starlady7's Comments (752)

“Stunning birds! It is so important that people work hard to preserve the animal world...wo­rk and support habitat preservation and a healthy eco-system!!!! I am so afraid that mankind's proliferation and lack of care will irreversablely damage and kill off the animals and the beautiful unspoiled areas of the earth due to over population, industrialization, and the greed of Big Businesses' expliotation!”

“So, if you do not agree with War then you do not have to contribute taxes to the National Fund????
There are a lot of Government spending that I do not agree with, but am required to pay for! Here with the Stupak amendment, it goes further than the HYDE Amendment which ALREADY BANNED Federal money for abortion. It bans the participant from even getting PRIVATE Insurance coverage with their own money!!! If everyone OPT"ED out of paying for what they disagreed with this government, this country would fall apart!!!

It is NOT the perfect compromise since most PRIVATE Insurers would probablely drop coverage and a LEGAL Medical Procedure would become unavailable or extremely difficult to obtain!!!! These anti-Choice people are trying to go through the backdoor to weaken Roe vs Wade and set back Women's Rights by decades! Something women fought for long and hard!

Let's make MEN's Reproductive Health Care None Coverable too! NO coverage for Prostate check-ups, Prostate Cancer, Viagra, etc. Probablely, many unwanted pregnancies come from the use of Viagra! Why would I want to pay for some man's genital health???”

“YES! A woman DOES have a Constitutional Right to have an abortion!!! It is the LAW! I do not approve of abortion except for the health and life of the mother, but Roe vs. Wade allows the Woman to have choice and the right to make decisions regarding her own body and to have Reproductive Health Care! Let's see how fast the men would support Choice if it was their health and their bodies!!!!”

“It does no good to have the freedom to choose if that chose is uninformed and might cost us our lives. When Drug companies lack integrity by promoting unsafe and potentiallly deadly medicines, ...their sells people lying even to the doctors, IN FAVOR OF Profit over Public Safety and unbeknownst to the public and even doctors, then where is your protection as a consumer???

Consumer protection­... that is what the government agencies should be doing! All this "freedom to choose" crap will pale incomparision if you get medication that has wicked side effects including death, that the big Drug companies knew about all along, when they promoted it. Read the full article.”

“It is here already in the mindset of the GOP!”

“I have read a few of the comments and the idea that the battle is won is foolish. The Senate has to get their bill out then everyone goes into conference to combine both bills and then the final bill must again be voted on by both Houses! Plenty of opportunity to bury this legislation. And then there is Joe Lie berman. If we get Health Reform and maybe the beginnings of a Public Option it will truely be a miracle! Everyone needs to grear up for really tough fight. We need to put massive efforts into contacting members of Congress and really, really lean on old Joe!”

“You guys chose your own name and yes, you are ignorant..­.fat, I don't know. The behavior of the "Teabaggers" is what brought about the disparagement. Even I did not know the sexual meaning before all your demonstrations. The meaness and hate that was displayed requires mocking...­just so you know that acting like that is unacceptable! Cry 'FREEDOM OF SPEECH" while not allowing others the same right is Hypocrisy of the first order!”

“Lt. let's talk credibility! How credible is it to sell&resell derivatives 20,30,40 x's their worth then take out insurance on these non-value money instruments. Let's talk breakingup loans and bundling ofthem so no one knows who owns what. Let's talk WallStreet using other peoples money and while those people take big loses, Banks&WallStreet rake in huge profits! Government caused this...yes­, because startingwith Regan,you repubs started dismantling any protection for the public. Regulation caused this, NO! Try lackof oversight, playing shell games to hide what they were doing. The Wall Street Casino is doing fine...how about the rest of America??? Your anti-government rhetoric is childish, &flat wrong! You would suggest letting the Banks and Big Corporations continue to act without constraints even if it punges this country into financial ruin??...Y­ou probablely think children should never have rules to abideby and growup wild, withno punishment. And yes, the financialworld has acted with total self-centered, greedy&manipulative behavior, without boundaries! The Banks& Wall Street have their lobbists outthere fighting against regulations thatwould protect this country. Frighten, the power they can bring to bear to affect our legislation. They have a frontrow seat atthe table to protect their profits. Do the American people? You havebeen sold an empty bill of goods when you sidewith these people over the American people...w­hen you think a Corporate run country is in our best interests and that the very governement thatis suppose towork on behalf ofthe People isthe enemy!”

