Posted on January 7 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

annarondac- I agree that Rush and Hannity are businesses in the entertaining field. What I do have a problem with is that most people do not understand that it is entertainment (or maybe drama) and want to listen to them because they think they are being informed with truthful information. I have heard Rush (the hypocrite drug addict) lie countless times. When he gets caught he denies it, changes the topic or hangs up on the caller while calling them stupid for the next 10 minutes. I don't know of any "liberal" talk shows we can listen to locally on a regular basis so I’m not real sure how they work.
It is not only the gov't officials bickering; it is the people as well. I don't understand at what point we began to always have to have our way or no way. For example, Many liberals are thrilled that Obama is president, however when the Inauguration minister was picked they threw a fit, threatened to boycott, etc. I’m not picking on the liberals (since I am one) because I am sure there are tons of examples like that on the conservative side as well.
I wasn't meaning to come across that I thought these posts were stupid distractions-I was thinking of the radio talk show hosts constantly spewing hate and separatist talk. I actually think these posts are awesome and allows people (who are willing) to find some common ground.
I don’t personally have a problem with Kennedy, I don’t know her at all. I don’t necessarily think you need much experience for the job so I don’t know that she would be bad. It’s a crap shoot no matter who gets appointed. My issue is with this bizarre form of American monarchy. The only reason she would be considered is because of her name and her heredity. This concept to me is totally insane and goes against everything America fought for. This is why I believe that she should not be appointed.

On Should Gov. Paterson appoint Caroline Kennedy to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate?

Posted on January 7 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

INTHEKNOW, I am glad you liked my post so well that you felt the need to repeat it.

On Should Gov. Paterson appoint Caroline Kennedy to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate?

Posted on January 7 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I am really tired of this juvenile Liberal versus conservative name calling. I don’t know anyone who is all liberal all the time or all conservative all the time. We all have our own experience that shape how we believe. My way is not the “right” way for everyone and neither is any of yours. Its not like one person could possibly make a decision to make a family of 5 happy let alone an entire state or country of free thinking people. People need to just grow up and stop throwing temper tantrums to get their way all the time-both on the “liberal” and “conservative” sides. All it does is distract us from the actual problems.
George Bush Sr. recently stated that he now wants Jeb to become president. Caroline Kennedy thinks she needs to be a Senator and is only being considered because of her name. There are Rockefellers, Clintons, Bush’s and a few other select families running the show, passing laws, etc all because of their money and family name. These wealthy royal families have no interest in us other than worker slaves and increasing profits for their family and friends. Everyone is scared of moving towards socialism but it looks to me like we have moved more towards monarchy. Then we have all of these idiots on talk radio making 6 figures, working for these elected jerks and acting like they are giving us a “truth” when all they are doing is lying and separating us while running to the bank.
Until we stop fighting like children, stop professing to know the one absolute truth for everyone in the world, and learn how to work together this will never change. Our petty stupid distractions have allowed this. So either live with the mess we allowed and partially created or shut the f up, grow the f up and change!

On Should Gov. Paterson appoint Caroline Kennedy to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate?

Posted on November 3 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It is really sad that people think they know what is going on and then vote on the advice of those who have something to lose. Take for example Social Security tax. Every single employee in this country pays 7.65 % for a combination of Social Security/Medicare taxes. The employer then pays 7.65 % to match the employee contribution. A total of 15.30% is therefore paid to the government to run Social Security and Medicare programs; this is separate from other federal and state taxes.
The maximum amount that you have to pay into this system changes every year. In 2008 the cap was raised to 102,000 (from 76200.00 in 200 when Bush was first elected). Anyone making over 102,000.00 does NOT have to pay any more money into this system. So the CEO’s making Millions of dollars save 76, 500.00 every million they make, not to mention their employer is also saving that amount of money.
So, For example, Lloyd C. Blankfein from Goldman Sach’s Group had total compensation in 2007 of nearly 54 million dollars! His base salary was 600,000.00 while his cash bonuses were 26, 985, 474.00. He also received “perks”(384,157.00), stock awards (15,542,756.00) and an option award (10,453,031.00 whatever that is). I’m sure those are all ways of avoiding paying taxes. Just on the salary and bonuses, between Blankfein and Sachs, they save nearly 4.3 million dollars in taxes just not paying that 7.65%! If these rich guys just paid that percentage on all the money they make we would have no financial troubles in this country. Really what does one person do to make 54 million dollars in one year(No surprise they are into investment banking)?
I pay 7.65% on every dime I make and probable most of you writing in this blog do as well. Why is it unfair to ask these rich guys to pay 7.65% on every dime they make too? Especially those that are making the dimes from our breaking our backs! Educate yourselves and stop responding to emotional hysteria from the rich guys trying to scare you!
So when these guys are scaring you and saying Obama is a socialist who wants your money…it isn’t true. And even if it were, you would not be in the bracket that he is going after. The police departments, schools system, fire department, Healthy NY, Medicare, Social security, etc are all socialist concepts. Can they be improved? Absolutely! But they do and have worked while being crippled in a capitalistic society. Helping your neighbor is not the root of all evil.
Wake Up! These are Rush Limbaughs friends! These are Glen Beck’s Golfing buddies! They are using their personally paid media to do whatever they can to spread lies and hate so they can keep their pocketbooks lined. And the earlier posts about the senate and house are truer than you can possibly imagine…for example Dianne Feinstein, a Senior Senator in California is married to Richard Blum, a big investment banker who I am sure is benefiting from the bailout! Wake up people, really, stop the madness and just wake up!

On Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election on Nov. 4?

Posted on October 31 at 8:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Annarondac-
I really don’t even know how to respond to what you said. Apparently you do not know your candidate as well as you should…McCain has 7 children. They range in age from 17- 48. So Maybe you should do a little bit more research on your candidate and not take Limbaugh’s word for who he is. It’s amazing what you can find out! Also the point I was trying to make about the leaving of the children in the first place was from a feminist point of view and what it takes to be accepted in a man’s world. I am pretty sure Palin is the only woman on a ticket, although at McCain’s age he has lost most of his testosterone, so its possible he could have more estrogen than testosterone.

Paul,

the dems do control the house and senate right now-by a small margin. However, for several years they did not control the house or senate. In the past year and a half that they have been in control they have had a republican president who decided to use his veto powers for the first time. We also have only heard from the president these past few years when he is not getting what he wants and therefore needs to use his fear tactics. When the dem’s voted no to the war budget, the repub’s turned it around (and still are ie mccain to obama) and said how dem’s refused to support the troops by signing that bill. I remember the house walking out of office and refusing to vote because the bill was so ludicrous. I don’t think it is really fair to say that some people have not tried. While I agree that we need to make changes from the bottom up and that our priorities are so incredibly screwed up (spending multiple millions for local and federal campaigns while people have no health care and are losing their homes). I really agree that “ …the President AND the House AND the Senate are ALL responsible for the predicament the country is in.”
Just want to remind people that this is not a party thing (BOTH are to blame) but an individual thing. People who have been in for the entire time are part of the problem, whereas some of the newer people are still trying to fight their way through the mud. I too am getting so tired of the blame game. It’s like listening to my kids fight! If someone breaks a window in December-are we going to argue about who did it while the cold air is pouring in or are we going to fix the window and then deal with the issues to make sure it doesn’t get broken again?

On Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election on Nov. 4?

Posted on October 30 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

One of the many problems with fundamentalists is that they feel they have the open window to what is right and what is wrong and then use examples to back that up. If someone bad dies it is the will of God to punish and take his life. If someone good dies, God wanted an angel in heaven. The idea that the razor blades in apples as proof that Halloween is "evil" is ludicrous.
If you bother to do any research, since 1959 there have 80 cases of razor blades in candy/apples on Halloween. Most of these turned out to be hoaxes and only 10 cases resulted in minor injury. The one case that turned out not to be a hoax was in 2000 from a man who put razors in snickers bars. One 14 year old child had a minor injury. The man who was charged with the crime is James Joseph Smith. I am sure it is no coincidence that he was named after the "prophet" who started the Mormon Church. So a man that was named after the leader of the FDLS is the one who put razors in candy. Hmmmm, I don’t know but it seems to me like the fundamentalist are do things to prove their case. So what is really evil, the actual day of Halloween or those making sure everyone lives in fear and believes as they do and are willing to do horrible acts to prove their case?

On Conservatives create alternatives to holiday

Posted on October 28 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

One is not a sentence and should not end with a .(period). In the next sentence you should use an A to describe your 96 average (not an 96 average). You should have used “;’s” to separate between what you were saying since you were listing several items. If you want to use a comma, you should have at least added an "and" between “school” and “I want” to close up the sentence. You should have an “a” before Conservative. The first part of the sentence has nothing to do with the last part of your sentence so they really should be separate. You did not back up your statement that Obama would ruin our constitution. If you make a claim you should really use examples to support your argument. Do I sound mad is a question and should be followed by a question mark not a period. You should end the paragraph with a period.
There are many positive outcomes to homeschooling; however one of the downsides to homeschooling is that you often get only the perspective of the people that schooled you. In a social school setting you are often exposed to other ideas and are able to find for yourself what works for you. By the way I am not putting you down, just want you to be sure you pay attention to what you are saying and how you say it, especially when pointing out how smart you are.

On Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election on Nov. 4?

