As you may be aware, Hackensack Board of Education and the Union are in the process of teacher contract negotiations. It is unfortunate that many Abbott districts are receiving millions upon millions of dollars to support of these failing school districts (i.e., Newark, Camden, etc.) where administrators are receiving six figure salaries whilst the children in those schools are failing miserably.

Yesterday, we protested outside of the Hackensack BOE office with no success. I started a petition with one of the parents, and to my surprise we’ve collected 100 signatures. The Hackensack Board members (I’m sure as other school boards) are having a hard time dealing with personal issues amongst themselves leaving parents, teachers and children out in the cold with no answers and we need help.
Does anyone know how we can get media attention?

Right on.

Yes Larry..It's only you.

Here's what you left out: "...call it an emergency, take no action, and then blame the other side for the program our president introduced..."

But...

...it IS an emergency, and It is exclusively because of Republican action (or lack thereof).

Its all just scare tactics. We will all be fine. We are all doing more with less, the gov needs to as wekk.

Another point. The Federal government just took back the FICA payroll deduction without any concerns for the thousands who will lose that money and the economic downturn that happened in the 4th quarter. The ironic part about this is that the percentage of income, 2.1%, is only slightly less than the 2.4% sequester.

Agree these are tactics being used by Democrats to scare the public, avoid responsibility and place blame on the Republicans.

You think that special needs kids are "fat and lazy living off of entitlements"? Please clarify?

The government will spend more next year than this year even with the fake "cuts" so bring them on. We should have a sequester each and every year until the budget is balanced.

We will become lazier and less productive as more people become unemployed (persons who have been contributing to the economy and no longer will be) and there a decrease in essential services that slows the economy.

Our national security will also be threatened.

So, Congress passes a bill which includes sequestration, and it's now Obama's fault for signing it into law?

BTW, you use words like "communist" and "Marxist". I don't think you know what either of those words mean.

Nah, Nothing is ever OBAMAS fault is it Dave.?

I don't know why the public looks at Congress, with 435 representatives, and expects leadership beyond their expectations of the president. It's time for SOMEONE to ignore political risks and LEAD, Mr. President.

Sorry misguided person.....if you actually did some research you would discover that Corporate welfare (you know bailing out the "too big to fail monsters" and NOT enforcing reasonable tax rates -- some like GE, paying NO taxes) has cost this country soooooo much more economic hardship than social security income for the people who paid into all their lives for retirement, welfare for people who can not feed their children or pay their rent because OH MY our economy sucks and minimum wage is a JOKE at $7.50........HHHmmmmm now let's take a look at our military budget and how obscenely OBESE it is.......Chris you are so uneducated it is a crying shame...do you even know what a communist or Marxist ideology is and how ignorant you sound thinking the US could ever get close to that? Please stop watching FOX news.

No, it's still George Bush's fault, remember?

And I Mr.Young who was out everyday with my signs on 206 was telling all that this guy in the White House is a criminal and a Communist. Channel 12 News labled me a Obama hater, well people do you all know now what this president is.
Thank all of you who rode by and smiled and I forgot about thoes who spit and cursed at me.

Yes Selene.

The economy grew last year. It only benefited a small percentage of very wealthy Americans. Now there are more cuts that will hurt most Americans. Obama tried to stop this. The Republican party is solely responsible.

The republican party officially cares more, now, about taking money out of the pocket of most hard working Americans and putting it into the pockets of the richest than it does about preserving a strong military. The traditionally conservative values of strengthening family, community and nation are now officially secondary or not important to them at all.

I thought it was the fault of the video??? LMAO

There is no way around it. This will hurt the economy and the Republican party is solely responsible.

"We need strong conservative leadership like another Ronald Reagan NOW"

---are you asking for a President with first stage Alzheimer's? i'm confused...

Love him or hate him, Ronald Reagan would have never supported taking a meat cleaver to national defense and law enforcement.

Good job Paul...

Tell the Teacher's UNION to take a 2% cut....
With all the waste that is inherent in all large organizations, you could find a crummy 2%. I agree CLOSE THE WHITE HOUSE....TO THE OBAMAS....they are always on vacation anyway.

David,
You're forgetting that they don't want it covered. They want the services to go away.

Mike, are you the Mike that commented about me Mr.Young. Well for all thoes who voted for this Communist I hope ya all happy. I am now talking with Dr. Carson and looking to bring in Alan West for V.P in 2016.

Thanks Mike!

Air traffic control can very easily be privatized, treat it like we do energy, there is nothing magical about government using force to monopolize the air. The system of radios used today was not even state of the art in the 1950s.

FDA, same story, the vast majority of meat is not tested. When they screw up, they can't be held accountable, private inspectors would be. In a way, the FDA makes our food less safe.

The military is not 100% defense, we have bases in 140+ countries and are fighting illegal wars in Pakistan, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and other places, how about we bring our boys and girls home?

If we privatized social security "INSURANCE", it would be become an asset you control and can pass on to your heirs. Let's take the lump of properly funding and all future contributions go directly to help yourself.

How about the War on Americans? Prohibition continues to be a failure. How about we end it, stop the gang violence that comes with it, stop the police violence and abuse that comes with it too. There are 100s of billions saved, and a new stream of tax revenues.

