SodaHead - Mugahead, Obama's Friend's Blog

Mugaheads Oil Drilling Thoughts

2008-08-10T19:13:38Z

+1 raves

Drill For Oil Now! Drilling for Oil sounds great. In truth it is a way to help us all for the moment. But after the moment ends, what then? Drilling will give us years of energy resources for a while and everyone will be happy, right? I have a few thoughts to share on that notion. Yes drilling will help. But it will take at least two or three years to build the drilling plat form. Then it will take about another year to find the oil. So with that said, it will be a while before any relief actually happens. Then after it happens, we will only become dependent on oil again. Some people have asked the question saying; do they think we Americans are stupid? In truth the big oil companies and other big energy companies do think exactly that. Along with them Bush, McCain, and many other big time politicians think that we are stupid as well. And in the long rung they are right! The thought of becoming non-dependent on oil will be forgotten over time. The time it will take is shorter then you might think. When the oil prices go down just fifty cents we Americans will forget all about the idea of getting off oil dependency. The big oil companies will have many more years of joyful profits to look forward to. Do you really think oil companies are going to look for new renewable resources for our benefit if they have a monopoly of new oil? The car companies are willing to build and make hybrid autos as long as there is worthy profit in it, to do so. They are willing to redesign their manufacturing factories so that more hybrids can me made. But again, they will only do so, if there is long term profits worthy for their effort. But if the gas goes down the demand for hybrids will also go down. When that happens, the car manufactures won’t waste time or money. Things as we knew it will resume as usual and nothing will happen. This is what McCain, Bush, and all their friends at the big oil companies want. Think of it! If McCain wins the White House the green peace organization will be hushed up. Drilling off shores will be allowed. The drilling ban was already lifted by BUSH! Things as usual are already in motion. If McCain wins the election Dependency on oil will continue for decades! Your gas price will go down maybe a dollar! But then it will begin to go up again. If you think it will stay at three dollars a gallon you are the stupid Americans they think you are. I know that I’m not the only one who can see this truth. Don’t let the BIG oil companies and all their friends like McCain set us on the same old road of dependence on oil.

Gore tells it like it is.

