this couple became victims of someone writing checks while lacking the money to cover the amounts. However, why is this a crime? Why use the police as a collection agency? Also why didn't the victims call the bank to verify that the checks were good? I suggest that the appropriate place to resolve issues like this is small claims court.

the ridiculous charge that it's the Ds' fault that congress has accomplished nothing in 2 years. It's republican use of cloture in the senate and bush's vetos and veto threats that have stalled congress for two years.

Please do start on nancy.

The current administration is running our economy into the ground, headed for a depression, and you think that things would be MUCH WORSE under the Democrats?
Wow. This administration has done far more damage to the country than maybe any other administration in history. It's track record is a giant skid mark on the toilet bowl of life.
I grant you that Congress is doing a lousy job, but their hands are tied. How are they supposed to get anything done with the constant threats of a veto?

Speaking of gas prices, keep in mind that back in 2000, the national average was $1.54/gallon.

By the time Bush is out (not soon enough), gas prices will have - or close to - tripled. That's what you get when you have oil men in the White House.

1. The Democrats did not achieve a majority in Congress until 2006. And even then, in the Senate they hold a slim/non-veto proof majority. From Jan 2001 until Jan 2007, Bush had a Congress (both houses) that could rubber stamp anything he wanted.

2. The people responsible for the 9/11 attacks had nothing to do with Iraq. They were mostly Saudi in origin, and commanded by an organization supported/located in Afghanistan. The fact that we invaded Iraq on trumped up pretenses probably has little to do with no new attacks on US soil. The fact that we invaded Afghanistan to topple the government that was supporting Al Qaeda probably has everything to do with that.

One item the author did touch on insufficiently was the increase in national debt from 2000 to 2007 from 5 trillion to 9 trillion dollars. Do you think we got our money's worth?

Not 2002, and the majority in the House is not veto proof, nor is the 50/50 split in the senate Cloture proof.

The no new attacks meme is specious reasoning, the absence of attacks in no way proves that any were prevented, and it's really a lie in any case (Anthrax?).

NAFTA was ratified by a REBULICAN congress.

So, at a quick glance, three completely wrong points in your post. So who's the one being led by the nose? Looks like you.

http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm

They abandoned the republican liars. The rest of you keep spouting Rush-Sean talking points as though they had something to do with truth.

You're especially convincing when you say the dems "took control of congress in 2002". Dems gained small majorities in 2004 (that's a FOUR on the end). But they can't overcome cloture requirements in the senate nor vetos from the white house. Thinking people blame Bush&co because Bush&co are at fault. All the lies in the world won't change the facts.

Your halo's slipping, joe.

Oops! You got me so flustered I put a four where there should have been a six, and then I emphasized it. Sorry.

Thinking people, Joe? Really? Think about this.

First, perspective. I consider myself a conservative. I won't go into my credentials here and now, but trust me, my values are definitely on the conservative side.

I know this is very difficult for the dyed-in-the-wool Republicans to admit, but 1) de-regulation, 2) reduced oversight (two core Republican values), and 3) massive over-printing of the USD (a neoconservative value) have led to the economic disaster where we are today. Granted, when consumers get into a financial deal that hurts them, they should have done their homework and they should have backed out when they realized that it wasn't going to work for them. Personal responsibility. An important conservative cornerstone.

However, when millions of people are caught in the web, and millions of people default, which triggers a national financial disaster and a global economic tremor, then it is the fault of the regulatory body, the United States Government, and the party which allowed it to happen as a result of their core values. See 1, 2, and 3 above. Bush Administration policies are directly responsible for our fiscal disaster. To deny this is shortsighted and ignorant.

As you should know by now, Joe, debt, and the resulting global devaluation of the dollar, is a cornerstone of neoconservative policy. Printing more dollars reduces their value. Pretty simple logic.

As a result of this policy:

* Consumer prices shot up in June at the fastest pace in 26 years with two-thirds of the surge blamed on soaring energy prices, increased by the 42% devaluation of the dollar due to massive US debt incurred under Bush Administration policy.

* The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price indexs jumped 1.1% last month, much worse than had been expected and biggest consumer price index rise since June 1982.

* The consumer price index report said energy prices rocketed 6.6%, reflecting big rises in gasoline, home heating oil and natural gas.

The big jump in prices cut deeply into consumers' earning power. Average weekly wages, after adjusting for inflation, dropped 0.9% in June, biggest monthly wage decline since 1984.

New economic data released last Tuesday indicated that wholesale prices rose a more-than-expected 1.8% in June and now are rising at an annualized rate of 9.1%, fastest wholesale price rise since mid-1981.

In the end, determining cause is not whining. It is called analysis.

Ignoring the cause is called "denial." Which, by all accounts, is another neoconservative policy.

America - Improve it or Lose it