serena1313's Comments (476)

“It is amazing that the Republicans have not been called out for their hypocrisy. They recently voted against funding for explosives detection system and other aviation-security measures, the House just recently passed a Republican-authoured bill to ban the use of full body scanners not to mention it was Bush who had released the two terrorists allegedly responsible for the attacks on Christmas day.

Although the shoe bomber was unsuccessful, four attacks on 911 and several anthrax attacks were successfully executed while Bush was in office. In contrast since Obama has been in office there have been no successful attacks on US soil. However quietly and without fanfare -- in addition to capturing Najibullah Zazi, Talib Islam, and Hosam Maher Husein Smadi -- Obama successfully took out Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the ringleader of a Qaeda cell in Kenya and one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa; Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's enemy No.1 and the leader of its Taliban movement.

In 11 months Obama has accomplished far more than Bush did in 8 years. Yet the criticism never stops. It is 24/7/12.

When playing politics, political grandstanding and scoring political points take precedence over national security concerns it should be condemned loudly. Moreover it needs to end ... right now!”

“Napolitano's comment that the system worked was taken out of context. She was talking about what steps the government took in the aftermath of the attacks. What she said is,

"I think the comment is being taken out of context. What I'm saying is, once the incident occurred, moving forward, we were immediately able to notify the 128 flights in the air of protective measures to take, immediately able to notify law enforcement on the ground.... and the system that should have kept Abdulmutallab off the plane "failed miserably."

The media builds a narrative on comments taken out of context which gives people the wrong perception which is probably deliberate. Between that and not reporting the fact that Republicans just voted against funding for explosives detection systems and other aviation-security measures and the House just recently passed a Republican-authoured bill to ban the use of full body scanners hinders the public's ability to accurately assess situations.

Additionally DeMint's hold on Obama's nominee to head TSA has hampered the agency's ability to function properly. And with over 1 million names listed on Bush's no-fly list has also complicated matters.

So those who are calling for Napolitano to step-down might want to re-think their position. Because putting the blame squarely on Napolitano when there's plenty of blame to be spread around will not fix the problem.”

“Profiling people is just another attempt to demonize a whole sect of the world's population. Politicians who promote this kind of action apparently believe they can scare Americans to vote them back into power. But the politics of fear has led to perpetual war that ended up expanding corporate power and in return we are subjected to more surveillance, less freedom and less privacy.

We were told on a daily basis, during most of the last decade, to be afraid. That we were in danger and waging war would make us secure; It didn't. Profiling people hasn't either. In fact it proved counterproductive.

Until politicians stop using the politics of fear to blow blow things out of proportion in order to demonize Muslims and stop wasting time playing politics, long-term solutions are out of reach ... likewise so is our safety.

So rather than repeating the same proven failed strategies try changing US policies in the Middle-East instead.”

“You cannot just keep killing innocent civilians without radicalizing more people in the Middle-East. At a time when al-Qaeda's influence is on the wane attacking another country their recruitment will soar. Furthermore this whack-a-mole effort to rid the world of terrorism won't work because al-Qaeda will always find a safe haven.

The hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on perpetual war will ultimately be America's downfall:

"All that we have to do is to send two Mujahedin to the farthest point East to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qa'ida in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human economic and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits to their private companies. This is in addition to our having experience in using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers as we alongside the Mujahedin bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat. All Praise is due to Allah.

"So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."

--bin-Ladin”

“What about forcing drivers to buy car insurance? Isn't that the same as forcing everyone to purchase health insurance?”

“It is appalling that the media reports Sarah's "tweets" as if they add something substantial to the conversation. The media's abject failure to question or challenge her falsehoods and contradictions or call her out for using private airplanes to travel rather than the bus, etc... says more about the press than Sarah. Furthermore it is a testimonial to just how lame and lazy they have become.”

“Where has McCain been? Obama has bent over backwards to get the Republicans on-board.

President Obama has on many occasions met with the GOP leaders in the WH. He talked about the concessions he was willing to make, but when Obama asked what they were willing to give in return their answer was literally nothing.

Not only have the Republicans trashed healthcare reform, lied to the public and used fear mongering to scare senior citizens they took a 180 degree turn on their own ideas that had been added to the bill.

Apparently McCain forgot about the Gang of Six assigned to negotiate a healthcare bill. It was comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans: Enzi, Grassley and Snowe who did nothing but delay and delay and delay for months on end. Never mind that over 100 of their ideas were added to the bill they still refused to vote for it.