“Wrong! The financial markets, Wall Street were allowed to run rampant without the necessary regulations to curb their excessive risk taking without having sufficient equity to back their risk taking with people's 401 k's, retirement funds, mortgages, etc. They were just pushing paper deals with No real value. Greenspan thought the Markets would police themselves. He was wrong! Regulations ARE NEEDED to protect the public and to protect this country's financial security!!! Unregulated greed has lead to this economic collapse because these big players have pushed Congress to weaken the safegards put in place by Roosevelt after the Great Depression. Do NOT equate freedom with the freedom to cook up exiotic money scemes Wall Street anglers do, without thought of the consequences as long as it lines their pockets! They do what allows them to live lavish lifestyles regardless of the harm they are doing to the rest of us. They are NOT going to reform or learn from this crisis out of the goodness of their hearts. Capitolism can work within some boundaries and there is nothing wrong with a Social Democracy! Our constitution speaks of the common good...the bankers and Wall Street do NOT!”

“Wrong! The recession that hit at the end of the Carter administration was caused by the Oil companies. Regan on the otherhand put in policies determental to the working class! You have a very narrow view and are not looking at the trend this country has been going in. Just because you are in your mind doing okay does not mean that millions of americans, your fellow citizens are. Insurance companies, banks, corporations, Wall Street have been increasingly taking more and more of the American Pie, without any regard to the conditions in this country or the consequences of their actions! Take a look at the bigger picture outside your own island of existence.”

“Look to Regan and his union busting policies for the beginning of a downward trend for the middleclass. Corporations have a stranglehold on this country! They oppose increases in the minimum wage they say because this would cause less profit for their companies while paying their CEOs and manangement MILLIONS! They send jobs overseas so they can pay those people poverty wages and also to avoid paying their share of taxes to their OWN country. They also bring in foreign workers to replace Americans. I have a friend, who has worked for years in the computer industry and was laid off last year, with his whole department and REPLACED by computer techs from India! These Companies and those who control them have no loyalty but to themselves! They unfortunately have the money power to affect legislation that can inhibit this power. When do the law makers listen to US!!!! I say bring back the Power of the ordinary worker...B­ring back the Unions! Afterall, we spend most of our life in the work place. Should we not have a voice and be able to negotiate for better conditions and a living wage!! Corporate America is shooting not only this country, but themselves in the foot. When the middleclass becomes smaller and smaller there will be less people to spend money in this economy...­NO spending, NO PROFITS!”

“Disagree with your last phrase, "some new agency is the last thing you want to appeal to". Actually, it would be good to have a "Consumer Protection" agency. Right now, the public has no voice and no power against the abuse and greed of Banks, Credit Card co.s, Insurance Giants, Mortgage Brokers, etc. There needs to be some police on the block because corporations are robbing America blind and getting away with murder!!! The agency would have to have some teeth to it to reign in unethical behavior! I say very stiff fines and Prison sentences to match!!!!”

“I did not realize how badly we are divided until I started listening to news again and working in the 2008 Election! I think since Regan came in, people have been asleep to the gradual decimation of standard of living that republican policies bring about. People have worked for years where salaries were essentially frozen while the costs of just making it have skyrocketed. We wake up and most of the wealth of this country is in the hands of a very, very, very small percent and the power to be heard and effect change goes to that small percent! The republican platform of "less government" has just about sunk this country by not reigning in destructive financial decisions, destructive environmental policies..­.fighting tooth and nail anything that would improve this country such as clean energy if it is going to costs them anything! Money first, the Country and the Lives of it's Citizens last!!!”

“Excellent post!”

“Disagree. As a whole the republicans have more underhanded tactics, negativism, hand in glove with Corporate empire, working if favor of Corporate interests rather than the "Working Class". Yes, some Democrats fall into this catergory, but it is the Democratic legislation that has benefited this country and the average American over the years. As a rule, Democrats are working to improve the lives of ordinary americans, but have an uphill battle due to the lobbying interests and the roadblocks that the republicans continuely throw up! Many things that benefit the people and that they take for granted are because the Democrats fought for those benefits and safeguards! I think if we got rid of Campaign contributions from big players on both sides, limit donations by the wealthy and no business or organization could give money, we could substantially decrease the influence peddling!!!!”

