General Music Chat

YEAH Phil you actually write much truth. Sucks because this is about power more than money , but without power you cant have the money, without money you cant have the power.
I think what we all have to realise is that we would never have entered Iraq if we were not protecting the interests of big companies such as exxon mobil, so you are right . How do we take back AMERICA????? The same way they been taking it away , one piece at a time. Lets start with no smoking in bars rules.

It really cracks me up when I see a company like WalMart "guarantee the lowest price" on a Vizeo tv. Just TRY to find a Vizeo in any other store! Same goes for Sears with their brands. Or KMart, or Lowes or ANY of these superstores. Yeah, they can guarantee the lowest prices cuz they're the ONLY stores selling that particular brand or model.

And still, the ppl buy into this sh*t.

Imho, we're already living in the land of the gov't monpoly, man. Our gov't is owned by the corp's, & there are virtually no restrictions on what they say or do anymore.

I honestly suspect, at this point, that any group of regular citizens who actually start to become a big enough power to stand up to these super-conglomerates will be treated with the same respect & fairness as the ppl did at Ruby Ridge or Waco. Dare to try, & you'll be eradicated. I truly believe that it's gotten to be that serious of a problem here in the states, & our beloved leaders are doing their very best to bring THAT version of "freedom" to the world at large, in the name of even more corporate profits.

Our medias are corporate owned, so we don't get the real stories anymore. Our medical conglomerates are way too powerful. Our jails have become corporate owned. Our infrastructure is becoming owned & operated by big industry. Our food & water & medicines are poisoned by huge companies, & the gov't says that all is safe. Our communications industries are going to become under ever stricter restrictions due to corporate interests. Our life's savings are being taken at the whim of corporate greed. Our health is controlled by "them." Our power. Our fuels for travel & heating. Our military is being "assisted" by corporate mercenaries.

Think about it. The way of life as we knew it is already in the process of being destroyed & restructured, so that we can ALL become slaves to the few who own all of these outfits, & there can be true freedom for only those few, while the rest of us are completely controlled economically, & even forcibly, in some cases, by corporate interest & profit.

I always believed this was a country were a man of free will ,not afraid of hard and long work could profit from his/her endeavours. When I see talk about not being able to afford gas to go and do something artistic , I am shocked. You should be too.

National healthcare: do the math. 890 billion dollars for 35 million americans that have no insurance, divided by 10 years, divided by 12 months a year, breaks down to about @ $212 a month. This is not not inflation adjusted.

Since when has our govt been able to run a program this well. NEVER!

You think you can't afford gas now wait till this gets rammed down your throats.

By the way 35 million Americans is less than 10% of our population.

Having read your post, I would say that your problem is that you don't make enough money. Too bad.

I believe that the CBO has estimated that the house bill would reduce the deficit by 30 billion over ten years. I realize that in terms of the Federal budget that's chump change but it does not add to the deficit, which meets the president's criteria for budget neutrality. The Senate Bill is estimated to provide greater budgetary savings over the same period. You may not be able to afford an additional $212.00 a month but then what does that say about you? I pay more for a heating oil delivery than that

One more stat, for ya. The government also runs the military and I'll bet your a support the troops kinda guy, so if you like the military, which is run by the government, BTW, I think they can probably do health care. We spend half a trillion dollars on defense EVERY YEAR. Within that we are spending multiple billions for things like a new generation of nuclear submarines. Talk about useful spending. I ask you, what is wrong with the nuke subs we already have? Bear in mind, I'm not saying we should not spend on defense, we should, but we should be a damned sight smarter about it.

the crap you continue to spout would destroy us all in mere months, if we followed the sheep-like "America is the greatest" view you hold onto,

I agreed with a good deal of what you said, until that.

America "IS" still the greatest country on Earth.

If we were speaking of arrogance though, then I would agree with you. Being the most powerful nation on Earth, breeds arrogance when left unchecked. And that's always a set-up for a fall.

With power comes responsiblity, and while we have exercised that power for good, too many times we have misused it. Supported dictators because it was in our economic interest. Started a civil war in another country so we could build a canal through it. Sent the CIA to South America to teach ruthless dictators how to torture people... people like the Catholic Priests there.

And boy do we know how to switch sides fast...

Noriega was our friend... before he was our enemy.
Osama bin Laden was our friend... before he was our enemy.
Saddam Hussein was our friend.... before he was our enemy.

The good news though, is that while this is not as bad a nation as some here think, and it is not as good a nation as some here think...

