Walter,

You have a point. I raise the same point in bringing up his candidacy on a Mfg board when seeking a Dem seat. I'd say this board is 90% Rep.

QMT,

Having good ideas that are strictly business oriented, rep in nature, are not going to garner many "liberals" to sign. The idea seems to be take health care from the working man, it costs HIM too much.

The Dems are TRYING to reduce the cost, the Reps are bucking them at every step, the health insurers are raising premiums left and right, and making record profits while covering 2.4 million fewer people, and you want to throw more people off the rolls and raise the premiums more.

"But he does drive a nice car and have a big house. So he is making it, but someone is paying for it. "

You and I and all the other patients are paying for it, but that IS business. No one really begrudges the Doctor his income. The Doctor has been one of the wealthiest tiers in the world for hundreds of years, thousands.

That he pays 150 thou is simply blackmail.

New Study Finds Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums have Minimal Effect on Health Care Costs NCL’s Savvy Consumer Blog

"In fact, medical malpractice claims constitute one-fifth of one percent of annual health care costs in the country, "

Much of this thread has to do with tort reform and malpractice. It is a non-starter, but good sound bite.

"But, he also sells the surgeon tools to the hospital that he uses, and he said about half his income is from that. "

How is that? Does he sell back the USED tools, or is he the provider of NEW tools HE needs for HIS surgery? I would think that if they are used, they should be at best FREE. They have been paid for by AN insurer. If they are NEW, there is a conflict of interest. "I need a thingamajig. I'm the only provider of thingamajigs. This is how much I want for the thingamajig I NEED to do this surgical procedure."

Funny, I am watching "House" right now, and the Admin is fighting with one of their accepted insurers who refuse to raise reimbursements because THEY have to keep THEIR profits up. Topical, isn't it?

Worse is that the Medicare crowd MAY be in jeopardy BECAUSE there is no National Health Care Program. Private Insurers, who actually cover all them old people, are threatening 90% increases for Medicare Advantage policies.

Joe doesn't look at that. All he sees is what HE has to pay to stay in business. So he thinks that if HE goes to Congress, HE will change things overnight, or he says he will to get support.

Not that sales has ALL that much to do with profit, but Joe seems to be a 5 man company, with 300K sales.

Vodvarka Springs | Company profile from Hoover's

I'd say that is small business. I'd also say that if we had a health Care System that was more fair, Joe would be rolling in clover.

BUT, since he is paying too much, he feels that it is all the Gov's fault, and HE can fix it. The Insurers could NOT be screwing him and everybody else. It HAS to be GOV that is the bastard.

That alone is good reason to think that he doesn't have a grip on reality.

That does not by ANY means mean that he cannot be elected. Legions of Congress critters of all sorts have been elected for really stupid reasons.

Sign the petition. I will not. You have tunnel vision.

Cheers,

George

Walter,
Same thing here, I am registered as Republican so I can't sign it either.
My Neighbor went for the same thing a few years back, something for the township. But I couldn't sign, wrong party.

I should be Independant. Because honestly both parties are so f'd up in one way or another, I don't side with either one 100%.

I know one thing though, when I watch the news or listen to the radio, I listen about Weather and Hockey, I get tired of the political radio!

I understand your frustration. My take on the "independent" thing is a little different from most. I see the republican party as being corrupted by liberals (not often you see the democrat party complaining about the infiltration of conservatives) and that is where most of these "independents" are coming from. Rather than jumping ship, I'd like to see the liberals (your McCain types) rooted out, and I think that's finally happening. In theory a third party is nice, but in reality all it does is give liberals more power by splitting things 25% / 25% / 50%. That doesn't really fix the issue here, however.

For the most part, I like what I see on Joe's website. My take on "free trade" differs in that it's my belief that free trade belongs to free countries. If we had taken countries that don't recognize our right to exist, like China, and decades ago isolated them by refusing trade (along with the other free countries of the world, which they also almost universally consider their enemy), they would still be squatting in a ditch poking berries up their noses rather than building their arsenal with our money and would be severely crippled both militarily and financially. Imagine the free countries of the world trading amongst themselves and the corrupt ones left to fend for themselves. Pile all the poor, corrupt, despots together that you want and they cannot feed each other.... or threaten the rest of us so long as our money is not flowing through them. But, good governments get greedy and want to cash in on the relatively short term financial opportunities that exist in these places by trading our strength and security and, in turn, are feeding the dragon.

You must not read the same papers I read- things like the Wall Street Journal.
Between a third and half of the US public thinks Obama is TOO conservative.

By any actual definition of the word, the current administration is center right.
And a lot of people I know, including myself, absolutely feel that the democratic party has been taken over by corporate sponsored conservatives.

Currently, aside from military dictatorships and a few religious monarchies, the USA is about the most conservative country on earth.
Certainly our current government is more "conservative" than any other modern, industrialized democratic country. Yes, the Obama government.

Well, and compared to Lady Gaga, Marilyn Monroe doesn't look like a whore, but when you when you look at our nation and compare how far we have come from our founding principals, we are way left of where our founding fathers intended us to be.

I have no doubt that you and I share a differing definition of conservatism, but those who use their extraordinary wealth to influence power for selfish gain, military dictatorships, and religious monarchies do not fit the definition of true conservatism as I see it. I don't think you can say our Constitution supports those causes, either, and to me at least, our Constitution and Bill of Rights are the true definition of conservatism -- what today is slandered as ultra-right conservative radicalism was once the preferred order of the day that quickly led to the growth of the greatest superpower on earth.

My apologies if I'm driving Joe's thread off topic.

Actually, as far as we know, Lady Gaga hasnt slept with a single president...



