Consumer borrowing rose in March at the fastest pace in four months, more than double the increase of the previous month. ...more

May 8, 2008

Brian Nelson of New Port Richey says "clueless" George W. Bush rides again. ...more

April 26, 2008

Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday that home loan delinquencies and foreclosures rose in January as more borrowers struggled to make their mortgage payments. ...more

February 16, 2008

A comment heard on the radio aroused a compelling response. The caller said that both parties contributed to the serious crisis facing the country today, and contributed to the enormous $9 trillion national debt, and severe Social Security, Medicare-Medicaid crises. It is ironic that the caller cited the last 40-50 years. Consider this. It took 200 years (1787 to 1980) for the national debt to reach $1 trillion. It took 27 years for it to balloon to $9 trillion (1980 to 2007). Ergo: $6 trillion (1980-1992); +$2 trillion (1992-2001); -$5 trillion (2001 to 2007). Total: $9 trillion. So, who was in charge during those years? Who caused the $7 trillion hit on the economy in 2000? Who provided the prescription drug bill that was to cost $400 billion, but ballooned to $1 trillion and caused health care cost to increase 10 to 15 percent each year? Who allowed the corporations to duck their obligations for pensions all across this country? Who sat by while the banks and mortgage corporations manipulated the hapless home buyers to sign those sub-prime mortgages? As an immediate first step to resolve the crisis, who bought $2 millions of those egregious loans, then reduced interest rates for the banks and mortgagors, but left those hapless mortgagees swinging in the wind? Who is being held accountable? Where are those trillions and trillions of dollars? The answers? Corporations and our government! ...more

February 2, 2008

It always amazes me how right wingers respond when presented with facts. It is obvious they can't accept facts because facts disturb their little comfort zone, which the neo-con, globalist controlled corporate media has built for them. They like to dismiss facts as "volatile diatribe" or "violent cacophony" or worse. The person presenting the facts is immediately labeled a radical, liberal, angry hate-monger. For your enlightenment, Mr. Gallagher, here are some facts. I am a Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower-type Republican and no one is more true conservative than I. I also find it disgusting that you feel free to define my objectives with respect to my military career, when you don't even know me. Here are some more facts sir: ...more

January 19, 2008

I know editorials are opinion pieces, but opinions that make it to your editorial page should have at least some remote basis in fact. What facts do you have to back your assertion that the rising number of voters registering as independents reflects dissatisfaction with the major party candidates? Surely, you don't mean there is a tide of support for independent candidates, since for all practical purposes there aren't any. Do you have surveys, polls, interviews, etc. to support your statement? Worse, you then lapse into repeating the insipid populist pabulum that we have sent so many jobs overseas that wages have not kept pace with the economy. You really should check the facts. Trade has increased over 10-fold since 1960 to nearly $3.5 trillion –– more than one fourth of our total economy. If it caused unemployment and lower living standards, we would all be on welfare by now. Instead: Real GDP more than doubled, we added 81 million jobs, real per-capita and median incomes rose by a third, inflation and unemployment fell to historically low levels. We still manufacture twice as much as China and the combination of manufacturing, mining, and agriculture as a percent of our GDP remains at near record highs. Yes, the number of people working in manufacturing is declining. The same is happening in nearly every country, including China (where the number of workers in manufacturing has fallen 10-15 percent in recent years). We are witnessing the same miracle in manufacturing today that we saw in agriculture in the mid-20th century. Fewer people making more. It doesn't mean we have more unemployment; it means we have more stuff. ...more

January 15, 2008

We have been subjected to the ads of presidential candidates for almost a year. To think that this will continue, on an increased basis, for almost another year once the primary elections are over, is enough to drive one mad. At this writing, the supposed "front runners" are sitting Congressional senators. To me this means that nothing will change in Washington if either one wins the office. Of course, they harp on the fact that they are knowledgeable, as they have been in the Senate so many years and know what is going on. They will be making all kinds of statements of what they will do for "you." I only think of what they have been doing for "us" these past many years. Such as taking $1.96 trillion from the Social Security Fund since 1968. From 1968 to 1999, ( a 12-year period), they took $830.8 billion From 2000 to 2006, they have taken $1.14 trillion. ...more

January 14, 2008

I am a Democrat. I wish George W. Bush and his family a good life. As president however he is: 1. Incompetent 2. Arrogant 3. Has misled the government and the people of this country with errors and lies. If you believe that you, or your family, and our country are better off than we were seven years ago, I don't think you need read any further. ...more

January 10, 2008

Seniors and the disabled flocked to the pharmacy counter in 2006 with their new Medicare drug cards, fueling a 6.7 percent increase in health spending, the federal government reported Monday. ...more

January 8, 2008

U.S. Hospital Bill Nearing $1 Trillion America's hospital bill has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to the latest numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. U.S. hospitals charged $873 billion in 2005 - up from the $462 billion charged in 1997. The most recent numbers account for 39 billion hospital stays. ...more

December 24, 2007