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November 4th, 2010
06:55 AM ET
Alaska busy counting the many ways to spell 'Murkowski'
Major election drama still unfolding in Alaska where incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R, could make a historic comeback as a write-in candidate.
News this morning: write-in votes, presumably for Murkowski, currently lead the race, and the date to determine a winner is now Nov. 10, not Nov. 18 as planned.
Anchorage TV anchor Matthew Felling joins John Roberts to talk about the legal battle the state may face in counting and decoding the write-in ballots.
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Does it amaze me that Alaskans cannot spell? They could have wrote on their hands, like Palin does, little notes and up her arms.
When do these wars Bush started end?
Cannot afford these people who take money from both sides? A lot of this havoc over there was because we sent them money with no account of what they did with it. Poor country could not afford these arms if we did not supply the enemy with funding. What about that Iraqi building big big house in Poland? If more concern where this money went, they would be fighting us with sticks and stones.
The wars over there should be vacated immediately. America should not police the world. These wars are secular, have been for 1,000 of years. You cannot change their whole attitudes instilled in them for generations.
Robert, thankyou for the truth of a detailed economic breakdown of the US crisis and the acknowledgement of the obvious perpetual misrepresentation of it to the masses. I have always known that we were doing better now, than we were 10 years ago; I just didn't know the exact figures as to how to break it down.
Pauly – you are right on! People seem to forget that the cost of the Iraq war were never included in the budgets...talk about playing with the numbers! What parts of the Health Care program don't the Tea Partiers like....I like the free preventative care, I like that people with catastrophic illnesses won't be cut off without any insurance, I like the thought that many children will have some kind of health care. Will that cost me more.....probably – but it's for the good of everyone. If the children of today are our future, then the adults of today need to help make sure our future is healthy. If that is socialism, then so be it!
bucko: Bush leaves office with a national debt around $12 trillion and a deficit of about $1.4 trillion. 2 years have passed and the deficit is smaller than what was inherited. So, to be generous, let's say it didn't drop at all. What you're saying is 1.4 + 1.4 = 5. Seeing the problem there? Total math fail.
Now, let's move on to who actually are the big spenders. Search Google for "pin the debt on the donkey" for the graph version:
Carter added about 42% to the national debt.
Reagan added 189%.
George. H.W. Bush added 55%.
Clinton added 36%.
George W. Bush added 89%.
See the pattern? I doubt it so I'll put it bluntly: the Republicans are the biggest spenders in history and the absolute best public relations crew I have ever seen. It takes big brass balls to say the other guys are plotting to spend your money when you're the one actually doing it at that moment.
Then we can move on to more economic matters, such as corporate profits and the stock market. The economy tanked on Bush's watch. Since Obama took office, record profits. Odd...Fox has been screaming how the economy is getting worse. They must mean the stock market. Under Bush's watch, the stock market dropped 50%. On Obama's, up 25%. Hmm...okay, so...that's not worse either. Must mean unemployment. When Bush left office, we were losing 700,000+ jobs per month. Obama took office, passed stimulus. Within months, job losses slow and reverse to private sector gains every month. So...it's not that either. But but but...unemployment went up after Obama took office! Do you have any clue how long it takes to turn around the largest economy that ever existed? Seriously, do you? Clearly not.
And since most Americans, particularly Republicans claim to be Christians, a quick look at that, too (I'll spare you the statistics showing you're 14 times more likely to die in a terrorist attack under Republican rule than Democrat): Matthew 25:31-46. Care for the least among us or suffer eternal punishment. Only one party gives a crap about the little guy. The other is quite open about their disdain for the poor and anyone not "elite." In short, I will not sell my soul for money I won't get from the Republicans because I am not a billionaire. I cannot vote Republican because my faith and my country do not permit it. I am a Christian and I am not a traitor.
Lord, you Alaskan Neos are nasty.
All this bile and poison you push on the
rest of us isn't going to persuade us to
go along with you.
Among the many ways to spell Murkowski, "spoiled brat" and "sore loser" are sure to figure prominently on the write-in ballots.
Mr Bucko, why not refute Pauly instead of insinuating he's a stoner? Is that really your only approach to debate? Granted he has some hyberbole mixed up with his points, but he has real points about real decisions that were made during the Bush administration. Are you unable, or simply unwilling to counter them?
Americans are dissatisfied because Democrats are not cleaning the mess that the Republicans left during the Bush dis-administration fast enough, just like the have in the past. We will see what "bright ideas" they bring to the table now. Where was all the outrage during the Bush era? The Bush-Chaney reign polirized America so much that we have lost track of who the real enemy is. Instead of fighting the terrorists and fixing our troubled economy, we continued with this nonesical bickering. Stop listening and echoing what the pudits tell you and give us some real solutions.
I can't believe that Alaskans are misspelling Murkowski. If you've spent anytime in that state, the name is everywhere. Must be something in the water (especially around Wasilla).
I like your comments bucko2009, right on. Some people do not have any sense or common sense to think for themselves and want everything handed to them, like the Dems have been doing for 4 years. They should all go back to the sixties and have more of their brains screwed up with more chemicals be taken into their bodies. Lunatics.
Sounds like you must have been celebrating the legalization of marijuana a little early pauly. Since nasty pelosi and the dems took control of Congress in 2006 they have increased the deficit by over 5 TRILLION $. 3 TRILLION during obama's miserable reign. The only place obama created jobs was in the govt. You must be getting your facts(if you have any) from msnbc
Melon wants health care for all Americans. Many Dems were calling for the same thing. They were called socialists!!! The GOP's idea of health care reform is to take away Americans' 1st Amendment right to seek redress from the courts.
Clearly Americans were dissatisfied with the objective reality that the Obama administration and the congressional Democrats actually made things better by cutting the deficit by an historic $122 billion; creating upwards of three million new jobs; ending the war in Iraq; passing the largest middle class tax cut in history; and rescuing the economy from the brink of collapse. Not good enough, obviously.
Now there are those who want to give Bush credit for ending the war in Iraq but he & the GOP were against any timetable to withdraw troops until it became obvious that Obama was going to win the Presidency. Then Bush signed the agreement w/ Iraq to delay withdrawal for 2 more years. Mccain wanted to stay in Iraq for a 100 years!!!
The Dems are bankrupting the country? The GOP placed an expiration date on tax cuts for the wealthy because they knew there wasn't money to pay for them. Now they want to extend them! Medicare Part D, which was a boon for the insurance co's, is still adding to the deficit. The war in Afghanistan & the troops still in Iraq are still adding to the deficit. Not to mention all the so called "intelligence agencies" that Bush & the GOP created. Talk about big govt & their Patriot Act let big brother keep an eye & ear on all Americans!
Many newly elected GOTP lawmakers want to get rid of the Dept of Education. If the people in Alaska can't spell Murkowski, are you sure you want to deprive them & others of an education?
Corporate America has bought the House & more of the Senate. Before the elections, the GOP blocked bills to end subsidies for co's that outsource jobs overseas, blocked a bill to end subsidies for big oil, blocked a bill to raise the liability cap on big oil, blocked relief for actual small businesses, etc. Now they want to repeal health care & Wall St reforms to please their donors even more. They even want to abolish the minimum wage. Wonder how much else the Chamber of Commerce, corporate America & the wealthy are going to get in return for the enormous amounts of cash they threw to the GOP & spent on attack ads this campaign?
Let's hope Pelosi decides to quit altogether as she has to be the most annoying person in all of politics. Too Harry Reid survived the election. Guess all one's hopes can't be fulfilled at the same time.
*thing
I am glad that the American people finally woke up and stopped the socialists (Democrats) dead in their tracks. The first the GOP should do is repeal/rewrite ObamaCare into a system that is fair for ALL Americans – not just a select few as it is now but what probably will happen will be gridlock. Even so, gridlock is better than giving the Democrats a free rein where they are bankrupting the country with their socialist give-away programs. Kind of sad when gridlock is the preferred choice over anything either party is offering.