yes im a reverse racist in your parallel universe. thats from the glenn beck playbook right? l live in one of the most diverse cities in the world (toronto); i went to one of the most diverse universities (the university of toronto); ive taken and attended several race and ethnic relations courses as well as seminars; i grew up in a predominantly greek neighbourhood and now i live in markham which is predominantly chinese; my best friend growing up was a devout catholic south asian; one of my best friends in university was a son of nigerian diplomat; i worked with a lesbian and i dated a girl from chile for three years. i have intermingled and befriended ppl from every race
LOL. Your "diverse" experience cracks me up. One city, two quiet ethnic neighborhoods and a couple of seminars and you're an expert on diversity? It's been a while since I debated at Hart House, and it's sad to see that UT's product has fallen so far.
lets add some more- ive visited sri lanka (where my family is from); india; hong kong, singapore, thailand, france, england, germany and of course the home of the brave. dismissing my experiences as not worthwhile is part of your nation's problem. thats probably why your ppl identify themselves as canadian when they go overseas. whats your diversity experience? do u have any friends of colour? do u speak other languages? do u take a genuine interest in other cultures?
Golly, you've VISITED places? Wowweeeeee! BTW, what kind of fucking claptrap is "diversity experience"? I'll just say if you want a little resume contest on your criteria, you'd lose. Friends of color? No, I have friends, period. I could give a shit about their race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Do I speak other languages? You tend to pick a few up as a Romance Languages major and having lived in six other countries. Hell, I don't just know French French, I speak Quebecois from two summers in Montreal. Do I take a genuine interest in other cultures? Nah, I just rented Baywatch videos all the years I lived outside of the States. Jesus, you treat "diversity experience" as boxes you check to earn merit badges you wear with pride. How can someone who went to such a fine university be so stupid?
so u dont have any friends of colour? i have tons of diversity merit badges, thanks!!! im incredibly ostentatious about it. just because i dont subscribe to your worldview- doesnt make me stupid, it makes me different. i actually like legit conservatives, the ones that pride themselves on hard work and honesty not the bullshit neo-cons on roids who are hellbent on subjugating "others" to their capricious whims like yourself. i wonder what the europeans who befriended u in europe would have thought of u comparing obama to hitler? i wonder what they would have thought of u slagging their socialized medicine? the more u write, the more u present yourself as a dude on an island- trying to recapture an america that was unsustainable
u guys think healthcare will be president obama's waterloo but i suggest it will be obama's normandy. the wsj recently polled economists who declared the recession over. this past month was the strongest for job creation in 15 months; wall street is effectively detoxified; and americans will finally enjoy a robust govt alternative for healthcare. and i believe the hatemongers (domestic terrorists) peaked too soon and will be dismissed by americans at large in 2010
LOL. Watch the news. They trotted out the HHS secretary to surrender. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul White House appears ready to drop 'public option' By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer 14 mins ago WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure, President Barack Obama's administration signaled on Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new U.S. health care system. Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession would likely enrage his liberal supporters but could deliver Obama a much-needed win on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers. Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama had sought the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured, but he never made it a deal breaker in a broad set of ideas that has Republicans unified in opposition. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory. Under a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate. With $3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government, the co-ops would operate under a national structure with state affiliates but independent of the government. They still would be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims. "I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," Sebelius said. "That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing." Obama's top spokesman refused to say a public option was a make-or-break choice for the administration. "What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. On Saturday, Obama himself appeared to hedge his bets. "All I'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform," Obama said in Grand Junction, Colo. "This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it." Lawmakers have discussed the co-op model for months although the Democratic leadership and the White House have said they prefer a government-run option. Conrad, the chairman of the Senate's budget committee, called the argument for a government-run public plan little more than a "wasted effort." He added there are enough votes in the Senate for a cooperative plan. "It's not government-run and government-controlled," he said. "It's membership-run and membership-controlled. But it does provide a nonprofit competitor for the for-profit insurance companies, and that's why it has appeal on both sides." Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Obama's team is making a political calculation and embracing the co-op alternative as "a step away from the government takeover of the health care system" that the GOP has pummeled. "I don't know if it will do everything people want, but we ought to look at it. I think it's a far cry from the original proposals," he said. Republicans say a public option would have unfair advantages that would drive private insurers out of business. Critics say co-ops would not be genuine public options for health insurance. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said it would be difficult to pass any legislation through the Democratic-controlled Congress without the promised public plan. "We'll have the same number of people uninsured," she said. "If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured." Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the Democrats' option would force individuals from their private plans to a government-run plan, a claim that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office supports. "There is a way to get folks insured without having the government option," he said. Obama, writing an opinion piece in Sunday's New York Times, said political maneuvers should be excluded from the debate. "In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain," he wrote. "But for all the scare tactics out there, what's truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing." Congress' proposals, however, seemed likely to strike end-of-life counseling sessions. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has called the session "death panels," a label that has drawn rebuke from her fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, declined to criticize Palin's comments and said Obama wants to create a government-run panel to advise what types of care would be available to citizens. "In all honesty, I don't want a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats setting health care for my aged citizens in Utah," Hatch said. Sebelius said the end-of-life proposal was likely to be dropped from the final bill. "We wanted to make sure doctors were reimbursed for that very important consultation if family members chose to make it, and instead it's been turned into this scare tactic and probably will be off the table," she said. Sebelius spoke on CNN's "State of the Union" and ABC's "This Week." Gibbs appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation." Conrad and Shelby appeared on "Fox News Sunday." Johnson and Price spoke with "State of the Union." Hatch was interviewed on "This Week."
the admin is giving themselves a political out. president obama has always been committed to working with the republicans even on something like a cooperative. if i was the president- i would take this opportunity to clampdown on insurance providers as part of this compromise
I know it's tough when you have a polar opposite view of someone else, but please keep it a little bit civil.
I have created a database of my friends based on diversity. Right now, I'm in need of a Kyrgystani lesbian to round out my Central Asia collection of diverse friends. You think checking a bunch of boxes to show interaction with people different than you makes you worldly and open-minded. It makes you petty and small. That way of looking at the world doesn't make you different; it makes you stupid. Did it ever occur to you there are "Europeans" (that's like calling us "North Americans") who are my friends who agree with me? Do you really think everyone in countries with socialized medicine like it? P.S. Nice red herring saying I compared Obama to Hitler. I'm not biting.
It's basically a given that republicans will gain in the house. Rarely does a sitting president who just got elected see his party make gains. Reagan and Clinton two of the more popular Presidents of the last 30 years all saw losses.
bin laden did the republicans a favour on 9/11, heck rudy's entire presidential campaign was based on 9/11
I'm not sure the growth was real under Bush. Low interest and loose credit created a lot of cheap money being passed through the economy and now the bill has come and people can't afford to pay it. If I give someone a $100K limit credit card with interest only payments for 5 years and they start charging that card up they are going to feel rich buying all the material items they really can't afford. After 5 years when the balance is actually due the reality sets in. This behavior started out with Bush Sr, carried along by Clinton, taken to another level by 'W' and now Obama is left to clean up the mess. I don't like the approach Obama's administration has taken to continue spending and keeping rates low. I guess the bulk of the stimulus dollars for reconstruction is going to be released next year and I'm curious to see how it works out. Will it create more jobs and kick start the economy? Or will it be another failed effort to turn things around? What I keep seeing is false data being reported due to number lags, flat out lies, or both and it prevents the proper actions to and solutions to be set forth.
