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If there is one thing that should be clear in this election cycle, yu can't trust bloggers and yu can't trust the Ohio voting registers. Wheter he votes or not I doubt you can say he won't have an effect. Want to see more than a sound bite? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27215561#27215561 --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Don't knock it, at least this time he didn't attack your syntax. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Got mine and voted week before last. Made for an interesting converstation at the Post Office. The nice lady recognized it as a ballot, not bad for a little village with only two Americans, my wife and I. Maybe I should trek down to Oxford and find that "scholar" who committed voter fraud in Ohio. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

This is like a broken record, but it has a history and it isn't "change" and it damn sure isn't hope. Despite Obama's implication to the contrary, however, It doesn't represent much in the way of change. According to the most recent (2006) data released by the IRS, the top 1 percent of filers paid nearly 40 percent of all income taxes; the top 5 percent paid 60 percent of all income taxes. The bottom 50 percent paid virtually no income taxes (3 percent of all income taxes paid). The personal income tax, the federal government's main source of revenue, is collected overwhelmingly from a relative handful of Americans. The large majority of all Americans pay little or no income tax. Given that poorer citizens always outnumber the rich, political philosophers have long worried that government based on majority rule could lead to organized theft from the wealthy by the democratic masses. "If the majority distributes among itself the things of a minority, it is evident that it will destroy the city," warns Aristotle. The founders of the United States were deep students of politics and history, and they shared Aristotle's worry. Up through their time, history had shown all known democracies to be "incompatible with personal security or the rights of property." James Madison and others therefore made it a "first object of government" to protect personal property from unjust confiscation. Numerous provisions were included in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to protect the property rights of citizens. Given that one of the causes of the American Revolution was a tax, the founders understood very well that taxation could become a way for one group to prey on another. So while the Constitution empowered the federal government to levy taxes, it limited this power mostly to indirect taxes like tariffs, duties, and excise taxes. For much of American history the federal government subsisted solely on those fees. The Constitution did grant the federal government the power to levy "direct" taxes on a "per head" basis, but required that all money raised this way must be given to the states according to their population. The aim here was to preserve a decentralized federal system of rule, and to make it "difficult to place a direct tax on capital, the most destructive tax in terms of economic growth and economic initiative," according to Professor Edward Erler. Until the Civil War, the idea of a tax on individual incomes would have seemed preposterous to most Americans. Only as an emergency wartime measure did Congress adopt an income tax in the 1860s, and the measure was allowed to lapse with little fanfare in 1872. Estimates vary regarding the percentage of citizens affected by the income tax of this era, but none places it at more than 10 percent. The modern income tax begins with the Progressive era in American politics. In an influential 1889 article entitled "The Owners of the United States," crusading attorney Thomas Shearman argued that the lion's share of the country's wealth was in a limited number of hands. If an income tax was not adopted, he warned, within 30 years "the United States of America will be substantially owned" by 50,000 people. This marked the beginning of a never-ending campaign. Many activists since have characterized America as a permanent plutocracy. And their prescription has generally been more and higher taxes. Shearman's advocacy of an income tax found a receptive audience in populist politician William Jennings Bryan. Exploiting the dire economic circumstances created by the depression of 1893, Bryan avidly promoted the adoption of an income tax. His proposal succeeded when Congress passed a 2 percent flat tax on incomes over $4,000 in 1894. The following year, however, the Supreme Court held the tax to be unconstitutional. In response, Progressives condemned the Constitution as an instrument crafted by the rich to protect their selfish interests (Allen Smith), and a document rendered obsolete by intellectual progress in the century since its drafting (Woodrow Wilson). The Progessive condemnation of the Constitution climaxed in 1913 with the publication of An Economic Interpretation of the United States Constitution by Columbia history professor Charles Beard. Beard purported to expose the Constitution as the handiwork of a propertied elite serving its own interests to the exclusion of the majority. Few works of American history have been more erroneous than Beard's, as later shown by debunking historians like Robert Brown and Forrest McDonald. But by the time scholarship caught up with Beard's book, a lot of damage had been done. Frenzied attacks on "the rich" and "the wealthy" culminated in the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913, authorizing federal taxation of income from all sources without limit. So why hasn't the majority in America helped itself to more of the minority's wealth, as Aristotle and our founders feared? Partly because the protections for individual property erected by the founders have worked. Partly, too, because many Americans' political convictions are (thankfully) based on principle rather than immediate economic self-interest. And partly because the fraction of Americans who think of themselves as rich, or likely to become rich in the future, is quite large, undercutting the incentive for bashing the rich. Obama's appeal for higher taxes to "spread the wealth around" nevertheless harks back to an old theme in political philosophy and American politics. You can believe in it, but it's not exactly change, and it is more to be worried about than hoped for. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Two words - Northern Rock --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I'm with you on this, It defies reason. I wrote a piece on the "Lonely Conservative" blog yesterday that expressed my thoughts on this. Essentially Obama's program is just going to let the wealthy collect the tax for the government and I don't trust the politicians to punish them when they have their hands out. http://www.lonelyconservative.com/2008/10/13/obamathematics/ Then the blog owner put up the "plumber" video. Which is insightful about who really pays and how Barry really feels. I'm not at odds with punishing crooks but I can't seem to reconcile that there seems to be a large number of people that feel it's ok if the burden of the country falls to the plumbers and dry cleaning owner's and successful farmers and the like. Cause you can't honestly believe that the massively weatlthy are really going to pay significantly more. If you do, then mama Gump was right. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Your sentiments are much like those felt under the Wilson administration's first term and the Hoover administration's term in the USA, except they were wondering why Europe couldn't keep a lid on. Wilson's campaign motto was, "He'll keep us out of war." It didn't work out so well. Then there was that little fracus in the Falkland Islands when Thatcher was at a low ebb and the economy in Argentina was rotting. The trouble with politicians is that they are human. I'm not so worried about the bluster of our candidates as I am the nut in Caracas. He's tried to pick a fight twice in the past two years. I rather dislike the idea of a notable war in this hemisphere. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