2008-07-17T20:34:26Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+2 raves

July 17, 2008 A Generational Challenge to Repower America (as prepared) D.A.R. Constitution Hall Washington, D.C. Ladies and gentlemen: There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more – if more should be required – the future of human civilization is at stake. I don’t remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy is in terrible shape and getting worse, gasoline prices are increasing dramatically, and so are electricity rates. Jobs are being outsourced. Home mortgages are in trouble. Banks, automobile companies and other institutions we depend upon are under growing pressure. Distinguished senior business leaders are telling us that this is just the beginning unless we find the courage to make some major changes quickly. The climate crisis, in particular, is getting a lot worse – much more quickly than predicted. Scientists with access to data from Navy submarines traversing underneath the North polar ice cap have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months. This will further increase the melting pressure on Greenland. According to experts, the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland’s largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day, equivalent to the amount of water used every year by the residents of New York City. Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilizing nations around the world. Just two days ago, 27 senior statesmen and retired military leaders warned of the national security threat from an “energy tsunami” that would be triggered by a loss of our access to foreign oil. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq continues, and now the war in Afghanistan appears to be getting worse. 1 And by the way, our weather sure is getting strange, isn’t it? There seem to be more tornadoes than in living memory, longer droughts, bigger downpours and record floods. Unprecedented fires are burning in California and elsewhere in the American West. Higher temperatures lead to drier vegetation that makes kindling for mega-fires of the kind that have been raging in Canada, Greece, Russia, China, South America, Australia and Africa. Scientists in the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science at Tel Aviv University tell us that for every one degree increase in temperature, lightning strikes will go up another 10 percent. And it is lightning, after all, that is principally responsible for igniting the conflagration in California today. Like a lot of people, it seems to me that all these problems are bigger than any of the solutions that have thus far been proposed for them, and that’s been worrying me. I’m convinced that one reason we’ve seemed paralyzed in the face of these crises is our tendency to offer old solutions to each crisis separately – without taking the others into account. And these outdated proposals have not only been ineffective – they almost always make the other crises even worse. Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges – the economic, environmental and national security crises. We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change. But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand. The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels. In my search for genuinely effective answers to the climate crisis, I have held a series of “solutions summits” with engineers, scientists, and CEOs. In those discussions, one thing has become abundantly clear: when you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices. Moreover, they are also the very same solutions we need to guarantee our national security without having to go to war in the Persian Gulf. What if we could use fuels that are not expensive, don't cause pollution and are abundantly available right here at home? We have such fuels. Scientists have confirmed that enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world’s energy 2 needs for a full year. Tapping just a small portion of this solar energy could provide all of the electricity America uses. And enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 percent of US electricity demand. Geothermal energy, similarly, is capable of providing enormous supplies of electricity for America. The quickest, cheapest and best way to start using all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses. But to make this exciting potential a reality, and truly solve our nation’s problems, we need a new start. That’s why I’m proposing today a strategic initiative designed to free us from the crises that are holding us down and to regain control of our own destiny. It’s not the only thing we need to do. But this strategic challenge is the lynchpin of a bold new strategy needed to re-power America. Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years. This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans – in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen. A few years ago, it would not have been possible to issue such a challenge. But here’s what’s changed: the sharp cost reductions now beginning to take place in solar, wind, and geothermal power – coupled with the recent dramatic price increases for oil and coal – have radically changed the economics of energy. When I first went to Congress 32 years ago, I listened to experts testify that if oil ever got to $35 a barrel, then renewable sources of energy would become competitive. Well, today, the price of oil is over $135 per barrel. And sure enough, billions of dollars of new investment are flowing into the development of concentrated solar thermal, photovoltaics, windmills, geothermal plants, and a variety of ingenious new ways to improve our efficiency and conserve presently wasted energy. And as the demand for renewable energy grows, the costs will continue to fall. Let me give you one revealing example: the price of the specialized silicon used to make solar cells was recently as high as $300 per kilogram. But the newest contracts have prices as low as $50 a kilogram. You know, the same thing happened with computer chips – also made out of silicon. The price paid for the same performance came down by 50 percent every 18 months – year after year, and that’s what’s happened for 40 years in a row. 3 To those who argue that we do not yet have the technology to accomplish these results with renewable energy: I ask them to come with me to meet the entrepreneurs who will drive this revolution. I’ve seen what they are doing and I have no doubt that we can meet this challenge. To those who say the costs are still too high: I ask them to consider whether the costs of oil and coal will ever stop increasing if we keep relying on quickly depleting energy sources to feed a rapidly growing demand all around the world. When demand for oil and coal increases, their price goes up. When demand for solar cells increases, the price often comes down. When we send money to foreign countries to buy nearly 70 percent of the oil we use every day, they build new skyscrapers and we lose jobs. When we spend that money building solar arrays and windmills, we build competitive industries and gain jobs here at home. Of course there are those who will tell us this can't be done. Some of the voices we hear are the defenders of the status quo – the ones with a vested interest in perpetuating the current system, no matter how high a price the rest of us will have to pay. But even those who reap the profits of the carbon age have to recognize the inevitability of its demise. As one OPEC oil minister observed, “The Stone Age didn’t end because of a shortage of stones.” To those who say 10 years is not enough time, I respectfully ask them to consider what the world's scientists are telling us about the risks we face if we don’t act in 10 years. The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis. When the use of oil and coal goes up, pollution goes up. When the use of solar, wind and geothermal increases, pollution comes down. To those who say the challenge is not politically viable: I suggest they go before the American people and try to defend the status quo. Then bear witness to the people's appetite for change. I for one do not believe our country can withstand 10 more years of the status quo. Our families cannot stand 10 more years of gas price increases. Our workers cannot stand 10 more years of job