President Obama

[RedScare]

Speaking as a member of the "right", who you obviously have some sort of blanket prejudice to, I really don't have a problem with Obama's speech as it is. But it's not particularly profound or original.

It's 'blanket prejudice toward, not to.

Stay in school and study hard, just as the President suggests.

[20thStDad]

It's 'blanket prejudice toward, not to.

Stay in school and study hard, just as the President suggests.

Internet forums are no place for proper grammar!! Speeches from politicians are shallow, both sides included. If you need that speech, your parents are already failing you and it might be too late.

[RedScare]

Internet forums are no place for proper grammar!! Speeches from politicians are shallow, both sides included. If you need that speech, your parents are already failing you and it might be too late.

Don't have kids, and I don't go to school. The only presidential speech I saw in school was when Nixon quit. I'm still traumatized by that.

[Porchman]

Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community.

"Volunteer in your community" is an anangram for "yummy centurion revolution". Clearly, something bigger is at play.

[sevfiv]

"Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide."

Are you @#$% kidding me?! Didn't Dickinson ISD ban students and teachers from watching this?

[barracuda]

Speaking as a member of the "right", who you obviously have some sort of blanket prejudice to, I really don't have a problem with Obama's speech as it is. But it's not particularly profound or original.

I wrote that after having read the chron.com reader comments. I'd love to see intelligent dialogue coming from both sides, like how exactly a speech on personal responsibility is political propaganda intended to indoctrinate schoolchildren into a socialist agenda. And yet, that's what some people claim to believe, and some parents are pulling their kids out of school and some schools are not going to air the speech due to the uproar from the right-wing.

This seems to be a case of much more than just political disagreement on issues. There is no actual political issue here. To go so far as to be against our President for a harmless pep talk to school kids is very odd and a bit unsettling.

[TheNiche]

"Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide."

Are you @#$% kidding me?! Didn't Dickinson ISD ban students and teachers from watching this?

Dickinson ISD has a disproportionately large population of autistic children. The fact is, most autistic children cannot be educated and have nothing to offer. Also, I'd wager that a significant number of the functional kids in Dickinson are more interested in what society can offer them than the other way around.

I'm glad they banned it. It's fluff. There are more important things to do with our childrens' time.

[sarahiki]

Dickinson ISD has a disproportionately large population of autistic children. The fact is, most autistic children cannot be educated and have nothing to offer. Also, I'd wager that a significant number of the functional kids in Dickinson are more interested in what society can offer them than the other way around.

I'm glad they banned it. It's fluff. There are more important things to do with our childrens' time.

Man, that is harsh.

I'm willing to bet that Obama couldn't care less what people like you think of this whole business. I'll bet he's really hoping that a few of those kids who you've given up on, and who are being taught to be interested in what "society can offer them," might actually be inspired by his "fluff" and think about things differently.

Is this really too much to hope for? Are you really THAT cynical? Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad.

[Gary]

Speaking of "sad"... "PRESIDENT Obama's State Department waited until the cusp of Labor Day weekend before publicly backing Latin America's dictators in their assault on democracy."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/bam_vs_democracy_B8FEjdY8zredDCIOpNlIJP

[sevfiv]

^Alexander Hamilton must be clawing in his grave (thanks Murdoch!).

[TheNiche]

Man, that is harsh.

I'm willing to bet that Obama couldn't care less what people like you think of this whole business.

I should hope not! He's got WAY more important things to do than concern himself with me. I could be a cancerous 9-year-old, and he shouldn't give a crap.

I'll bet he's really hoping that a few of those kids who you've given up on, and who are being taught to be interested in what "society can offer them," might actually be inspired by his "fluff" and think about things differently.

Is this really too much to hope for? Are you really THAT cynical? Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad.

The message will resonate with the brown-nosers and preppies, but they were going to stay in school anyway because they see authority figures as their path to self-actualization. My view is that we should not reinforce their behaviors.

I am that cynical. Why aren't you?

[LTAWACS]

This whole mess stinks.

[IronTiger]

A problem may be that even Obama himself may not "inspire" the kids enough. What could inspire them, though, is licensed characters.

(watches

)

Er, no. Bad idea.

[Geoff8201]

So, I've been doing my own thing, really not paying much attention to all this political dribble, yet I've been hearing about this and hearing the Conservative side of it. Based on what they were saying I actually thought Obama was going to stand up in front of school children promoting his healthcare agenda, his plans on tax cuts and hikes and some of his other plans he will push forth as President... I came to find out he was actually telling them to work hard, stay in school, get an education, be productive people, etc.

