is actually becoming a low-wage magnet. The high-wage, more complicated manufacturing jobs are in microprocessors, memory chips, displays, circuitry, chip sets and so forth. This is where America is supposed to have a comparative advantage. So why are Asian countries supplying the memory chips and microprocessors and displays instead of the United States? Prestowitz points to government subsidies and protection for Asian producers, currency manipulation and bureaucratic pressure on US corporations by Beijing to make the product in China. So there’s nothing irrevocable about the job loss. US workers, taught the necessary skills, can put things together properly. But if the jobs keep going away, why would any American lay out the money to learn those skills? Obama’s recent State of the Union speech was a step in the right direction: calling on business leaders to “ask what you can do to bring the jobs back.†Specifically, he proposed ending tax breaks for US corporations operating overseas, rewarding US-based production and turning the unemployment sinkhole into a re-employment system. “These jobs could and would come back to America,†says Prestowitz, “if Washington were to begin to respond tit for tat to the mercantilist game…. It wouldn’t be difficult to make a lot more of the iPhone in America and to make it competitively if either Apple or the US government really wanted that to happen.â€

Flash (and others) I suspect the turnuot in this election will be markedly lower than '08. I get a feeling of a general malaise amongst people. A lot of folks won't vote. I think a lot of Republicans are not excited by Romney. He would need a VP to make up for it. If he was smart he'd get a Santorum type. Santorum would conceivably bring Penna. and the base. Michigan and Penna. of the big swing states and if he can get either of Florida or Ohio, it would put a lot of pressure on Obama. I don't want Santorum but if its a strategy to win, that's whom. Paul would be an intersting VP choice as well. He would poll very well against Obama and bring in independents. As for Obama, drop Biden. Biden won't leave. His ego is loving being VP. Hillary would be a choice that would poll well. With Hillary you get Bill on the stump which can be a risk. He can get you votes or hurt you big time. I am no fan of Hillary but if the goal is to get re-elected, Hillary is better than Biden. She will re-invigorate the base. Romney will get nominated and his next big chance of narrowing is his VP choice.

I prefer a carrot than a stick with regards to wholescale changes that changes our lifestyle. Hybrids are one of them. Make it ecnomically advantageous to get people to do it. You can still buy gas only cars but it won't look as attractive. Also, befor we do it, get the G8 to do it as well. For Detroit the government purchases guarantees hundreds of thousands of vehicles. This would include Post Office vehicles, Jeeps for the army, etc. Not just your standard staff car. Trust me, you'd be surprised at the innovations car companies will come up with once they see a the size of the market. I have absolutely no doubt. This would also greatly reduce our need for oil. If the G8 nations do it, the rest of the world has to follow. It has no choice. China and India may be the biggest hold outs to due to the logistics and size of their countries but Europe would go along with it, as well as Japan. The world would have no choice as I said though if the biggest nations are changing their economies to reflect it. They'll be slower to adapt but they'll work toward it. The Middle East would be the biggest region hurt by it as well as the other major oil producing countries (Venuezuela, Nigeria). They all better figure out another way to make some money. Tons of brick ready jobs. Don't know what's up with that actually but there are a lot of white collar related and tech jobs in infrastructure as well. Have a sweet heart deal for areas that really do need hi speed bullet trains such as California, the north east Boston to Washington corridor. Possibly links between the Texan cities of Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio. Federal Dept. of Transportation money if residents of that state allow it. I'd allow those who have med school and dental school and nursing school loans to be able to have part of forgiven if they work for a certain length of time at clinics/hospitals in low income rural areas (W. Virginia, Mississippi, etc.) and urban areas (Harlem, south Central, East LA). Legalize pot, gay marriages. Allow ex cons to vote in federal elections. If you've served your time and have paid your debt to society you should then be a full member of society. You can be an ex con and be President but not vote. Makes no sense. Either you've paid your debt to society or you've not. Controversial but its fair. Any one convicted of personal use quantities of hard drugs are not jailed but have house arrest with an ankle bracelet, attend manadatory drug counseling and perhaps volunteer work. This will reduce the jail population. Same with non violent offenses like DUI, white collar crime, and a host of other items. Fines and house arrest for non working hours. You can still work and be a contributing member of society but are under house arrest for 12 hours a day. 8pm to 8am or another time that accomodates work schedule. Weekends, home under house arrest. 3-6 months depending on severity. Open back up the state and country mental hospitals that Reagan closed and single handedly created the vast homeless problem in America. Make many federal functions contracted work/temporary work instead of permanent to reduce the high cost of government and retirement monies paid in or outsource a lot of it. Immigration. Actually defend the border with a combinatin of technology (drones--unarmed drones...lol, motion and heat detection in sparsly populated areas, cameras, etc.) and with bodies. Grant green cards to the ones already here who don't have a criminal record. Yes, they came here illegally and broke the law but they are already here and in great numbers (approx. 12 million). Grandfather anyone who has been here for more than a year with a green card and if they stay out of trouble, gainfully employed, etc, can apply for citzenship within 7 years. If you serve in the military you can speed up the citizenship time. Combat service, automatic citizenship. No more bailouts. Criminal prosecution automatically of present and/or former CEOs and managment in charge of the departments that do that shit again. Any and all bonuses earned during that time gets taken back. Commuter's rebate. Write off transportation costs for bus/subway on taxes and if your car has under a certaiin mileage over the course of a year you get to write off part of your car insurance bill. Foreign policy: Recognize Cuba. Make nice with Fidel and open up Cuba to American trade. Give up Guantanomo if need be to cut a deal and normalize relations. Get out of the Israel/Palestine negotiation business. Have the U.N. be the main mediator. America can help, advise, etc. but not be the main country. Close all Middle East basis. Close all European bases. Close S. korean and Japanese bases. Drop NAFTA. Other shit: Change the national minimum wage law. Its a one size fits all wage. The cost of living in Philadelphia, MS and Philadelphia, PA are two totally different ones. Minium wage should reflect the LOCAL livabble wage. States can determine what their minimum should be. They pretty much do. 7.25 I think is the national minimum. That's pretty low but it should reflect the local cost of living. National lottery. This would bring in many billions of dollars. The winning state gets a part of it. This only taxes the willing. Proceeds can fund something exclusively. Social Security or whatever. Whatever it funds, it can not be used for anything else, no IOUs, etc.