What about all the counterfeiting going on at that private bank called the "Federal" Reserve? If we didn't have their bubbles and recessions, we would all be better off.

B@B wake up and stop worshiping the false idol of the federal government.

This is what happens when government has too much power. They control everything! We don't need the FDA, EPA, Dept. of Education, Transportation, Agriculture, HHS, HUD and Labor. The first two should be elimainated. The rest should be in the power of the States. When a government controls everything, are they not then Communist?

cut social security cut medicare cut medicaid and defense,,the first 3 were and are ponzi schemes and as demographics change the mine y that was paid in and spent by the government is no longer there and there are less people to pay in to those programs now so they are broke...

The Federal employees are great. State and local, not so much. Please don't repeat something you hear on FoxNews without checking it out for yourself. Fox still says Romney will win when all the votes are counted.

I have, and they behaved with pride and professionalism. Considering that it's the largest employer there is, don't you think it's a little unfair to pick a single characterization for all of them? You know as much as the rest of us that there are good people and bad in every group. Being simplistic will not help us solve our problems.

Getting a little off topic, the problem is that they are "THE LARGEST EMPLOYER THERE IS", thats just not right...

So nasty and untrue. I have dealt with township employees, SSA employees, UI employees and many decent DMV people.....how about YOU change how you approach people........you go in barking,what do you expect????

I work with some pretty nasty people in the private sector.

You're right. The President has the power to direct the Federal agencies where to make cuts. It is purely political and he's trying to con the voters to villify other politicians who don't drink the cool aid.

Finally someone explained the "socalled cuts". thank you Robin.

But the House Republicans are making the cuts and Obama has tried to stop them.

Spending more efficiently is not the same thing as stopping spending altogether.

And their staff. Congress alone has 24K staffers.

Better yet, members of congress should be required to wear NASCAR style racing outfits to congressional sessions that advertise the names of the companies that have bought them.

The fact that the Dept of Defense has 800,000 civilian employees is sickening, fire half of them.

psst? >---Under the terms, municipalities would be permitted to forgo state aid rather than write a check for the $95,000.

Resolution may be near for towns, companies dragged into massive N.J. pollution case

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/02/resolution_may_be_near_for_tow.html#incart_m-rpt-1

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
its funny how our founding fathers built this country to accept everyone who wanted to come. but people can quickly change that and say "sorry were full"
but when our founding fathers say "right to bear arms" that cant be tweeked or changed, it is written in stone.

Brilliant! Walls have worked so well; see: Germany.

hypos, I doubt they ever dreamed that we would be the super power that aids every other nation on the planet with very little in return, so when we say we need to restrict the volume coming into this country especially the ones who CHOOSE to go around the laws that we have in place, I’m sure they would agree enough is enough... When do we get foreign aid to pay for the fleeing citizens from those failing countries?

Hypos, your comparing a sonnet to the Constitution? People are able to enter our country...LEGALLY. Not by sneaking in or overstaying a visa, but by obeying our citizenship laws. I hope the parents reading some of these comments aren't teaching their children that laws and rules don't matter. Or, that they may be broken at anytime they're not convenient.

@ Mike, i also doubt when they were writing the 2nd ammendment they were defending the right of a women who lived with her mentally challenged son to own a small arsenal in her home.
i agree that we do need to fix our boarder control and immigration laws, because people arent responsible take advantage of them and ruin it for the people who do it legally. just like we need to change gun laws because people arent responsible and take advantage of them. just like to point out the hypocracy in how it is OK to change one founding principal of America but god forbid we tweek gun laws.

chris that sonnet was written for a reason, and was based on American principal or moral stance.

There are laws against the mentally ill getting guns.....Do you really think that anyone is against that? Like everything else there are always things that will get through, you can’t eliminate that with a law. What laws are you referring to that would defending the right of a women who lived with her mentally challenged son to own a small arsenal in her home.?? Just because there was this horrible shooting, it should not allow our Government to restrict the majority of legal gun owners. The majority of crime is committed with illegally obtained weapons, restricting the legal gun owners will not restrict the criminal use, it will start another lucrative black market business that I’m sure the Gangs would welcome with open arms...

Sorry to drag this off topic....

Not exactly true...I recall an article here that touted the property tax reduction we were getting in Morris County (a whopping 0.8% if I remember right)...at the same time my assessment went UP significantly (thus, increasing my property taxes. Again).

Actually, the Republicans told us that bankers whose pay went from $20 million before the bailout to $10 million after had "suffered" "losses."

Mike: Please detail what you regard as "government waste".

B@B - how about the Department of Education. If we laid off every employee and Congress just allocated the money we send to schools as block grants to the states, we could save a fortune. Remember, the DOEd doesn't run a single school or educate a single child. All they do is shuffle paperwork.

Your Kidding right???

What social programs are you referring to? Social Security and Medicare? Public schools? The interstate highway system? What, exactly?

Bob, has the department of Energy accomplished its mission?
If it hasn't, it is the biggest waste in the government.

Mission of Energy Department: The Department of Energy was established by Congress to deal with what were felt to be urgent national problems of dwindling supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas and the increasing dependence of the U.S. economy on foreign sources of fuel, particularly petroleum.