It could be.

It could be what we ALL wish it to be. A beacon of light in the darkness. Protector of the oppressed in the world. The hope of those seeking freedom to live their lives and dreams as they choose.

We could be that nation.

We've been that nation before.

We could be that nation again.

We could be worthy of the world's hopes for us.

.

Very, very, very confusing... The greatest country on earth would never have done business with Sadaam Hussein. One would hope that the greatest country on earth would be more moral, no? Have you ever seen the picture of Donny Rumsfeld shaking hands with Hussein when Reagan sent him over during the Iraq Iran war to see what help we might be able to provide in killing Iranians/Persians. We provided satellite intelligence to the Iraqis, so they could better target their chemical attacks on the Iranians. Talk about cynical. But you go to war with the government you've, not the government you wish to have, to paraphrase Mr. Rumsfeld.

We have the best ideals of any nation on earth but we need to live up to them and we should start here at home in terms of the government's responsibilities to its citizens, such as providing a health care system that functions to provide care to those citizens in a cost effective, transparent, and efficient manner, without any reference to the bottom lines of insurance companies. That system is called single payer. That is not what we're getting but what we're getting will be better than what we've got.

Dessalines,

Some good points. And no, I haven't seen the picture of Rumsfeld with Hussein, but It is entirely possible that the first Gulf War was a set-up, staged by the Bush 41 administration. April Glaspie had a meeting with her Iraqi counterpart during the Iraqi military build-up being stage in preparation for the invasion of Kuwait, and speaking on behalf of the Bush administration, she declared to the Iraqis that we had "NO OPINION" on the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait, and furthermore, that we would not interfere in arab-arab disputes. They were assured we would not stage an economic war against them. All this was understood as a "green light" by Sadam to invade Kuwait. We were his friends after all, selling him weapons during the Iran-Iraq war.

No opinion huh?

We launched a war against him... AFTER basically giving him the green light to proceed.

Yeah... it really was about oil, in case anyone is still wondering.

The hope however, lies in the fact that it is not the PEOPLE of America trying to pull this kind of bullsh*t in world affairs. It is corporate interest as pursued by corrupt, lying politicians.

But if we do not REFORM how our politicians operate, then yes WE ARE TO BLAME, and the scales will tip, from the good we have done, to our simply being a bully in the world, acting in economic interest alone, and with mafia-like tactics.

Powerful nations without equal, historically, fall from within, not from any outside invaders.

Our political system MUST be reformed and dirty politics reigned in.

But I don't know if the American people are up to the task. We are lazy in that regard. Give us air-conditioning and internet, and don't bother us with problems outside our borders.

.

CRAIG!!!!! Is it POSSIBLE that we AGREE on something POLITICAL?

Wowzers!

Isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse?

................ ................

CRAIG!!!!! Is it POSSIBLE that we AGREE on something POLITICAL?

Well, I've got an ear infection too, so it could be that we are BOTH hallucinating!

Wowzers!

Isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse?

................ ................

No brother, but it sure as hell should have been!

Put a piece of garlic in your ear, man. I know it sounds silly, but it stops the pain!

Hope you get over it quicker than I am.

Put a piece of garlic in your ear, man. I know it sounds silly, but it stops the pain!

Hope you get over it quicker than I am.

Garlic for real?

Sans.... If Phil is setting me up, I swear to g....

LOL

I think we have some garlic too.

And I probably will get over it quicker brother, cause DAMN, I've never had ear problems to the point of bleeding! OUCH!!!

But I have some hearing loss, due to my many years of blaring loud music, and me foolishly discounting all the warnings about earphone levels and speaker levels. I mean I hear, but if someone hears the TV well on "12" volume, I need it at 16 or something. Scares me for the future, cause I don't want it to get worse. We ain't all Beethoven, scoring symphonies while deaf, you know? Musician, songwriter, performer... without hearing? Not a very good thing.

Thanks for the garlic tip!.

Yeah, you shoulda seen the nurse's face when I told her about it!

When the Dr came in the room, it was the 1st thing he wanted to talk about, & he was incredulous as sh*t, man!

It burns just a touch when you put it in, after it sits for a cpl minutes. Nothing really bad, but you can feel it "working." Then the pain just goes. If you leave it in there, you get these lil crystals, which I swabbed out after softening them up with a little olive oil.

As far as I can tell, it just takes the edge off, though, cuz the actual infection is still there, for me.