losses and outsourcing of factories. Our economy cannot stand 10 more years of sending $2 billion every 24 hours to foreign countries for oil. And our soldiers and their families cannot take another 10 years of repeated troop deployments to dangerous regions that just happen to have large oil supplies. What could we do instead for the next 10 years? What should we do during the next 10 years? Some of our greatest accomplishments as a nation have resulted from commitments to reach a goal that fell well beyond the next election: the Marshall Plan, Social Security, the interstate highway system. But a political promise to do something 4 40 years from now is universally ignored because everyone knows that it’s meaningless. Ten years is about the maximum time that we as a nation can hold a steady aim and hit our target. When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely in 10 years, many people doubted we could accomplish that goal. But 8 years and 2 months later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon. To be sure, reaching the goal of 100 percent renewable and truly clean electricity within 10 years will require us to overcome many obstacles. At present, for example, we do not have a unified national grid that is sufficiently advanced to link the areas where the sun shines and the wind blows to the cities in the East and the West that need the electricity. Our national electric grid is critical infrastructure, as vital to the health and security of our economy as our highways and telecommunication networks. Today, our grids are antiquated, fragile, and vulnerable to cascading failure. Power outages and defects in the current grid system cost US businesses more than $120 billion dollars a year. It has to be upgraded anyway. We could further increase the value and efficiency of a Unified National Grid by helping our struggling auto giants switch to the manufacture of plug-in electric cars. An electric vehicle fleet would sharply reduce the cost of driving a car, reduce pollution, and increase the flexibility of our electricity grid. At the same time, of course, we need to greatly improve our commitment to efficiency and conservation. That’s the best investment we can make. America's transition to renewable energy sources must also include adequate provisions to assist those Americans who would unfairly face hardship. For example, we must recognize those who have toiled in dangerous conditions to bring us our present energy supply. We should guarantee good jobs in the fresh air and sunshine for any coal miner displaced by impacts on the coal industry. Every single one of them. Of course, we could and should speed up this transition by insisting that the price of carbon-based energy include the costs of the environmental damage it causes. I have long supported a sharp reduction in payroll taxes with the difference made up in CO2 taxes. We should tax what we burn, not what we earn. This is the single most important policy change we can make. In order to foster international cooperation, it is also essential that the United States rejoin the global community and lead efforts to secure an international treaty at Copenhagen in December of next year that includes a cap on CO2 emissions and a global partnership that recognizes the necessity of addressing the threats of extreme poverty and disease as part of the world’s agenda for solving the climate crisis. 5 Of course the greatest obstacle to meeting the challenge of 100 percent renewable electricity in 10 years may be the deep dysfunction of our politics and our self-governing system as it exists today. In recent years, our politics has tended toward incremental proposals made up of small policies designed to avoid offending special interests, alternating with occasional baby steps in the right direction. Our democracy has become sclerotic at a time when these crises require boldness. It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now. Am I the only one who finds it strange that our government so often adopts a so-called solution that has absolutely nothing to do with the problem it is supposed to address? When people rightly complain about higher gasoline prices, we propose to give more money to the oil companies and pretend that they’re going to bring gasoline prices down. It will do nothing of the sort, and everyone knows it. If we keep going back to the same policies that have never ever worked in the past and have served only to produce the highest gasoline prices in history alongside the greatest oil company profits in history, nobody should be surprised if we get the same result over and over again. But the Congress may be poised to move in that direction anyway because some of them are being stampeded by lobbyists for special interests that know how to make the system work for them instead of the American people. If you want to know the truth about gasoline prices, here it is: the exploding demand for oil, especially in places like China, is overwhelming the rate of new discoveries by so much that oil prices are almost certain to continue upward over time no matter what the oil companies promise. And politicians cannot bring gasoline prices down in the short term. However, there actually is one extremely effective way to bring the costs of driving a car way down within a few short years. The way to bring gas prices down is to end our dependence on oil and use the renewable sources that can give us the equivalent of $1 per gallon gasoline. Many Americans have begun to wonder whether or not we’ve simply lost our appetite for bold policy solutions. And folks who claim to know how our system works these days have told us we might as well forget about our political system doing anything bold, especially if it is contrary to the wishes of special interests. And I’ve got to admit, that sure seems to be the way things have been going. But I’ve begun to hear different voices in this country from people who are not only tired of baby steps and special interest politics, but are hungry for a new, different and bold approach. We are on the eve of a presidential election. We are in the midst of an international climate treaty process that will conclude its work before the end of the first year of the new president's term. It is a great error to say that the United States must wait for others to join us in this matter. In fact, we must move first, because that is the key to getting others to follow; and because moving first is in our own national interest. 6 7 So I ask you to join with me to call on every candidate, at every level, to accept this challenge – for America to be running on 100 percent zero-carbon electricity in 10 years. It's time for us to move beyond empty rhetoric. We need to act now. This is a generational moment. A moment when we decide our own path and our collective fate. I'm asking you – each of you – to join me and build this future. Please join the WE campaign at wecansolveit.org. We need you. And we need you now. We're committed to changing not just light bulbs, but laws. And laws will only change with leadership. On July 16, 1969, the United States of America was finally ready to meet President Kennedy’s challenge of landing Americans on the moon. I will never forget standing beside my father a few miles from the launch site, waiting for the giant Saturn 5 rocket to lift Apollo 11 into the sky. I was a young man, 21 years old, who had graduated from college a month before and was enlisting in the United States Army three weeks later. I will never forget the inspiration of those minutes. The power and the vibration of the giant rocket’s engines shook my entire body. As I watched the rocket rise, slowly at first and then with great speed, the sound was deafening. We craned our necks to follow its path until we were looking straight up into the air. And then four days later, I watched along with hundreds of millions of others around the world as Neil Armstrong took one small step to the surface of the moon and changed the history of the human race. We must now lift our nation to reach another goal that will change history. Our entire civilization depends upon us now embarking on a new journey of exploration and discovery. Our success depends on our willingness as a people to undertake this journey and to complete it within 10 years. Once again, we have an opportunity to take a giant leap for humankind.