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He is a law school graduate, but his admission to the Illinois bar was blocked in the 1970s after a psychiatric finding of “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character.” So that's his excuse. What excuse will be offered up for Markos Moulitsas and his unfounded attacks? Or mayby we can just admit that their are some real looney tunes out there on both sides. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Sure and "The One" only preaches love and tolerance. Except that he exhorts it from the pulpit rather than the pews. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/17/politics/p185733D40.DTL&type=politics The feistier, more sarcastic tone came as worried Democrats urged Obama to get tougher and show more passion. Obama has tried to assure donors and voters that he's been schooled by Chicago politics. "I'm skinny but I'm tough," he says. "I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," he said. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Except that one is a person in the audience and the other is the candidate himself. You really think there is no difference? --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I first worked for a company that would not play by the international rules - that is bribe the local governments. We lost contracts but did well. When we were purchased the company that purchased us took out a big chunk of their board of directors when there were ethical violatons not by them but by the people that work down the food chain. There are companies that have high ethical standards. If you have a crisis of conscience keep in mind that loyalty, honesty, and integrity are not just words to some people. As hard as it may seem to believe, they still exist. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Do you think so? Do you really think so? You're old enough to remember no matter what you politics or ideology. We've been hearing about the "Mobs" at Republican rallies, yet McCain is belittled for saying something to defuse the passion. At the same time Obama incites a crowd to "Get in their face" and it's no big deal. You have to remember that time in our history when public figures were elevated to such a status as to incite such passion and such devotion that an offhand comment caused a clash of society. It may be nothing that Obama has designed or even that his staff has consciously constructed, but it is there. You can still support him and stand by him as your candidate, but can you really deny that what is happening is beyond political? Even if he never realizes the undertone, or even if he does see it and shuns it, those that would have him be what they desire him to be will promote it. What this represents is not about politics. "If it's never our fault, we can't take responsibility for it. If we can't take responsibility for it, we'll always be its victim. - from "Running From Safety" --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Leave? Heck I'll come back early so I can cash in on all that free money ol' Barry wants to give everybody that isn't "Rich". --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Harry Truman said that if you found a truly efficient form of government it would be a dictatorship. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7658908.stm Just in case anyone wnats to get a clearer picture of the cause. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

If it gets that bad I'm outa here. I hate tomatoes. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

You know, I'm a Yank working over here. I was surprised when I moved over to see how much overconsuming was going on. When I was here 90-93 people weren't so much in to that. Knowing where it was giong in the USA and then seeing it here (and over on the continent too) I had a feeling something like this might happen. If Iceland goes bankrupt (probably) and several others as well (Eastern Europe isn't too far behind) we'll get the chance to start over cause there won't be much left. Glad I am a proficient hunter and fisherman. I can farm too. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I've been following this. I thought it was only the British depositors that they were protecting. At any rate it still sucks. Looks like Iceland will go bankrupt over several of these there. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

The phrase that sticks in my mind is that our government was designed by geniuses and can be run by fools. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

