Patch

Today, (3-13-06) the national debt totals $8.3 trillion, a level that could force Congress this week to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time in George W. Bush's presidency

Not bad for a fiscal conservative, in less then 5 years at that.

America's trade deficit has been setting records with such frequency that it seems almost tiresome to hear it again: Another month, another $68.5 billion


Shocking news;
BOSTON AND NEW YORK – Changes in the communications industry are spawning vast new choices - but not necessarily lower bills - for American consumers who dial, click, and channel surf


The refusal to act on the Abramoff scandal is yet another example of a congressional ethics process that has ceased to function. In fact, the House ethics committee has come to a dead halt. An ethics “truce” where threats of partisan payback silenced the process was followed by an ethics committee that did not function during the entire year of 2005 in spite of numerous pending cases. Among the matters pending and still requiring urgent attention are:


· an inquiry into former Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s (R TX) dealings with lobbyist
Jack Abramoff;

· an inquiry into Rep. Bob Ney (R OH) and his dealings with Abramoff;

· an inquiry into whether Rep. John Conyers (D MI) and his aides improperly
conducted partisan political activities out of his Detroit congressional office;


· an inquiry into allegations that Rep. Jim McDermott (D WA) violated ethics rules
and standards in handing over to the press a tape of an illegally intercepted phone
conversation;

· an inquiry into whether Rep. Curt Weldon (R PA) improperly used his office to aid
his daughter’s public relations firm; and

· an inquiry into whether Rep. William Jefferson (D LA) misused his public office for
personal gain.


Votes of Senate Homeland Security andGovernmental Affairs Committee

Voted to Support Office of Public Integrity:

Senator Collins (R ME)
Senator Lieberman (D CT)
Senator Carper (D DE)
Senator Lautenberg (D NJ)
Senator Levin (D MI)


Voted to Oppose Office of Public Integrity

Senator Akaka (D HI) Senator Bennett (R UT)

Senator Chafee (R RI) Senator Coburn (R OK)

Senator Coleman (R MN) Senator Dayton (D MN)

Senator Domenici (R NM) Senator Pryor (D AR)

Senator Stevens (R AK) Senator Voinovich (R OH)

Senator Warner (R VA)

About 44 million people in this country have no health insurance, and another 38 million have inadequate health insurance. This means that nearly one-third of Americans face each day without the security of knowing that, if and when they need it, medical care is available to them and their families.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for President.

Hey, anyone who can diagnose a patient,s health by watching a video just might be a good choice. He could watch a video of violence in Iraq and then know just what to do to bring peace and Democracy there. Watch a video from Wall Street and adjust the economy, watch a video of the Antarctic ice sheets melting and know just what to do about global warming.

Issues that Patch will watch for in Presidential candidates, not in any order.

One. Reversing the trend of putting the economic burden (Federal Budget) on the middle class and poor.

Health Care; Health care should not be based on wealth, everyone should have equal care. (The person who can answer this may become the President of the World) No one should die or suffer because of the cost of care.

Iraqi War, how many more must die before this war is closed out (Another no way to win war) and get back to the war on terrorism?
Today the President said we are spending $Billions (Billions) to find and destory ied's, ieds that are built from scrap. Billions on the scale of WWII's Manhatten Project. Can all the money in the world protect our people in Iraq? I watched the North Vietnamese move enough supplies by bicycle to bring the U.S. Army to a stand still and all the war planes in the Air Force could not stop them.

Reversing the exodus of our wealth out of the country. Wall Street should not be running this country.

It seems that U.S. services and resources are continually up for grabs to the highest bidder and that little is done nowadays for the common good of the American people. That - not the nationality of the contractors - is what has me outraged.

Margot Coker

Pittsburg, Calif.

Save middle class retirement. (company benefits to Social Security)The experts say to diversify, what’s more diversified then a good safe company defined retirement benefit, Social Security, and savings? Worked and is working for millions of Americans.

Basically someone who is going to put hard working Americans first, (people making under $100,000 yr.) not Wall Street, not multi-national corporations, not foreign entities, someone to restore/save middle class America. Conservatives prove every time they get a chance that making the rich richer does not trickle down. Cutting taxes for multi-millionaires while cutting benefits for people on Social Security and Medi-Care, for people trying to get job training, trying to go to collage, trying to emigrate to India for a job.
Do I think government can bring riches for all? No, but neither do I think free markets can, it takes both, we need a government that can blend these two forces for the benefit of the greater good.

Ethics Reform; starting with campaign reform.

(Saving S.S. is easy, three steps, one, remove the wage cap, restore the estate tax for over one $million and putting the money into S.S, and change the law and allow S.S. to invest some of its surplus in the market.)
Med-care now is a huge problem as health care in general.

Someone who will put the Executive Branch back under the rule of law and that believes in the Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular and return to the time tested check and balances between the branches of our government.

I believe that the war on terrorism could and can be won without the Patriot Act (Bill of Rights shredder) and the Dept. of Homeland Security. (enforcers of the Patriot Act)

As of now this person does not exist.

Patch

Also, there's this!

Bet that hurt!!!