John McCain told a crowd in Denver

2008-07-17T15:48:54Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+5 raves

Last week, John McCain told a crowd in Denver: “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace.” Mugaheads Thoughts: John McCain you know that we have done this for over 70 years. It has always been that way. The young work and pay taxes. The taxes they pay supports the retired in this country. When those young folks grow old they too will receive their retirement benefits from the young taxpayers of that day. This is simply how it has been done for more then 70 years. The system works and it is not a disgrace! With out this system in place the old will find themselves in the street gutters dying of starvation. We need to have social security for the retired. Just because you don’t need it, you rich jerk! That says nothing for the other 50 million retires in this country. I suppose you want to get rid of this, what you call a disgrace, known to us as social security. I suppose you rather have our old just die like dogs in the streets. The social security system has been working as is for over 70 years and now you want to destroy it. Get rid of it! Abolish it! Remove it! No matter how you put it that is what you are up to. As president of the United States you will try such a thing and that is the reason why you will never get my vote. I will not stand ideally by and let you destroy the only income my mother has to live on. If anyone reading this agrees with me vo te for any one other then John (ASS HOLE) McCain. Save our old from the doom John McCain, will impose on them.

Hillary -v- Obama

2008-07-17T00:32:31Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+9 raves

The real Obama politics looks allot like Hillary politics. If you think Obama is not for women, here is something that might change your mind! "From the first moment a woman dared to speak that hope - dared to believe that the American Dream was meant for her too - ordinary women have taken on extraordinary odds to give their daughters the chance for something else; for a life more equal, more free, and filled with more opportunity than they ever had. In so many ways we have succeeded, but in so many areas we have much work left to do." ~ Barack Obama, Speech in Washington, DC, 11/10/05 Fixing the Nation’s Health Care System: More than 19 million women are uninsured in this country, and women are more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs. Barack Obama is committed to ensuring that all Americans have health care coverage by the end of his first term in office. Obama’s plan will encourage insurers and providers to adopt electronic claims systems, electronic medical records, and patient safety reporting systems. These improvements will reduce administrative costs and health care inefficiencies such as duplicative testing and medical errors, which in turn will reduce costly medical malpractice lawsuits. These common sense steps will cut overall health-care costs by up to 10 percent or more. Empowering Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last twenty years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Women of color are especially hard hit: In 2004, HIV infection was the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34. Around the world, 7,000 women are infected with HIV every day. Barack Obama has been a leader in the global fight against AIDS. He introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections. Supporting Research into Women’s Health: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, accounting for nearly 39 percent of all female deaths. Studies show that after a first heart attack, women are less likely than men to receive diagnostic, therapeutic, and cardiac rehabilitation procedures, and are more likely to die or have a second heart attack Women are also more likely than men to report having arthritis, asthma, auto-immune diseases, and depression. Health care disparities among minority and poor women are especially pervasive. Barack Obama has fought to maintain funding: For the Centers of Excellence in Women's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. He also supports legislation to encourage research that will examine gender and health disparities. The same legislation would establish community outreach programs in under-served areas to help women access health care and maintain healthy lifestyles. Fighting Cancer: Ovarian cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States. Because of the lack of early symptoms or a proven screening test, ovarian cancer also has the highest mortality of all cancers of the female reproductive system. Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of Johanna's Law. Signed into law in January 2007, the law will educate women and increase awareness of ovarian cancer. Obama has also supported efforts to combat breast cancer, another leading cause of death among women. He helped pass legislation in the Illinois State Senate to expand insurance coverage for mammograms. Reducing Health Risks Due to Mercury Pollution: More than five million women of childbearing age have high levels of toxic mercury in their blood and more than 630,000 newborns are born every year at risk. The EPA estimates that every year, more than one child in six could be at risk for developmental disorders because of mercury exposure in the mother's womb. Since the primary sources of mercury in fish are power plant emissions that contaminate our water, regulation of utility emissions is essential to protecting the health of our children. Barack Obama introduced two pieces of legislation to significantly reduce the amount of mercury that is deposited in oceans, lakes, and rivers, which in turn would reduce the amount of mercury in fish. Supporting Stem Cell Research: Barack Obama believes that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos donated (with consent) from in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos must be deemed in excess and created based solely for the purpose of fertility treatment. REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE: Supports a Woman’s Right to Choose: Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case. Preventing Unwanted Pregnancy: Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims. PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Reducing Domestic Violence: One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Family violence accounted for 11 percent of all violence between 1998 and 2002. Barack Obama introduced legislation to combat domestic violence by providing $25 million a year for partnerships between domestic violence prevention organizations and Fatherhood or Marriage programs to train staff in domestic violence services, provide services to families affected by domestic violence, and to develop best practices in domestic violence prevention. Strengthening Domestic Violence Laws: Approximately 1,400 women a year – four every day – die in the United States as a result of domestic violence. And 132,000 women report that they have been victims of a rape or attempted rape, and it is estimated that an even greater number have been raped, but do not report it. Senator Obama co-sponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Signed into law in January 2006, the bill funds and helps communities, nonprofit organizations, and police combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The legislation establishes a sexual assault services program and provides education grants to prevent domestic violence. Fighting Gender Violence Abroad: The genocide in Darfur has had particularly devastating consequences for women. Tens of thousands of women have been killed, raped, and displaced since the conflict began in 2003. Barack Obama has been a leading voice in Washington urging the end of genocide in Sudan. He worked with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, a version of which was signed into law. Obama has traveled to the United Nations to meet with Sudanese officials and visited refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border to raise international awareness of the ongoing humanitarian disaster there. He also worked with Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to secure $20 million for the African Union peacekeeping mission. ECONOMIC ISSUES Fighting for Pay Equity: Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men at Fortune 500 corporate offices. Barack Obama believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace. Expanding Paid Medical Leave: Today, three-out-of-four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. It is fundamentally unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or loses wages because her child gets sick. Barack Obama supports efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year, a moderate proposal that should not impose too onerous a burden on employers. Investing in Women-Owned Small Businesses: Women are majority owners of more than 28 percent of U.S. businesses, but head less than 4 percent of venture-capital-backed firms. Women business owners are more likely than white male business owners to have their loan applications denied. Barack Obama encourages investing in women-owned businesses, providing more support to women business owners and reducing discrimination in lending. Protecting Social Security: Americans are increasingly at risk of working their entire lives only to face retirement in poverty. Barack Obama believes we need to preserve the character of Social Security by stopping any efforts to privatize social security. Obama also will work in a bipartisan