Posted on October 28 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey farmer Ted- you should not generalize so much. I am a democrat (registered) and I have NEVER burned a flag or called a soldier a baby killer. I think you are stuck in the Vietnam era, that's when these issues were thrown around. As far as prayer in schools, kids can pray all day long! What you do in your head is in your head. They can also form a group that included Christian children. What they cannot do is prostalatize, which is really great because I don’t want someone in a school trying to convert my kid to a religion that I may or may not approve of.
I also find it interesting how you can be concerned about abortion and prayer and school yet say there is no incentive for those who have much to not help others. Obama wants to put the tax rate back to where it was, not take money from the rich. Please get this…put the tax rate to where it was during the Clinton Era by taking away the tax breaks…not adding new taxes. The reason he wants to do this is so that he can pay for programs that DO encourage others to do for themselves, while giving back to their communities. Not everyone is going to come from a great home or attend a great school system. Look at Schenectady High compared to Niskayuna scores and graduation rates. Money does make a difference. Why should the children suffer and then put a further burden on society because their parent(s) cannot pull themselves together? It isn’t so simple to think that someone is doing homework their homework will succeed. There are several factors, such as proper nutrition, cleanliness (to prevent multiple illnesses, family support, a home to live in, heat in the winter, etc. Can’t people see that it is a never ending cycle unless we do something different to change it? Taking away the tax B R E A K S for the rich will support programs for people to “…encourage others to plan, get motivated, and achieve!” There will always be some that put a drain on society, but nearly everyone I know works (and several work multiple jobs) to get and maintain the little they have. We need to put a little more faith in our neighbors.
I would be surprised if one person who posted in here is over that annual 250k mark anyway…why would you vote against a plan that would benefit you, your children, your neighborhood and your society? You guys are listening to these rich hysterical people who have some money to lose.

On Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election on Nov. 4?

Posted on October 27 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Personally, I believe Obama is not liberal as the media makes him out to be. .... supporting gays to live a normal life as a round peg in a square society, and supporting women to have legal rights to HER reproductive choices, especially when raped or victim of incest or when life is threatened does NOT make him FOR abortion.

Look at the right --- "Old man", inherited money, decorated war veteran and continued war machine, decades in Congress (part of the history of the problem) paired with the epitome of the woman he and his generation and colleagues would most abhor -- beauty queen in a tailored suit, not so smart, control freak, who leaves her children to prove herself in the man's world. Many, many woman have moved so far past that --- and know that caring for the child they bring into the world is more important that a career or a buck, and that they don't have to be like a man. They can be women .... not seductive, winking, manipulative beauty queens.

And yes Dr_Chim I agree the dogmatic statemnts are meant to be frightening. I however am not frightened when Religious people do their online fear game. I recognize it for what it is, a lack of substance and logic and therefore a need to attempt to control with fear. Its the "come to the alter to get saved in case you get in a car crash on the way home" psychology.

And for timbok, I can see how your weak mind has been taken over by Rush Limbaugh and the likes of him. They are paid 6+ figures to tell you what their sponsers want you to hear. Truth has nothing to do with what comes out of their mouths. Seriously, do some research and open your mind, you may realize that the truth is much different than what you think it is. For example, please do some research and give me an example of where Obama has been anti-first amendment.

On Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election on Nov. 4?

Posted on October 21 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Junior-
I had to laugh (real hard) at your post. You are doing the typical don’t vote for the other guy without saying anything your guy wants to do to save us! You used fear tactics, brought up the threat of terrorism and only had negative things to say. You are telling people not to follow the herd of sheep when you are so obviously following the herd of Limbaugh and Fox news sheep. Unless you are a prophet sent to us by GOD, had could you possibly profess to know what Obama really believes and thinks. He writes his speeches himself. He is a very educated man. McCain is the one who has speech writers and choreographs speeches. Palin won’t even give an interview but she can’t even choreograph what was written for her properly. Because McCain got captured in Vietnam do you honestly feel safer to elect dumb and dumber to run this country? General after General, republicans and democrats are endorsing Obama. These guys know war, they study terrorism. Do you honestly think that they would be endorsing Obama if they though he was anything less than 100% capable? 2 years ago Obama said send the troops to Afghanistan…McCain laughed and made fun of him. McCain is 72 years old (not to be an age bigot but average life span of WAM is 75 years-add cancer survivor and other issues and he is on borrowed time now-good thing senators get that great health care!), he has suffered trauma on his body that most people never go through, he is a 3x over cancer survivor and his hands aren’t good enough to even peck at a computer keyboard. With the best intentions in the world, there is a good chance he won’t make it 4 years. Then we get the woman who can see Russia from her house and cannot give interviews because she can‘t even be trusted to speak with friends let alone enemy’s.
I too am a proud American. An American who is sick of her country getting ruined by wealthy corporate greed and little sheep who are too scared of things that may or may not happen to pull themselves out of the gutter. Don’t give me your fear B.S. It can happen at any time on anyone’s watch, it doesn’t matter who is President. Don’t give me that, they can come knocking on your door B.S. because after they signed the Patriot act, they already can and DO come knocking on people’s door. The sheep are those who are responding to fear rather than reality.

On Do you plan to vote in the presidential election on Nov. 4?