Texsox

You set up the scenario of taking away that $400 billion in deficit. I thought you meant what if we didn't have those payments to make. I misunderstoof your question. We start by balancing the budget every year. That was way back in post 10 and what started this debate. We start by not spending surpluses, but by paying down the debt. You never did answer me, How large of a debt are you comfortable with? $10 trillion? Why is borrowing money better for the economy than spending what you have? Last year we took in $1.7 trillion and spent $2.1 trillion. If we took in $2.1 should we have spent $2.4? Why does our economy only grow when the US government goes into debt? If a $400 billion deficit is good, is a $800 billion Grrrrrrrrrrreat!! Can the US ever have too much debt?

I am pointing out that while it sounds very nobel to travel the globe saving people, we do not have unlimited resources of money, people, or time to do so. There is also an ethical balance that must be realized. Would you risk 1,000 US casualties to save 10 people? 100 people? 1,000 people? At what point should America jump in? Should we borrow a couple trillion dollars and solve problems everywhere? The decisions we face collectively as the US is not much different (other than scale) than we face in our personal lives. How much are we doing as individuals to help others? Would you advocate individuals borrowing $2,000 each and sending it to a starving family in China? I doubt it. Perhaps even collectively we do not have the resources to solve every tragedy in the world. No they are not being gassed. In the US they are being shot, stabbed, strangled, and starved. They are being locked in their homes, afraid to go out at night.

I am painting a picture of how nice life would be if we got serious about paying off the national debt and how that is prefered to spiralling interest payments. That is why I favor balancing the budget except for extraordinary circumstances. The first step towards that goal is making politicians accountable for spending more than we sent them not. Not buying into the myth that we can have all these goodies from the government and someone else is going to pay for them.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/2004...63712-7153r.htm You want a flu shot with that nickle bag?

And finally a note from Congress

Now back to foreign investment on the US debt. Current government numbers places half of the privatly owned debt, about $1.7 trillion, in the hands of foreign investors. Those foreign investors are typically other countries who use it as part of their monetary practices. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...9-2004Jul5.html Couple of highlights, or low lights from the article.

Currently millions and millions of children are living below the poverty level in the United States. Should we take care of them first? http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/povfaq.html Should we spend a few bucks to fight crime against the elderly in our inner cities? Should we spend a few dollars to provide decent health care, education, and security at home for our at risk kids. Is it worth a million US lives to save those 1.35 million? Is it worth 2 million US lives to save those 1.35 million? These are the questions our law makers wrestle with. Vote wisely at all levels.

$400 billion. That's the interest we are paying on the national debt. So banks the world over would have lower profits for the year. The government would still deliver the same programs. In fact, they would have an extra $50 billion to either add to the programs or give tax relief to those hard working millionaires. And do not forget Republicans claim that tax cuts to the wealthy will result in more jobs.

Recommended Reading: * Park Life: The Summer of 1977 at Comiskey Park by Peter Elliott. * Baseball Palace of the World: The Last Year of Comiskey Park by Douglas Bukowski. * Goodbye Old Friend: A Pictorial Essay on the Final Season at Old Comiskey Park by Frank Budreck, John Regnier and Tim MacWilliams. * Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present by Josh Leventhal. * The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford. * Ballparks by Robert Von Goeben and Red Howard. * Stadia: A Design and Development Guide by Geraint John and Rod Sheard. * The Stadium: Architecture of Mass Sport by Michelle Provoost, Matthjis Bouw and Camiel Van Winkel. * City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense about Cities and Baseball Parks by Philip Bess. * The Complete 4 Sport Stadium Guide by the Sports Staff of USA Today. * Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America by Bruce Adams and Margaret Engel. * Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums by Roger G. Noll and Andrew Zimbalist. * Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause.

I was watching screen savers the other day and they featured a cool program. Since GMAIL offers dso much storage space, a very smart developer wrote a program to use it like a drive. It even shows up in Windows Explorer under I used the second link.

http://victoryfund.njdc.org/bubbie/

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris1.html

Key to success is a cool nickname, try for T-bone

Awesome, Congratulations When do you start? Is your office closer to Kenny or Jerry

He has admitted to aying in bed with his young friends. If he is innocent, and that is a huge if, he has committed a monumental blunder in judgement, on many occassions. But damn, Thriller was awesome

I thought it was insulting retards [running from conservatives]

This was the first time in a long time that Pedro made all his starts. There is a high risk reward here. Let's also remember his last 4 starts during the regular season stunk up the joint. I guess I'm leaning more towards praying our system developes a solid #5 then signing an ageing HoF.

There probably isn't an answer, and if there is it changes from person to person. Some will say that a 100 Americans could die to save 50 and it was somehow "worth it". Others will say that it is never worth American blood to save a foreigner. I do know we prefer to help far away, rather than close at home. Hungry Mexicans fleeing poverty, wanting nothing more than to pick your vegatables for $5.15 per hour, are a threat to our national security and should be stopped at all costs, yet spending billions of dollars and losing thousands of lives, is a small price to pay for Iraqi babies. I find it hard to cry for one and not the other. I wonder if Iraq was on our southern border, what we would do. Whomever wins this and every election for President faces decisions that I cannot fathom.

If you truely care about and issue/person you will never believe the media portays it/them fairly.

One of the reasons I favor a 6 year Presidential term and no chance for immediate sequencial re-election is the indignity of our sitting President running for office. It offends me to see pictures like this. However, I am equally offended that our President has to jump through the political hoops for 4 more years and resorts, by proxy, to the same tactics.

Hate has been around forever. Anti-this and Anti-that. Shall we go down to the Colluseum tonight and watch them feed Christians to the lions?

Steff bored at work, googles "things to do on acid"

:puke

OMG, someone just shoot me if I ever, ever, get near that point. Nothing worse then druck old men, dressed like Elvis and Jake, singing show tunes and driving a car. Image what they would have done if the Twins Won??!!