It is responsible for managing emergency contingency planning and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and for fostering more efficient technologies for the utilization of energy resources.

The Department of Energy Organization Act, which created the DOE, stipulated that it work closely with other departments of the government to reduce energy waste in federal programs.

Oh, please dont speak badly about the social programs, Supporting all of the FRAUD in Social Security, Medicare, Food stamp programs, Housing, You Name It! You really cant believe that any of it is run well.... If you game the system, you love it though....

Oh do pray tell how this magic growth in prosperity would happen. When you have an elderly widow, let's say, living on $1000/month in social security because she was a homemaker and her husband worked a low-wage job, please do tell how she this magic fairy dust of prosperity will make her life better.

Ok bob or B@B. let us figure out the cost of the infrastructure of this SS system. Let us pretend we don't need to pay out rents for all the Government buildings involved, the maintenance of the buildings, the salaries of the support system of all the workers, the retirement benefits of all the workers, the equipment expense and the upkeep of the equipment, the postage, the accountants, the law suits, the corruption, . If you elimenated all that there woud be more wealth freed up for the families to take care of their own and to save for their own retirement. No one is going to let a little old lady starve to death. The terror you offer is ridiculous. Without SS, no one is going to be pushed off a cliff while they are in a wheelchair. I take care of my family on my own, I could pawn some of them off on the state but I don't, because I know the quality of their life woud be substandard. but people like yourself relish the idea of the state waiting to take care of you.

B@B, You seem to be missing a huge point. You said “When you have an elderly widow, let's say, living on $1000/month in social security because she was a homemaker and her husband worked a low-wage job”

Wasn’t that their choice? Didn’t she decide not to work and stay home (which is fine in my book) and didn’t he decide to stay in a low-wage job? (Again fine in my book) Wouldn’t it be fair to say they neither of them thought about their retirement? Do you wonder if that is because they wrongfully thought the government would take care of them because of all the taxes they were paying? Would it be fair to say while I busted my a$$ in a low-wage job, then went to school at night for 6 straight years thinking about my retirement, they could have too? Is their anyone to blame for her condition now, outside of herself?

The government can not give anyone something it first doesn't have to take from someone else. End of Story!

Let me get this straight John. Are you saying that an old person, who can't work, that lives a month at a time off of social security checks and medicaid (earned via payments made by that person across the years of a working career) stops getting those checks that they will have more money in their pocket because they will be paying less taxes?!!!

First off, they wouldn't have to pay taxes anyway because they would no longer have any income. Secondly, they would be dead because they would not have any money to eat, keep a roof over their heads or pay for medical attention in a privatized system.

Pork projects are allocated by Congress, not the executive branch. Try again.

The continuing resolution that funds the government expires in late March (27th I believe). If you think trimming a little $$$ around the edges is a big deal, wait for the government to shut down in a few weeks.

@ B@B If you think Obama isn't pulling strings in Congress to force his agenda down the American people's throat, you are either naive or delusional. OK, maybe you're just a liberal, but I repeat myself..

Mike is concern is monsterously understated. "I still cant believe we will have 4 years of this.." That shows me you have, like most Americans, little comprension of the clamity on the way. I suggest you become one of the crazies and buy gold bullion and have at least one fire arm with plenty of ammo. A few gas cans of fuel in the garage to make a hasty gettway from this crowded area. When people get hungry and cold they can get pretty vicious. The only question is when, not if. Do your self a favor and be a secret "crazy".

No, I want to know. What exactly do you regard as pork? You claim to know exactly what needs to be cut from the federal budget, which programs, and how much they involve in federal spending. So please enlighten us. Or do you really just not know but only know slogans?

How do you define pork? Is pork getting approval to spend billions on defense projects the Pentagon doesn't even want in order to protect your district? Is it refusing to cut tax breaks for companies that either export most of their jobs overseas or who are sitting on all their profits and refusing to invest due to "uncertainty"? Or is it subsidizing huge profit centers that would do just fine on their own, a la Exxon or agri-businesses? If so, then I agree--we do need to cut pork. If you're talking about further shredding the social safety net, not so much.

A strong national defense and law enforcement are not pork.

was not insulting you. I am serious. Get ready. really I am not being insulting. trying to help you and others. there is no doubt Obama and friends are going to spend us into ruin. It is going to be bad, the likes you can't imagine.

John, I never let my gas go below half a tank in either of my cars. I have an intrinsically safe pump to transfer from one car to the other, and 20 gallons stored in safety cans.

You are right, when the crap hit the fan this area is screwed, no one will know WTF to do when the selves in their local supermarkets go empty, and don’t refill. I’ll be long gone before that panic hits…… I trust you will to!

BTW, when the crap hits the fan bullets will be worth 5 times more than their weight in gold. Count on it!

PS – Did you know for America to cover the amount of money we’ve printed, based on the amount of gold we have in our treasury (a number I don’t believe, but use anyway) an ounce of gold needs to be worth $14,750 to cover the amount of dollars already floating about. Kind of mind blowing isn't it?

Will there be zombies too Drew?

Quite a generalization mill, don't you think?. There really are quite a lot of them with very different personalities, values and ways of life.

