I listened pretty carefully to our new President's address on Monday, and I thought he made, for the most part, very salient points.
Perhaps his most powerful statement, to my way of thinking, was when he brought up, several different times (more for emphasis than redundancy, I felt), that he was growing impatient with being challenged on points of the stimulus package by the very same congressionals whose efforts were responsible for doubling the U.S. deficit over the last eight years.
If they can't lead, and they won't follow, for my money, it's time for them to get out of the way!
ENOUGH!!!
-
silentscreen
- Posts: 701
- Joined: March 9th, 2008, 3:47 pm
Not the best of all starts for the new President though. And not one that anyone could have foreseen considering the election. I want to be positve about the economy. It's in everyone's best interests.... He was basically elected because of what has happened. If he doesn't pull it off with this stimulus package, it will color his entire term of office.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
And given that the planet is in it's death throes, why is so little being done everywhere except California and Colorado to bring about the use of alternate (read renewable) energy sources? I'd like to think that my son and his children (when they arrive) will have the same clean air and green grass to run on that I did. It's sad to see supposedly educated and farsighted people turning a blind eye and a deaf ear on the future. It seems that our leaders are only interested in feathering their own nests and lining their own pockets. If the future isn't here yet, why worry about it? If our leaders can't see beyond tomorrow, then tomorrow will be a totally foreign concept. There's going to come a time, unless we do something about it now, that the sun will rise and we (as a race) will do all we can to avoid it. To me, that's a horrifying glimpse of reality.
As always,
Hollis
As always,
Hollis
-
klondike
Don't be silly, the planet is not in its death throes; the worst case scenario might well mean the end of the Reign of the Mammals, but the planet itself can do very nicely 90% underwater, and/or with a defunct ozone layer, serenely populated by reptiles, fish & invertebrates; to paraphrase Liza Doolittle, the sun certainly will still shine without us!Hollis wrote:And given that the planet is in it's death throes,
Hollis wrote: why is so little being done everywhere except California and Colorado to bring about the use of alternate (read renewable) energy sources?
President Obama mentioned in his address just last Monday that despite the immediate economic crunch, he is still committed to the developement of solar, wind, & geothermal power, and to the passage of federal laws mandating recycling and the promotion & enforcement of "green' industrial & business practices. I know, a lot of folks have waxed skeptical about "just hearing the words", but I think we need to remind ourselves that 40 years ago, equal employment opportunity, automobile safety engineering and cellular telephone transmission were just "words" and "promises" too.
And I think we'd better believe in just those very things, H; 'cause without faith & optimisim, we're done before we even start!Hollis wrote: I'd like to think that my son and his children (when they arrive) will have the same clean air and green grass to run on that I did.
Just as with charity, faith, optimism & clear-eyed forward thinking begins at home; next time you hear somebody next to you on the bus or in the coffee shop start grumbling about "aaa, whatcha gonna do?", why not actually give them a suggestion or two, or share a brighter outlook with them?Hollis wrote: It's sad to see supposedly educated and farsighted people turning a blind eye and a deaf ear on the future.
Not all of them, and I believe certainly not our new President; as for the rest, if we go on expecting them to automatically behave like rotten apples, what reason do they have not to live down to our lowered expectations?Hollis wrote: It seems that our leaders are only interested in feathering their own nests and lining their own pockets.
Although I don't personally care for the messenger in this case, I believe that thanks to our current economic crisis, our career politicians have been served a big ol' helping of the coming around of what was sent around, a big dose of cold-water karma, if you will, and they certainly don't seem to be enjoying reaping what they have sown, do they?Hollis wrote: If the future isn't here yet, why worry about it? If our leaders can't see beyond tomorrow, then tomorrow will be a totally foreign concept.
Couldn't have said it better, Hollis; so let's all get to work making sure that future stays a fictitious one!Hollis wrote: There's going to come a time, unless we do something about it now, that the sun will rise and we (as a race) will do all we can to avoid it. To me, that's a horrifying glimpse of reality.
And next time you hear one of the country-club set moaning about the need to lobby against wind turbines, "before they mess up all our skylines", kick him or her in the britches for me, will ya?
Thanks!
My good friend Klondike,
I respectfully beg to differ. A mere ten degree rise in ocean temperature would be more than enough to kill off most of the aquatic life we know of. It's highly unlikely that evolution will repeat itself, therefore, for all intents and purposes, the planet will be dead.