HH buddy, foreign companies ALWAYS wish to do business in America. Its been a no brainer for decades. We're the biggest, richest market. The bonus or them is that they can play 50 states against each other to get the best deal possible. Programs that Obama is doing such as improving infrastrucure actually entices foreign companies to come to America. As far as Romney he created jack schitt. Bain is not in the job creation business...nor should it. Its in the money making business. As far as Perry: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2011/08/16/how-rick-perry-created-jobs-in-texas So to figure out why the Texas economy has outperformed the nation's, I analyzed data from the government's Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine what kinds of jobs have been created and destroyed in Texas since the beginning of 2008. Then I compared that to national data. (BLS's statewide data only go through the end of 2010, so I used national data for the same timeframe.) The numbers confirm that the job picture in Texas is much brighter than elsewhere. But they also show that Texas has benefited disproportionally from growth at all levels of government. Here's a detailed breakdown: Total jobs. Texas: Up 0.7 percent since the beginning of 2008. U.S: Down 5.6 percent. Since the recession began, Texas has added about 75,000 jobs, one of the few states with any job creation at all. Overall, the U.S. economy has lost about 5.6 million jobs since then. But net job gains in Texas have come entirely from government hiring, which accounts for 115,000 new jobs over the past three years. The private sector in Texas shed about 40,000 jobs during that time. This the CS job creation plan and policy changes. Some of which I've mentioned before. (* only throw fresh fruit) 1. Allow Americans to amortize the half the cost of 100% American made hybrid vehicles over a 5 or 7 year period. Max 30k cost of car. 2. Over a period of 10 years, replace ALL local, state and federal vehicles to hybrids. Again, American made only. Work out an agreement with all states to do this and have a plan for replacement. 3. Set up refueling kiosks at all government buildings. Allow businesses and gas stations to amortize 100% of the cost of refueling stations or hybrids (electric refueling). Get an agreement with the major hotel and motel chains. 4. Massive infrastructure spending. Not only bridges, tunnels and roads but also to have America wired for internet. In S. Korea and other countries bus stations have GPS connections that allow you to know when the next bus will arrive. Create tons of jobs to do the same in America, especially urban areas. 5. Get an agreement with the states and major ubran bus lines to convert all city busses to natural gas operated. LA has a huge us fleet and they are all natural gas operated. 6. Lower corporate tax rate substantially but ONLY for any business that has no overseas income, offices, plants, etc. Companies who operate solely in the U.S. and hire solely within America. Multinational companies are fine. They make enough money. They can have their foreign plants and workers but we shouldn't be giving them a tax reduction for doing so. 7. No sales tax on American made products. 8. This is already being done with Brazil and China but I'd reduce and speed up tourist visas for EU countries as well as other industrialized nations. 9. This one is risky as it may lose jobs I guess but to force the medical industry to reduce the cost of medical care, allow people who have to have life threatening or certain surgeries or medical operations the ability to write off part of their traveling expenses for medical tourism (with receipts so you're not underwriting vacations) 10. Allow pharma companies to amortize and write off R&D costs of breakthrough drugs IF they allow a negotiated reduced fee for its use. Special work permit to visas for qualified foreign doctors and specialists. 11. Convert housing projects to private ownership for those grandfathered in before a certain date and have been in housing for a specified period of time. Make instant property owners of the nation's poorest. 12. Strengthen the credit union system. Have an agreement where they cash state and federal checks free of charge. 13. Tear up the Patriots Act and change the TSA objective at airports. Change airport security to be similar to Israel's. Hire people who are adept at identifying potential terrorists, etc. 14. Audit the Federal Reserve Bank 15. Repatriate almost all overseas military personnel and close overseas bases. Modernize and update the VA hospitals. Recognize the combat related maladies. 16. End corporate welfare.

