I haven't posted anything in awhile as I continue to recover from having a stroke. Sorry. I have missed sharing my opinion of recent events. Like Sarah Palins "non-campaign" bus tour . She must on a publicity trip like the "Donald" was. And Pawlenty has officially joined the race.Finally! The GOP has a real candidate they can nominate. Or maybe they would rather sit this one out?
The stock market has took a beating lately thanks to the cost of gas,continued unemploymewnt, the lack of new job creation, among other things. As for jobs, I saw an ad on tv saying home construction created them, like all we need to do is oppen our borders to the world, let anybody in so they will buy trhem and put us back to work. Not! Washington let big corporations take our jobs offshore. For the sake of bigger profits. With long term consequences. And the are left? Many of them get huge tax breaks`. While we go without work, pay higher and higher prices for goods, taxes, you name it. Where will it end?

I am writing this from hy hoswpitla bed, as I had a stroke last Tuesday. Almost back to where I was, just a couple small hurdles to clear

So what is up with Boehner and Bunch? Are they really willing to risk the economic recovery of the Us to prove their point?  To claim victory in slashing programs WE have aqlready paid for? I didn't hear him mention the fact that it predecesors of HIS own party that "borrowed" billions from Social Security. And now he thinks we should pay by a reduction in "entitlements" He apparently doesn't get the fact that we "payed"for those "entitlements" through payroll deductions all the years we worked, with the promise of it being there when we needed it.

My posts here will be short for awhile as I continue to recover. Thank you for reading.
Rod

First off is news, by way of the Huffing Post,  that the Replican-controlled House has passed a bill that would allow the sale of three well leases in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Virginia coast. I guess the price of gas is more improtant than our eco-system. What's a few dirty birds comparred to $5.00 a gallon gas, right? What really needs to be done is to clean up the dirty birds in the oil industry. Stop allowing them to charge outrageous prices for something we rely on. I bet BP is chomping at the bit to get their hands on the oil they now know is down there. Lease our land or ocean fronts, take our resouces, then sell it for three times what it cost to  get it. Pretty good deal.
Then theres news from an AP article in the LA Times. Tom Pawlenty, speaking with reporters at a breakfast the morning after the first debate for the GOP presidential race, voiced his displeasure with the Replublicans willingness to comprimise on budget negotiations. I feel sorry for his wife.
And whats up with the hoopla surronding Bin Laden"s assasination? He couldn't have gotten a fair trial if he would have been taken alive. Anywhere in the world, for that matter. Just my thoughts.

 I haven't posted anything for Wednesday or today as I have been sick. I hope to be back back on Monday with an up to date post. Thank you.

Trump-ed

He got his. It was funny watching Trump be the butt of the the jokes at the correspondents dinner Saturday night. I shouldn't laugh. But I love a great joke.  It will be interesting to see if he decides to run for president, or the hills, out of embarassment.  I think that all of his antics have hurt the Republican party. I would be ashamed to support him.  Maybe that is what the party has come down to. Maybe that is what our entire government has come to. A circus side show. Having us beleive this and that, using smoke and mirrors to hide the real truths. And we go along with it, totaly duped. Well, a lot of us, anyway.

Bin Laden

He got his too. I sure hope a lot of his followers went with him. It would serve them right. I can't beleive it took almost ten years though. What will Al-Qaida do now? I bet they will advance their plans in retalation. I could be wrong. I sure would be extra cautious though. Surprisingly, this has boosted our stock market.

The South

Our southern region was annihilalted by the tornadoes last week. Those areas reminded me of the aftermath in northern Japan after the tsunami. Those poor people. Losing everthing, and in this economy too. I bet this will be an insurance nightmare. And an expensive one too. So far though it hasn't affected the stock market. Bin Laden's demise has overrode that it seems. 

Side Note: In the comment section, I have had comments left that I tried to anwser, but was unable to because the email address was not valid. Sorry, but I tried.

I read an article online the other day, I don't remember by who, but it was on the possibilty of the bubble bursting in the commodity trade. On the same scale, basically as the housing market. Makes me wonder. As far as I am concerned, it would serve the speculators right. Teach them a lesson, I hope. The price of our crops, raw materials, certain natural goods should not be driven  based on speculation. I know, you are thinking demand sets the price. Why, then are the oil companies reporting such record profits? Are we buying more gas, just because it costs more? I don't think so.
And what about gold? Do we go out and buy a bunch of it every time the price jumps higher? Not me. I don't own an ounce. I wish I did.  At 70's or 80's prices, of course. Corn is up, wheat, cotton. And they told the senior citizens there is no inflation. Sorry, that means no COLA increase for you.  Again. And if certain people get their way , you will lose some of the benefits you paid for. Too bad if you don't like it.
And they want to change the tax rules, too. I think they need to change them alright, reverse them, in OUR favor, for a change, Not theirs. Give us all the advantages and loopholes they have enjoyed for so long. But that won't happen. Not with out a battle.

I am happy to see Speaker John Boehner go on record saying the time has come to rethink government subsidizing big oil. They make billions in profits AND get billions in subsidies? Why do the people put up with that? Who subsidizes us? No one that I recall. Now I realize that the 4 billion in subsidies is spread out among several oil companies, but its still taxpayer dollars going to mainly profitable companies. And if a company is turning a profit, why are taxpayers having to further help their bottom line?
It will be interesting to see how the Speaker defends his position on this matter with his fellow Republicans. I'm sure it won't sit well with some of them. But hey, they want to cut the government spend, right? This is a damn good place to start. What other subsidies are there that should be looked into seriously? I am sure there are many places cuts can and should be made, before we start slashing Medicad, Medicare, and such.

When will the people wise up? This country is on a one-way path to extinction if we don't all agree to help out by paying our fair share. Put the tax rates back where they were during Clinton's administration. We had a surplus then.
I read an article on CNN/Money this morning. I t said that an average of 72% of all Americans favor higher taxes for the wealthy.  72%!  That is 55% Republican, 74% Liberal, and 83% Democrat. I did the math and came up with 70.6%. But still. I think it is time. The poor and under-priveledged have suffered enough. Where is the compassion? We willingly give whenever disaster strikes.  Isn't this a looming disaster? One that can be avoided?
 

Where are they?  And I'm talking good, family-wage jobs. Ones with decent benefits. They have left, and still going. Going overseas, so the big corporations can have their goods made with cheap labor and reap huge profits. And pay their CEO's outrage salaries. They don't give a damn about us peons. Oh sure, there are a few left, but most of their positions are filled.  To prevent the loss of more jobs overseas, we need a law making it mandatory for companies to have to pay unemployment fees for all current AND future employees that would have been working in the US Make it unfeasible for them to go after the cheaper labor. They just line their pockets with profits instead of providing us with decent paying jobs !  They have let greed replace Americanism!

A friend sent me an email about the price of gas in various places around the world. While I haven't  verified its accuracy, I somehow beleive it. Prices are USD: Oslo, Norway-$6.82, Hong Kong-$6.25, London-$5.96, Canada-$5.36, Tokyo-$5.25, Mexico City-$2.22, Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia- $0.9, Kuwait-$0.8 What's wrong with this picture??
I read another article from the AP on the Presidential race. It seems Donald Trump is gaining popularity over Sarah Palin as a possible GOP candidate. I think she would have the better chance, personally. But I could be wrong. Trump is a shrewd business man. I wonder if he has a birth certificate?  Could he balance the budget with out hurting us peons?