Liberal Forum

I wonder which the insurance industry would prefer?

I have said before that we have useless military bases here. I am fine with the cuts.

I have said before that we have useless military bases here. I am fine with the cuts. So am I: not sure why the left isn't embracing the opportunity to trim the fat in our military budget.

not sure why the left isn't embracing the opportunity to trim the fat in our military budget.The right doesn't seem to be embracing it either.House continuing resolution to restore $7B to military operations.

The right doesn't seem to be embracing it either.House continuing resolution to restore $7B to military operations. ah, the bastards

ah, the bastardsWell, there are those military contractors to consider.Can't let them go hungry like the babies that will be cut off WIC and not get formula.

Liberal Dem in 2016. It's going to get really interesting!

The VAWA is not pointless or outdated. ACORN no longer exists, domestic violence does. domestic violence occurs in this country due to the breakdown of family structure caused by liberalism. and really? who cares? violence is already outlawed. there are assault and battery laws in every state. the VAW act is discriminatory nonsense. outdated and pointless.

domestic violence occurs in this country due to the breakdown of family structure caused by liberalism.and really? who cares? violence is already outlawed. there are assault and battery laws in every state.the VAW act is discriminatory nonsense. outdated and pointless.Who cares?I remember all too well a time when domestic violence was not taken seriously by law enforcement.I lived it, so I care.

Who cares? I remember all too well a time when domestic violence was not taken seriously by law enforcement. I lived it, so I care. Thanks, in part, to the liberal media elite, it's much more common to report such violence to law enforcement and counseling services.

Who cares? I remember all too well a time when domestic violence was not taken seriously by law enforcement. I lived it, so I care. the reason law enforcement doesn't take it as serious as they might, is because so many women either lie about the $h!t; or....they just keep going back to these abusive men. i really have very little sympathy for the woman who continues to put herself in an abusive situation like so many do. i'd be rolling my eyes at that $h!t if i was a cop, myself. i'd be like...."well, damn woman. this is only the 3rd call i've had from you this month. ever think it's not your brightest move to stay with this piece of $h!t?"

the reason law enforcement doesn't take it as serious as they might, is because so many women either lie about the $h!t; or....they just keep going back to these abusive men. i really have very little sympathy for the woman who continues to put herself in an abusive situation like so many do. i'd be rolling my eyes at that $h!t if i was a cop, myself. i'd be like...."well, damn woman. this is only the 3rd call i've had from you this month. ever think it's not your brightest move to stay with this piece of $h!t?" Perhaps another problem is that most police officers (in many places) are male.

Perhaps another problem is that most police officers (in many places) are male. yeah. but most men don't like to see women abused. i don't. but if a woman keeps going back to the $h!t? what the f**k is anyone supposed to do about it?

yeah. but most men don't like to see women abused. i don't. but if a woman keeps going back to the $h!t? what the f**k is anyone supposed to do about it? It's a difficult issue. Apparently, in cases of chronic spousal abuse, it generally takes a women a long time--about 5 attempts--to leave an abusive partner. http://www.health.ha...date1006d.shtml I don't know what the procedure for law enforcement should be, but at a minimum non-judgmental support of the victim I would think.

the reason law enforcement doesn't take it as serious as they might, is because so many women eitherlie about the $h!t; or....they just keep going back to these abusive men. i really have very little sympathy forthe woman who continues to put herself in an abusive situation like so many do.i'd be rolling my eyes atthat $h!t if i was a cop, myself. i'd be like...."well, damn woman. this is only the 3rd call i've had from youthis month. ever think it's not your brightest move to stay with this piece of $h!t?"For a variety of reasons, women don't always have a choice.Did you know that the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic abuse is when she tries to get away?That's when she's most likely to be killed.

For a variety of reasons, women don't always have a choice. Did you know that the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic abuse is when she tries to get away? That's when she's most likely to be killed. possibly in a few cases. but the majority of women who stay in those relationships do so because they enjoy being dominated.

possibly in a few cases. but the majority of women who stay in those relationships do so because they enjoy being dominated. You're cut off from youtube for awhile, lews.

the majority of women who stay in those relationships do so because they enjoy being dominated.Hogsnot.Don't get confused.Being dominated is a sexual kink, being beaten is a crime.