“I’m disillusioned by the people who are disillusioned by Obama, quite honestly, I am,†â€Democrats eat their own. Democrats find singular issues and go, ‘Well, I didn’t get everything I wanted.’ I’m a firm believer in sticking by and sticking up for the people whom you’ve elected. “If he was a Republican running, because Republicans are better at this,†Clooney continued, “they’d be selling him as the guy who stopped 400,000 jobs a month from leaving the country. They’d be selling him as the guy who saved the auto-industry. If they had the beliefs, they’d be selling him as the guy who got rid of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ who got Osama bin Laden. You could be selling this as a very successful three years.†http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/george-clooney-ides-march-barack-obama-republicans/story?id=14685674

Hmmm

Its Black History month! hahahaha...A friend of mine sent it to me. He's not black or a liberal and his sending it made me laugh so hard I spit out the juice I was drinking.

One of the main reasons I find it hard to vote Republican any longer or specific the ones that cater to this group. Not all Christians are the same. I certainly don't identify myself with them. They think differently about the same bible that I do in a few things.

These national polls may make for good coffee table discussions but they really don't mean much. 40 of the 50 states are decided. What matters most is who is leading in the swing states and the most important of them are Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania. Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, Virginia round out the rest. If either wins both Florida and Ohio its basically over. Of the 4 biggest swing states, Romney has the advantage. He'll win his dad's state, Michigan and he's within striking distance, even or slightly ahead in the rest. Obama would easily beat Gingrich and Santorum.

I've mentioned him before but Cory Booker is the best elected official in America. He is the type of person we need to run for President one day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker Saw this recently, its his view on gay marriage. I used to be against it. When I was I said I was a hypocrite because constitutionally it should be allowed but my personal beliefs and prejudices just couldn't get my head around it being legal. I have changed and come to grips with it. Do I want to see two guys kiss? Hell effin no. But then again I don't want to see two fat people kiss or see my ex gf kiss her new bf either and neither shouldn't be illegal (except a Tottenham and Arsenal couple). http://front.moveon.org/cory-booker-nails-marriage-equality-in-5-minutes/#.Ty2WgaDllTX.facebook

In grade school we had to ask the oldest members or our family or save that visit a nursing home and ask someone about a period in history. One classmate spoke to someone who was old enough to remember FDR and hated him. Called him King Roosevelt and she said many referred to him such. Anyway, Quote Of The Day: Justice O’Connor Cracks On Nasty Newt Gingrich And Moneymaking Mitt “One Is A Practicing Polygamist — And He’s Not Even The Mormon!†I got accepted into Annapolis but didn't go. I was a horny 17yo. I wanted to experience regular college life with lots of girls and frats and such...boy did I! One of my older brothers was in the Navy and was the only one in my family that thought it was a bad idea to go...he said he'd never salute me (you're an office once you leave). I actually gave serious consideration to going into the military because I wanted to go to Europe and thought the army was my best way of going. I spoke to a recruiter as well.