If McCain had actually made an effort to work in a bi-partisanship way he might have some credibility, but he cannot even acknowledge the fact that Republicans refuse to negotiate or even act as a loyal opposition party. McCain's arrogant hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

“You are absolutely correct. Blaming Obama for weakened, watered-down bills that get passed in the senate is reflexive. The real problem is that America's political system is broken. Between centre-right Democrats (Baccus, Nelson, Stupak, etc...) and the Republicans' ruthless opposition it is a wonder anything gets passed.

If progressives and liberals stay home during the mid-term elections, then we can forget about changing the status quo.”

“Mosby come on do you really believe Iran would commit instantaneous suicide? The US would annihilate Iran in a New York second. Iran has not attacked another nation for over 200 years and is not about to now.

If Iran did acquire a nuclear weapon, considering the close proximity of nuclear-armed countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Russia and Israel, it would be for deterrence or defense.

Furthermore Iran is a signatory and in full compliance with the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) whereas Israel has an arsenal of 300-400 nuclear bombs is not a signatory.

Bombing Iran would be a willful, immoral, reprehensible distraction that would do nothing but bring massive death and incite deeper hatred against America and Israel. But Limbaugh, being the hothead he is, does not care about that.

It is easy to start wars; it is much more difficult to communicate diplomatic wisdom. The former displays weakness, the latter, strength. Real solutions are found thru communication, diplomacy and negotiation. In contrast war feeds the very thing it set-out to destroy. Security and safety necessitates respect for human rights and the rule of law to achieve what war cannot.”

“In every respect the government is supposed to protect the health of our economy and the welfare of its citizens.

Those who promote deregulation ignore the human element: the market place, businesses and government cannot operate without human direction. When left to their own devices and with human nature being what it is temptation is hard to resist. Unfettered by regulations and oversight bankers, lenders and financial leaders got careless, reckless, greedy and took unnecessary risks. As a result overnight $40 Trillion disappeared in one fell swoop.

Regulation and oversight are the means necessary to keep the economy stable; bankers, financiers and lenders accountable; consumers, investors and businesses protected. With safeguards in place it will be easier to head-off foreseeable problems or perhaps soften the blow of an inevitable cataclysmic event.

But naysayers don't want government interference in any respect (except in our bedrooms) insist on deregulated markets despite the incalculable damage its caused.

However without regulations, safe-guards and consumer protections, who will bail us, the taxpayers, out the next time greedy risk-takers get out of control and the economy tanks? If not the government, who or what then?”

“flossophy

In every respect the government is supposed to protect the health of our economy and the welfare of its citizens.

Those who promote deregulation ignore the human element: the market place, businesses and government cannot operate without human direction. When left to their own devices and with human nature being what it is temptation is hard to resist. Unfettered by regulations and oversight bankers, lenders and financial leaders got careless, reckless, greedy and took unnecessary risks. As a result overnight $40 Trillion disappeared in one fell swoop.

Regulation and oversight are the means necessary to keep the economy stable; bankers, financiers and lenders accountable; consumers, investors and businesses protected. With safeguards in place it will be easier to head-off foreseeable problems or perhaps soften the blow of an inevitable cataclysmic event.

But naysayers don't want government interference in any respect (except in our bedrooms) insist on deregulated markets despite the incalculable damage its caused.

However without regulations, safe-guards and consumer protections, who will bail us, the taxpayers, out the next time greedy risk-takers get out of control and the economy tanks? If not the government, who or what then?”

“mockley

Iam really surprised that a Canadian hospital would ask someone as diametrically opposed to Canada's hc system as is Sarah to come speak. Apparently Macaluso, the guy who booked her, said her fee is around $200,000.

Are there any Canadians who really have an interest in hearing her speak?

If Sarah starts railing against Canada's "socialist" hc system, abortion rights etc. I would tend to think that would embarrass the hospital that is hosting her speech not to mention Canada !”

“Thank You. And yes I agree if Howard Dean, Wiener, Rockefeller and a few others are saying good things about it, I do have hope. Didn't Dean say something tonight, too, about the PO had been so watered down that it would not be effective.

What worries me though is the bill may not be filibuster-proof. So if this bill does not get through to conference what then?”

“Shouldn't we hold-off making a judgment until we know exactly what is in the Senate version first?

Personally I thought Pelosi sounded reasonable. If it turns out that there is a better way of containing costs and keeping insurance companies accountable, then great. We'll just have to wait and see what is in the bill. Furthermore we don't know yet what the CBO score is either.

However I do suggest we need to keep the pressure on our Senators and Congressional reps to get the best bill possible that helps everyone.”

“Well said... and fanned”

“I understand this is extremely important to all of us, however, we do not know yet what is actually in the bill.

The public option may have been renamed or maybe it has been eliminated altogether or perhaps replaced with something else (hopefully) to keep costs down. If it doesn't people are going to be rightfully angry.

Until we know whether this ends up as another huge giveaway to the insurance companies or if it is designed to help the people of this country, let's take a breath and not freak out.

.”

“John McCain was on a tirade complaining that he did not know what the deal is regarding Medicare cost-savings and Baucus was merely trying to explain it to him.

However it appears that McCain had no interest in learning "what the deal is" he just wanted to rant instead. So it is no wonder that McCain is one of the least informed Senators in the Senate. He doesn't listen; he throws tantrums over things he knows nothing about.”

“Apparently John McCain has forgotten about the dozens of lobbyists he hired to run his campaign last year and the millions of dollars he's raked in from lobbyists.

McCain is so quick to anger; he's had a problem with it his entire life. As a child he would hold his breath until his face turned blue and passed out. Even his long-time friend, Sen. Thad Cochran (R - Mississippi) had this to say last year: "[McCain] is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." In this particular video, however, McCain comes off as a pussycat compared to his usual rants.

McCain sails whichever direction the political winds are blowing. He'll say anything that is politically convenient. It is difficult to keep up with the number of times he has taken a stand on an issue only to do a 180 later. Just a year ago McCain was for cutting the waste in Medicare, now all of a sudden he is against it, but before that he wanted to privatize Medicare. He was for immigration reform and energy reform now he is against both. Those are only 3 examples out of many many more.

How can you trust a man who does not stand on principle or truth?

Simply put John McCain is an "erratic hotheaded" hypocrite.”

“Well said.

The world's glaciers are disappearing. Arctic ice is melting faster than had been predicted. A few islands are already under water as a direct result thereof. As sea levels continue to rise millions of people will be forced to migrate. access to food and fresh water will be problematic not to mention unaffordable.

The argument against doing something in fear of harming the economy is a ruse. Half of the US has been declared an agricultural disaster area. The oceans' dead zones are expanding. Sea life is disappearing at alarming rates. The increasing loss of revenue, already in the billions of dollars, will only get worse over time. Economic stress in conjunction with food and water shortages will eventually lead to a massive social upheaval. When we can no longer grow food or fish in our seas we'll have to depend on other nations for our survival.

The consequences are far too dire to ignore.”

“Sarah is driven by raw ambition to acquire power and anyone standing in her way had better move or face the consequences. On a litany of lies and the pretense of being a "regular" god-fearing patriot she built a following of loyal supporters. To convince people who have been victimized she is one of them, concocts stories bearing no resemblance to the truth about every person who ever "wronged" her. The fact that they believe her is troublesome.

What I would like to know is whether Sarah: 1) remembers her previous statements 2) believes no one will notice or if they do, it won't matter 3) is unaware that her statements are a matter of public record and easily fact checked 4) or doesn't care? Apparently Sarah seems to think fact-checks, videos and other indisputable evidence can be simply dismissed as attacks and lies against her. While her loyal followers are convinced that is the case, the general population, however, isn't.

For Sarah the name of the game is winning. Whatever it takes, whatever the costs whether going after mentors, friends and foes alike with a vengeance or twisting the truth, lying, playing the victim, Sarah does it with unnatural ease. Claiming victory is really all she wants, the prize is of little consequence notwithstanding. Once Sarah realizes it involves doing something she does not like or too difficult, simply quits, moves on to the next conquest and never looks back. Sarah's supporters ought to be prepared.”

“McCain wants open-ended military commitments, more wars and more troops. He thinks all of America's problems can be solved militarily. He is wrong.

Furthermore it is mind boggling that McCain and all the other critics complaining about Obama's exit strategy are so dense and/or forgetful. Do they not recall Osama bin-Ladin saying something to the effect that America will be brought to its knees spending money on never-ending wars. I remember Bush claiming that the Iraq war would cost $20 - $50 billion dollars which is what it would have cost if he had gone after the guys who attacked us the same way its always been done: intelligence gathering and good old fashioned police work. But instead Bush wanted war. To date we've already spent (borrowed) an astounding jaw-dropping $3 Trillion.

