Texsox

Nuke, We have to demand leaders who will work together. It was EVERYONES fauilt. Was the GOP just sitting there with their thumbs up their ass? I voted for two GOP senators to go to Washington and work. What the hell were they doing? If they were not going to do anything then why the hell did they run? I thought they had a hand in the budget process. Since only the Dems were responsible for this did the GOP at least get the hell out of the way if they didn't want to help; or did they actively try and make Cinton look bad? I can't believe you do not think our elected representatives have any responsibility in this. Mothballs the military? You guys were just sitting around reading Playboy? What the hell was the military doing? Do they stop working when a Democrat is elected. I thought they had some pride. Instead it was "Nope, we can't do anything, he cut our budget 5% and won't fund any new stuff so we are defenseless and cannot do a damn thing." Any soldier, any CIA agent, any FBI agent who will stop doing their jobs if Kerry is elected should be tried for treason. Using your logic the Dems should not be blamed for anything that happens while Bush is President? All the lawyers and all the Presidents men could not find a LEGAL reason to hold him. Too bad some people actually believe in our constitution. Do you think Clinton did not want to make a major arrest and divert some of the attention from the Impeachment hearings? How many people should we arrest now because they might commit a crime in 5 years?

I have a great deal of respect for our weapons developers. We have set a standard around the world. I believe it s wrong to describe anyone who objects to a piece of military spending as weak on defense. Just like it is wrong to describe anyone who objects to a child welfare bill being branded as wanting to starve babies. I would rather everyone has great body armour than everyone having good body armour so a General's pal can be the supplier.

Yet corporate profits are up, at least accoding to the White House. The biggest reason is US Corporations have a moral obligation to their share holders to bring them the highest return on their investment. We could drop minimum wage down to $2 and compete with China. Nuke, how about we cut military benefits so we can fund more programs? Do you really need all these forward medical units? Insurance benefits are not even close to what they were ten or twenty years ago. Businesses in the 1980s used expensive benefits packages to lure top talent to their firms. These are not government mandated benefits. It was all about competing for employees. In Mexico medium size companies and large are required, by law, to employ a Doctor in their facility whenever they have more than 75 (maybe changed in three years) or more employees on the floor. They are required by law to offer transportation or transportation benefits for all their employees. They are required to offer a free meal to every employee. The amount of benefits easily exceeds their salaries. Yet businesses are still moving to Mexico. It is the standard of living that people are willing to accept. In the US we demand indoor plumbing and waste water management. Many homes in Mexico do not have that. Many streets in poor neighborhoods are dirt and flood into the houses when it rains. The US is unwilling to accept that. Only a small percentage of laborers in Mexico can afford cars. Public transportation is a way of life. We do not have a decent public trans system in the suburbs because everyone owns a car. We cannot, nor should we try and compete based on absolute lowest cost of labor. We will lose. Nuke, if our military was a US corporation, what would you think of the argument that we are paying you guys too much in salary and benefits and will begin to employ the Chinese or Mexicans in your capacity? Really, aren't you the highest paid military in the world?

Spending money on the Osprey doesn't solve the problem either. Not every item in the Defense budget is critical to our safety. It would be nice to spend a couple trillion dollars per year on defense, but we can't afford everything. My biggest objection is do not go cheap on the stuff we do have, to fund more stuff. Do not cut back on training, pay raises, and comfort items to fund some boon doggle that a General's pal proposes.

A better example than Bush, would be does anyone mind if Mexico sends an Apache and missle down Main Street San Diego to take out a fugitive and a couple other Americans? Six other people died in the blast, with at least two having no known association with the Hamas leader. I wsh Israel cold have captured him, held a fair trail, then killed him. Do not simultanously need world help and thumb your nose at International Law.

Just employeeing people doesn't make you a saint. Microsoft as been cited for many violations of employment laws. They have pushed the boundaries in many areas. Microserfs wasn't just a catchy name for the thousands of temps that Microsoft used to circumvent paying benefits. Throughout US history we have seen employers who have used and abused their employers. Look no further than The Jungle, the meat processing plants in Chicago. That is why the Unions were able to organize and grow.

And where was the American people? Where was the rush to buy American flags? Where were the people singing God Bless America? Where were the signs? Where was the outpouring of indignation? Where were all the Senators and Congressmen demanding action? No, the action they wanted was more info on Monica. Maybe if Clinton could have controlled his penis, and the GOP could have decided to watch what was happening instead of holding impeachment hearings, we would have done something. I blame the Clinton and Monica mess for this. It distracted everyone from these acts of terrorism. The Dems, the GOP, the American people. I do not think you can blame one political party and not the other.

Link this More at link above

One brave frenchman . . .

Link

First ever South Atlantic Hurricane?

Links Amazing where his attorney is commuting from. And it isn't California

The Link More if you follow the link

Has Oz announced if he is going to run a 5 man rotation regardless of off days or will Dan get all his starts?

Damn that would suck if you got fired. It's been so nice with you working instead if posting

I'm starting to change my mind about Bush

Vince, So did you ever solve that problem?

I was a member of the Stroud crowd. I also loved his Motown Monday stuff. Ahh the days when a dj could turn an audience on with their musical selections. Now its all corporate geeks.

COME on and BeGood

Sometimes it is stuff like this Three of the people killed in Osprey accidents were from here. That hit home. I respect a leader who will vote his concious. I never believed Reagan's assertion that we would have a "peace dividend" to spend when the Soviet Empire was gone. Some people tried to limit defense spending after the USSR fell and they have been criticized ever sense. I do not believe if we had double the budget that 9/11 wouldn't have happened. I keep reading there was too much chatter, too much information.

I like Bush for a couple reasons: He's from Texas I think he will enjoy a better relationship with the military and I believe over the next 4 years that will be important. Bush2004.org link I think he has a better handle on US-Mexico border issues, which is important to me. I like the efforts he has made in regards to decency in broadcasting At a gut level, between two guys I just cannot seem to trust, he's slightly more trustworthy. He fought for the Boy Scouts There are many issues I have an issue with, but on the balance, I'm leaning towards Bush.

no, he's just a friend from Bush's earlier partier days