Why do you hold such contempt for "Gov't employees" to generalize as such?

Nose, I am afraid it is way too late to make any sort of reversal. We are going to have to ride this train wreck to the end. What you need to do is prepare to part of the rebuilding of America and make sure people know what and who was to blame. It was the socialist, fasicits movement that destroyed our country and not the lack of the socialist fascist state. There will be people blameing the right for not allowing a more government controlled society for the collapse. Our best bet at this point is to let them have the reins and drive us full speed into the mountain. give them the rope to hang themselves.

hahahahahahaha YOU MUST be joking? This is why we are in such a mess....the corporations ARE running this country......dah!

Nose Wayne's ideal is the reality in which we are already living.

John p. At the end of the day all the passengers on the Titanic could do was get ready. Some did, while most of the others laughed at them and made fun of them, reminding them this ship can’t sink!

Today we call the few who got ready survivors, and the rest? Well ……….. well John p…. we just call them dead.

Into the early seventies if you told anyone living in Detroit that it would crumble into ruins by 2010 they’d call you nuts. But these pictures tell the truth of what happened:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-the-ruins-of-detroit/2672/

But you can look at Newark, right here in your home state, maybe even next door, to see it too:

http://goo.gl/zWeSs

Drew, let us see how john P comes back and blames those "dirty old factories" for doing this to Detroit. I have been warning my wife that this is the future of morristown, nj. The only thing we manufacture here is paperwork and redtape. Lawyers, colleges, bankers, stock brokers, and people that work in ny city live here and they work in the paper industry also. It is hard to find anything that is made in the area that someone can actually use. When the paper dollar collapses this place will be just like the pics in your link. No doubt. There will be no reason to be here, the massive amounts of financial jobs will evaporate, the lawyers wont have customers,. we need factories to open up here, but that wont happen for numerous reasons. The out look is bleak. Like i said, let the train wreck happen

horrible analogy, people on the titanic were on a boat and couldnt go anywhere else. you on the otherhand are free to move to another country, id say you can drive to canada but they have universal healthcare and strict gun laws so i assume you believe they are also commi socialists and wouldnt enjoy it there.
if someone thinks america is gonig to turn into anarchy and people killing eachother for food couldnt you call that person stupid for staying here and waiting for it to happen when he could have safely left the country before it happened?
to make use your analogy if you were on the titanic and a large ship pulled up and said hey you can come aboard our ship before your ship sinks and we will keep you safe, you would say "no thanks, i know its going to sink but im prepared!"

Oh my god John P. Gun control and universal healthcare. What a great recipe. Drew, this is exactly why we have to just relax and let the train hit at full speed. If we try and alter anything, when it wrecks they will blame us for causing the accident. This is why we can't stop it, there are too many like John P wanting to put the pedal to the metal. let them do it but just fasten your seat belt.

John p. The definition of the word ignorant means uneducated in a given matter. For example you are ignorant of how to fly a 747. It doesn't mean you are stupid, just not educated in something. By the same token you are ignorant to think we (American Citizens) can just jump in our cars, drive to Canada and retire. Not a CHANCE! Canada and most other nations on the face of this earth DO NOT WANT AMERICANS, and if they take us we’d best be well prepared (read that as $$$$$) to add wealth to their society, AND Guess What John p? Don’t be counting on their social medical programs to take care of you, Because they DON’T! You are and will always be an OUTSIDER, and you will pay for their services!

On top of that John p. do you actually expect me to walk away from the hundreds of thousands of dollars I’ve already paid to the US government for my social security and Medicare, which in my case are just a few years away now? Oh that’s not an endorsement of those programs, just a fact. My IRA blows them away!! Fact also!

Oh and john, do you know what it take to transfer an IRA out of this country? Yea, I didn’t think so!

FACT john p. At least the passengers on the Titanic could jump into the ocean, we here, we are the ones who are truly trapped.

PS – Do you have any idea how much I’d have to pay in NJ exit tax?

John p. Is Detroit or Newark a boat?

JohnP, I people like me and drew left the area all at once, you would starve and freeze to death. So try and keep us around as long as you can, your life depends on it.

Selene – Take a deep, real deep breath and look around the room you are sitting in. See the computer in front of you? It’s from one of those nasty corporations. See the walls? . They’re from one of those nasty corporations. See the floor? It’s from one of those nasty corporations. See the roof? It’s from one of those nasty corporations. See your TV, your car? Your make up? Your clothes? Your smart phone? Your lights and the power to run them …. All from those nasty big corporations. See your pay check? I bet a number of corporation have a hand in that! In fact I would say 100% of what you have in your pocketbook, and all your belonging came from a corporation, and a corporation that makes a profit to boot!

Now Selene - Take another deep, real deep breath and look around the room you are sitting in. Do you see anything the Government gave you?

What’s that Selene, I can’t hear you ………….. Did you say NOTHING? NOTHING, yet you’ve paid them how much in taxes?? Come-on Selene, how wrong is that!!!!!!

The Government can give nothing to anyone it first doesn’t have to take from someone else!

Citizens United, where corporations were given the same rights as people, and dark money is now funding our so-called "democracy".

