brian0123

if the whole country would disengage from the current parties in power and vote specifically for libertarians, it would create a new party. yet, people are afraid of the extremes in the current two parties.

Sorry, but if libertarians ever did get in power... Americans would vote them out as soon as they started turning every road into a toll road.

BTW, I'd love to see a third party... but libertarians are as nutty as Lyndon LaRouche cultists (and are more extreme than either Dems or Repubs). They are in no way a party that unites Repub and Dem ideals (that would be moderates instead). In many regards, they are the extremes of what both sides fear.

As to your third point concerning our image abroad - wow, great - a bunch of folks who hate us for our success now hate us less because they are happy that we have been dragged down to their level. I think its ridiculous that he has been on a world wide tour apologizing for Americas success for the last 100 years... He may not love this country but I do - I dont think we need to aoplogize for anything...Bush may not have done everything right, but the world needs to realize that we do not have to ask for their approval to do anything. The world wants America to sit down and stop being the leader....I for one am perfectly fine with us at the top...apparently you are happier being somewhere in the middle....I think it is better for us to dictate the policies to the rest of the world, as opposed to being dictated to....but thats just me....I do not want the US to look like Europe. On this particular point, I would say to the world, if you are going to hate us like you do - fine, but we are suspending aid to every country until we have dealt with our own problems....That would free up a whole bunch of money that we could use here instead of on a bunch of folks who hate us.

...

he merely made us look weaker.

Hmm, in his short time as president, he has...

1. Called Iran's bluff on their nuclear plant (currently ongoing news)

2. His justice department has helped foil several serious plots (one recently in Dallas).

3. He signed off on (and we were successful) at hunting down and killing a top Al Qaeda operative in Africa.

4. He approved the use of force against pirates off the coast of Africa (which were killed and the Americans were rescued).

5. He has started to take a tougher trade policy stance against China (China is starting to get angry and calling Obama a protectionist because he is not bending over backwards for them like Bush did).

To me, that's a pretty darn good record so far. Obama smiles and the world blushes... but at the same time sends the message to not **** with us, or you will get what's coming to you.

There is more construction activity occurring at another store front at the Mix. Looks like they have more tenants moving in!

That's exciting news! Reef is a little too fancy for my taste. If this place caters to a different demographic (mine)... it will work great. I've always wanted something like a Shrimp & Stuff (in Galveston) nearby in Midtown.

Well, it looks like the awesome rendering they made for this block was a lie!

I drove by again and they aren't selling the land... they are just leasing the one building on it with a sign saying you can lease the entire block. I guess they are hoping some restaurant (or a blockbuster:wacko:) will move in and they will have a huge parking lot for customers.

Uh oh... I just drove by and there were guys about to put a sign on the one remaining building on the block that said something like "One entire city block available." Is Crosspoint seriously going to abandon this ?!?!?!

Make sure you check out the CEOs of all the other stores you go to also - make sure they dont have ideas you dont agree with....might be tough to find a store to go to !!

The issue isn't what a CEO personally thinks. The problem is when he abuses his position in order to attempt to influence the debate (like going out of his way to write an article for the WSJ).

It's pretty ridiculous to boycott a store just because its CEO has different views than you. It's not like he doesn't want health care reform but has a different idea about it. Seems like a pretty knee-jerk reaction.

So it's okay for a CEO to use the company to voice his opinion (i.e. without the company, he would be a nobody and not get into the WSJ), but it's not okay for a customer to use the company to voice theirs? As far as I'm concerned, it should be a two way street.

I noticed that last night also - there was still a crane/back-hoe/whatever it's called on the site so it must have just been torn down

Yeah, I drove by after work again and am amazed at how quickly they tore it all down. I drive past there every day and honestly can't remember seeing any crews. I have a feeling this is a sign of more good things to come (otherwise why tear down income producing apartments). BTW, I never realized how large that lot is.

Hopefully it actually ends up looking like this...

Maybe I'm going crazy, but I just drove by one of the lots for the future Mix expansion (Elgin @ Louisiana) and did not see the old apartment building that used to be there. The fence that used to be up around the block is also gone. This is the block that the cool rendering (somewhere earlier in this thread) showed a bunch of other stores. Any chances that they are going to go forward with the next phase of development?

It's a design label that makes graphic t-shirts that are supposed to look like tattoos. They go for $75+ a pop. Just as lame as the dragon and skull MMA related shirts.

Sort of reminds me of "No Fear" shirts from the junior high days. I guess d-bags never really change, they just have more money to spend now that they are older.

FYI, they have now put up metal beams for future walls in the rest of the Mix. There is also a bunch of construction materials laying around inside it (the non Japanese restaurant part). I also noticed some (what looked like blueprints) laying on a table along the back wall. This is how the Japanese restaurant looked before they began construction... so everyone cross your fingers that they start building out the rest!

The renovations will start next week?

If that's true, then this is great news. The southwest corridor of Midtown has really been overhauled over the last 12-18 months.

This is technically a couple of blocks from the center of Midtown... and yes, with the all of the development occurring at the Mix, Camden, the area around Crave...etc, it's nice to see things starting to work their way beyond the NW corner.

I don't disagree that it may have been in the wrong place but it was SJL's office that started the thread there.

It doesn't matter who started the thread... the fact is that you jumped to wild conclusions and started spewing typical right-wing garbage before knowing the facts. Any other talking points from Bill O'Reilly or Limbaugh you want to throw out while you're at it?

Is it the same crew?

Looks like different guys now. Initially they had one crew in w/ hard hats doing a lot of the main construction (building out the structure). Now there have been guys that look like they are working on more detailed work (the entrance seems to be getting attention right now). I don't know anything about construction, so I can' say what they are doing. The place still has a way to go.

Is the sushi restaurant dead? I haven't seen any activity lately.

If you're asking about the one at the Mix... they have been working on it every day. I drive by the place probably 4 times a day, and every time there are crews working in it.

Here's an interesting read...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/potter.health.insurance/index.html

The higher I rose in the company, the more I learned about the tactics insurers use to dump policyholders when they get sick, in order to increase profits and to reward their Wall Street investors. I could not in good conscience continue serving as an industry mouthpiece. And I did not want to be part of yet another industry effort to kill meaningful reform.

I explained during the press conference with Rep. Slaughter how the industry funnels millions of its policyholders' premiums to big public relations firms that provide talking points to conservative talk show hosts, business groups and politicians. I also described how the PR firms set up front groups, again using your premium dollars and mine, to scare people away from reform.

What I'm trying to do as I write and speak out against the insurance industry I was a part of for nearly two decades is to inform Americans that when they hear isolated stories of long waiting times to see doctors in Canada and allegations that care in other systems is rationed by "government bureaucrats," someone associated with the insurance industry wrote the original script.

Google "Wendell Potter" to read other interesting articles from him.

can anyone help me with the status of Camden Travis Apartments?

this is where the property is - The site is at the corner of Travis and Dennis Street, just behind the restaurant Reef. The largest tenant in the shopping center, at 2830 Travis Street, was the Hoa Binh Supermarket.

any help?

There is an entire thread on it here if you want some history/updates on it. As for its status, they have a sign up saying they will be renting in the fall. If you have any questions about the area, feel free to ask (I live nearby).

6) Require people to enroll in some kind of a private health care program - give a tax break for it - the insurance companies like it, they get more base, and the people get coverage. No drivers license without health care, no cell phone without health care, no cable tv without health care....require health care to buy a house, get a loan for anything, etc....you cant make people get it but you can prevent them from getting luxuries till they have it!

So you want the government to force people to buy private insurance? What about those that can't (since you don't like the idea of others paying for the poor through taxes)? Are you going to not let poor people drive a car to a job?

Essentially, you (someone arguing against government intrusion) has just argued for some of the most extreme government intrusion into people's lives.

Sarah Palin could win in 2012, 2016, or 2020.

Wow. Um... yeah.

By 2020, my guess is that the Republican primary will think Palin is too liberal. Instead, they will elect some stay-at-home mom who speaks in tongues and claims Jesus told her how to fix this country. Oh, and Joe the Plumber will be her VP.

...Im not about to sacrifice the HIGH quality affordable care that I currently do have, so that some person who currently does not WANT to pay for health care can get it for free. I would like to know how many of those who dont have health insurance because they "cant afford it" DO HAVE a car, cable television, cell phone and other luxuries, but not health care. People just think they deserve that which they dont want to pay for out of their own pocket. If you got a free tv every time you saw a doctor I bet a bunch of folks would start going more often!

I hate to bust your bubble, but we are already paying for the uninsured. When people show up at the emergency room that don't have health care...you (or your employer) are paying for them through higher premiums. By getting these people covered and paying into the system through taxes... they will start receiving the cheaper, preventative care instead of showing up at the ER for a sore throat. Overtime, this will reduce costs, and we will be paying less as a result.

When you make free that which was not free - there will be shortages of doctors, drugs, hospital beds, everything...Health care is not a right. Its a privilege, one that comes from work.

First, no one is proposing a free system. Second, health care IS a right. If you were sick and couldn't pay for it, I believe you should receive treatment (and I would have no problem with my taxes going for that). I'd rather you be healthy, instead of walking around and coughing on me (maybe passing some swine flu in the process)

I am sick to death of being taxed to death and continually hear the democrats tell me that I make too much, and we need to give more of my money to other people because they dont have enough.

Uh, yeah. Democrats literally say this all the time . I make a lot of money too, but I don't feel "taxed to death". I understand that I made my money in a country that provides me safety with an incredible military, allowed me to get to work on roads with a great infrastructure, etc. etc. In other words, I have no problem paying my fair share in order to be a part of a civilized society.

Its sick - When I saw that NY just gave $165,000,000 to the poor in the form of CASH from the federal stimulus I threw my hands up in the air and just about lost it! What a waste of MY money...giving flat out cash to those who are "poor" Ya Great idea! That really gives them incentive to get off their butt and work. Free health care just means that those who were paying for it, now are not going to continue to do so.

The point of the stimulus money was to get it in the hands of people that would spend it... you know... to stimulate the economy. The program you are referring to was for poor kids so they could purchase back to school supplies... which you know... stimulates the economy. Also, God forbid we try to help poor kids actually get an education so that they CAN get a job later in life.

If they had given that stimulus money to me, I probably would have just put it in the stock market and sat on it for a long time... doing nothing to stimulate the economy.

They were going about their business, not being affected whatsoever by the Patriot Act. This affects everyone.

Actually, they were lied to by the right wing into thinking the Patriot Act didn't effect them... so they were subservient.

Of course this health care "bill" (technically it's not even a bill yet... but people are angry over proposals) affects everyone... just like any other piece of legislation impacts you in one way or another. The only reason people are so angry about this is that they have been lied to again by the right wing.

Angry about the government running things? Well then why not protest against our military, and argue for privatizing it? Heck, why not just outsource it all to KBR and Blackwater?

Afraid a government run company will put private companies out of business? Hmm, seems like UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. compete fairly well against the USPS.

SJL is a moron... but the people protesting against her are even more idiotic. At least it makes for some great entertainment on the nightly news.

I will be present tonight.

I've actually read through the Energy & Commerce Committee's proposed bill and have some legitimate questions on things such as the government's access to investment and banking accounts and right to privacy.

Were you just as concerned with the Patriot Act?

and have to purchase in an area with inflated prices? plus have to build a new facility. seems unlikely at least at this point.

I was holding out hope based on this from the MetroSolutions site...

During earlier discussions, METRO also mentioned private bus companies and AMTRAK might also use this facility. Is that no longer the case?

This proposed facility is being designed so that it could accommodate other modes of transportation that could be phased into service, such as commuter rail, private bus carriers, and national passenger rail (AMTRAK). However, these facilities are not included in Phase I, and would not be constructed until funding and environmental clearances are in place.

So what are the odds that this place gets Greyhound to finally leave Midtown?