[excon]

Hello:

The Democrats lost the health care debate because the Republicans drove it. Nobody understands what the law is about (and still don't), but they DO understand "death panels". They're losing the budget debate for the same reason - because the Republicans are driving it. They're talking about what THEY want to cut. There is NO discussion of what the Democrats want to cut, if anything, and EVERY discussion about what the Republicans want to cut...

If it was me, every time I was asked about cutting Medicare, I'd say SURE - as long as we cut, say, the Trident Submarine program that was designed to protect us from the Soviets, and as long as the richest of the rich amongst us share the load... Instead of saying that, they actually ANSWER the Republicans... That's a LOSER.

Give me a sharp pen, and I'll have us in the black tomorrow, WITH a stronger military, and NOBODY going hungry, without heat, or medical care.

excon

PS> By the way, Soviets aren't around anymore.

[tomder55]

Stupid Democrats.. they have important work to do on the budget ,and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid wants to talk about patent reform .

Stupid Democrats ,if they don't start dealing with budget cuts and reversing OBamacare the Congress should completely defund the HHS instead of shutting down the whole government . A couple weeks of that would take care of most of the cuts the Republicans are proposing anyway. Actually the House should suspend any funding of Obamacare until 2013 .

Same thing with the Oil leases that the President has been ordered by a judge to move on and still refuses. Then he threatened the judge by telling him that if they were forced to decide they would decide against the permits.

If he doesn't do what the judge has ordered in a fair way ,defund the Interior Dept. Let them all go home for a couple weeks .

Actually they have talked a bit about the Def. Dept. They will probably defund the 2nd engine for the Joint Strike F-35 . Me ;I'd defund the whole jet.

[excon]

Hello again,

So, how do you feel about cutting the budget for food inspections from Japan? I'll bet THIS part of the bureaucracy all of a sudden became IMPORTANT to you. That only happened because food from Japan is IN YOUR FACE...

However, what you are unable to see, because it's NOT in your face, is that cutting government stuff without actually THINKING about what it's for, can come back to bite you in the butt - or in this case, your bones, which is where the radiation would go...

excon

[tomder55]

So far, there is no official evidence of any food contamination in Japan, according to Dave Byron, head of the food and environmental protection section in the joint division of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization and its nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Radiation Spurs Fears Around Japanese Food - WSJ.com

In Japan, because of the climate, many crops are grown in greenhouses, which means they could be relatively protected from radioactive fallout, according to Suresh Pillai, director of the National Center for Electron Beam Research at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

It's not clear how much food Japan is currently exporting in the wake of the earthquake. But Japan isn't a huge exporter of fresh produce to begin with. For instance, in 2010, just 9,000 tons of fresh produce was shipped from Japan to nations in the European Union, according to Frederick Vincent, the European Commission spokesman in charge of health and consumer

Clearly events justify a new evaluation of policy . I have no problem with the FDA putting more scrutiny on Japanese imports... even though I think you sound a little chicken little about the threat to food.

Food-safety concerns are restricted to food from the affected zone around the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report today. “Given the reported safety measures, it would be unlikely that food production or harvesting is taking place in the evacuated area.”

No Indication of Risks to Food Safety From Japan, UN Says - Bloomberg
Circumstances probably also justifies a top down review of the American nuke plants ;and establishing ,if necessary ,new guidelines.

[speechlesstx]

Maybe they're stupid because they're just stupid. THe former Speaker who couldn't or wouldn't pass a budget while spending us into oblivion is now lecturing us on fiscal responsibility.