Drew,
You are putting words in Selene's mouth. One can like this or that corporation, or even corporations in general, and still understand that corporations and money exert profound influence on politics.

g,
I have a hard time believing that anyone would doubt this.

Study questions:
1. What determines who gets into office?
2. How are political campaigns financed?
3. Do we have a state run media or is the media owned privately by corporations?
4. Is there a government bank or is banking something privately owned?
5. Who do you think is collecting more data on you as you view this web page from your computer, the government or private individuals?

G, you are correct. That is why he wants to grab the guns.

How many moons can you see from your planet?

"Selene can you back up this nonsensical assertion with facts?"

I think that exact same question could be asked of your post.

The quality of schools will decline because of it.

LV. The ballot boxes are rigged, bought and paid for. I truly know this. Voters fraud in this country rivals third world nations. Anyone that thinks otherwise is nothing but a fool. There is no way there are that many people in this country that believe getting something for nothing has no consequences or that borrowing money to pay bills is a normal way of conducting business. Someone or something has the system undercontrol.

LV,
They were busy blogging and prepping for doomsday.

Congress controls the purse strings not the president, get your facts straight.

The solution is to stop the sequestration. That's what Obama has been working on.

59 seconds that sums it all up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqoGORXAv2o

Revolution.

Before you ratchet up the conspiracy theories: this bill, which has never reached a vote, has been proposed by the same congressman, Jose Serrano (D-Md), since 1997. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) wanted a repeal in 1995.

And the reason that FDR was such a popular president is because...

Or those who, just say, decided to start at least 2 wars without planning to pay one red cent for them while cutting taxes for the wealthy, and also not demanding any sacrifice from the American consumer--er, citizen--as was protocol in every past war.

That is because you live in an echo chamber.

The voting power in this country now lies in the big cities. Not the suburbs or rural areas. Get used to it, we will continue to be outvoted and continue see our wealth redistributed to those who now hold that voting power for the rest of our lives, our until this whole thing comes crashing down around us!

Look to the voting map of Pa. No one there voted for Obama, except those in Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia and of course Biden’s home county of Scranton. But Pa, went Obama. 98% of the land mass, so to speak, said McCain, while 2% of the land mass said Obama! You see when you can congregate and cater to 10,000 voters in one acre, then you can easily out vote anyone else in the nation. And that is just what Obama has done, he has promised those in the large cities the wealth of us out here in the country. Now they await their due reward!

Drew Wilcow, did you miss an election there somewhere? McCain?

I voted for O., I'm proud to admit that as are most people I know. Mike, I guess it all depends who you correspond with (or actually listen to). I voted for him not because I agree with everything he says or does or because he's a dem., but because he's a strong leader...and the opposition were and are simply out of touch. Some of the comments on this thread and in the 'conservative' media are a testament that many of their supporters are as well. The reality is that while there are certainly cuts than can and should be made, any attempt at cutting is met by huge opposition from citizens and lobbies, which makes any progress difficult. Regardless, we cannot cut our way out of the deficit. The public needs to swallow a tough pill of higher taxes, at least for some citizens. If it makes you feel any better, consider the fact that the USA has the lowest personal taxes of any 1st world nation of >10 million population.

are you guys serious, you dont know why obama won? did you see who the GOP ran... mitt romney a guy whos own son admitted he didnt even want to be president.
if you want to be mad at anyone be mad at the GOP and people who voted for mitt in primaries. 2012 was a win-able election and they blew it.
you got Gary Johnson, a man who follows the constitution and had a good record as governor and a businessman. he also would have appealed to independents and liberals who dont like obama. but during primaries the leaders of the GOP act like he doesnt exist.
drew as much as youd like to think so i am not a liberal, i voted for gary johnson last election because he was the best choice.
extremes like you on both sides is what is ruining this country.
o you know why else obama won the election, because instead of talking about his bad policies and history in office you nut jobs talk about him being a muslim socialist who is trying to destroy and bankrupt america. if people like you and levin and rush talked about real issues instead of far out conspiracy garbage you would have had a better chance.

The Republicans lost the last election because most American people disagree with their fiscal positions. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/On-the-Economy/2011/0924/Three-key-issues-in-the-2012-election

People who don't see it here don't see it because they live in a bubble, surrounded by people who see things the same way they do. They do not get out enough to see or understand how most Americans think or feel about the topic.

i know plenty of people who work long and hard who voted for obama. to some people social issues like equality and womens right of choice are more important than paying a little more in taxes. i dont agree with obamas policies and think he has done a poor job. but saying only people on welfare voted for obama is another reason you guys lost the election.
plus independents and people on the fence arent going to go out of their way to vote for mitt romney.

It didn't do Romney any good characterizing 47% of Americans as moochers, because that's a canard, and it's not doing your party any favors parroting his losing tactics. But, hey, keep it up, it's fun watching you choke on your own tea bag.

@john p- you are correct. There are many people who held their nose when pulling the lever. You had a vulnerable president presiding over a mess of an economy but the republican nominee was pounded in the primaries and damaged goods come election time. Not to mention the Akins and Mourdochs that were chasing female voters away from the party.

The gainfully employed who don't agree with the tenets currently held by the Tea Party/Republicans?

