aticama comment-13333 2009-09-05T09:34:10Z 2009-09-05T09:34:10Z I am sorry Kris, but expressing different views is one thing, outright lying is another, and that is what you and the other expats are doing. I am sure that your father is not one of the exploiters of Mexico that sets up phony substandard sweat shops to exploit the Mexican people, especially the women, and makes the environment un-livable around them. He would not be involved in contributing to the rapes and murders of hundreds of Mexican female fabrica workers in Ciudad Juarez were the rich fabrica owners will not even light the parking lots the women have to walk through to get to and from work. I am sure of that. No decent Human Being would do such a thing. I was not privileged to live in the big cities (actually I did not want to), and only traveled there once in a while, and when I was desperately ill. I was fortunate enough to live in a small fishing village on the central west coast of Mexico, called, off all things, Aticama in the state of Nayarit, Municipal San Blas. I think at the most there were about 5-9 other Americans, Canadians, and European there at one time, and it only had one public phone. On my wife’s Rancho we had no electricity, no running water, and washed body and clothing in a 20 ft jungle waterfall. I was a gringo in paradise. So you are far better educated in the big city and expat compounds then I, by your own admission. I traveled all the time to the capitol city of Nayarit, Tepic, and in nine years only saw two people sleeping on the streets at night. I was astonished to see that because it was so rare. In Aticama and the surrounding villages the ajidos gave homes to mentally ill people to live in. I know because my wife was a member and spokesperson in the ajido of Aticama, and I saw it happen. What you, trapper and thsas are touting are just blatant lies from expats that live in gringo compounds because basically they do not like America or Mexicans. I met plenty like you down there. Spending several months a year in Mexico and still paying 47% I am sure that your Mexican home is in one of the gated villas that cordon off the beaches so even the Mexicans cannot swim in their own oceans. And because of you everything is priced so high that the locals cannot even afford to shop in their own markets and buy the basic needs for survival. I would give you a URL to the site with pictures of how I lived in Mexico with my indigenous wife (half Huichol and half Cora), but I would not want you going over there spewing your lies about the culture, as they are in enough trouble at this time because of interference from do-gooding gringas like yourself. People that are more worries about the Mexican dogs and cats then the people. I willl give you a blind site where I store some of my pics. http://prose-workshop.com/chavie@me.bmp http://prose-workshop.com/easterpuddingl.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/water8.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/roof4.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/waterfall8.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/tub2.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/chavieandchavie.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/mother.jpg http://prose-workshop.com/hut1.jpg You know nothing of Mexico except what you see from the barred window in you villa. If the medical treatment in Mexico is so bad, why do over one million Californians alone go to Mexico each year for treatment. It cost $250US+- a year to get full coverage medical in Mexico, this includes everything, I know I pay for my wife’s IMSS in Mexico each year. I know what I am for, fixed terms, fixed taxes, and freedom of choice, and I have never been involved in any kind of law enforcement. You just struck out. Even if ANYTHING you have said about the Mexican people was true, they still take better care of their elderly, infirmed, and mentally impaired then us, the great advanced white race, does. Please show me a site that can dispute any of the Social services I wrote about in my statement. Something else you should have learned from the people while down there. Poverty is not the lack of things as we whites judges it; poverty is the lack of compassion in your heart for other people. So, povresita para tu. As to your ramblings above, go back and retake your junior high school debating class, you must of failed it the first time around. God Bless America. http://www.imss.gob.mx/ http://www.issste.gob.mx/index2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Mexico http://www.medtogo.com/mexico-health-care-system.html I can get a lot more if you wrongly informed need further education. aticama 2009-09-05T09:34:10Z aticama comment-13334 2009-09-05T08:06:07Z 2009-09-05T08:06:07Z Oh, I understand my bad. If a conservative American calls someone a dimwit for outright lying, that is a no-no, Right Casey? But if one of your liberal crones insults a conservative, well that gets a good mark. Here is a quote from Bill Albertson from a different string. But I did not see you pop your little head up and correct him. “Actually, advocate has had an account with activity on sacpress prior to today- unlike yourself (tpierce2), aticama, czfuller, and artsydee47. You need to work on your banter and astroturfing scripts a bit, maybe appear to be involved in the community (other than mentioning the Bee), before you start casting aspersions as to who is a "plant", ok?” Well, I had not called anyone anything until them, and since