President Obama (who gave all of two years to his Illinois constituents before deciding to run for the White House) has allocated a mere 11 billion dollars of his economic stimulus package to the development of renewable and recycled energy. Given that the planetary environment is a vital and pressing issue (even if we can't detect the changes ourselves) it's (pardon the witticism) like spitting in the ocean!
You know yourself just by driving down the highway and seeing the proliferation of large SUV's (usually carrying one person) that many, many people can't see past their own noses when it comes to the future.
Thinking at home has to lead to action at the national level or no amount of said thinking will be of any use.
Further, too many of our "leaders" (read politicians) are stuck in the quagmire of "if you can't see it, it can't be real" or "not in my backyard".
Further still, career politicians are only career politicians because their constituency votes then in to office time and again. A clear case of the blind leading the blind. To your credit however, I'm not nearly sold on the messenger either.
I respectfully beg to differ. A mere ten degree rise in ocean temperature would be more than enough to kill off most of the aquatic life we know of. It's highly unlikely that evolution will repeat itself, therefore, for all intents and purposes, the planet will be dead.
President Obama (who gave all of two years to his Illinois constituents before deciding to run for the White House) has allocated a mere 11 billion dollars of his economic stimulus package to the development of renewable and recycled energy. Given that the planetary environment is a vital and pressing issue (even if we can't detect the changes ourselves) it's (pardon the witticism) like spitting in the ocean!
You know yourself just by driving down the highway and seeing the proliferation of large SUV's (usually carrying one person) that many, many people can't see past their own noses when it comes to the future.
Thinking at home has to lead to action at the national level or no amount of said thinking will be of any use.
Further, too many of our "leaders" (read politicians) are stuck in the quagmire of "if you can't see it, it can't be real" or "not in my backyard".
Further still, career politicians are only career politicians because their constituency votes then in to office time and again. A clear case of the blind leading the blind. To your credit however, I'm not nearly sold on the messenger either.
-
movieman1957
- Administrator
- Posts: 5522
- Joined: April 15th, 2007, 3:50 pm
- Location: MD
Hollis:
Your last paragraph states what has been a long standing problem. Voters continue to send the same people back. I sometimes remind them that we do have term limits every two years for members of the House.
I also think the global warming thing is overblown. Not doscounting that some fashion ofit is happening but wonder how much it is what people say it is. More and more scientists are beginning to rethink it while some refuse to even consider any possibility they might not be completely correct.
While the expenditure may be necessary in the President's mind does it really belong in a stimulus bill? To me there is plenty that may be worth spending money on but hardly will do anything to stimulate the economy.
Your last paragraph states what has been a long standing problem. Voters continue to send the same people back. I sometimes remind them that we do have term limits every two years for members of the House.
I also think the global warming thing is overblown. Not doscounting that some fashion ofit is happening but wonder how much it is what people say it is. More and more scientists are beginning to rethink it while some refuse to even consider any possibility they might not be completely correct.
While the expenditure may be necessary in the President's mind does it really belong in a stimulus bill? To me there is plenty that may be worth spending money on but hardly will do anything to stimulate the economy.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Chris,
We'll have to agree to disagree on the global warming issue. While some scientists are rethinking their original position on the issue, others are holding steadfastly to theirs. Satellite imagery shows the glacial masses all over the world are shrinking at a record pace. Take a look at Los Angeles or Denver for example and you'll see conditions are far different than what mother nature had in mind. We've done more to pollute the Earth since the advent of the Industrial Revolution than anything nature had done in the 4 billion or so years that preceded it, and that's including meteor strikes and uncontrolled forest fires. Look at heavy metal pollution in our water supply and certain fish we eat. Well water that contains high levels of arsenic is more common than people realize. And, we're losing hundreds of acres of rain forest almost daily. That can't be contested as it's fact. We're polluting the planet's air, water and soil faster than nature can handle it. We need to change our habits and we need government to help show the way, and it's not. Plain and simple. So, the beat goes on...