Its not even about paying more taxes, They WASTE IT AWAY... Sorry I work Hard for my money, I don like to see it tossed around.. I can do MUCH better with MY money they these losers in Washington.. Dem or Republican.... Its not about the Money..
and you cant cut your way out of a deficit......really... Oh ok lit it ride then....lets not do anything... WASTE WASTE WASTE.

Obama won because a comfortable majority of people in America voted for him. "Section 8, welfare, unemployed people" do not constitute the majority of Americans. Moreover, such people vote less then other demographics, and those that do vote as often to the right as to the left. They certainly are not the majority of voters, and they most certainly did not determine the result of the election.

In addition to being more legally sound, social programs being left only to the states would be more efficient. First off, you'd have competition between the states which is always good. The states are supposed to act as laboratories to figure out what works and what doesn't. If NY wants to care for people cradle to grave, that's their business. But if they raise taxes on the wealth to 70% to make that happen, they had better be ready to lose their tax base to NJ when our taxes are much lower. Obviously that's a hypothetical example, our taxes and level of government nannying is basically as absurd as NY.

State vs state competition would force efficiency upon government. Finally, states rights are better for national unity believe it or not. One of the reasons we are so divided is because people see the situation as people who are nothing like them, dictating to them how to live. It really is the tyranny of the majority. Strong social programs only work with either very small, homogeneous populations like say, Finland (4 million, 1/2 the size of NYC), authoritariantian nations like the Russia, or nations that fall into both categories like China.
The U.S. has 310 million very different people in very different regions. We have two ways to hold a country this diverse together. Localizing government, or authoritarianism. It seems that Obama and Bush both leaned towards the latter. I say, let's get back to our roots, and bring back state's rights.

If you look at conservative bastions like Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas, Louisiana, etc, they get much more from the feds than they send to DC- Let's see if they practice what they preach- If NJ got 75 cents back for every buck to DC we would have a surplus.

One woman? Is that the best you can do? Please cite SPECIFIC instances you know about of massive voter fraud that come from sources other than Breitbart, Glenn Beck, NewsMax, and Fox News.

Ridiculous.

You've read ALL the blogs, have you? That's one major time-sucking, not to mention impossible, "accomplishment".

Four million popular votes mean nothing to you,talk about fantasy land.

FourScore,
If it is number 3 then it can be numbers 1 and 2. :)

As I remember, voter disenfranchisement was a major Republican push last summer/fall with the while ID thingy. Then again, senators in suits with corporate funding have no power to influence the vote in America compared to a group of angry Black Panthers. lol

The sequester will mean most who are not in the Federal government will have to do more with even less.

Please sir, may I have some more?

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/apr/10/paul-ryan/paul-ryan-barack-obama-has-doubled-size-government/
However, don't let the facts get in the way.

That was a lie Larry.

Please explain what you mean by "Romney had better morals." And what do you mean by "transform"? Social Security has been around since the 1930s. Medicare has been around since 1965. These are the primary targets of Republicans. Your argument makes no sense. Please explain.

Mittens didn't want to president? How altruistic to run (and lose) twice!

Morals? Think Bain Capital and how many folks were sent to the unemployment line for short term gains and fat management fees...and it wasn't just distressed companies that they leveraged with tons of debt. Both are married once (good for them! no child trophy brides like numerous other politicians and execs) and both have nice kids... where's the moral turpitude for the president?

And Romney was dreading becoming president so much that he created his inaugural website before the election was even decided.

Its a gentleman's burden to be selected to run the country. But who was Mitt Romney to say no to the .01% of America that matters.

My gut tells me you are simply not that bright.

Since you think with your gut, it makes sense that you talk out of your ass.

I guess Ohio 2004 was on the level

I guess Florida 2000 was on the level!

John: How do you "know" this? Knowledge is based on demonstrable fact. Do you have even one demonstrable fact to back up this "knowledge"? If not, then it is not knowledge but belief...sort of like believing that therevisva giant white man who is all powerful and lives in the sky. You believe, but you do not know. Please do not confuse the two.

B@B, sounds like you have some sort of guilt trip for being a white dude. Me? I don't. know I am not rascist. I know it was corrupted ballot boxes. It is not like it hasn't happened before. It really doesnt matter, talking about it won't prove it. I know the ballot boxes are rigged and I know it will cause a civil war at some point if it goes

"I know it but I can't prove it.": Motto of the Morristown chapter of the Sore Loser's Association, informally known as The Losers.

I can't prove it but I don't know it.

the way it is now***

My stars, if it isn't the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette!

Actually, Alex, Social Security is not "failing". It has enough resources to pay out 100% of benefits through 2034 -- provided that the government makes good on the T-bills that are in the fund now. These are essentially "IOU"s put in place by presidents of both parties to help fund wars, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and bloated defense budgets. The system was overhauled in the 1980s to double the amount that employees and employers pay in -- specifically to handle the future baby boom retirement. To say that it is "failing" is to say "Yeah, we took the money and we have no intention of paying it back." And when you buy into this "failing" meme, you give our government carte blanche over the last 30 years to have taken our money -- and yes, WE pay into it, and not give us anything for it. Something else to consider is that once the baby boom generation goes to the Great Beyond, the workers-per-retiree ratio goes into a more sensible balance. So this "endpoint" may very well be by design.