Bill was a long time authority on the subject and called us astroterfers, I just assumed return is fair play. I will defiantly apologies for calling anyone a dimwit, and will just say in the future they are not very smart, and basically know nothing about the health system in Mexico. “So those irresponsible anti-American clowns mislead the public in order to stir up emotion.” Advocate. “What an imbecile” Jim Knapp “I think you're a plant, but that's irrelevant.” Ayatollah Gondola I have seen other references to conservatives on this site as tea baggers, astroterfers, and conservative idiots in which you did not pull your little lecture on. So if you are going to play the “your being bad game, at least try to apply it with the appearance of equality. But you do condone outright lies and misinformation, right? Because there is enough of it on all of these blogs. God Bless Amercia aticama 2009-09-05T08:06:07Z aticama comment-13262 2009-09-04T07:00:23Z 2009-09-04T07:00:23Z TP, we are indeed in for some very bad times ahead, and shortly. Van Jones, his new green czar, is a self-proclaimed Marxist. When he lived in San Francisco, he was heavily involved with STORM, or Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement. A group explicitly committed to revolutionary Marxist politics whose points of unity were revolutionary democracy, revolutionary feminism, and revolutionary internationalism, the central role of the working class, urban Marxism, and Third World Communism. "In December 2002 STORM dissolved due to internal tensions and rivalries. Its most notable leader was Van Jones, who would go on to become President Barack Obama's “Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation” in 2009. " http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7491 This is the type of people he is going to enlist in his attempt to socialize this country. We have to continue on with the tea party movement, but we must organize into a party with a specific set of goals. See my handle you asked me about. Ad @comcast.net and email me if you wish. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-04T07:00:23Z aticama comment-13260 2009-09-04T06:29:05Z 2009-09-04T06:29:05Z Maid Marion You should stay away from that old soul coffee, or at least switch to decaff. God Bless America. aticama 2009-09-04T06:29:05Z aticama comment-13259 2009-09-04T06:05:07Z 2009-09-04T06:05:07Z Well, I do call um as I see um. And I saw a lot of expats like you that sat around complaining about how much they hated the US, and down talked to the Mexicans to make themselves feel superior. That’s what those expat compounds are all about. I am sorry that I called you a dimwit, though; you most likely have not risen to that level of intelligence. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-04T06:05:07Z aticama comment-13248 2009-09-04T04:03:03Z 2009-09-04T04:03:03Z Yep, she does need to up her meds. Sorry folks, this does not mean what it says: A charter school is a public school, and it may provide instruction in any of grades K-12. God Bless American. aticama 2009-09-04T04:03:03Z aticama comment-13247 2009-09-04T03:53:57Z 2009-09-04T03:53:57Z I liked the “impeach the teleprompter” one. Very funny. I did not see that one. Geoff, the crowd was very friendly, and the atmosphere was cordial. But I do not think that is what you wanted to hear. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-04T03:53:57Z aticama comment-13241 2009-09-04T03:26:49Z 2009-09-04T03:26:49Z Trapper In answer to your question, no, I am not high yet. But I am considering it later to clear my head of all of this disinformation from the left. There is a glint of truth in what you say, but that is all. In most large cities there are General hospitals where the poor can go if they need serious help. They do not have to pay if they do not have the money, but they are expected to pay something if they can. In every small village throughout the country there is a free clinic that will take you any time of the day or night, if they determine you need to go to a hospital; they arrange your transportation to the nearest hospital. Most from small villages go to the general hospitals. For everyone that works in Mexico, you and your employer pay into the IMMS, which is a kind of health maintenance program with doctors, clinics, and hospitals that they can go to. If you work for the government you have the ISSSTE, and you pay according to what you can afford and can go to hospitals, etc that deliver services to the government employees. There is also a group for the oil, telephone, and electrical workers. Again you pay what you can afford in all of these groups, it is taken from your pay just like it is here and covers your family. And then of course there are the private medical practices and hospitals also. This is the one that I personally am most acquainted with, but being as I married into an indigenous family down there, I am also familiar with the other systems. The only glint of light in your statement is the fact that because of the way the hospitals are run, they cannot afford to carry large supplies of medications. If the family has enough money, they are forced to go to the local pharmacies and purchase the medications needed to be used on their family member. If they cannot, there are charitable groups they can go to, and that go to the hospitals, mostly the Catholic Church, and get the things they need. I did not see one person go without what they needed because of the natural charity of the Mexican people. It