As always,
Hollis
We'll have to agree to disagree on the global warming issue. While some scientists are rethinking their original position on the issue, others are holding steadfastly to theirs. Satellite imagery shows the glacial masses all over the world are shrinking at a record pace. Take a look at Los Angeles or Denver for example and you'll see conditions are far different than what mother nature had in mind. We've done more to pollute the Earth since the advent of the Industrial Revolution than anything nature had done in the 4 billion or so years that preceded it, and that's including meteor strikes and uncontrolled forest fires. Look at heavy metal pollution in our water supply and certain fish we eat. Well water that contains high levels of arsenic is more common than people realize. And, we're losing hundreds of acres of rain forest almost daily. That can't be contested as it's fact. We're polluting the planet's air, water and soil faster than nature can handle it. We need to change our habits and we need government to help show the way, and it's not. Plain and simple. So, the beat goes on...
As always,
Hollis
With all due respect to my friends, only human ego would lead us to believe we can destroy this planet. We can't even make it inhospitable. Not even close.
That does not mean I'm not all for changing our current ways of thinking, but I'm not ready to do so under the guise of "saving our planet 'lest we all meet our maker in less than a hundred years!" Let's do it because we can and it's what's right, not because we feel guilty or we're afraid.
I find "green guilt" and the ways in which companies are profiting off it to be sickening. How's this for a compromise: all the executives for all the major corporations which "green gouge" are blasted off into space, never to be heard from again. That would go a long way towards saving our planet, I'm sure.
That does not mean I'm not all for changing our current ways of thinking, but I'm not ready to do so under the guise of "saving our planet 'lest we all meet our maker in less than a hundred years!" Let's do it because we can and it's what's right, not because we feel guilty or we're afraid.
I find "green guilt" and the ways in which companies are profiting off it to be sickening. How's this for a compromise: all the executives for all the major corporations which "green gouge" are blasted off into space, never to be heard from again. That would go a long way towards saving our planet, I'm sure.
Bryce,
You couldn't be more wrong. What you're detailing is just unbridled greed on the part of a small minority of the populace, not an indication that we're not contaminating our planet to the point where it's no longer a hospitable place to live. What are we doing with nuclear waste? Planning to bury it in a no longer used salt mine? What are we doing with chemical waste? (Read Love Canal) Why do local governments issue smog and ozone warnings if the problems don't exist? What's the profit motive there? If you don't believe that we've done the planet more harm than good in the last 160 years since the advent of the steam engine, then (thanks Mom) "You've got another think coming". To naively believe that the Earth is so large that we can't do irreparable damage to it is to deny the truth. We have, we are and we'll continue to do so until radically different means of supplying our insatiable need for energy are developed and utilized. Here's a thought: Put a "salary cap" on the earnings of the CEO's of all the companies that provide "dirty" energy and on those that try to feed on our guilt by ostensibly providing alternative sources. Just my opinion to be sure but I think it has some validity.
As always,
Hollis
You couldn't be more wrong. What you're detailing is just unbridled greed on the part of a small minority of the populace, not an indication that we're not contaminating our planet to the point where it's no longer a hospitable place to live. What are we doing with nuclear waste? Planning to bury it in a no longer used salt mine? What are we doing with chemical waste? (Read Love Canal) Why do local governments issue smog and ozone warnings if the problems don't exist? What's the profit motive there? If you don't believe that we've done the planet more harm than good in the last 160 years since the advent of the steam engine, then (thanks Mom) "You've got another think coming". To naively believe that the Earth is so large that we can't do irreparable damage to it is to deny the truth. We have, we are and we'll continue to do so until radically different means of supplying our insatiable need for energy are developed and utilized. Here's a thought: Put a "salary cap" on the earnings of the CEO's of all the companies that provide "dirty" energy and on those that try to feed on our guilt by ostensibly providing alternative sources. Just my opinion to be sure but I think it has some validity.
As always,
Hollis
-
movieman1957
- Administrator
- Posts: 5522
- Joined: April 15th, 2007, 3:50 pm
- Location: MD
Salary cap on executives? They are trying that one now. We'll see how far that goes. The Feds restricting people's earning potential sounds a little over bearing. If they are looking to get a company straightened out then limiting their earnings isn't going to draw many good people to do it. (Talking about the stimulus bill.)
As far as your point on limiting earnings on "dirty" producing companies I think they could do it the old fashioned way and tax them to death.
On another point isn't it odd that with all the layoffs in the private sector the government hasn't seen fit to reduce their own staffing?
As far as your point on limiting earnings on "dirty" producing companies I think they could do it the old fashioned way and tax them to death.