And what do we have to show for it: Almost 5000 troops killed; thousands lost limbs; tens of thousands have PTSD; broken marriages; hundreds of thousands of homeless vets, etc... not to mention the over 1 million Iraqis killed; 4 -5 million more displaced; their society, country and economy destroyed, etc...

What I do not understand is how somebody could be so wrong on every issue and still be considered credible. Thankfully McCain is not the president otherwise we'd probably be at war with Russia, China, North Korea and/or Iran.”

“McCain will have appeared on 16 Sunday morning talk shows including this week on MTP. He is not an expert, not a Party leader, McCain is just a Senator with no outstanding accomplishments, yet he has been on TV almost every 3 weeks slamming Obama's policies.

For someone who has been in the Senate for 30 years McCain ought to know that FY 2009 ended 30 September before he suggested holding 2009 discretionary spending at 2008 levels as a way to pay for increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. He called Obama's healthcare plan a monstrosity and an example of Enron accounting. Although lest we forget that McCain's economic policy adviser, Phil Gramm's wife was on the board of Enron.

John McCain is not only one of the most hawkish Senators in Washington he is also one of the least informed. If he had his way we'd never leave Iraq or Afghanistan. I would venture to say that he might have even bombed Iran by now.

Thankfully the American voters rejected McCain. Obama should, too.”

“Inasmuch as I don't like Obama's decision any more than you, I have to ask what would you have him do? Can we simply pull-out without any sort of exit plan?

I read something by SanJoseLady (SJL) posted on Daily Kos today that confirms what I have been reading elsewhere on the net. SJL describes her encounter with an Afghanistan woman who was only 8 when her family moved to Pakistan and then to the US. Last summer the woman returned to Afghanistan said she was very surprised to hear from many of the people she talked to that they preferred the Taliban to the Americans."

She said that "many, many" people told her that they do not feel safe not even in their own homes. American Soldiers kick in their doors in the middle of the night searching for Taliban members and other things. At least with the Taliban they never had to worry about that. Nor were people starving like now. "There are people who have jets, who have made millions of dollars," she said, "and these people are corrupt, they are filled with greed and care not for Afghanistan, only for themselves, and these are the people [America supports] running our country right now."

See:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/1/809705/-I-met-a-woman-from-Afghanistan-today.

The Afghanistan people are suffering. So instead of sending more troops, I suggest, sending humanitarian aid and workers in lieu thereof.”

“Media consolidation presents a real danger for democracy. Did you realize that only 118 people comprise the membership on the boards of directors of the ten big media giants & also sit on the corporate boards of 288 national and international corporations.

In 2005:

# New York Times: Caryle Group, Eli Lilly, Ford, Johnson and Johnson, Hallmark, Lehman Brothers, Staples, Pepsi

# Washington Post: Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, Dun & Bradstreet, Gillette, G.E. Investments, J.P. Morgan, Moody's

# Knight-Ridder: Adobe Systems, Echelon, H&R Block, Kimberly-Clark, Starwood Hotels

# The Tribune (Chicago & LA Times): 3M, Allstate, Caterpillar, Conoco Phillips, Kraft, McDonalds, Pepsi, Quaker Oats, Shering Plough, Wells Fargo

# News Corp (Fox): British Airways, Rothschild Investments

# GE (NBC): Anheuser-Busch, Avon, Bechtel, Chevron/Texaco, Coca-Cola, Dell, GM, Home Depot, Kellogg, J.P. Morgan, Microsoft, Motorola, Procter & Gamble

# Disney (ABC): Boeing, Northwest Airlines, Clorox, Estee Lauder, FedEx, Gillette, Halliburton, Kmart, McKesson, Staples, Yahoo

# Viacom (CBS): American Express, Consolidated Edison, Oracle, Lafarge North America

# Gannett: AP, Lockheed-Martin, Continental Airlines, Goldman Sachs, Prudential, Target, Pepsi

# AOL-Time Warner (CNN): Citigroup, Estee Lauder, Colgate-Palmolive, Hilton

Ever wonder why the public has been dumbed-down. Considering the flow of information is controlled by corporate board members, who aren't interested in democracy, it's hardly surprising that what passes as "news" today is the controversy, not the substance. Minus the context people are truly handicapped trying to understand complex and important issues. And it's getting worse.”

“Exactly!”