Today a co-worker was on the net, and there was an article about his school speech with a picture of Obama on the screen.

COWORKER: There's that bastard

ME: Who?

COWORKER: That bastard

ME: Oh, I assume you're talking about Obama, ok, so whats so bad about him talking to school children.

COWORKER: I don't want *him* talking to MY kids, filing their heads with his agenda, so they come home going "Mommy, you need to do this and that" etc

ME: Um, I thought he was telling them to like, stay in school, work hard.

COWORKER: I don't need him telling my kids things like that, it's my job to raise MY kids, not his. I didn't vote for him, I don't want him talking directly to them.

ME: So if John Mccain won, and was doing the exact same thing, would you approve? Ok, forget that, the sad thing is, some kids DO NEED someone to tell them things like that, because they don't have parents that will.

And the discussion transitioned to something else quickly after that, something work related that just popped up. I didn't want an answer to the Mccain question because I knew what the answer would be. Seems to me like Bias on the right is clouding the good that can come out of this. If his speech even reached a handful of kids to do better, isn't it worth it? Although I'm sure half the kids were quickly told by their parents not to listen to him, he's the bad guy...

And on a side note, Obama mentioned Michael Jordan and JK Rowling... if those people stood up and spoke to students, giving a similar speech, would anyone have a problem?

[RedScare]

For all the parents screaming about this speech, and demanding that their kids not be subjected to it, I'll bet they would be stunned to find how many of their children do not share their political views. Even more would be shocked to find that their kids secretly support the positions that the president espouses. A common parental malady is the one that causes parents to forget that kids think their parents are kooks. When parents actually behave like kooks, well, so much the kookier.

Today's parents grew up during the decades of wretched excess. Many are not even old enough to remember the recessions of the 70s and early 80s. They only know the easy credit, hyper-materialistic days of the late 80a, 90s and early to mid 2000s. The kids, however, are living through the worst recession since the Great Depression. They are very likely to have far different views on how things work, as well as how they should work. Parents who naively assume that their kids will grow up with the same political views as theirs are likely in for a shock.

And it should go without saying, yet I've not heard it mentioned once, in accusing the president of indoctrinating your children, you have just called your children idiots who cannot think for themselves. I can only imagine what the kids think of that.

[ernie5823]

Nobody seems to want to remember what happened when Bush Sr. did a talk to schools. The Demonrats went ballistic, even having congressional hearings about it. They controlled Congress at the time, and ordered the General Accounting Office to probe the production of the speech and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for a hearing. The Bush speech at Alice Deal Junior High School cost $26,750 -- an expenditure paid by the Department of Education -- and drew fire from Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, who ordered the probe. "As the chairman of the committee charged with the authorization and implementation of education programs, I am very much interested in the justification, rationale for giving the White House scarce education funds to produce a media event."

[AtticaFlinch]

Nobody seems to want to remember what happened when Bush Sr. did a talk to schools. The Demonrats went ballistic, even having congressional hearings about it. They controlled Congress at the time, and ordered the General Accounting Office to probe the production of the speech and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for a hearing. The Bush speech at Alice Deal Junior High School cost $26,750 -- an expenditure paid by the Department of Education -- and drew fire from Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, who ordered the probe. "As the chairman of the committee charged with the authorization and implementation of education programs, I am very much interested in the justification, rationale for giving the White House scarce education funds to produce a media event."

Demonrats? It's good to know legitimate rational discourse hasn't died. And this is, in large part, the crux of the problem. How can we discuss our differences and come to reasonable compromises if while I talk, you're too busy shouting to hear what I'm saying? Perhaps if you tone down the hate rhetoric, you may find that all Obama has been preaching is a better world, and that he doesn't trust corporate America to get us there. See, that's the thing. At least Obama understands "the free market" isn't motivated by doing the right thing. It's motivated by the bottom line. And, not everything worthwhile will turn a profit. It's an amazing and profound revelation, I know, but it's true. While you may disagree with Obama, you must admit his proactive approach is a whole lot better than Bush's finger in the ears and screaming la-la-la-la-la-I-can't-hear-you approach was.