also cuts down on the use of $15.00 Aspirin. Now, what you most likely fell victim of while you visited Mexico was the Gringo scam, where locals will tell tourist they cannot get help in an attempt to get money. As to your statement that the Mexican government kicks their people to the curb if they need medical help is just uneducated ranting. Do some research on the web and try actually living in Mexico, WITH THE PEOPLE, as I did for almost ten years and you will soon learn the truth. I almost died of congestive heart failure and needed a heart transplant while living in Mexico. I was in 4 different hospitals in Guadalajara, and at that time it cost me $25.00 a day for a private room with 2 full time nurses, TV, and a beautiful little private courtyard with a fountain. I understand that now this would cost me about $50.00 a day. I had fantastic care from very sharp doctors and the cost was so little I was astounded. Even the transplant doctors that reviewed my records here were impressed with what they saw. The way they treat their mentally ill is also very astonishing, but it would make this post even longer. Sorry for being so long winded. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-04T03:26:49Z aticama comment-13243 2009-09-04T03:19:10Z 2009-09-04T03:19:10Z Sorry for the mistake in the posting above. I should have said IMSS or Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. ISSSTE is Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado. aticama 2009-09-04T03:19:10Z aticama comment-13228 2009-09-03T22:15:04Z 2009-09-03T22:15:04Z Ye, right. Hey dimwit (thsas) have you ever lived in Mexico? I lived there for 9 years and in any of the big cities I have never seen the disgraceful treatment of people as I have seen since living back here. Want to be proud of America, take a walk down Los Angeles Street some time. The thing that bothers me is the fact that I can remember America when it was better. Mexico may be third world but they take care of their old, infirm, and mentally ill better than we do. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-03T22:15:04Z aticama comment-13218 2009-09-03T19:56:47Z 2009-09-03T19:56:47Z “that the top 5-10% of students from McClatchy perform just as well, as the students from the other schools. What that says is, it isn't all about public vs private vs charter.” No, what that says is that it is an assumption, and that I can just as easily say that they will all get failing grades. Until the test is run, we will not really know, will we. I say let’s not play with assumptions when it comes to our children’s education. Let’s get the facts out and look at them. As a child I went to both public and private schools (both Christian and Military), (at that time they were not called charter schools), and I can say that the level of education I received at the later far outreached the level received at the former. Public school always made me feel that I was there so they could get paid by the state. It was explained to me that they would not get paid if I was not in school, “so that is why you have to be here.” I have seen the failures in the public education system, and they are more than they are less. I say let’s get some new thinking in the system, and quit financing those that have already show themselves as failures. Who knows, someone may put together the right combination that could change the face of education in the world, just not in Sacramento. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-03T19:56:47Z aticama comment-13214 2009-09-03T19:34:06Z 2009-09-03T19:34:06Z What is a Charter School? A charter school is a public school, and it may provide instruction in any of grades K-12. This is a direct quote from the page of the California Department of Education. Do you think you know more than the department of education? Lady Marion I think you are just as fictitious as your boyfriend Robin, and not only did you drank the cool-aid, you bathed in it. But let’s not be harsh, and say you are smarter than the CDE, if that is true they for sure they should not get the money. But the possibility of that is not even slim to nothing. To remind you, you can educate yourself at the link Jim provided, or continue to heckle from the corner while wearing your dunce hat. My personal hope is that you continue to make a a$$ of yourself. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-03T19:34:06Z aticama comment-13194 2009-09-03T16:07:37Z 2009-09-03T16:07:37Z Well that just goes to show you, Jim, you can lead a horse to water, then you can stand there and watch him die of thirst. Most dems are thirsting for water here, but they refuse to drink. Well actual that i$ wrong, what they are thru$ting for here i$ the money, which will $till leave them dying of thir$t and our public $chool$ $till failing. Marion here is different, I will say that. She sounds like a person that has overdosed herself on cheap bottled water, and is slurring her disinformation in an attempt to save her own soul. You see a lot like her spouting denials in the face of truth, it’s a liberal addiction. I support choice in education and Charter schools. But please, you dems just continue on making a$$es of yourself, I am enjoying myself immensely. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-03T16:07:37Z aticama comment-13191 2009-09-03T15:37:32Z 2009-09-03T15:37:32Z Yes, like: “Why, how astute of you.” That is an example of another hyperbole. God Bless America. aticama 2009-09-03T15:37:32Z aticama comment-13151 2009-09-03T06:01:03Z 2009-09-03T06:01:03Z When he should have been jumping all over Obama and calling him out for the fraud and socialist he is in the debates, he played patty- cake with him, trying to be the nice guy. It is just a metaphor with words we writers use sometimes. Grow an imagination. God Bless America. aticama 2009-09-03T06:01:03Z aticama comment-13136 2009-09-03T02:17:44Z 2009-09-03T02:17:44Z Geezze, I just love watching all you dems kick the $hit out of each other, you guys deserve your party. I support choice in education and Charter schools. Because of dimwits like you, most public schools are failures. Everyone knows the mayor is just going for the money, and his lapdog here is just striven to keep his job. He is not lying, he is just “misspeaking”. Please disregard me and continue showing your worst side. I’m Loven it! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! God Bless America aticama 2009-09-03T02:17:44Z aticama comment-13134 2009-09-03T01:24:08Z 2009-09-03T01:24:08Z It is time for McCain to retire. He has done well enough for this country, and the years of torture has taken the aggression out of him. And lets fact it, we need aggression in our elected officials these days. Through his entire life this man has show an exemplary record of service for this country, and retirement with full pay is no less then he deserves, far more than most that will get more. My hat is off to the man, he was just not up to this last challenge, when he should have been cutting Obamas throat, he played the nice guy. But in my mind’s eye that takes nothing away from his record. He is a fine American. Can you imagine the courage it took for him to stay in that hell hole when they would have released him? My God, I could not have done it. God Bless America and God Bless John McCain aticama 2009-09-03T01:24:08Z aticama comment-13035 2009-09-02T04:56:00Z 2009-09-02T04:56:00Z Yes, I am an American Citizen natural bore of European stock, and yes it is our immigration laws keeping her out of the US. If I made 400.00 dollars more a year I could sponsor her in the country and she could come, but I do not and there is no debating this issue with the state department. The 10 years is how long I would have to sponsor her for, not how long it would take. At this time she can never come up here. This all came about because of 9\11. Before 9\11 my wife had a 10 year visa that allowed her to come and go as she pleased. The first time she entered after 9\11 they took this visa away from her and implemented the new immigration laws which now exclude the spouses and children of American citizens from getting visitors visas. I have talked to Boxer and Finestines office to no avail. I will get her up here but I will have to become a federal felon to do it. God Bless America aticama 2009-09-02T04:56:00Z aticama comment-12972 2009-09-01T18:21:41Z 2009-09-01T18:21:41Z Here is a post made on April 1 of this year by our author Raoul. Now my assumptions of him have been proven correct, he is a rep from the liberal media, and it appears that his mind was made up before he even attended the rally. But I still attend that this article could have been a lot worse. The fact that Raouls mind was already made up casts him as a bias reporter, and thus makes everything he writes suspect. Whatever happened to open minded journalism in America? Because of his bias, his observations are tainted, and this is why the one-sided reporting, he is incapable of giving an honest objective report of what happened at this rally. Too bad, he is a good writer. “I have the feeling that these 'tea party' events are attended mostly by republicans bitter about Obama's election. Not all, but most. Perusing their websites, you see a lot of references to 'the liberal media,' and links to republican websites. Lots of pictures of Ronald Reagan, too. Hardly a paragon of fiscal responsibility or laissez-faire capitalism. Also, on what purports to be the official website, you can see an excited notice that Sean Hannity will be attending one of their events. I'm still interested in going to this though, at the very least just to see if my assumptions have any truth to them.” http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/5259/TAX_DAY_TEA_PARTY_IN_SACRAMENTO God Bless America aticama 2009-09-01T18:21:41Z aticama comment-12969 2009-09-01T18:03:34Z 2009-09-01T18:03:34Z Dear Mr. Pin-Head (aka Jim Knapp) So you agree that the government should put 40,000 people out of work by implementing an ordinance to protect a species that is failing despite their efforts. Very American and compassionate. What I have to ask you is why we should take you seriously? Is that picture supposed to be you saving use from the terrorist hordes, or is that just another lie. It appears that you are not who you say you are, just a common fraud. Who r u Mr. Pin-Head, just another heckler. To find out what a fraud Jim Knapp is fallow the link below, he is not even registered under his own name and the admin of this site has asked him to please do so. In fact he posted an article he did not write. Disregard the troll. http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/5259/TAX_DAY_TEA_PARTY_IN_SACRAMENTO God Bless America aticama 2009-09-01T18:03:34Z aticama comment-12956 2009-09-01T16:02:14Z 2009-09-01T16:02:14Z Aticama is a small fishing village on the Pacific west central coast of Mexico in the State of Nayarit where I lived for about 10 years. I would still be there if it was not for the fact that in 2000 I had to have a heart transplant and they killed my immune system to the point that I cannot fight off the normal germs that exist in the jungle that surrounds my wife’s home. We live very indigenously down there. I tried to go back after the first year when they released me to travel out of the Sacto. area, but after 8 months in the jungle I was just about dead, and barely made it to Tucson and the heart hospital there. I just came back from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico where I was going to bring my wife across the border illegally. You see, they have pass a new immigration regulation were the husband or wife or children of an American citizen cannot get a tourist visa to visit their loved ones in the US even if they are in the hospital dying. If anyone can make me understand that I will give them $1000. People think that every person that comes to the US wants to live here, and that is just not so. The circumstance was just too dangerous in Nogales and she would have to walk through the desert for about 8 hours and I would not let her do it. I will now have to lie cheat and do whatever it is necessary to get her here another way. I can try the k3 visa, but she has to be sponsored for 10 years, and because of my disability I make $400. a year short of the money necessary to sponsor my own wife here. Most people just do not understand anything about why we are having this immigration problem, but I have studied it for years. The government is the problem here, they can change it but it is a HUGE cash cow for them, so they will not. If they wish to make a federal felon out of me because I wish to spend the last few years of my life with my wife, then they will succeed. What happened to my right to the pursuit of happiness, or does that only apply if you are married to a white American? God Bless America aticama 2009-09-01T16:02:14Z aticama comment-12937 2009-08-31T20:28:07Z 2009-08-31T20:28:07Z Mr. Smith. Unfortunately they do not have to debate and the reason for this you so apply explained. The guy making to rules does not know what he is doing because of a lack of background. They will not debate because they know they do not have an answer. I would like to tell you a short story that happened to me a few years back. I was mentoring a young Persian lad in business and he wanted to go to China to buy product to import into the US. I just happened to have a friend in China running a jewelry factory for some people on the coast. He had run my jewelry factory in Rancho Cordova for me back in the last 70es, and was very astute. I contacted him and he told us when to go over for the big trade show in Canton. We went to the show and among the products my young friend bought was a container full of hammers. All kinds if hammers, axes, splitting mall, and sludge hammers. He paid for them and they were delivered in Oakland. We went down and paid the duties and arranged to have them delivered to his warehouse in South Sac. He bought them at a good price and passed it on to his customers and they sold like hot cakes. After 5 months and when he was only in possession of about 15% of the shipment he received a letter from the Customs Department that he had to pay an additional six thousand bucks in Anti-Dumping Fees. Well this would have put him in a negative balance on the purchase, so he called me. I had never heard of such a thing and began to investigate. Well it appears that the US Customs Department can look at you invoice and make the determination if you have paid to little for a product and fine you accordingly. What they had done was figured out his duties when the product came in and set a duty on it, and my feeling was they had their chance at that time. Coming back later after he had sold the product and adding on an additional fine was not fair. It they had told him at the first he could have adjusted his price and made a few bucks. Then I started to read the law and it appeared that over 3\4 of the shipment was not covered because of a weight restriction on the hammers heads. The law pertains to hammers that were over 2 lb., and the vast portion of the shipment was carpenter hammers from 12oz to 18oz. We prepared and went to SF for the hearing. Two people walked into the conference room looking grim and handing us their cards that said they were Import Specialist. They started in on the young lad as if he was a criminal before he stopped them and informed them that I would be handling this matter. I asked them to please tell me about this Anti Dumping Fee regulation and how it all came about, and they did. Then I asked them to please read the portion of the law that pertained to this case so I would know if I had come to the right conclusion or not. After they went over it I informed that that 82% of his shipment was not covered by this regulation because it pertained to hammer head weight of over 2 lbs. I pulled out all of the hammers that we exempt along with the invoice and pointed them out to them. They sat there for 30 minutes arguing with each other over whether they should cut the handles off before they weighed the hammers or not. They did not know. Finally I cut in and said “Look, the cards you gave us said Import Specialist on them and you do not even know how to handle this problem. How do you expect my young friend here to know? The regulation says hammer heads, not hammer head and handle. Come on Hamid, let’s go. When you folks get it together send us a bill.” And we walked out. What I am getting at Mr. Smith is that these people do not know what they are doing other then they are supposed to take our money. That is why they avoid debate. Buy the way, about two months later Hamid got a letter stating that he was going to be excused because it was his first infraction. They are probably rewriting the regulation to include the handle. These small minded people are in the position of destroying businesses and families and in so doing assure themselves a nitch in the bureaucratic chain. This is the fat I want to cut. God Bless America aticama 2009-08-31T20:28:07Z aticama comment-12928 2009-08-31T06:39:23Z 2009-08-31T06:39:23Z Yes, I did say they were plants, and I still believe that. But I did not call them dithering democratic dunderheads, which is an equivalent to what you referred to us as and still have not shown the decency to apologize for. I also did not see any of these statements pointed at the author, except by you just now. I think he did as good a job as we are going to get from the liberal press. As to banter, I will not banter with you, I think you are a jerk. It is funny that you picked out all the people that thought the rally was a success, or is it? So please save your platitudes for someone who cares. God Bless America aticama 2009-08-31T06:39:23Z aticama comment-12927 2009-08-31T06:13:50Z 2009-08-31T06:13:50Z Farm subsidies were part of FDR's New Deal that started to take shape in 1933. It was the democrats that started farm subsidies. It appears by some of the latest quotes that both the AFB and the NFU are both pushing for more subsidies. "Farm lobbyists say the year is young.”If we don't get disaster assistance now, we'll get it before the election," says Mary Kay Thatcher of the American Farm Bureau. Still, National Farmers Union president Tom Buis is concerned by the opposition. "Rural America needs to wake up," he says." Big farming as you state it only amounts to 5% of the industry for farmer that earn up to $499,999.00 a year. For farmers that earn over $500,000.00 a year it drops to 2%. So if subsidies are working they are working for the vast majority of small farmers, not just big as you would have us believe. Size varies from farm to farm, not state to state. "Model results support the hypotheses and show that lobbying expenditure in output markets is statistically significant, and that political campaign contributions to the Democratic Party significantly correlate with agribusiness firms' profits.” Logic dictates to me that the democratic farmers would be paying off the democratic politicians in their area, not the republican. And being that the house and senate are democratically owned, they are the ones taking the money. I cannot find any information that substantiates your statement that the large farmers are mostly Republicans. What I am finding is that they are just like all American Businesses, mixed. If you can point me to a study that shows that big farmers are Republicans, and not a mix, please do. Please do not make references like: “you’re fellow Republicans.” That is an ignorant assumption on your part and shows your bias. I am not a republican at all, I am a constrictive republican socialist separatist, and that is far from a republican. But most of all I am an American. An Astroturfing American at that. I think this is just more of you disinformation or is this like a Hilary thing and you just "miss-spoke", not purposely lied? Or are you just uninformed? "Now, which government (federal, state, county or city) and which agencies to you want to abolish to achieve a small government? How and which governments have abused you? You definitely talk the party line with general accusations but no substance" I want to cut the fat off of all the above! They have all abused me. Now, what party is that? Your substance is not fact, it is contrived. God Bless America http://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/eaae02/24855.html http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-06-07-farm-subsidies_x.htm aticama 2009-08-31T06:13:50Z aticama comment-12918 2009-08-31T00:11:16Z 2009-08-31T00:11:16Z Mr. Smith I am sure that we will not agree on a few things. That is what makes us Beings. Being Human is what makes us all alike; the path we walk is what makes us differ, the Beings part. Human Beings, or alike but different. I am sure that my view on the illegal immigration problem, having been closely involved in it for many years, is far different than yours. But we are both entitled to that opinion, and the right to express it. I grew up in downtown LA in the 40’s and 50’s, Echo Park area, and I can remember when we had our first smog alert and I was not allowed to go to school or go outside to play. Not going to school was ok, but not being able to go outside was a pisser. I have see CARB type regulations all my life, and I was just through LA a few weeks back coming home from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Guess what. LA is still the pits. From personal experience over a long period of time I can see no improvement. How about others? I have done some messing with hho gas production and believe the answer is there somewhere. I own a 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV that I have a small hydrogen cell on. It does not have to be smog tested, but I did a before and after and the difference is astounding. On my trip to Nogales and back it got over 26 mpg and ran like a champ. I cannot say how much of a MPG improvement there was because I never did a before. What I can attest to is the difference in hydro carbon admissions from the