way to maintain Social Security’s solvency for future generations. Encouraging Retirement Saving: The personal saving rate is at its lowest level since the Great Depression. Only 55 percent of Americans working full-time hold a job with a retirement savings plan; the percentage is even lower for women. As of March 2005, less than half of the 60 million wage and salaried women working in the United States participated in a retirement plan. Barack Obama wants to make retirement saving easier, cheaper, and more automatic for middle-class and working people who get only minor tax benefits to save and who are the ones that really need the money. Obama co-sponsored with Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) the Save More for Retirement Act, which provides incentives for automatic enrollment in 401Ks. One study has found that, among employees with less than 15 months tenure, automatic enrollment increased participation from 12 percent to 79 percent for workers with annual earnings of less than $20,000. Improving Child Support Collection: Less than half of parents collecting child support receive the full payments they are due. More than $11 billion in child support goes unpaid every year. Barack Obama introduced legislation to increase child support enforcement by an additional $4.9 billion over 10 years, a measure that will collect nearly $20 billion in payments from men who don't fulfill their parental responsibilities. The bill also makes sure that states pass through 100 percent of collected child support payments to families. NATIONAL SECURITY Ending the War in Iraq: There are 202,000 women serving on active duty and 64,000 serving in the Guard and Reserves. Scores of female troops have died in Iraq and hundreds more have been injured. Barack Obama opposed the war from the beginning and has introduced legislation that would begin a phased withdrawal starting May 2007, with a goal of removing all of our combat troops by March of 2008. Realizing there can be no military solution in Iraq, Obama’s plan focuses instead on reaching a political solution in Iraq, protecting our interests in the region, and bringing this war to a responsible end. Caring for Women Veterans: There are 1.7 million women veterans today, a number that is increasing every day. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that was built to care for World War II veterans is not ready to handle the influx of women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Barack Obama has introduced legislation to force the Pentagon and VA to better track the newest generation of veterans – including the number of women veterans – so that the VA can better plan their care. Obama also introduced legislation to fight homelessness: Among veterans, with a special focus on treating women who may have been victims of sexual trauma. Along with Senator Claire McCaskill, Obama has also co-sponsored legislation to provide funding for additional caseworkers and mental health counselors, a women’s mental health treatment program, and a comprehensive mental health study of returning soldiers. As president, Barack Obama will fight to ensure that women can get the care they deserve at the VA. POVERTY Fighting Poverty: Of the 37 million Americans living below the poverty line, approximately 14.6 million are women — a staggering number equal to the combined populations of Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin. And nearly 13 million children are living in poverty, a rise of 1.3 million since 2000. Barack Obama is committed to a renewed effort to tackle the underlying problems that cause poverty. Raising the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama believes that people who work full time should not live in poverty. The minimum wage hasn’t been changed in nine years and has less purchasing power in real dollars than it did in 1955. Women are the largest group of beneficiaries from a minimum wage increase: 60 percent of the workers who would benefit from an increase to $7.25 are women. As President, Barack Obama would raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation, and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers have a living wage. Helping Low-Income Workers: Transitional jobs are a promising way to help chronically unemployed people break into the workplace. This approach places participants into temporary, subsidized wage-paying jobs. It also offers mentoring and social services designed to address the work-blocking problems like personal and family conflicts. Once they find entry-level work, low-income workers often are unable to break into middle-class jobs. Bridge programs can help by partnering the federal government with employers and community-based organizations to identify job opportunities, develop customized training programs, and place low-income employees in better jobs. Barack Obama introduced legislation to devote $50 million for transitional and bridge employment programs for hard-to-employ groups like homeless veterans, children aging out of foster care, and people returning to communities after serving time in prison. Supporting Low-Income Families: Barack Obama has a long history of helping working families achieve economic self-sufficiency. As a State Senator, Obama sponsored and passed the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor, one of the most effective tools devised to move people out of poverty. As a U.S. Senator, Obama worked with Senator Olympia Snow (R-WA) to introduce legislation lowering the Child Tax Credit’s income limit so that 600,000 more families can benefit. The Child Tax Credit allows parents to receive $1,000 per child and has been an important financial resource for working families. Unfortunately, the credit is skewed so that many families who need it the most cannot get it. Because of artificially high-income limits that are indexed to inflation every year, parents that work full-time at minimum wage are not eligible for the credit. As a result, nearly 17 million low-income children get less than the full credit. Barack Obama has also introduced legislation that would provide immediate tax relief to low-income working families from the Hurricane Katrina disaster areas by enhancing the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Improving After school and Daycare Opportunities: Millions of American families are struggling to juggle job and family responsibilities. Many low-income parents struggle to maintain employment and afford childcare. Barack Obama has sponsored legislation in the Illinois Senate to establish grants for after-school programs. He believes in increasing federal support for after-school programs with proven records of success at helping children avoid crime and drugs EDUCATION Protecting Title IX: Barack Obama supports eliminating gender discrimination in American schools. For 35 years, Title IX has been a bulwark against sex discrimination against students and employees at all levels of education. Obama will fight to make sure women have equal opportunities and access from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. Expanding Early Childhood Education: Research shows that half of low-income children start school up to two years behind their peers in preschool skills and that these early achievement gaps continue throughout elementary school. Barack Obama supports increasing funding for the Head Start program to provide preschool children with critically important learning skills, and supports the necessary role of parental involvement in the success of Head Start. He has also called on states to replicate the Illinois model of Preschool for All. Promoting Women in Math and Science: Women constitute 45 percent of the workforce in the U.S., but hold just 12 percent of science and engineering jobs in business and industry. Women also make up just 9 percent of the recipients of engineering-related bachelor’s degrees. Barack Obama believes that every student should have equal access to education in math, science, and technology in order to compete on a global scale. Improving Our Schools: Barack Obama introduced a plan to support school districts that try new methods to improve student achievement and reward effective teachers and school leaders. Under his initiative, 20 districts across the country will get grants to develop innovative plans in consultation with their teacher unions. High-performing teachers, and those who take on new responsibilities such as mentoring new teachers, will be eligible for pay increases beyond their base salary. Effective school leadership and effective teaching can improve both the work environment for teachers and learning environment for students. These innovation districts will show results that can be replicated in other school districts. Making College More Affordable: College tuition rates are rising almost 10 percent a year. Because of these rising prices, over 200,000 students were priced out of college altogether in 2004. Across the country, 5.3 million students use Pell Grants to help finance their college education’s. Two decades ago, the maximum grant covered 55 percent of costs at a public four-year college, compared with only 32 percent today. The first bill: Barack Obama introduced in the U.S. Senate would help make college more affordable. The bill would increase the maximum Pell Grant from the current limit of $4,050 to a new maximum of $5,100. In February 2007, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law legislation to increase federal Pell Grants to $4,310. Barack Obama will continue to fight for ways to make a college education more accessible and affordable.

