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@rewinn - if we're gonna talk about problems vs. percentages, consider that right now, 1 in every 6 dollars spent in the USA is directed towards health care. Back when I went to school, 1/6 was substantially bigger than 1/100! - Bigger percentage, bigger problem, no?
Americans have hidden behind the mask of their countries good intentions for
so long their faces have grown into it.
Americans have hidden behind the mask of their countries good intentions for
so long their faces have grown into it.
@harry,
I don't get it.
1/100th of the American economy in 2009 was pay and bonusses to investment bankers.
$14T economy
$0.16T pay and bonuses (more commonly written $160B)
You don't have to be a genius to see this is a problem.
@Zero G.re Sibel Edmonds: Don't worry.I'll take care of her.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, it is well and good to cut off the mercenaries. It would be better still to cut off the wars.
ps - What about Sibel Edmonds?
@mstaggerlee: Yeah. Occasionally, a vehicle with a 2-way radio raises my garage door. There's all kinds of electromagnetic energy zipping around that could, theoretically, interfere with electronics.
Anybody espousing dirty bomb threats should be labeled a terrorist. Transportable dirty bombs will result in zero deaths from the nuclear material. The bomb blast could kill.
Robert Gates:
"The thing to remember is that we’re at war. We are doing everything possible. General McChrystal is doing everything humanly possible to avoid civilian casualties. But it is also a fact that the Taliban mingle with civilians, they use them for cover, which obviously complicates any decision process by a commander on the ground in knowing whether he’s dealing with the Taliban or innocent civilians, or a combination of the two. I’m not defending it at all. I’m just saying that these kinds of things, in many respects, are inherent in a war. It’s what makes war so ugly."
Wrong Mr. Gates. It is what makes war so ILLEGAL. It is why we need to prosecute those who lead us into battle, whithout so much as a real forensic investigation into 9/11.
Gates, Bush, Cheney et al., and now Obama are all war criminals.
Thom may be right about at least ONE of the Toyota problems being more about software than hardware. I read in an engineering magazine that the Prius brakes are electrically controlled, not mechanically, and the problem seems to occur when switching from gas power to battery power. I suspect that when the power switches, something forces the software into a strange state from which it can't recover.
Concerning the "Red Light Cameras"... After falling victim to one in a strangely secluded intersection, I wanted to point out a glaring deception. IF a municipality truly wanted to DECREASE ACCIDENTS, then they would make the signage alerting drivers to a Red Light intersection VERY LARGE AND OBVIOUS. Drivers would know it's a dangerous intersection and would be very careful, or they would realize there would be a financial penalty and be more careful at that intersection. As it stands, the signage is small, sometimes blocked by vegetation, and traps motorists simply for financial gain.
@Douglas: lol. But I'm going to put my foot down.
"So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year? "- Christina Aguilera
@toddtemp - thinkbigactsmall.org
"Privatization" out of control:
Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29142654/
Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html
Some of these Toyota problems are really gaining momentum.
Quark - Seems to me that Pawlenty's efforts to wipe the smear of liberialism off MN is progressing nicely.
What was that URL about walking away from foreclosures? Something with "small" in the URL I think. Thanks.
@Charles. That's right. And at all levels, they're using the favorite neocon trick of outsourcing. subcontracts are a great way of diffusing the blame.
"You know that look women get when they want sex? Me neither!" - drew carey
harry ashburn and Charles in OH,
MN's disastrous economic decline can be traced directly to the Pawlenty gubenatorial terms. It's a very sad story for such a previously progressive state (which was why I moved here!)
@rewinn - Who could have thought Bernie to be pro-military?
Quark - The design of Reagonomics was to shift the cost of governance to the states. So many "con" state officials have adopted the same phylosophy, pushing it down to the city/county level.
Hey Thom - look into "The Stop Outsourcing Security Act"
"...., which will be introduced in the Senate by Vermont's Bernie Sanders, recognizes that the U.S. needs to end its reliance on private security contractors, and it would prohibit the use of private contractors for military, security, law enforcement, intelligence, and armed rescue functions. It would also increase transparency over any remaining contracts by increasing reporting requirements and Congressional oversight.
I'm launching an online campaign to gather citizen-co-sponsors for this legislation that has just been introduced on Capitol Hill. I need your help to restore those functions traditionally performed by the military, back to the military where they belong. "
THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE COMMON SENSE !
http://janschakowsky.org/blog/become-citizen-co-sponsor-stop-outsourcing...
@Quark;
" Pawlenty wants the Minnesota Legislature to cut the Minnesota corporate income tax by 20 percent from 9.8 percent of adjusted net profits to 7.8 percent, cut income taxes for small businesses by 20 percent, and exempt local investors from capital gains taxes made on certain local investments.”
Dick Cheney's heart monitor just had an orgasm.
"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." -George W. Bush
Thanks for talking about this mortgage disaster Thom. Too many are glossing over that its still happening. Rent prices are outrageous in my region (Los Angeles) too. I can't see how people can afford shelter these day unless they make well over the median income.