Sorry if this is a hijack of sorts but what movies would you like to see a prequel or sequel to? I'll go first. Prequel to Harry Potter showing the rise of Voldemort and his parents and others when they were younger up to the point Harry survives the killing curse. Sequel movie about the tv show The Wire.

Agreed. That number seems very low. It has to be everyone including women and children and all ages. I recall a documentary about WWII where there were cases of men committing suicide because they are 4F and couldn't serve and couldn't live with themselves having to stay home during the war with their neighbors knowing. Wow, that's deep. These were small communities usually. It was a time from what I heard that both parties and everyone was on the same page pretty much.

Do I think Obama has done some things or let some things go on that are unconstitutional. Definitely. What I don't like about the picture is the lack of balance. Maybe its beacuse he's the current President and if so, I can see that point but won't agree. Bush has done far more to walk over the Constitution. Far, far more in comparison that its very unfair to depict Obama alone. Balance. We don't have a lot of it. Especially from the right. So many things they say about Obama acting wrong (and rightfully so) but neglecting that their man would do the same or worse. Its very hyprocritical.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/mortgage-fraud-new-york-ag-schneiderman-sues-banks-electronic_n_1252793.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=1624956,b=facebook The Friday suit positions Schneiderman to go after another piece of the mortgage securitization system that's been blamed for foreclosure fraud: the system that banks use to facilitate the creation of mortgage backed securities. Banks use the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, or MERS, to register mortgage loan ownership. Before the creation of the system in 1995, registration took place at local courthouses, slowing down the process of bundling individual mortgages into securities. More than 70 million mortgages have been registered with MERS, according to a press release from Schneiderman's office. The Friday lawsuit claims that the system led to fraudulent foreclosures, undermined the state's process for reviewing foreclosure cases and made it difficult for homeowners to access mortgage-related documents, said Schneiderman in the press statement About a year ago, Schneiderman was selected to join the small group of state attorneys general partnering with the Obama administration to negotiate a deal for desperate borrowers struggling to keep their homes. Under the proposed settlement, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi and GMAC would provide $25 billion in homeowner assistance as retribution for their mortgage-related wrongdoings, which include wrongful foreclosures and forged documents. Schneiderman eventually left the negotiations over fears that the settlement would release the banks from future lawsuits. “It’s sort of like being in criminal case and having someone say, ‘OK, you've got me on this gun charge. I'll plead guilty, but I need you to give me a release from anything else I might have done, before you look into anything else I might have done," Schneiderman said on WNYC last month. "You don't do that." I have no problem with captalism. I love it. Capitalism is darwinian but fair. What many corporations do are not fair. Many say corporations are over regulated. There is some truth in that but by and large they need to be. People are under the erroneous notion that since American corporations are headed by Americans they work in America's best interest. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Some do, some are patriotic but far too many work for their own company's self interest. Not saying they shouldn't. They should. They have a fiduciary duty to. But that is why they need to be regulated in part. Another reason is that they are so pressured for profits and so greedy that they will lie, cheat, steal or at best enter that murky gray area of the law. Let me ask you all this. If we removed all environmental laws, how many companies do you think would not dump chemicals and waste into the rivers and streams if there were no legal consequences? If there were no legal consequences would any company refuse to hire children for all manner of work? You say a small number? I am not so sure. The same banks we are bailing out have screwed us over twice. They get bailed out with our own money and then foreclose on the very same people. Neither Obama or Romney have the will or desire to do what is right. I have to assume a good number of American's are 'Stckholmed'. There must be many registered republicans amongst the ones forced out of their homes. There must be many registered republicans that have filed bankruptcy due to medical bills from a failed system. Yet, you'd still have these very same people calling the Occupy Wall St. people and those who want to reform and make health care fairer, socialists! I can't understand it.

http://silverunderground.com/2012/02/fed-news-friday-father-son-duo-ron-and-rand-paul-take-on-the-fed-in-the-house-and-senate-with-twin-federal-reserve-transparency-acts-of-2011/ Thanks to the one-time only, and limited Dodd-Frank audit of the Federal Reserve, we already know that some pretty glaring conflicts of interest exist at the Fed and that it loaned $16 trillion at low no interest to big banks at the height of the financial crisis, a lot more than the comparatively paltry $700 billion bailout publicly authorized by Congress. But U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, and now his son, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-TX and R-KY, respectively) are at it again, working hard to make sure the American people get to know the Fed’s deeper and darker secrets, the ones that didn’t even make it into the limited Dodd-Frank audit, the ones that I can only imagine must be worse than the $16 trillion robbery that you and I will be paying for until our dying day with dollars that are going to lose their value and purchasing power at an accelerating rate because of all this. With the Federal Reserve Transparency Acts of 2011, (H.R. 459 in the House, and S.202 in the Senate) Ron and Rand Paul are sponsoring bills that will require the Federal Reserve to open the windows and let in the bright, sterilizing sunlight of public scrutiny. The big news is: Ron Paul’s bill has 199 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives; that’s just 19 away from a majority of representatives! In the U.S. Senate, Rand Paul’s bill has 19 co-sponsors. Interestingly, they’re all Republicans. This isn’t a partisan rant, but it does seem odd that Senate Democrats would pass up on the opportunity to create more transparency and do some deeper investigation into the largest private corporation in the world. Don’t Democrats like being tough on corporate corruption, greed, and secrecy? To show I am not biased, shame on the Democrats. Audiing the Fed is a no brainer. I want to know one reason why ANY one in Washington is againt it. 16 friggin trillion dollars. Why isn't someone in jail or hauled in front of the Congress for this? Why isn't the Fed chief hauled in or out of a job. Its a theft. Pure and simple. Congress authorized a certain amount and they gave away 16 trillion knowing it can't be paid back. Call it loan all you want but you and I know it won't be paid back. Not even a cent of it.

Maybe its because I'm bored and need a life but I'd like to ask some of you what would be your platform if you were a candiate. What are your policy positons and what do you want to do if you were president?

I am not gonna take points from Romney over the poor comment when taken in its entire concept he said there is a social safety net for the very poor. I may not think he's right in its adequacy but I won't see it as anti poor. Just my opinion, others may and I could see their point. The Ohio poll is cruical for Obama. I don't think he'll win Florida. He has a fighting chance but I'm not so sure. Same with Pennsylvania. He'll lose Michigan, a swing state because Romney's dad was governor there. I've repeated this in a previous post but thought I'd share it again. Obama v. Romney – Florida. Dead heat from an average of different polls. However, the poll with the 2nd widest sample has Obama winning and the biggest has a dead heat. I thought Romney would take Florida. Obama has a chance though. So, can’t write off Florida yet. If Obama takes Florida, its over ossibly. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/fl/florida_romney_vs_obama-1883.html Obama v. Romney – Pennsylvania. Obama with a slight lead, about 3% points and that’s not enough to say he’ll take the state. Penna. Is a weird state. Some pollster described it as Phila and Pittsburgh democratic and Alabama in the middle. Close call. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/pa/pennsylvania_romney_vs_obama-1891.html

The fourth estate certainly aren't fair. Obama's approval rating is often showed and the intent is to say that he is not popular or doing a good job. However, the real truth is that Americans are upset at ALL poilticians. The fact that the Republican led Congress has the lowest approval rating since the '70s is rarely part of the discussion. If Americans are disappointing with politicians then Obama having the far higher approval rating of the two branches tells us more about his real job approval rating. It could be argued that the Congress has dragged his ratings down since they are lumped together as politicans. Romney is worse than Obama in my opinion. The Republicans are not fielding their best candidate but the one who polls well. That is more than enough reason for me to either vote for Obama or a good alternative in the person of a 3rd party candidate. The GOP has no soul. They've sold it to the defense industry, oil industry, etc. The Dems have sold out as well but at least they have people who still believe in their ideals (even if I disagree with some of them). So, in a lesser of two evils proposition, the Dems are far, far the better of the two right now. Their trying everything to quiet Ron Paul is added proof.