Medicare is a different story. But the way to deal with Medicare is to expand it to expand the risk pool, and to explore more outcome-based medicine so that doctors aren't paid to do every more tests. The problem with our health care system is that big honking middleman -- the health insurance industry -- that adds zero value and provides zero actual care.

B@B, how will it make good on that promise if the government can't pay off those T-Bills? You think China will perpetually cover the deficits of the Federal Budget and also the funding needs of Medicare & Social Security as well as other off budget programs that hold nothing but T-Bills as assets?

And no - your idea of expanding Medicare just means more wealth redistribution to older people. That is a horrible idea. The best solution is to make people more responsible for their own healthcare costs so they consume less. Your idea does the opposite by making people less responsible for the cost so they consume more.

Yea sure TAX the wealthiest Americans, Great... really dig in...
Hey what about the risk they took, what about the school loans that are being paid, what about the ventures that didn’t work, losses, Uncle Sam is the First in line if there is a bankruptcy... MOOOCHERS, Pathetic. B@B

Have we really managed to cut the federal budget from "$125 trillion dollars" all the way down to "a shade over $4 trillion?" I had no idea that we have been so successfully frugal. Where did the $121 trillion in cuts come out of?

Mike,
How do you know that a such a diverse and variegated group as "the wealthiest Americans" took any particular risks? What about poor people who worked hard all their lives and took risks? What about wealthy people who took no risks at all?

John, I’m so sorry to hear that. But you should be okay. I mean you did get that $2,500.00 reduction in your health insurance costs Barack promised you, right after he said he cut the defect in half didn't you?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15E7goj7Fmo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYpObXslm-8

It is amazing isn’t it? He gets up there says what the people (sheep) want to hear, gets elected does absolutely nothing he said he would, then stands in front of the American people again saying what the American people want to hear (that being, I’ll give you something for nothing) and he gets reelected.

“You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for that my dear friend is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”― Adrian Rogers

I have to disagree with you on that point John. Potato and his buddies will never see any type of nightmare; they’ll just continue to see the government bring them their cheese. People who rely on the government for their cheese will never see things in the manner we cheese producers do, or for that matter the way this woman does:

"America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to “the common good,” but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance—and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." -- Ayn Rand

Shhhhh John, forget Thailand. Here is a dirty little secret Barack Obama and his buddies don’t want you to know. South Korea now has a more advanced medical system than we do. They have all the stuff you hear the top notch American Hospitals and Doctors advertising on our radio wave. Cyber Knives, Robotic Surgery, Joint replacement, Open Heart, Brain surgery, Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) which BTW, BLOWS MRIs away, and so much more. Funny thing. Most of the current crop of those highly advanced South Koran doctors ……. Educated right here in the good old US of A!

You know what I wonder about to John? I wonder why people like Potato and his buddies, Selene, Steward, and so many others, none of whom put the amount of blood, sweat, and tears, in fact they put in ZERO blood sweat of tears into my life’s efforts, but now have no qualms at all to looking at me and saying I have too much and I owe them some of it just because, in their minds anyway, I have it.

It used to be the American dream to grow up and make a good living. Now it is looked upon as a sin, at least by our very own government anyway!

Drew, did you get your magical Assumption Machine in Thailand? You "know" so very much about the commenters here, one would almost think you're psycho--oops, I mean psychic!

I can't afford a 20,000 dollar family healthcare (basic) plan coupled along with all the other cost of living increases I am facing, so yes I am going to have to get creative and maybe for the first time in my life be a moucher. I have a mentally handicapped sister in law that I am taking care of. I am doing this out of my own pocket, but maybe now I will look into those Obama buck food stamps that are so easy to get now, and maybe I will look into one of those free cell phones. I don't know? why not? If it is that easy. I just don't understand why bernanke just doesn't print enough money to pay everyones taxes and medical care and don't even bother us with any bills. He can just print and send money to who ever needs it.

There you go John. Now you are seeing the light. Seriously, the only way to beat this BS is to stop producing the cheese and start taking it from the fools who still do. It really doesn’t make much sense to work your butt off and take risks with your capital, when all that is going to happen is the government will come and take it all away from you.

Believe me John. I started and ran three businesses in my life, and contrary to Obama who told me, “I Didn't Built Them,” I DID!

I wonder, where was the government when I was lying awake at night sweating and wondering how I was going to cover payroll? Where was the government when I had to tell my kids, no Christmas presents this year, because I had to cover payroll, taxes and insurance? Where were they when I was working 7 days a week, 16 hours a day, and my wife and kids were eating 6 ounce cans of Tuna fish for dinner?

I’ll tell you where they were John. NO WHERE, that’s where absolutely NO WHERE to be Seen Oh but now that 25 years of butt busting has yielded result, where is the government now? In My POCKETS, John, they are in my pockets so deep it hurts, and now the bastards, they want to go even deeper!

Right on Drew! If we ran our companies like this we would be in JAIL.... NO DOUBT AT ALL ABOUT THAT!!! And all these moochers that didnt think going to school or learning a trade to get ahead was for them, now are coming at us for thier hard times... I worked for this, I still do.... I never collected a DIME of assistance ever, When I lost my job, I started MY company, I need to deal with the budget I have to live with.... I cant overspend, WTF What is the SH%$??