lead sled improving drastically. But that is too much like magic for the government to get involved in. I am getting ready to build a bigger unit to mount in my trunk at this time. This is way off subject, and I apologize. God Bless America aticama 2009-08-31T00:11:16Z aticama comment-12911 2009-08-30T17:54:26Z 2009-08-30T17:54:26Z Billy Boy, I see. Being "part of the community" gives you a special insight into a rally you admittedly did not attend. My bad. All hale the chosen few, the gifted orators, and the smug sideliners. Yes, the astroterfers thing was not called for, but that is why we are here, so people can hear from other then the liberal left. If you are such a great fan of the lady, how about paying for her next trip home so you can be close to her. I see you are about 41, some guys like older women. One thing I do have to express as a disappointment is this. After reading other estimations of attendance, I have to say that overall attendants could have run as high as 15 16 thousand. Now I am not saying they were all there at the same time, but with the going and coming that many people attended at different times. This is always the case at rallies like this. People can only allocate part of their time to attend because of other commitments. My disappointment was with the fact that there were not enough people of different ethnic backgrounds. I was also disappointed in the number of young people that attended, we have to get the youth involved with a youth movement. I would say that the average age of the people there was in the middle-late 40’s and mostly white. We need more diversity, but that will come with the understanding that they are welcome. I believe that the liberal press is painting this movement as being a white conservative movement to drive off the democrats and people of color. I know a lot of Mexicans and I am talking to them like a tio Duchlandia to get them involved. I did like the statement by the black singer that opened the show. It went something like this. “I am black and I am American, I am not a black American, I am an American." That is not an exact quote, but it is close enough. He was making the statement as I was walking in, and I did not get his name. I did get his picture and I will contact Mark Meckler to get it so I can put it on my website. But that is what the tea party has been about. Americans without labels, well everywhere but here were as Billy the “A” so apply points out he should have said, just to be politically correct, that he was an Astroturfing American. Hell, Billy, if that is what you want to call me, I’ll go for it. I am a Astroturfing American, and I am proud of it! Tpierce2, will you go to another? I will because I was very pleased at what I experienced, and have to say it was a revelation. All this BS about it being full of angry pissed off conservatives is such a bunch of bunk. So if you go take some friends, that is how it grows, through recommendation and word of mouth. God Bless America aticama 2009-08-30T17:54:26Z aticama comment-12902 2009-08-30T06:51:30Z 2009-08-30T06:51:30Z Aya. Your logic reflects that you are a non-thinker. Let’s fallow it through. Let’s move the 40,000 out of the valley, but if we do that why not cut off the water to LA also, as it could be sent down the river to save the fish. So how many people will we have to displace to save your fish? Also the water diverted from the Colorado is cousin harsh changes in the Sea Of Cortez, well, there goes San Diego. Displacing 40,000 families to save a fish that is failing anyway. Will you give up your home, or how about just letting one of the families move in with you? Or is that asking too much? As I said before, do your homework. The fish that they are trying to save are depleting despite this disastrous move. So the putting out of work of 40,000 people is just a waste. But you will never understand this as you do not wish to. All you want to do is try to run down the good people who are doing something. They scare you, don’t they? Try educating yourselves and not just run off at the mouth. Read this article and you may learn something. The experts disagree with you. The project is a failure. People are more important. You talk about subsidies being bad, well, get ready, because of this move they will be giving more of your money to the people in federal aid. Lost farm revenue will top $900 million in the San Joaquin Valley this year, said UC Davis economist Richard Howitt, who estimates that water woes will cost the recession-battered region an additional 30,000 jobs in 2009. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month asked President Obama to declare Fresno County a disaster area to boost federal aid. http://devinnunes.blogspot.com/2009/08/its-fish-versus-farmers-in-san-joaquin.html Tpierce2, you are right, they are both plants. The state is going to lose lots of money that we desperately need, tens of thousands of people are going to lose jobs, and soup lines will get longer. But hell fire, let’s not kill some smelt. What kills me is that they did not even know what kind of fish were endangered and by their own admittance did not attend the rally. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. Dupes. Artsydee47, good for you and your girlfriends. That is true American Spirit. God Bless America. aticama 2009-08-30T06:51:30Z aticama comment-12869 2009-08-30T02:06:53Z 2009-08-30T02:06:53Z The fish that the water is being diverted for is not edible fish, unless you like bait fish and killer whales to eat. Please do more research. But if they were edible fish are they worth destroying this state’s valuable farm land for and putting 40,000 Americans out of work? Studies are showing that despite the diversion of the water the delta smelt are still disappearing. So, you would have the people out of work, their children hungry, to make yourself feel all warm inside supporting a failed project. You have a right to say they are worth it; I have a right to find you a dunce hat. Please, the disinformation about the people behind the farmers and workers that were at the rally being the local developers is not making you any points. I have to ask if you bothered to talk to those folks. The question is would there be a drought if we were not dumping all that water. I have read that the reservoirs were running at 95% capacity before we started dumping the water. I live about 4 blocks from Folsom and nimbus lakes here in the sac area, and the lakes was higher this year then for many years. The Tea Parties were instituted to solve Americans problems, and farmers are Americans. So what part of the population would you like to restrict the movement to, your part? What is the main agenda if it is not about ALL Americans? Yes. I heard the call government is the problem. Because Government is the problem. Government has become big and out of control, catering to the special interest and fish, not the people. Why does Nancy Pelosi need a huge jet run at our expense? She was not happy with the small private jet that comes with the job; she had to have a 200 seat jet that will get her back here to Cal every weekend non-stop at your expense (annual cost of about $5,760,000 to go home and back to work.). At least Jerry Brown drove a Plymouth and lived in an apartment he paid for. As to the no more government, well what I heard was no more big government. So, you were not there but know better than those that were? There you have it. As to the tea party-ers displaying signs and distorting facts, you are doing a pretty good job of that yourself for someone who did not attend the rally. God Bless America aticama 2009-08-30T02:06:53Z aticama comment-12866 2009-08-29T23:03:15Z 2009-08-29T23:03:15Z People who own small farms, and people that work on them are not "basic Americans"? What made California the fifth largest economy in the world was it's farm industry, not the movie industry in Hollywood. Now they are killing that. What people should be asking is why are they cutting off the water in our most productive valley? Will you dummy up when the big farm co-ops have taken over the valley and run the little guy off his land? Do you think they will worry about the fish them? Put on your "DUH" hat, please. aticama 2009-08-29T23:03:15Z aticama comment-12849 2009-08-29T21:28:14Z 2009-08-29T21:28:14Z Well, most of you went to a different rally then I did. I did not hear any hate speech or mean spirited-ness in the crowds, or from the podium. Many speakers stated that they did not care who the bad actor politicians were, or their affiliation, if they lied to the people they had to go. As to the estimates of people attending, had to be over 4 grand. But what impressed me most was that the total overall attendants was far greater than that. There was a constant going of people who had been there for a bit as well as new arrivals all the time. But as the day went on the overall gathering continued to grow. The 1500 figure is typical disinformation, and to be quite frank with you, laughable. I expected no less from the liberal press. This movement is growing and will continue to grow. As to big business, I really did not see that either. I did see a lot of small business people there, and small business has always suffered the most under the regulatory thumb of our government. It is part of the plan. The water thing. I am glad they brought it up, as I was unaware of it. It has made me what to do some research as to how this all came about and how it is tied into the big farming co-ops taking over the Sinaloa Valley in Mexico after NAFTA went into effect. I am sure that you astute people out there understand how they did that. Perhaps this is a repeat here in the states to divest the small family farmers of their land so big agro farmers can buy it up cheep. Naw, Americans would not do that to other Americans, they might do it to Mexicans, but not their own people, right? I was curious about the Mexicans that were there also, and being as I speak fluent Spanish went among them and talked to them. The greater majority of them were native born American farm workers who had come from families that had been in the valley for generations. But this is the typed of hysteria that has gripped this country. They were Mexican, they were farm workers, so the small minded assume they are illegal’s. All in all it was a great day and I felt comfortable surrounded by so many decent Fellow Americans. The grass was nice and cool, the trees were spectacular, the speeches were inspiring, and the music was exciting. I am sorry that some of you had such an unsatisfactory experience, but perhaps that was part of the plan. All in all it kind of reminded me of something Hilary once said. “We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." God Bless America. aticama 2009-08-29T21:28:14Z aticama comment-12857 2009-08-29T21:25:39Z 2009-08-29T21:25:39Z Sorry, again this person was not at the same rally as I. What was said was no more big goverment. There is a difference. Please try to be truthful. aticama 2009-08-29T21:25:39Z