“Hear, hear! I don't want anymore of their "innovations" either. The power and influence of the top 1% and Corporate America need to release their stranglehold on this country. We should go back to Eisenhaur's tax rate of 90% in the 1950's. That would cut the deficit real quick! Especially tax those business that take jobs overseas! Let those that create jobs in THIS country pay only half that rate. Also block those tax havens where they have finagaled out of their taxes for decades to the detriment of this country!!!”

“So you would rather the american people be left to the mercy of Big Corporations, Credit Card companies and Banks without any protection from abuse and greed???? Your afraid of paperwork, but not the undue influence of the Lobbying Industry that works against the best interest of the american people. You are worried about a government agency and the cost of it;s employees when they work to protect you and maybe can prevent abuses costing you thousands? Really? That does not make any sense! It is time for the people to have a voice, to stop the total distruction of the middleclass!!!!”

“There are many who are not republican in these red states that would opt-out and who need the public option. The Right wing in these states drown out and out number those who do not believe as they do and because they are out numbered it would be almost impossible to vote the Republicans out. That is why the Opt-out is a bad idea! Thousands of people who want the public option would be left out in the cold. The public option should be available to ANYONE who wants and needs it!!!!!!!”

“I agree. In states like mine, which is bright red, lots of people would be blocked from help if the state opted out and they would have no choices nor would their voices be heard! The Opt-out provision might be temporary to just get the bill out of the Senate and to Committee.­..if so okay, but if they are thinking this is a good compromise, IT IS NOT! If you leave it to Republican states you will see them disreguard the well-being of their population like they did with the Stimulous funds.”

“Buying across state lines would allow the Insurance companies to avoid regulations that are set up by the individual states and the bigger companies would have an unfair advantage over the smaller insurance companies. It migh work if these companies were regulated by Federal standards rather than 50 different states which would provide one standard everyone would have to abide by. Also have some safeguards against Monopolies!”

“The reason our country's deficits have grown is not only two unfunded wars, big Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, but Corporate America that are evading taxes and getting fat at the pig's trough of Greed. Average americans can not go to the Camen Islands or elsewhere and must pay their taxes. Corporate CEO's are walking away from companies with golden parachutes like Ken Lewis(53 million) and that is after having a piss poor performance! This country does not run on Air! And this idea that if companies pay into this nation's coffers that companies cannot grow is pure nonsense! Take some of the millions and billions of profit and reinvest and give people a living wage. For decades, Corporate has evaded their tax responsibilities to this country, but I think for maybe the next couple of years the small businesses should be exempt from any increases. But just think if people do not have jobs and no buying power it won't do any good. If the middleclass can spend then businesses will begin to prosper again.”

“Absolutely! Blue Dogs do more harm in trying to get progressive legislation done for the people than maybe another canidate! The republicans are telling their canidates to run as democrats and/or independents if their area leans that way and that way they can be assured of a greater chance of getting elected. So, we must know how each canidate stands on the issues!”

“You're right! Very few of the lawsuits are without merit. Tort reform by Republicans would limit the protection people have against malpractice which can and has caused deaths and injurys that affect people their entire lives. The target should be the Insurance companies that are charging the Doctors exhorbitant fees...tha­t is what should be decreased!”

“Agree. Good comment.”

“Totally and absolutely disagree. Without government intervention the banks and Wall Street would have collapsed taking the savings, 401k's, retirement funds of regular americans with them. THEN we would have really had a second Great Depression. For several decades now, employers have been putting retirement accounts in the Stock Market...i­f that goes down millions of people are wiped out! With the dismantling of Protective (for the consumer) Regulations by mainly the Republicans, the Financial World has gone rampent with unleashed greed taking risks without the necessary safety guards of suffient equity to back the risks...pl­aying Russian Roulette with our money and our country's security. They created paper that had NO value and kept buy and selling... and not just in this country, but globully(s­p.) Corporate America has sold out this country and the American People by sending jobs overseas. We have lost value by loosing our Manufacturing Base...We PRODUCE very little here! When people of the Middleclass can not purchase then it hits the bottom line of Business. This country will not prosper just on a Service Industry or the empty paper wealth of Wall Street! Without government putting in regulations to Business, Big Corporations will continue their stranglehold on this economy to the detriment of the middleclass I say Tax the hell out of any Corporation that sends jobs over seas or brings in foreign workers in preference to our own citizens! Big tax breaks to those that put the country and the people first!”