Powers That Be:

2008-07-17T00:28:20Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+1 raves

New Testament Rom:13:1: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God Ok I'm not trying to tell you all who or what to believe. I'm only pointing out a truth from out of our bible. You can take this as it is at face value. Take the last line of that verse. "the powers that be are ordained of God" That last verse is referring to the powers that be! Which means-- (those who are in power). Kings Queens Presidents and so on (are ordained of god) This means, God places them in power. Weather you believe that or not, is up to you. Now this passage is not saying that Bush or anyone else is doing Gods will! Placing a person in power is not the same as them doing his will. God gave everyone a will of his or her own. Therefore what they do in office is not always Gods will. But instead, more often, it is their own will that they do. This means that Bush who thinks he is doing gods will is just being foolish in his own mind. The truth is still the truth. Bush has his own will and it is that will that he is doing. It is not gods will. He dose his own will in spite of the fact god placed him in power. You dont have to be religious to understand this. This Bible fact applies to all people in power Including Hitler, Obama, Hillary, Bush and McCain. The truth is all of these people are placed into power by our god according to our bible. If you are an atheist you may not agree. But if you are an atheist you can still see what I am saying as truth. All man has a will of his own. Even if they are in power they still do there own will not the will of any divine power.

Slighty late responce from E-mail

2008-07-17T00:15:32Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

0 raves

Eacnock Uck Twang from Mars I'm confused about the politics of your planet. What is this Hillary doing? She confuses me? If she dose not quit and tries to keep the delegate thing for her self, she could split the democrat people in two. She will cause them to lose the president thing all together. She will be handing it over to the republican people as a gift. Her actions make no sense at all to my people. She will in effect hand the president thing to that bad McCain person. What side dose she work for? Is she going to be an Independent people now? Is she trying to win the president thing as an Independent? If that is what she is trying to do. I think it is a mistake. She can not win that way. The Independent people never win. This is just a funny thing I wrote when Obama and Hillary were fighting over the popular votes. It is rather meaningless now except as a funny thing to read. At the time, when I wrote it, I was upset about all the hype made over the popular vote issue. Hillary supporters please don’t kill me over this. I just wanted to share this because I thought it was worth sharing. After all it is only a joke.

What are the top ten stupid sighted person errors?

2008-07-13T04:54:02Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+1 raves

The top ten stupid things sighted people: do to, say to, or ask a blind person! I think you all will be surprised? Over the last 23 years I have been on the receiving end of some of the stupidest sighted people. I began losing my sight from an, incurable eye decease when I was 17. Now Im 41 years old. I have no sight in my left eye and really poor sight in my right eye. Over those 23 years I have suffered through all of these stupid things below. 1. The sighted person standing next to the blind person stupidly says. Hay did you see the tits on that girl?Â 2. A sighted man stupidly asks. Can you show me where I can find this address on this map? Then the stupid person holds a map up in the face of the blind person. 3. A blind person just finished crossing the street. But he gets a little mixed up and stands still for a few moments to regain his bearings. When suddenly a sighted person grabs him by the arm and walks him across the same street he just finished crossing. Then the sighted person says. There you go sir! I got you a crossed safely! Now you have a great day! Then the stupid sighted person walks away thinking he done a good deed for the day. 4. A stupid sighted person looks at a blind person and sees a white cane and asks. Are you blind?Â 5. An elderly sighted person looks at a blind persons cane and asks. Are you going skiing?Â 6. A rich stupid sighted person drives up to a fancy hotel and gets out of his car. Then he walks up to a blind person who just walked out the hotel door. He hands him the keys to his car. A moment later he says to the blind person. Please park it near the back so it dont get any scratches on it.Â 7. A stupid sighted person asked a blind person. whats it like to be blind? Then before the blind person could answer the first question, the sighted person asks. Was it hard to learn?Â 8. Two stupid sighted people asked a blind person. Can you take our picture? Then one of them holds out a camera and says. Just push the big button! 9. A real stupid sighted person was being helpful when they offered to help me go to the bathroom. At first the idea was fine with me. But in the bathroom they became over helpful. They figured that because I was partly blind I needed help with every part of my bathroom time. The whole thing made me nervous! Of course I said. No thanks I dont need any more help! 10. A stupid sighted person asked. How do blind people have sex? But before I could answer, the stupid person asked. How do you see what your doing?