Potatoes are all moochers and should all move to Cuba!

mike i feel bad for "those" people, theyll never feel self respect or the joy of setting a tough goal and achieving it that has brought me more joy than any paycheck ive ever recieved. i do think things need to be changed such as drug test for people collecting unemployment, or making them do volunteer work in exchange for their unemployment, work that can help give them experience to eventually get a job in that field. however are these "moochers" any worse than life long "professional" politicians who have never held a real job but have insane salaries, the best benefits, and pensions? the "moochers" arent the only problem, there are rich, poor, black, white, spanish and all types of people who take advantage of the system.
the only point i was trying to make is i hear the GOP say people will not set goals or work hard in the future which i strongly disagreee with

Hey Stew, just in case you didn't notice, Obama has been in office for the last four years. You know, the guy who said he was going to fix everything. Then said it was worse than they thought. I guess him and Biden must have been asleep when the Dems had the House and the Senate and pulled the same crap with Bush that you cry the Republican House is doing to Obama. Laughable.

People like you, Stewart... You sound confrontational, its people like YOU that refuse to even listen to another point of view, angry and nasty...
Who is destroying what???? .

oh mike, yer breaking my heart you know that? boo hoo,

good, 2.5 billion they don't deserve.

...so you better get a gun and prepare yourself for the zombie-pocolypse.

Then you do not know any Federal employees. I know people who received such notices yesterday.

tell me, will they still be accruing pension credits while they golf on that extra day a week off until this sequester panic is resolved. I guarantee you they don't give a shit about this.

As is, they work hard for society but it would be safe to say that many will be collecting unemployment benefits and paying no tax if things don't work out for them. Also, less money will be spent on goods and services in the marketplace.

Fortunately for the sake of the individuals that I know, there will plenty of opportunity to more then double their pay checks by switching to less productive jobs in the private sector, should they be forced to leave the important work that they are doing in the public sector. Its a great sacrifice they make as is. Federal pay is low. You should see the computers these guys have to work on.

"Federal pay is low" That's the most laughable farcical myth there is. Factor in the strict hours, holidays, vacations and perpetual pensions, please and then get back to me.

http://www.fedsmith.com/2012/03/25/average-federal-salary-lowest-average-pay/
"According to BEA data, the average federal employee salary in 2010 was $83,679 and $51,986 for the average private sector salary."

If 83K for an average federal worker is "low" as opposed to 52K for private sector average, I'd love to see what constitutes "high".

If federal salaries seem high to you then you definitely get more from the government, in terms of services, then you pay into it via taxes. Mitt Romney does not consider you to be one of the industrious half of Americans. You are a 47% moocher.

My recommendation is that you get a "well paid" public sector job, join a union and think a bit deeper about how much money a governor or president makes compared to a CEO. At the executive level, six figures is not a big accomplishment and seven figures won't get you anywhere near the Forbes 400 list, where you won't ever see the slightest hint of a single federal employee.

It is the private sector that is robbing the private sector LyingLiarsTellingLies.

You clearly have poor reading skills, as althought i may be a newsflash to you, there are other employees in the private sector besides CEOs and *many* others in th epublic sector besides "governors" and, on the average, they make 45% more than private sector workers, and that's not even taking into account the gooey pension packages, holiday schedule and clockwatching hours.

I suggest you flip on something other than MSNBC or E! and educate yourself.

But not a LyingLie as would be told by a LyingLiar such as yourself.

I am not your husband, please do not talk to me like that. Thank you.

Gosh, I forgot for a minute that it is only acceptable call someone a LyingLiar if it is not true, and it is offensive to call someone such a thing if it is true. Likewise, that it is perfectly logical to dismiss a person's demonstrated truths, in favor of embracing a LyingLiar's demonstrated lies, if the person telling the truths is a woman.

What demonstrated truths have you provided, other than that you know absolutely nothing about the level of federal worker compensation.

I demonstrated you lied about there being no furloughs.

You thus re-demonstrate an acutely poor level of reading comprehension, in addition to having stated *repeatedly* that "federal pay is low", which is demonstrably false. Are there any other topics upon which you claim knowledge but actually have none. Want to talk fashion instead?

So, if GE would have paid taxes at the rate that most Americans paid, then that alone would have more then covered the total cost we are talking about regarding the sequester.

As long as they followed the tax law I could care less how much they paid in tax whether that is $0 or more.

You think the loopholes would even dent this problem, Really, you can take all of there salaries and it still wont help, not if the Govt keeps spending like this.. Believe me if the get more revenue they will not put it against the debt, they will spend that away too....

Chris, I suggest it is too late to worry about it now. I also suggest take advantage and buy this very large artificial dip in gold price and protect your self from this next stage of events. The money printing is really going to go into overtime. They won't decrease spending in the long run.

The richest counties in the country and now in Washington DC area. The largest producers of paper products and red tape in the world.

No, OMG what has this world come to? How undignified. I wonder how many people didn't get to work on time that day.. That's real Lost Revenue!

So there you go, everything is fixed now.