This is an interesting take on the Bail out/Rescue bill. From France24 ""This is not our crisis!" Bertrand Kpogo is a Beninese blogger and a Web-site administrator. At the last UN General Assembly, Beninese President Yayi Boni made it known to President Bush that he didn't think it normal to release so many billions of dollars in aid for this crisis. Many Beninese think that this money could be used to help us get out of the food crisis instead. " --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Glad you understand the realities. It sure is better than Nuclear or coal, but now we're seeing some real problems siting wind and solar. SES Solar one and Two almost didn't move forward because of PETA and EPA requirements. The Fed stepped up at the last minute and cleared the land leases for them. Still, the real problems for rapid repowering is manufaturing capacity. Our factory is full and backed up for several years, so is GE, Alstom, MHI, and others. We have a Wind Blade plant in Iowa and so does one of our competitors and they are both at near capacity. Finally, we are strapped for people. It takes 5 years to build a power generation engineer from a High School graduate. We're competing with a global market for these people but we're experiencing some problems. Other industries need the same raw materials. I'm hoping that a practical and integrated solution will come out of the turmoil we are experiencing right now, but 30 years in this business doesn't give me a great deal of hope that Washington will work with us. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

This isn't an assumption. The term expeditious does not apply to building any type of power plant. Finally I am not aware of any remote locations in the USA that would not be opposed by some faction. If it actually did get sited the problems with transmission and distribution would be monumental. You've got a positive vision but you don't know much about building power plants - USA or ROW (rest of world). The reality is quite different than most of the conjecture that is out there. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I would say that your point is conjecture. To build any power plant in the USA you have to overcome licensing restrictions, transmission and distribution infrastructure, fuel logistics (and storage if nuclear). You will have to overcome the age dynamic in an industry that has been attritting over the past 30 years. The engineering requirements for a nuclear plant are quite large and the atrophy in that industry has hobbled it, it will take about 5 years to ramp up in that area alone. Finally we'll have to overcome the backlog in present production capacity which is full right now - and booked until 2011. Here are some real numbers for production to grid: Wind - 9 months, backlog 2 years global capacity Gas - 18-24 months 18 months global backlog Steam - (any source) 24-30 months Nuclear NSSS - 36-60 months This is isn't conjecture, it's a global reality. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I would agree that a national focus of such an approach would be beneficial, but the bottom line is the bottom line. Look around for venture capital today and you might be surprised to find that it hasn't dried up. In fact, there is substantial investment going on in alternative fuels. As long as oil stays above $80/bl that isn't likely to change. First though we have to focus on the goal, which has been a bit sketchy. Is it reducing foreign imports, middle eastern imports, petroleum en masse? I don't know. With the economy where it is, reducing imports seems like a good place to start, with a domestication of energy sources a longer term goal. Some reality checks would help. First, only about 1.6% of America's electricity is generated by petroleum. That's less than "other renewables" at 2.5%. Most of that is is reserve capacity so there isn't a great large quantity to be gained by building clean coal, nuclear, or wind when it comes to getting off oil. (Let's not debate global climate change here). To bang that drum you have to take petroleum out of vehicles. Second, infrastructure costs for the various solutions could be a very significant factor. Electric/LNG/Fuel Cell/Hydrogen pose the greatest problem for infrastructure. Commercially it is a chicken and egg debate or maybe a Blu-Ray vs HD DVD. Even E-85 ethanol requires a significant investment in infrastructure. By far the least expensive is biodiesel. Problem with biodiesel is that you have to replace a whole lot of cars. So even if you have an alternative the associated costs are going to be pretty high. Third is X the unknown. Right now as I am writing this there are a number of genetic engineering projects and biofuel projects going on. Many of them are funded by big oil. If you think they do this to suppress competition you're only partly right. If they come up with a bug that eats garbage and pees oil on a commercially viable scale they would stop drilling in a New York minute. Unlike the subprime mortgage business, these guys are pretty good at doing business. They are not out to pump oil, they are out to make money. Problem is they aren't going to just stop doing one and start the other overnight. Fourth, Rome wasn't built in a day. A refinery, algae farm, ethanol plant, or supercapcitor factory takes time to build. It will take a lot of whatever it is that we need to replace what we have and that will take time to build. Can it be done in 10 years. HELL YES. But unlike the Apollo Program we don't feel like we are in a race with the Ruskies to get it done. Unlike the Mahattan Project we don't seem to understand that our national health may depend on it. A president isn't going to sell a program like this and the government isn't going to run one. What they might be able to do is sell the need to do it to the American people. To explain to them simple economics. Drill it here, invent it here, build it here has got to be the message. Private enterprise can get it done, after all our last bastion of productivity is innovation. BUT THAT WON"T WORK if you raise corporate tax rates. We'll do what we did with Algenol. You know them? Check Google. It's being built in Mexico because we can't seem to understand that innovation will go offshore just like manufacturing if we tax the innovators and entrepreneurs out of the country. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.