(and our founding fathers intended for us to own slaves- our current leftward move on that subject is one I have no problems with)

Actually, there's no proof that Lady Gaga prefers women, but you get my point.

No government conceived by men and made to work with some compromise is flawless. The wrong-to-right move to abolish slavery was correct and the freedom of all is a conservative position in itself. Many of the signers disagreed with slavery and, because we are not a dictatorship, we have the means to right our wrongs.

Because "liberalism" has been made a dirty word, those on that side seem very quick to call our founding principals "ultra conservative", yet turn around in the same breath and call the most extreme dictatorships ultra conservative in an attempt to tarnish those principals. Lumping a society which has made men more free than any other in with ones that are absolutely the most oppressive (and have no intention of changing their ways) is just an attempt at rewriting history.

Update:

Was going to post yesterday, but wanted to add some more to the stack before doing so. Going to let this song say it all:

YouTube - Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer (Lyrics)

This is between what my father and I have collected thus far and not including what other people besides us have collected. If I had to estimate, there would be at least a few hundred more signatures to this amongst the others.

Say a prayer for us as we need all the help we can get!
Jesse

Senate races - The Hill's Ballot Box

Note: This is the receipt of the candidate's affidavit for office... the office of United States Senator.

Jesse

Attached Thumbnails

 

MontCo Dems forgo Senate endorsement | pa2010.com

Read the comments too.

Jesse

Great picture of Joe there! That's great he's going to be on the ballot, now to get the message out! I'm really proud of them for what they did-they really worked to be on the ballot and not just sent some people to get signatures.

Eric

ME,

I'm happy for him, too.

YOU are in OHIO, so you can't vote for him anyhow. BFD. Is it that you will back ANYBODY who will knock Dem ideas?

What did the leader of the Rep party say? "What part of NO do you not understand?"

The Party of NO controls the USG. They may be a minority, BUT, they have cohesion.

You REALLY think the Party of NO is better for you than those in the White House now? Where in the hell were you living for the 8 years prior. What planet, as Barney Frank asked some airhead?

Half the people who used to post here, as sole owners are gone. Half the people who bragged about their TEMP jobs, with GREAT wages, 8 or 9 bucks an hour, are gone. Half the people who still HAVE hobs or shops are hurting, because they HAVE too little work, and they have to bust their asses to GET that work.

Not a hell of a lot of you are getting enough work to stay in business.
It's not you. It's that we are at about 17% actual unemployment.

But, on the bright side, they WILL make lots of jobs for you to trim lawns and serve them dinner, and detail their limos.

Mag says that yachts are exempt from taxes. 500 grand yacht doesn't have to pay tax, 30 grand loss to that state, and if the tax was enforced, that BILLIONAIRE would not buy a new yacht.

Cheers,

George

George, You are right, unfortunately I can't vote for him since I'm from Ohio FWIW, Joe has got it going from the standpoint of where he is on mfg./China which is his main platform. Fact of the matter is one is not going to find a perfect canidate to support. I think you have to look at each canidate and see where they stand at. Dems as a whole standing up for the working people? I see that about as much as Republicans as a whole-look at the current health bill-its a massive gift to the insurance industry. If you're going to make people buy insurance, at least offer them an option where Corp. profit is not mandated. I know you said you can't support Joe for his stand on health care, and that's unfortunate. We need to work on fixing this mess we're in starting with taking care of the main thing-we're broke as a nation cause we're outsourcing everything we are as a nation. Bring industry/jobs back and I feel we would be in alot better postion be dealing with the rest of the problems.

Eric

ME,

Become a multi-billionaire and insist that every company YOU buy control of brings the work back to the US, and damn the cost.

You will never do that, and neither will any other owner of any company.
Milton Friedman, 60 some years ago, told the world that the duty of ANY Corporation is to maximize profits. That has been the mantra of business, with his ideas that business, alone, could control the economy.

Chicago school seems to have been debunked, but Obama is from U of Chicago, I understand. Friedman still has weight, even tho' he is finally dead.

Bernanke school does not seem to be any better, but I think he is a Freidmanite, too.

Make the rich richer and eventually some of that stuff that trickles down their legs will reach your lips.

I'm sure some of you have licked the nectar and prospered.

Millions out of work is reminiscent of the Great Depression. They had no UC, but they had Roosevelt who put men to work for a minimal wage, BUT they made SOME money. Not all of the unemployed but more than in any other depression before.

Reps fought HIM every step of the way, too. Reps fought him on SS and have fought it for the last 65 years. They want to destroy it, and they make no bones about it. Makes people too independent, when thay can decide to quit working at 65 and make as much as they did at that minimum wage job..

I am posting in a Forum that is anathema to me. SOME of you are Owners, you hate anything that costs you a penny. Some of you are employees, you don't think you are paid enough. You STILL bust your hump to make the bosses quota, and if he says sales are down, you gotta take a cut, you kiss his ass and take a cut. OR, some of you are outa here.

Sheesh,

George

Haven’t chimed in for a while now, been busy w/ campaign work.

To inform those that may not be aware, currently we are being challenged by Joe Sestak to have Joe Vodvarka removed from the ballot for the primary. From the 2600+ signatures that were submitted by Vodvarka, Sestak is challenging over 1100, saying that they are anywhere from illegible, not properly dated, or they are using “nicknames” which an example would be “Pete” instead of “Peter”.

Frankly, this is a cowardly act. Sestak claims to be for the common man unless the common man is running against him. If getting ahead in politics through technicalities is any indication of how Sestak will function in a senate seat, then voter beware.

Watch for April 8th,
Jesse

Here is reaction to Sestak's challenge from people on the street:

YouTube - Sestak challenges the little guy