On another point isn't it odd that with all the layoffs in the private sector the government hasn't seen fit to reduce their own staffing?
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
-
charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
I wonder if I pop in with a rant on our economy. Day upon day we are waking up to businesses going under, jobs being lost, banks looking that they won't last until the end of the week. Executives are taking a mauling, deservedly so for some of them. They do get paid an enormous amount of money for running big businesses. Businesses will continue to pay large salaries and bonuses to attract the best people to manage these organisations.
I can't comment on the US but here, the banking system is a big mess. Sure there are the sub prime loans, but there has been an excalation of personal and business debt in the last ten years and some institutions have made some very bad credit decisions. We have an organisation called the Financial Services Authority that is meant to regulate the banks, it has been caught on the hop by what has unfolded plus it was staffed by Gordon's cronies. lloyds Bank one of our most respected and solvent banks was talked into taking on one of our banks with a huge bank of bad debt. The good bank has not helped the debt ridden bank instead Lloyds has been dragged into partial public ownership.
Before Labour came to power the Treasury set the interest rates and lending had a cap on it because it was controlled by the government. There has been a steady escalation on how much is being lent and the economy has boomed on debt encouraged by this government because it made it look like we were in the biggest boom and it was all down to Labour.
A few years ago Labour ran a campaign against the Conservatives accusing them or being a Boom and Bust party. The truth is out Gordon, you were fraudulently Mr Boom and will go down in history as Mr Bust.
Rant over, I could just cry at what has happened to my country, it that is the honest truth.
Only 18 months to go before we can elect a new leader.
I can't comment on the US but here, the banking system is a big mess. Sure there are the sub prime loans, but there has been an excalation of personal and business debt in the last ten years and some institutions have made some very bad credit decisions. We have an organisation called the Financial Services Authority that is meant to regulate the banks, it has been caught on the hop by what has unfolded plus it was staffed by Gordon's cronies. lloyds Bank one of our most respected and solvent banks was talked into taking on one of our banks with a huge bank of bad debt. The good bank has not helped the debt ridden bank instead Lloyds has been dragged into partial public ownership.
Before Labour came to power the Treasury set the interest rates and lending had a cap on it because it was controlled by the government. There has been a steady escalation on how much is being lent and the economy has boomed on debt encouraged by this government because it made it look like we were in the biggest boom and it was all down to Labour.
A few years ago Labour ran a campaign against the Conservatives accusing them or being a Boom and Bust party. The truth is out Gordon, you were fraudulently Mr Boom and will go down in history as Mr Bust.
Rant over, I could just cry at what has happened to my country, it that is the honest truth.
Only 18 months to go before we can elect a new leader.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
-
silentscreen
- Posts: 701
- Joined: March 9th, 2008, 3:47 pm
Ah, I should never get started on politics. The truth is the government in this country is totally corrupt on both sides.The only thing left to do is have another revolution. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
That old adage about one step starting a long journey is exactly what the stimulus package is about. It's not expected to solve all the problems, but each major problem is getting a small amount of cash to get started on self improvement. That covers global warming, social security, school assistance and all the other things Obama ran his ticket on. Another adage is, 'it takes money to make money', and 'God helps those who help themselves'. I'll see soon enough if my little experiment is working. I've finally changed to economical, green light bulbs all over my apartment. They are a little more expensive, but if, as they say, they last for anywhere from 2 to 5 years, then I will be ahead. I'm forever buying lightbulbs around here. I could be saving up to $200.00 a year for all I know. I'll figure it out at the end of this year. This might be a good time for us to answer President Kennedy's challenge of 'Ask not what . . .
Anne
Anne
Anne
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
Re: ENOUGH!!!
With Limbaugh, Goldberg, Pence, DeLay, Liddy ( & other wingnuts ) all having said that they wish President Obama policies fail maybe conservatism is more important, to these self - styled patriots, than the the welfare/survival of the American Republic and its people.
-
silentscreen
- Posts: 701
- Joined: March 9th, 2008, 3:47 pm
Re: ENOUGH!!!
I'll take note of President Obama's policies as being successful once the stock market goes back up and the economy starts to turn around.The market has lost over 30% since he took office, and I think the market is a far more dispassionate view of how he's succeeding than Rush and crowd. Results are what matter in the long run.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard