Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Mmmm, no I think the mother of all flip-flops...sm

Posted By: No Chance on 2008-09-22
In Reply to: I think the flip flop prize still belongs to Joe Biden... - sam

Goes to McCain for "Experience, experience, experience, I have the experience!"  McCain:  What, that's not working?  Okay, I mean "Change, change, change!"  ("Do you think anyone will notice that I just adopted what my opponent's platform because mine wasn't working, and that I've gone from being a so-called 'Maverick' to a populist in a matter of weeks?") 





Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

hey, take off your flip flops
and we can wrastle....
It's too cold for flip flops where I am, but here are a few...sm
1. Social Security Surplus

BUSH PLEDGES NOT TO TOUCH SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS... We're going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding the Social Security surplus. [President Bush, 3/3/01]

...BUSH SPENDS SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS The New York Times reported that the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately diverting more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to other purposes. [The New York Times, 2/6/02]

2. Patient's Right to Sue

GOVERNOR BUSH VETOES PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... Despite his campaign rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush fought such a bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He... constantly opposed a patient's right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that resulted in adverse health effects. [Salon, 2/7/01]

...CANDIDATE BUSH PRAISES TEXAS PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... We're one of the first states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you proper coverage... It's time for our nation to come together and do what's right for the people. And I think this is right for the people. You know, I support a national patients' bill of rights, Mr. Vice President. And I want all people covered. I don't want the law to supersede good law like we've got in Texas. [Governor Bush, 10/17/00]

...PRESIDENT BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION ARGUES AGAINST RIGHT TO SUE To let two Texas consumers, Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their managed-care companies for wrongful denials of medical benefits ‘would be to completely undermine' federal law regulating employee benefits, Assistant Solicitor General James A. Feldman said at oral argument March 23. Moreover, the administration's brief attacked the policy rationale for Texas's law, which is similar to statutes on the books in nine other states. [Washington Post, 4/5/04]

3. Tobacco Buyout

BUSH SUPPORTS CURRENT TOBACCO FARMERS' QUOTA SYSTEM... They've got the quota system in place -- the allotment system -- and I don't think that needs to be changed. [President Bush, 5/04]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL SUPPORT FEDERAL BUYOUT OF TOBACCO QUOTAS The administration is open to a buyout. [White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo, 6/18/04]

4. North Korea

BUSH WILL NOT OFFER NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM... We developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this approach. [President's Statement, 11/15/02]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFERS NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARMWell, we will work to take steps to ease their political and economic isolation. So there would be -- what you would see would be some provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So there would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that nature. [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 6/23/04]

5. Abortion

BUSH SUPPORTS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE... Bush said he...favors leaving up to a woman and her doctor the abortion question. [The Nation, 6/15/00, quoting the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 5/78]

...BUSH OPPOSES A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE I am pro-life. [Governor Bush, 10/3/00]

6. OPEC

BUSH PROMISES TO FORCE OPEC TO LOWER PRICES... What I think the president ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price. [President Bush, 1/26/00]

...BUSH REFUSES TO LOBBY OPEC LEADERS With gas prices soaring in the United States at the beginning of 2004, the Miami Herald reported the president refused to personally lobby oil cartel leaders to change their minds. [Miami Herald, 4/1/04]

7. Iraq Funding

BUSH SPOKESMAN DENIES NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE REST OF 2004... We do not anticipate requesting supplemental funding for '04 [White House Budget Director Joshua Bolton, 2/2/04]

...BUSH REQUESTS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR IRAQ FOR 2004 I am requesting that Congress establish a $25 billion contingency reserve fund for the coming fiscal year to meet all commitments to our troops. [President Bush, Statement by President, 5/5/04]

8. Condoleeza Rice Testimony

BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS RICE WON'T TESTIFY AS 'A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE'... Again, this is not her personal preference; this goes back to a matter of principle. There is a separation of powers issue involved here. Historically, White House staffers do not testify before legislative bodies. So it's a matter of principle, not a matter of preference. [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 3/9/04]