Lindsey Graham's Imaginary Family Needs AR-15s to Fight Theoretical 'Roaming Gangs' of Big, Strong Men During Hurricanes Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says that if his Imaginary Family were victims of disasters like Hurricane Katrina, they would need to have military-style AR-15 assault rifles to protect themselves against "armed gangs roaming around neighborhoods." During a hearing Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, the South Carolina Republican pressed Attorney General Eric Holder about his support for a proposed assault weapons ban. "Can you imagine a circumstance where an AR-15 would be a better defense tool than, say, a double-barrel shotgun?" Graham asked. "Let me give you an example, that you have an lawless environment, where you have an natural disaster or some catastrophic event -- and those things unfortunately do happen, and law and order breaks down because the police can't travel, there's no communication. And there are armed gangs roaming around neighborhoods. Can you imagine a situation where your home happens to be in the crosshairs of this group that a better self-defense weapon may be a semiautomatic AR-15 vs. a double-barrel shotgun?" Holder pointed out that the senator was "dealing with a hypothetical in a world that doesn't exist." (Obviously, Eric Holder doesn't get it. That's where all wingnuts live!) "I'm afraid that world does exist," Graham insisted. "It existed in New Orleans, to some extent up in Long Island (after Hurricane Sandy), it could exist tomorrow if there's a cyber attack against country and the power grid goes down and the dams are released and chemical plants are -- discharges." (Lindsey really likes to think about --discharges.) "I don't think that New Orleans would have been better served having people with AR-15s in a post-Katrina environment," Holder replied. "What I'm saying is if my (imaginary) family was in the crosshairs of gangs that were roaming around neighborhoods in New Orleans or or any other location, the deterrent effect of an AR-15 to protect my family, I think, is greater than a double-barrel shotgun." In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there were reports of armed vigilantes with assault weapons shooting African-Americans. "Facing an influx of refugees, the residents of Algiers Point could have pulled together food, water and medical supplies for the flood victims," ProPublica's A.C. Thompson wrote in 2008. "Instead, a group of white residents, convinced that crime would arrive with the human exodus, sought to seal off the area, blocking the roads in and out of the neighborhood by dragging lumber and downed trees into the streets. They stockpiled handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and at least one Uzi and began patrolling the streets in pickup trucks and SUVs. The newly formed militia, a loose band of about 15 to 30 residents, most of them men, all of them white, was looking for thieves, outlaws or, as one member put it, anyone who simply 'didn't belong.'" Thompson found that at least 11 African-American men ended up being shot near the Algiers Point neighborhood by a militia of men who were apparently all white. We need AR-15s to shoot roaming gangs of black people.

U.S. Wasted Billions Rebuilding IraqAs the 10th anniversary of President George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq approaches, the body charged with overseeing Iraqs reconstruction has issued its final report, capping a tale of spending far too much money for very little results.Appointed in Oct. 2004, over a year into War in Iraq, the Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) was charged with being a watchdog over the use of funds provided for rebuilding the Iraqi state after the downfall of Saddam Hussein. Those reconstruction and stabilization efforts wound up costing nearly $60 billion or about $15 million per day with up to $10 billion of that amount wasted, according to SIGIR Stuart Bowen.The examples provided of fraud and abuse of the system are staggering both in number and nature. Among the most telling boondoggles is an $108 million waste-water treatment facility in Fallujah, Iraq that will be completed eight years over schedule. Once finished in 2014, it will only service 9,000 homes and require an additional $87 million from Iraq to provide service to the rest of the buildings in the city.In terms of outright abuse, Iraqis and Americans alike were culprits, with one former Iraqi Defense Ministers squandering $1.3 billion. Earmarked to provide for an Iraqi quick reaction force, the money was instead spent on various bribes, kickbacks, and purchasing useless equipment. Likewise, former U.S. Army Major John Cockerham was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for siphoning off millions of dollars from reconstruction projects by accepting bribes from various contractors.The majority of Bowens lessons learned provided to Congress deal extensively with the completely unprepared way in which the United States chose to rebuild Iraq. Bowen gives seven ways to better perform rebuilding operations in the future:1. Create an integrated civilian-military office to plan, execute, and be accountable for contingency rebuilding activities during stabilization and reconstruction operations.2. Begin rebuilding only after establishing sufficient security, and focus first on small programs and projects.3. Ensure full host-country engagement in program and project selection, securing commitments to share costs (possibly through loans) and agreements to sustain completed projects after their transfer.4. Establish uniform contracting, personnel, and information management systems that all SRO participants use.5. Require robust oversight of SRO activities from the operations inception.6. Preserve and refine programs developed in Iraq, like the Commanders Emergency Response Program and the Provincial Reconstruction Team program, that produced successes when used judiciously.7. Plan in advance, plan comprehensively and in an integrated fashion, and have backup plans ready to go.Many of those suggestions belie the cavalier attitude struck by Republicans at the beginning of the war in 2003, despite a near complete lack of planning by the Bush administration to provide for rebuilding Iraq. Each day it gets better, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in May 2003 of the reconstruction efforts. Rumsfeld also insisted that the bulk of the funds for Iraqs reconstruction will come from Iraqis in October of that year. $60 billion later, Iraq has proved to be nowhere near the 'cakewalk' predicted by George W. Bush adviser Kenneth Adelman predicted in 2002.Iraqi oil was going to pay for everything. That's what they said.These same Republican hypocrites are now whining over Obama's 'run-away' spending, while they turned a blind eye to the billions of dollars in waste fraud and abuse in Iraq, and just as surely in Afghanistan too.No oversight, no accountability.The Bush Republican Oversight Failure in Iraq