(No cans) Pumpkin Pie

2008-07-11T22:00:44Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

0 raves

(No cans) Pumpkin Pie It takes time, but for me it is worth the effort. I will take a small pumpkin, cut it open, take out the seeds, cut off the stem, and hard underside. Then I will either throw the seeds away or I may save them for roasting. But the stem and hard underside will go in the trash. Then with a strong spoon I will scrape out all the stringy material that remains out of the pumpkin leaving only the meat and outer skin. Then I will cut the pumpkin into 1-inch strips. This I found was the easiest way for me to cut off the hard outer skin. The hard outer skin is thrown away leaving me with only the meat of the pumpkin. Then I will cut this up into chunks about 1 inch by 1 inch. A small 6-inch pumpkin should yield about three - four pies. However, this is not always the case. Just prepare yourself for the possibility of left over pumpkin. Place the chunks into a large pot. Then fill the pot with water until it covers pumpkin. Then set the heat to high. The pumpkin must boil and become soft. The fork test will tell you when it is ready. After stabbing a large piece try to pick it strait up. If it slides off easy, it is done. It should be able to be mashed, like mashed potatoes. With a large strainer strain off as much water as possible, with out compressing the pumpkin. Some of the water will be retained in the pumpkin chunks. But that is Ok. You do want some of that water as long as it is not excessive. Letting the pumpkin stand in the strainer for ten minutes will remove most of the excess water. Now in a large bowl mash the pumpkin to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Make sure, that there are no lumps. Then set that aside for a while as it cools down. Now we to get out the other ingredients. 2 large eggs are needed if you intend to make 2 pies. But if you are going to make 3 or 4 pies only add 1 extra egg. You donâ€™t want too much egg. 1 can of carnation milk per every 2 pies. 1 tbsp. of pumpkin pie spice per pie. 1 cup of sugar for 2 pies -or 1 Â½ cups for 4 pies. Too much sugar is not good. 1 cup of brown sugar for 2 pies â€“or 1 Â½ cups for 4 pies. Too much sugar is not good. Â¼ tsp. salt for 2 pies -or Â½ tsp. for 4 pies. For more kick- Add Â½ tbsp. Cinnamon per 2 pies. (Optional) For extra sweetness add Â¼ cup of honey per 2 pies. (Optional) Now put 3 cups of mashed pumpkin into a large bowl. If you are going make 4 pies put 6 cups Then add the two large eggs. -Or 3 if making more the 2 pies. With a mixer, mix all the ingredients suggested above together with the mashed pumpkin. Make sure it is mixed well with little to no lumps. Now for me I cheat and get the ready made frozen pie crust. It is all ready in a aluminum pie shell. They usually come as two to a package. Iâ€™m lazy! LOL So if you want to make the crust yourself you need to look it up on the Internet for the recipe. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Poor the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell. Fill it up nearly to the top but leave a 1/8 inch space from the top. The pie will rise, as it is cooks. The extra space allows for this and usually prevents it from spilling over in the oven. The crust might get golden brown â€“or dark brown before the pie is done. Sometimes this canâ€™t be avoided. Always check the center of the pie to see if it is done. Poke it with a clean knife in the center. If the knife comes out looking nearly clean the pie is done. Also if the top of the pie is dark brown and cracks have formed, this is also a good indicator telling you that it is done. However this sometimes can fool you. So do the knife thing as well to make sure. The pie should be done in 26 â€“ 35 minutes sometimes longer. Depending on your climate or the type of oven you have the time venires. So I suggest that you check on the pies from time to time as they cook.