Believe me, Craig, I've tried almost everything there is to stop the screaming pain, during my lifetime. Sweet oil, heat, even drugs never worked as well or as fast for me to stop the pain.

It doesn't address sinus pain, though, which explains my presense on here at 4:58 AM!

I figure my wife & I are somewhat average. Our mean age is 50.

Consider this:

The meds we have prescribed for us, at present, cost between $9,000 & $12,000 per year, depending on where we get them, without insurance. If I bought into the medical profession's BS & took BP meds, it would be even higher.

The average income for a WV household of ppl our age is less than $50,000 per year.

That means that over 20% of the average 50 yr old WV'ian income, before taxes, goes to maintenance medicines, just to stay alive, according to the Dr's.

These costs will continue to rise as we age, while our income will actually decrease, esp once we reach retirement age.

This doesn't even begin to include costs for getting sick or injured, for a Dr office visit, or for dental or vision, which will also cost more as we age.

Now, add in taxes, at around what - 25 to 30%, if we're lucky? Then add housing cost & maintenance, gas, heating & A/C, food & clothing, vehicle maintenance & insurance & inspections. There are also additional taxes in my state for housing, gas, heating, electric, food, clothes, property taxes on the vehicles, & home & pets, & services on the cars. What's left to "live" on?

It's getting more & more difficult just to exist. Universal health care is a huge issue for us, as our insurance doesn't cover it all.

I misplaced my wallet, & so I can't find my insurance card for prescriptions. The cost of the nasal spray, alone, is $75. That's $900 a year, if I use it as the Dr suggested. The antibiotic is another $75. I told them I don't need it that badly, & called the wife to get her to make me a copy of the card so I can try again tomorrow.

It seems to me that there is PLENTY of money being spent in this economy, but it just isn't going for luxury items like Netflix or a night out on the town, or even an occasional drink at the local pub.

Canadiens , let um stay up there and freeze,we cant afford their problems right now,, besides we are the only place they can go when their healthcare system lets them down.

Boy ... you've been reading way too much US HC Insurance Company propaganda and believing it ... our HC system works just fine.

Canada is in way better shape than the US right now ... our goverment didn't let our corporations screw us up the *ss and almost bring down the country like they did down SoB

Can anyone say bailout

Ron

Glen, my man no where did I ever suggest the government would should could provide jobs.
All I want them to do is their constatutionally mandated dutys.
Part of that is to prevent coroporations from stealing us blind as they go bankrupt. If a corporate exec gets a million dollar bonus from a company in receavership or God forbid, propped up with tax dollars. A whole bunch of folks should go to prison.

Sans your right that was not what I meant. Prevost there goes another canadian bashing AMERICANS , you guys dont have a clue and beleive it or not you only survive , because of the greatness of all these corporations that suddenly have become the bashing de jour.. Wait till you need a brain transplant , and thats coming soon, and you find its not covered.
Bad companies like bad people dont last long. And yes why would we bail them out , to make the politician de jour look good.
Prevost stay up in canada, You dont have a clue what it is like to be American all you have is the clue to sit and be jealous like terrorists that flew 2 jets into our sacred country. Your talk is the very begining of that sort of craziness.
NO,,,,, I'm not crazy, unless some liberal just got another law passed making it against the law to protest or protect you home birth country.
Did I insult you,,, Not half as bad as you did me with your pompous attitude.
THIS IS AMERICA , when Phil or Sans or any of these other AMERICANS speak I do weigh their comments heavily.I just dont need some one from botswannaville telling me what to do,and I dont even want to hear the term politically correct.
OH ,CAREFUL , Prevost, Canada DOESNT MIND YOU OLDER GUYS TAKING A SUDDEN DIRT NAP.

Desalines, First of all as a tiny business employing 5 people I passed 2 milion dollars through my accounts. When I look at what I paid out in Taxes,insurance,workers comp,misc expenses[that list goes on and on] you are right. I didnt make enough.
When my employees are making as much as I am without the responsibuility ,why bother.
I guess every body is just gonna think I am another greedy corporation out to screw everyone. NO I am just some tiny guy that doesnt like to count on other people for a JOB.
Right now I'm thinking of just selling and I am sorry for for my people ,but our govt has regulated and taxed me too much
On the brite side, I'm working on things that are not so regulated, Things the govt deems fit to waste your tax dollars on. Dont tread on me and dont think you are gonna beat me. IF I GOTTA PLAY THE GAME I WILL,,,smile.