[20thStDad]

Nobody seems to want to remember what happened when Bush Sr. did a talk to schools. The Demonrats went ballistic, even having congressional hearings about it. They controlled Congress at the time, and ordered the General Accounting Office to probe the production of the speech and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for a hearing. The Bush speech at Alice Deal Junior High School cost $26,750 -- an expenditure paid by the Department of Education -- and drew fire from Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, who ordered the probe. "As the chairman of the committee charged with the authorization and implementation of education programs, I am very much interested in the justification, rationale for giving the White House scarce education funds to produce a media event."

Just to be clear, your response to this is "they were idiots one time, so we can be idiots now"?

I don't give a crap if my kids hear a speech from any world leader, RedScare is right, they should take it in and make decisions for themselves. The proper thing to do with that in the classroom is air it, then open the room up for people's thoughts on what they just heard. The bitterness and whining has to stop. It is only digging the hole deeper and deeper for the ridiculous right (and forced me all the way to the middle).

[ernie5823]

Evidently you were screaming so loud that you were not able to read what I posted - nothing about free markets, hate rhetoric, corporate America, etc. BTW, without "the free market" we would be living like folks in Russia, China, Cuba, or other third world dumps. You really need to grow up.

[sevfiv]

I feel this thread is about to take one of those unmannerly turns. I know it's a favorite past time to politically polarize but let's keep it civil, folks.

[AtticaFlinch]

Evidently you were screaming so loud that you were not able to read what I posted - nothing about free markets, hate rhetoric, corporate America, etc. BTW, without "the free market" we would be living like folks in Russia, China, Cuba, or other third world dumps. You really need to grow up.

I read demonrats. It was there, it still is. I don't suppose that's a cutsie pet name for your wife?.. No, it's hate rhetoric, pure and simple. The growing up piece wasn't hate rhetoric though. Oh no, it surely wasn't. In Houston, grow up is one of those phrases used to mean either hello or goodbye like aloha in Hawaii, right? Wow.

My post was about rational discourse and an acknowledgement that "not everything worthwhile will turn a profit." I'm not sure where you heard that I was totally opposed to the free market, as I'm just not opposed to actually employing governmental power to do things that aren't necessarily beneficial for businesses to do. Some things businesses do better than government. Some things the government does better than businesses. Frankly, I'm all for even more stringent healthcare measures than even Obama would dare try to pass. I don't understand how some folks can feel comfortable with healthcare being run as a for-profit business. When the goal is the bottomline, and the health of the customers is secondary, I see a problem. The government doesn't have to turn a profit on healthcare. It could lose a ton of cash and still be a success as long as the health of the citizens is ensured. People rail against the government and spout patently ridiculous Fox News talking points like "What has the government ever done right?" without acknowledging that big business has a much worse history of running off the rails. Hey, remember that big bailout? Wait, wait, the bailout wasn't businesses fault, was it? I'm sure that was Barack Comrade Hussein Obama's fault too, right? Good grief. Aloha.

[Marksmu]

For all the parents screaming about this speech, and demanding that their kids not be subjected to it, I'll bet they would be stunned to find how many of their children do not share their political views. Even more would be shocked to find that their kids secretly support the positions that the president espouses. A common parental malady is the one that causes parents to forget that kids think their parents are kooks. When parents actually behave like kooks, well, so much the kookier.

Today's parents grew up during the decades of wretched excess. Many are not even old enough to remember the recessions of the 70s and early 80s. They only know the easy credit, hyper-materialistic days of the late 80a, 90s and early to mid 2000s. The kids, however, are living through the worst recession since the Great Depression. They are very likely to have far different views on how things work, as well as how they should work. Parents who naively assume that their kids will grow up with the same political views as theirs are likely in for a shock.

And it should go without saying, yet I've not heard it mentioned once, in accusing the president of indoctrinating your children, you have just called your children idiots who cannot think for themselves. I can only imagine what the kids think of that.

First, I didnt read or listen to the speech so this is still coming from the "before the speech" mentality....There is a reason parents dont want their kids listening to the speech and that reason is that they do not trust Obama and do not know what he is going to say. If parents were afforded a bit more advance notice, and allowed to preview the speech, I believe the backlash would have been far more toned down. Believe it or not, most crazy right wing nuts, are actually pretty educated, and tend to be very involved in their childrens lives. But having heard him talk multiple times, lie through his teeth to get elected, and outwardly support socialism, it is not one bit strange to me that parents would not blindly trust this man not to take the opportunity to spew a bit of politics. Its my understanding that this did not take place, and I am happy to hear that, but I do not think its strange for people not to trust him to do the right thing. This president surrounds himself with racists, terrorists, and criminals....Parents should not have to blindly accept that he gets an open forum to their children just because he is the President. I respect the office of the President, but I do not respect the President himself.

Second and in response to Attica Flinches comment - the free market may not be perfect, but it is far better than the alternative. Socialism fails every single time. There is not one single socialist country in the world that has anywhere near the standard of living that we have. There is not a socialist country with better health care, there is not a socialist country with anything better than us. There may be things that are not "profitable" that are still worth while, but those things do not need to be funded by the government. Those things need to be funded by the individuals who actually care about those things. If you want to support people who do not work, and give them money to feed their kids, I applaud you for it, but its not the governments job. It should not be forced down the throats of every single person in America simply because you want it that way. Charities are much more efficient than the government, and charitable giving goes up when the economy is going well. The economy goes up when government gets out of the way, not into the way. I have disagreed fundamentally with almost every single thing that Obama has done since he got into office - and until he stop making more restrictions, raising taxes, and punishing business, I will continue to oppose him. I am just glad that we only have 3.5 years left of him - this man has ZERO chance of winning re-election and he knows it...that is why he is shoving everything down our throats as quickly as possible. Democrats are going to lose every election from now until he is out. He is more polarizing than Bush, and its because his policies and his beliefs are anti-American.

[Marksmu]

I read demonrats. It was there, it still is. I don't suppose that's a cutsie pet name for your wife?.. No, it's hate rhetoric, pure and simple. The growing up piece wasn't hate rhetoric though. Oh no, it surely wasn't. In Houston, grow up is one of those phrases used to mean either hello or goodbye like aloha in Hawaii, right? Wow.

My post was about rational discourse and an acknowledgement that "not everything worthwhile will turn a profit." I'm not sure where you heard that I was totally opposed to the free market, as I'm just not opposed to actually employing governmental power to do things that aren't necessarily beneficial for businesses to do. Some things businesses do better than government. Some things the government does better than businesses. Frankly, I'm all for even more stringent healthcare measures than even Obama would dare try to pass. I don't understand how some folks can feel comfortable with healthcare being run as a for-profit business. When the goal is the bottomline, and the health of the customers is secondary, I see a problem. The government doesn't have to turn a profit on healthcare. It could lose a ton of cash and still be a success as long as the health of the citizens is ensured. People rail against the government and spout patently ridiculous Fox News talking points like "What has the government ever done right?" without acknowledging that big business has a much worse history of running off the rails. Hey, remember that big bailout? Wait, wait, the bailout wasn't businesses fault, was it? I'm sure that was Barack Comrade Hussein Obama's fault too, right? Good grief. Aloha.

The bailout was a result of democrat policies - in case you forgot, Republicans attempted to rein in Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac and were stopped in their tracks by the democrats and the National Black Caucus. Wall Streets problems are far too complicated for me to even attempt to explain to someone in an online forum; but they are a result of a whole spiel of issues - mostly created by the wall street fat cats - who also happen to be heavily democratic....Lets not forget all the problems began to spiral out of control when Democrats gained control of Congress - not when Obama was elected. The proverbial $hi%& hit the fan when Obama was elected because it sealed the deal. The entire recession is a result of out of control policies that were not reined in, followed by business being petrified of a socialist President and a Democrat Congress....the environment for growth and expansion is not there when the result of more hard work and investment is higher taxes.

[ernie5823]

I have no problem with what he actually said in the speech, or with what any past president might have said in their speech. As long as we're talking about working hard, staying in school, etc., that's OK, but is what parents ought to be doing. I would bet that a high percentage of kids that heard it, have forgotten what they heard by now. I did have a problem with the lesson plan that was sent out (& then ammended) & with all of the republican complaints about the address - as well as the democrat complaints back in '91.

Too bad some people think they have some right to not be offended & start screaming about hate rhetoric every time they hear something they don't agree with. Let's turn this around - If I was really a rabid right winger, do you think I just might be offended by quite a few of the posts here. Sure am glad that I don't really have to take any of this crap too seriously.

[AtticaFlinch]

Second and in response to Attica Flinches comment - the free market may not be perfect, but it is far better than the alternative. Socialism fails every single time.

Not really, and certainly not where it's utilized in measured doses. Pure socialism, where government controls production, supply and distribution of all goods and services is destined to failure, sure, but so is the purest lassaiz-faire form of capitalism. A balance between the two works, has worked and will continue to work. There are numerous examples in everyday American life that prove handily that bits and pieces of socialism work smoothly in unison with capitalism. Are the roads you drive on, the police and military who defend you, the firefighters who put out your kitchen fires or the schools that educate your children (and occasionally show motivational speeches by a sitting US president - oh noes!) anti-American? These are things the government does a heck of a lot better than private enterprise, and frankly I truly believe that something as important as the health of a country's populace is far too important to leave up to organizations whose primary purpose is turning a profit. The benchmark for healthcare should be health, not revenue.

BTW, were you aware most charities' budgets are funded by public grants and earmarked for specific purposes? So... even though there's an illusion of private charity, the goverment is still mostly funding these organizations and telling them what to do.

Too bad some people think they have some right to not be offended & start screaming about hate rhetoric every time they hear something they don't agree with. Let's turn this around - If I was really a rabid right winger, do you think I just might be offended by quite a few of the posts here. Sure am glad that I don't really have to take any of this crap too seriously.

You really threw me off the scent with the demonrat and grow up pieces. And, I realize I don't have the right to not be offended. It's the American way. I realize and accept that, just as all those Obamaphobes should have realized and accepted that when their precious over-protected booger-factories went off to school the other day.

[JLWM8609]

Arlington ISD didn't air Obama's speech, but is busing students to go see Dubya speak later this month.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/142522/texas_students_who_were_kept_away_from_obama_speech_will_be_bussed_to_see_bush_speak/

[names]

For all the parents screaming about this speech, and demanding that their kids not be subjected to it, I'll bet they would be stunned to find how many of their children do not share their political views. Even more would be shocked to find that their kids secretly support the positions that the president espouses.

You obviously do not know anything about children. They do not have political views. At least none that are truly their own. Most of their "political views" are heard from their parents, guardian, or G-d forbid - the television.

A common parental malady is the one that causes parents to forget that kids think their parents are kooks. When parents actually behave like kooks, well, so much the kookier.

Today's parents grew up during the decades of wretched excess. Many are not even old enough to remember the recessions of the 70s and early 80s. They only know the easy credit, hyper-materialistic days of the late 80a, 90s and early to mid 2000s.

Wow, way to gloss over nearly half a century. Wretched excess? Perhaps if you think that everyone lived a Sixteen Candles life and drove around like Weird Science's Gary and Wyatt in Porches & Ferrari's that were paid for in cash thanks to money dad was making hand-over-fist in the junk bond market. Easy credit? I remember when credit card companies used to turn people down, now they issue them to college freshman along with a frisbees. My sister received a credit card in the 90's... she was 12.

The kids, however, are living through the worst recession since the Great Depression. They are very likely to have far different views on how things work, as well as how they should work.

Here is a perfect example of when a view isn't necessarily ones own true opinion. The above is a regurgitated statistic. I'm willing to bet that the author couldn't explain why it is what they claim it to be. Furthermore, children of today will not remember waiting in soup lines or at the very least, a gasoline queue determined by even/odd license plates.

Parents who naively assume that their kids will grow up with the same political views as theirs are likely in for a shock.

And it should go without saying, yet I've not heard it mentioned once, in accusing the president of indoctrinating your children, you have just called your children idiots who cannot think for themselves. I can only imagine what the kids think of that.

How is that calling your kids idiots? That's called parenting - for better or worse - and that is still the right of the parent, not the state. Parents control what their children see and hear. If children are as smart as the author presumes them to be, which in most cases they are not - we are talking elementary school kids here - then their bright intelligent children will inquire as to why mom and/or dad wishes them to not participate.

[spiderroller]

We should impeach Obama and bring back George Bush by popular demand.

Can't believe our Country has literally fallen apart like the Roman Empire since Obama took office.

If only we could get Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Klan back to running our Government how it should be run.

[barracuda]

First, I didnt read or listen to the speech so this is still coming from the "before the speech" mentality....There is a reason parents dont want their kids listening to the speech and that reason is that they do not trust Obama and do not know what he is going to say.

I bet those same parents would trust their kids with GWB.

If parents were afforded a bit more advance notice, and allowed to preview the speech, I believe the backlash would have been far more toned down.

The content of the speech was posted on the Whitehouse web site well beforehand. Yet, people already have their minds made up.

Believe it or not, most crazy right wing nuts, are actually pretty educated, and tend to be very involved in their childrens lives. But having heard him talk multiple times, lie through his teeth to get elected, and outwardly support socialism, it is not one bit strange to me that parents would not blindly trust this man not to take the opportunity to spew a bit of politics. Its my understanding that this did not take place, and I am happy to hear that, but I do not think its strange for people not to trust him to do the right thing. This president surrounds himself with racists, terrorists, and criminals....Parents should not have to blindly accept that he gets an open forum to their children just because he is the President. I respect the office of the President, but I do not respect the President himself.

I didn't have much respect for President G. W. Bush. But to claim that President Obama surrounds himself with racists, terrorists, and criminals is over the top. Admitting that you actually believe things like this cost you and your argument a lot of credibility. It reminds me of those folks who think GW Bush wanted the WTC to be destroyed, yet there is no real evidence. Nobody believes such outlandishness. Maybe it's true and maybe it's not, but without any proof it's just sounds crazy.

My suggestion to Republicans...if they want to start winning again...is to argue constructively on issues, rather than going far on a limb with outlandish claims like the President is a racist. These kooky claims accomplish nothing, other than to stir up the conservative, bigoted, aging and shrinking base of the GOP.

Second and in response to Attica Flinches comment - the free market may not be perfect, but it is far better than the alternative. Socialism fails every single time. There is not one single socialist country in the world that has anywhere near the standard of living that we have.

And yet, so-called socialist countries like Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and Austria all have lower poverty rates that the United States.

There is not a socialist country with better health care, there is not a socialist country with anything better than us.

I'm not sure the 46 million Americans without healthcare or the millions who've lost their homes and life savings due to our healthcare system would agree.

There may be things that are not "profitable" that are still worth while, but those things do not need to be funded by the government. Those things need to be funded by the individuals who actually care about those things. If you want to support people who do not work, and give them money to feed their kids, I applaud you for it, but its not the governments job. It should not be forced down the throats of every single person in America simply because you want it that way. Charities are much more efficient than the government, and charitable giving goes up when the economy is going well. The economy goes up when government gets out of the way, not into the way.

Socialism isn't an all-or-nothing economic system. As many have pointed out before, the United States has long had bits and pieces of socialism, from the U.S. Post Office to the interstate highway system to NASA. Although the vast, vast majority of our economy is capitalist, there are areas where a for-profit model doesn't make sense. For example, I believe all people deserve equal service when it comes to life-and-death situations (fire station, police, etc.). The same can be said of healthcare. It's the same when it comes to massive projects that the free market is incapable of handling, like the interstate highway system or putting a man on the moon or creating standards and regulations that make the capitalist system functional.

That said, in terms of national healthcare, the bill isn't perfect and the pharmaceutical and insurance industries have had too much influence in shaping the bill. I also think increasing focus should be placed on preventative care and education for those who don't know how to take care of themselves, along with a fee or deterrent for those who might abuse the system.

Charities all have their own record -- there have been plenty of scams over the years as well as charities with ridiculously high administrative costs. And charities are not about to solve the national healthcare crisis. It's too massive a project.

I have disagreed fundamentally with almost every single thing that Obama has done since he got into office - and until he stop making more restrictions, raising taxes, and punishing business, I will continue to oppose him. I am just glad that we only have 3.5 years left of him - this man has ZERO chance of winning re-election and he knows it...that is why he is shoving everything down our throats as quickly as possible. Democrats are going to lose every election from now until he is out. He is more polarizing than Bush, and its because his policies and his beliefs are anti-American.

Again with the Limabugh-Beck talk...I don't see how Obama's policies are anti-American. What law has he broken? He fairly and overwhelmingly won the election, unlike GWB in 2000. Maybe it's time to deal with that reality, or else risk running out of unfounded hate.

[musicman]

WASHINGTON — The change was subtle, but significant.

In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama gave a more accurate — and less reassuring — account of the impact of his proposed health care overall than he has done in the past.

It went by in a blink.

He told Americans that nothing he is proposing will force businesses or consumers to change their existing insurance coverage. That much is true.

It's also true that nothing in his plan guarantees that policies people have now will continue to be available in the same form. In earlier accounts, he spoke with unmerited certainty in saying people who are happy with their current insurance can simply keep it.

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