Not Too Important

2008-07-11T18:31:32Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

0 raves

http://obsidianwings.blogs.co... Not Too Important by hilzoy Stunning: "MATT LAUER: â€œIf itâ€™s working Senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?â€ SEN. MCCAIN: â€œNo, but thatâ€™s not too important. Whatâ€™s important is the casualties in Iraq. Americans are in South Korea, Americans are in Japan, American troops are in Germany. Thatâ€™s all fine. American casualties and the ability to withdraw; we will be able to withdraw. General Petraeus is going to tell us in July when he thinks we are. But the key to it is that we donâ€™t want any more Americans in harmâ€™s way." The McCain campaign says: "John McCain was asked if he had a "better estimate" for a timeline for withdrawal. As John McCain has always said, that is not as important as conditions on the ground and the recommendations of commanders in the field." But, as Greg Sargent notes, McCain did not in fact say that when the troops come home was less important than something else; he said it was not too important, period. Dose any one want to comment about how itâ€™s Not Too Important! Also Pleas tell us what you think about the Casualties heâ€™s referring to. It sounded as if he was saying that more casualties are more important! Please help me understand this idiot. Mugahead thoughts: Ok lets take the first line from McCain himself and analyze it for a minute! â€œNot too important!â€ Is he saying that the time for them to come home is not important? I guess he dose not care about them at all. Or maybe he doesnâ€™t care about us over here. It seems that he just donâ€™t get the fact that this war is costing us all way too much. It seems as if he could care less about the lives of the men and women over there. Or that he cares less about the families left behind in the states. NOT TOO IMPORTANT suggests to me that WE ALL are not TOO IMPORTANT to him. Look at Greg Sargent notes: The last words he wrote was; â€œhe said it was not too important, period.â€ Heâ€™s right about that! McCain dose think that they are not too important to bring home! Ok now for analyzing the next line! â€œWhatâ€™s important is the casualties in Iraqâ€ What dose this mean? Dose this mean that he is ok with more casualties? Is he saying that the death toll is not that bad and itâ€™s ok if we have more casualties? Am I reading between the lines and just making this up? This is my questionâ€™s that keep me from sleeping at night. Is John McCain telling us that we are stupid and will be ok with more casualties and war? Now for analyzing the next line out of McCainâ€™s mouth. â€œAmericans are in South Korea, Americans are in Japan, American troops are in Germany. Thatâ€™s all fine.â€ Itâ€™s ok with him to have Americans spread around the whole world. Itâ€™s ok with him to stretch our troops so thin that we wonâ€™t have the ability to defend ourselves in a crisis. He likes the idea of being a war power and flexing our mussels in the faces of every country around the world. He doses not see any harm in doing that. If a person was to do that to me to many times I will eventually have no choice but flex a few mussels of my own in response to the mussel flexing in the first place. This kind of mussel flexing it nothing more then a path, leading to an eventual war. Only warmongerâ€™s do such things as pushing ones buttons until they canâ€™t stand it any more. Sooner or later somebody is going to start punching back. Who can blame them! Now I hate to say this but this all seems like double talk to me. Listen to the next few lines of John McCain. â€œAmerican casualties and the ability to withdraw; we will be able to withdraw. General Petraeus is going to tell us in July when he thinks we are. But the key to it is that we donâ€™t want any more Americans in harmâ€™s way." Ok her is the double talk Iâ€™m seeing in the last few words of McCain. First in the beginning of his words he says Itâ€™s NOT TOO IMPOTRANT then in a few words later he says â€œAmerican casualties and the ability to withdraw; we will be able to withdraw.â€ So it is IMPORTANT? Make up your mind McCain!!! Then he says that he is waiting for General Petraeus to tell us. Ok I confused! I thought the President of the United States was the guy who makes that decision? I thought it was the president who takes info from many resources and then decides to with draw the troops. Isnâ€™t it the president who tells us to get the heck out or stay? Maybe Iâ€™m reading this thing wrong? Now the last line of McCainâ€™s words makes me laugh! â€œBut the key to it is that we donâ€™t want any more Americans in harmâ€™s way." Well if this is what your true stand is McCain, Then why are you so much desiring to stay in the war for 10-100 years? Or whatever it was you said? You keep changing your view on that too, so half of the time I donâ€™t know what the heck youâ€™re talking about.

McCain on womans issues!

2008-06-19T23:42:12Z

Mugahead, Obama's Friend

+2 raves

McCain's War on WomenJohn McCain is often painted as a moderate. But where does he really stand on issues that affect women? McCain's Senate record may surprise you. From equal pay to domestic violence programs, from sex education to the fundamental question of what conversations a woman may or may not have with her doctor, McCain is no moderate. Get the facts about where John McCain stands on these issues, then let us know where you stand on John McCain. McCain's War on Equal Pay McCain skipped a recent vote on Equal Pay, and said that instead of legislation allowing women to fight for equal pay, they simply need "education and training." (Women are currently paid less than men for the same work, even when they have the same education and training as men). [Source] McCain's War on Birth Control McCain has never cosponsored or supported legislation that would reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancy [Source] McCain voted against requiring insurance companies that pay for prescription drugs (like Viagra) to pay equally for women's prescription birth control [Source] McCain voted for the domestic & global gag rules, which prohibit federally funded family-planning clinics from giving women full information about their reproductive health options [Source] McCain's War on Women's Health McCain voted to terminate the Title X family planning program, which provides millions of women with health care services ranging from birth control to breast & cervical cancer screenings [Source] McCain voted to de‐fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that provides family planning services - not abortion - for the world's poorest women [Source] McCain's War on Sex Education McCain voted against funding teen pregnancy prevention programs and against ensuring that "abstinence‐only" programs are at least medically accurate [Source] McCain voted to earmark one‐third of all HIV/AIDS prevention funds for ineffective, unproven, and dangerous "abstinence‐only" programs [Source] McCain voted to take $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to establish a new "abstinence‐only" program that censors information about birth control [Source] McCain's War on Choice Voted anti-choice 125 out of 130 times in his congressional career [Source] Voted in favor of anti-choice Supreme Court Justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justices like John Roberts [Source] McCain routinely votes to block women's access to abortion care for low-income women, voted for the Federal Abortion Ban, and opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion even in cases of rape or incest.[Source] McCain voted to deny abortion services to U.S. military women serving overseas, even when they wish to pay for such services with their own money [Source] McCain's War on Domestic Violence Programs Voted against a measure to increase funding for law enforcement programs, including the Office of Violence Against Women programs and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children [Source] Opposed grant programs to aid children who have witnessed domestic violence [Source]