[hork]

Originally Posted by rich76

Ken......my dear friend and golf partner is in the insurance business and he has confirmed for me that my wife (56 yrs old) has to pay a premium that includes maternity....you think that's fair?

no but neither do i think it's fair that i have to pay medicare taxes when i'm too young to qualify. or that i have to pay school taxes when i have no children in school. however i realize that elderly folks require and deserve medical treatment, and i value a free education for all so i suck it up and understand that the world doesn't revolve around me and even though i don't derive any benifit from it, i do benefit from an educated youth and the wisdom of the elderly.

immigration....do you really think that the fed govt has the same priorities as the states (Ariz etc) that are critically affected by illegal immigration? Those border states are getting hammered with medical giveaways, crime etc. IMHO they (the states) SHOULD be able to have their own reform based on how directly they are being affected.

first off i'll agree the federal government needs to do something to better regulate immigration and control the influx of illegals. furthermore, you'll get no argument from me that those who are here illegally should be removed and forced to go through legal channels. that said, the states are prohibited from enacting their own laws via the Constitution. and i'm not comfortable with allowing states to regulate international disputes, commerce, or other international issues. i don't think expanding police powers is ever the answer. far too often we see abuse of the power they have now. it comes down to the give em an inch adage and that mile is too dangerous a mile to surrender if we are to remain a "free" society.

you really think the govt will be able to administer student loans after all their other debacles?

absolutely without question. first they will set uniform standards for stafford, perkins, and plus loans. second, they will be guaranteeing their own loans which will keep interest rates at a minimum. third, the provisions of forgiving loans for qualified employees in under-represented areas will be expanded bring much needed services to underprivileged areas without furthering the tax burden on the citizen. finally, because of these other provisions, more loans will be available for more people to have a legit opportunity to meet the ever rising costs of a college education which is rapidly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury in today's global market.

A president is supposed to be perceived as a strong leader...I'm not seeing that....yet. His ratings are dropping steadily in many polls across the country....there has to be reasons for that. I was willing to give him an incomplete earlier this year....not any longer. I'm being generous giving him a "D". IMHO he'll have a tough time getting reelected. The only thing he has going for him right now is that there are no real strong viable republicans on the horizon.

we saw the same thing with bush as far as aproval ratings go. and they didn't stop him from seeing a second term. like i said i'm not completely happy with this administration (but i doubt i would be with any administration these days) but i'm not ready to write them off just yet. as for viable republicans, my suggestion to the GOP would be to distance themselves from the Tea Party and run as far away from Sarah Palin as they possibly can and as fast as they possibly can or they might as well resolve to seeing a democratic administration for another four yrs no matter how the next two go. i'll say this much though if we don't see more "change" in the next 18 months, and if we see a candidate not aligned with the radical right wing we could very well see a new administration moving in.