This Young Man is Amazing – Watch

I hope he actually enjoys doing these things and isn’t being forced to.  Imagine where he will be in 10 years?

FOX: Who is to blame for Economy — BUSH

Here’s a somewhat surprising result from the new Fox News poll. Asked which president is “more responsible for the current state of the economy,” only 18 percent say President Obama. Fifty-eight percent say former President George W. Bush. Nine percent blame both of them. Republicans are the only subgroup of voters who blame Obama, and only by a six-point margin of 35 percent to 29 percent.

Surprising result?  Most Americans knew Bush was at fault and didn’t need a poll to prove it.  If you mean it’s surprising that FOX would have a poll HURTING Bush….then yes, I agree.

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show Comedy Central

He takes on the White House war with Fox News

Santorum Throws Bush Admin Under the Bus – Afghanistan

SANTORUM: My sense is that we have an obligation to support our generals in the field, to give them the resources they need to accomplish the mission. That was not done by the prior administration. Let’s be very clear about that. They put their own political imprint on the Afghan strategy.

Are we finally going to see some Republicans coming out against the way the Bush/Cheney administration ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

I’m curious now, who will be the first to admit that we tortured prisoners and that perhaps war crimes should indeed be investigated?  Personally, I’m betting the first Republican to do that (express feelings that things were done that were wrong and those wrongs be punished), will not only get some Democratic votes, but Independents as well.  It would show leadership and honesty.

Let’s watch and see who that new leader in the Republican Party will be.

Jobs Created or Saved Since Stimulus Put in Place

WASHINGTON – More than 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, the White House said Friday, saying it is on track to reach the president’s goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year…

White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein says officials have been told the figures. When adding in jobs linked to $288 billion in tax cuts, Bernstein says the stimulus plan has created or saved more than 1 million jobs.

Just imagine if the stimulus had not been put in place, how much these lack of jobs would have hurt us, both mentally and economically.  To top that off, just imagine the infrastructure that has already been done since March of this year and how much is still to come.

Prompt Care: Build Them – Help Patients, Help Economy!

Lower the cost of health care and create jobs at the same time.  The new health care reform bill should allow for the building of prompt care centers across America in small towns and cities.

Larger cities in the country provide these types of clinics, saving the ER’s in hospitals for major emergencies instead of those that just can’t wait till Monday or the next day.

This would not only provide cheaper service for emergencies, like broken bones, sinus infections, flu, stomach aches, cuts or bruises, etc…, it would create thousands of jobs.

Jobs for realtors, lawyers, lumber companies, electric companies, medical equipment companies,  plumbing equipment companies, surveyors, architects, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, concrete layers.

Property must be negotiated for, surveyed and razed.  Buildings must be designed and accountants must tally up the costs of building supplies, etc…  Equipment and supplies must be purchased and ordered.  Builders may need places to live while building the centers.  The construction workers, plumbers, electricians and concrete layers are hired to meet the required standards for such a clinic and then to build them.

Each center will require medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, office equipment and furniture.  The stores that provide these items may need to hire additional workers to provide this service.

Each clinic will require office personnel, office managers, nurses and doctors to run it and provide much needed service.

Accountants, bookkeepers and computer professionals will be needed to keep tabs of the budget and payrolls of these clinics.

In short folks, millions of sick people could not only get cheaper health care for those minor emergencies, they could get it a little faster.  Millions of major emergency patients could get a little faster service as well because the ER’s in hospitals would be responsible for only those cases.  Thousands of short term jobs would be created to build the clinics and thousands of long term jobs would be created to run those same clinics.

I think this idea could be considered outside the whelm of Health Care Reform bill, and instead written up as a second stimulus plan.

Recession is Over! Unemployment is Less but Not Enough Yet

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. It’s the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.

President Barack Obama hailed the data, saying the country has “come a long way” since early this year.

In remarks prepared for a small business group, Obama said he believes the new figures are “an affirmation that this recession is abating and the steps we’ve taken have made a difference.” The economy had shrunk by 6.4 percent in the first quarter.

The president cautioned, however, that “we have a long way to go to fully restore our economy.”  …

he much-awaited turnaround reported Thursday by the Commerce Department ended the streak of four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the first time that’s happened on records dating to 1947.

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Unemployment still dropping:

The number of people continuing to claim unemployment insurance benefits dropped 148,000 to 5.8 million, a steeper fall than expected and the sixth straight decrease. Those figures lag initial claims by a week.

There’s still room for lots of improvement but these figures are signs that we are going the RIGHT DIRECTION and that is the GOAL!

Grayson: 44,789 Die Every Year From Lack of Health Insurance

On Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) shed tears on the House floor during a speech on the need for health insurance reform. Reading letters from people who have lost their loved ones because they did not have health coverage, the emotional Congressman paid tribute to victims who he said “aren’t often heard from.”

“There are 44,789, who die every year from lack of health insurance,” Grayson said. “In the course of my speech tonight, there will be five more.”

This guy has heart — a big one.  Thank you Mr. Grayson for showing how people are suffering out there with health care.

Looking for Work?  Army Has Civilian Jobs

At a time when many companies are cutting jobs and families are losing their health care and retirement benefits, the U.S. Army is offering an attractive alternative — take the career you know and apply those skills to supporting men and women in uniform.

Visit their website to find a job.

Thought I’d lend a hand to those looking for a job and may be willing to travel to get one.

What Makes Afghanistan Unique?

One of the bloggers here at TPM asked a very good question on one of my posts, “why can’t Afghanistan be used to launch another attack against the USA?”

Good question, why can’t it?  For that matter why can’t any nation or even a State be used to launch another attack against the United States of America?

Condi Rice(R) recently said the following:

“If you want another terrorist attack in the US, abandon Afghanistan,” she said in an interview with Fortune magazine on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak(D) said the following:

We can’t keep America safe if we let al-Qaida return

President Hamid Karzai warned

The world must remain engaged in Afghanistan until the country manages to stand on its own feet or ”terrorists” will strike again,

American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill said:

“According to The Washington Post, General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO Commander, is warning us that without more forces within the next year, the mission in Afghanistan ‘will likely result in failure.’ Considering that Afghanistan was the breeding ground for the 9/11 attacks, we cannot allow that to happen,”