Obamacare passed 219-212 with not one Republican vote, what our President calls a strong majority. You are kind calling such statements misreprentations, I call such statements lies. Our leader also appears to have no problem calling this bill just commerce related. The justices are looking at it in the proper light; that is the the relation ship that this bill creates between the government and the free citizens of this country who's liberty will be impinged. This is not an issue of commerce but an issue of liberty.

Cher is right, you women need us men to provide you with contraceptives because, let's face it, most if you can't do it yourself. And if you need help pumping gas or with that flat tire , take a clue from Sandra Fluke and just ask.

I think we are probably told the truth, but many don't want to hear it. Could it be that doctors who spend careers witnessing the deaths of others are reconciled to their mortality?

One thing I do know about my impending death is that I'll be in good company. Life is a magnificent mystery and that is why it is so hard to let go of. But the splender and great mysteries of the universe and its creator give me hope. Let no day pass therefore, wasted.

Damn auto correct.....

Liberals crack me up. I still hear that crap about Reagan defunding mental health devices. Uh, when was Reagan governor of California?It's frustrating, these stories, because few mentally I'll persons do things like this and it's very difficult to tell who will. How do you stop such crimes?

I think the housing situation will play a big part in this election. Foreclsures are expected to increase this year and so Obama will concentrate on advocating taxing the evil banks to help out the honorable poor victims of underwater mortgages. The other will be fuel prices, every voter will be angry in that poll booth if gas is 5.00 dollars a gallon. I'll be interested to see Obama's response. He will at least be able to release reserves in order to bring down prices a bit. There are many in the 'middle' who will not vote for him again no matter what. It is definitely the republicans race to lose .

I'm sorry Doug, but you have the misfortune of being in a business large enough to attract idiots on the government payroll. I mean, really, what else are they supposed to do if they are not hasseling you? This is what we've become , an army of bureaucrats deathly afraid of being irrelevant who's only hope of survival is to feed on the flesh of his fellow citizen. It's not cheap Chinese labor killing jobs, it's these stacks of federal, state and local regulations that cause people to throw up their hands and quit.

I think it important to note that while we certainly could have, and should have taken the whole of Germany before the Soviets, we would have had to go to war against Russia in order to occupy Eastern Europe. Remember, victory in Germany coincided with the final invasions of Japanese controlled islands near Japan, and that momentum demanded an invasion of Japan without a prolonged lapse of time.

Ironically, one of the main streets in Poznan was named 'Franklin Delano Roosevelt Street, and the irony was not lost on its citizens.

I stayed in a Domenican monestary inPoznan, Poland in 1984. During my stay I had several conversations with a man who told me all about the Nazi occupation, and then the soviet occupation. In 1984, FDR was despised, Reagan adored because of the moral stances they took, and each stance had a profound effect on generations of eastern Europeans. FDR could see the suffering that would have taken place had American forces secured Eastern Europe, but I suspect he did not see the great suffering that took place because of his decision. There are moral compromises in our individual lives because problems are often very complex. These same compromises exist undoubtably in the public sphere.

Xennady:Unless and until self-described libertarians come right out and acknowledge those issues and provide a solution I conclude that libertarians are simply silly people who like to smoke pot, and don't think beyond that.Or simply expect other people to keep picking up their tab, because the state will force people to do so. You don't think you're picking up the tab now for the war on pot? You deceive yourself. It's much more expensive to ban it.

Franco says..."Now before you weep for sympathy for these folks, just consider the how and why. It isn't worth it to import bales of Mexican (or Iowan) weed when there is all this hydroponic stuff around at fairly low cost. The drug gangs, at least as far as gunja is concerned, have been cut out of the loop." If it were completely legal, which it is not in California or Michigan, then lower grades would become available because people are still trying to get as much bang for their buck as they can. When it's $15.00 an ounce then people would buy what they prefer. I think to tax it by the THC content would make sense.

For all you pragmatists, don't know where you've been but a lot of people smoke pot even though it's illegal. It has become a mainstream drug in our society like alcohol and like alcohol should be legalized and taxed. I'm sitting here in my chair, in front of a fire in the Sierras of California. I do not smoke pot because I don't like it. If I did I would and the government and all you nannys out there be hanged. Even still, today if I wanted to buy a pound of it I could, although it would be rather expensive. My main point is is that government can fight the desires of society only for so long. Average law abiding folk aren't asking their friends for heroin, but they are asking them for pot. Give it up, please!

It is clear to me though that both Romney and Santorum would seek to change our budget trajectory. The rub comes in that we need to maintain those trajectories for at least a decade. The question might be, who has the ability to sell the public on the need for smaller government and less entitlement payments? I suspect that a great many voters will be convinced by Obama that if we merely tax the rich, get them to pay their 'fair share', that all will be well. It's nonsense of course, but who can convince America that it is nonsense? God help us if the great issue of the 2012 election is gay marriage. Talk about whistling past the grave yard.

James of England,"b: It's very likely that the Euro will be significantly transformed or ended, but it's not at all clear how or when this will happen. If it takes 9 months, it's no good to us, and it could easily take a decade. Financial crises are very hard to predict indeed."Greece, or Portugal are manageable, but not Spain or France. I think the timing of European restructuring largely depends on when one or the other gets close to default. Frightening thing is how quickly we are headed down the same road. I don't think that the US, nor Europe has much of the luxury of time. Every year we wait, the more painful the solution will be.