...BUSH ORDERS RICE TO TESTIFY: Today I have informed the Commission on Terrorist Attacks Against the United States that my National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, will provide public testimony. [President Bush, 3/30/04]

9. Science

BUSH PLEDGES TO ISSUE REGULATIONS BASED ON SCIENCE...I think we ought to have high standards set by agencies that rely upon science, not by what may feel good or what sounds good. [then-Governor George W. Bush, 1/15/00]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS IGNORE SCIENCE 60 leading scientists—including Nobel laureates, leading medical experts, former federal agency directors and university chairs and presidents—issued a statement calling for regulatory and legislative action to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking. According to the scientists, the Bush administration has, among other abuses, suppressed and distorted scientific analysis from federal agencies, and taken actions that have undermined the quality of scientific advisory panels. [Union of Concerned Scientists, 2/18/04]

10. Ahmed Chalabi

BUSH INVITES CHALABI TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS...President Bush also met with Chalabi during his brief trip to Iraq last Thanksgiving [White House Documents 1/20/04, 11/27/03]

...BUSH MILITARY ASSISTS IN RAID OF CHALABI'S HOUSE U.S. soldiers raided the home of America's one-time ally Ahmad Chalabi on Thursday and seized documents and computers. [Washington Post, 5/20/04]

11. Department of Homeland Security

BUSH OPPOSES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...So, creating a Cabinet office doesn't solve the problem. You still will have agencies within the federal government that have to be coordinated. So the answer is that creating a Cabinet post doesn't solve anything. [White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, 3/19/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of America and protecting the American people. [President Bush, Address to the Nation, 6/6/02]

12. Weapons of Mass Destruction

BUSH SAYS WE FOUND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION...We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories...for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them. [President Bush, Interview in Poland, 5/29/03]

...BUSH SAYS WE HAVEN'T FOUND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION David Kay has found the capacity to produce weapons.And when David Kay goes in and says we haven't found stockpiles yet, and there's theories as to where the weapons went. They could have been destroyed during the war. Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered into Iraq. They could be hidden. They could have been transported to another country, and we'll find out. [President Bush, Meet the Press, 2/7/04]

13. Free Trade

BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE... I believe strongly that if we promote trade, and when we promote trade, it will help workers on both sides of this issue. [President Bush in Peru, 3/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE In a decision largely driven by his political advisers, President Bush set aside his free-trade principles last year and imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel to help out struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two states crucial for his reelection. [Washington Post, 9/19/03]

14. Osama Bin Laden

BUSH WANTS OSAMA DEAD OR ALIVE... I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, I recall, that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' [President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01]

...BUSH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OSAMA I don't know where he is.You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... I truly am not that concerned about him.[President Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02]

15. The Environment

BUSH SUPPORTS MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE... [If elected], Governor Bush will work to...establish mandatory reduction targets for emissions of four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide. [Bush Environmental Plan, 9/29/00]

...BUSH OPPOSES MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a 'pollutant' under the Clean Air Act. [President Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]

16. WMD Commission

BUSH RESISTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE... The White House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and many Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to head off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees and the Central Intelligence Agency. [NY Times, 1/29/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE Today, by executive order, I am creating an independent commission, chaired by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction. [President Bush, 2/6/04]

17. Creation of the 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION... President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11. [CBS News, 5/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION President Bush said today he now supports establishing an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. [ABC News, 09/20/02]

18. Time Extension for 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION... President Bush and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. [Washington Post, 1/19/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION The White House announced Wednesday its support for a request from the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to complete its work. [CNN, 2/4/04]

19. One Hour Limit for 9/11 Commission Testimony

BUSH LIMITS TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO ONE HOUR... President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will meet only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members said Wednesday. [NY Times, 2/26/04]

...BUSH SETS NO TIMELIMIT FOR TESTIMONY The president's going to answer all of the questions they want to raise. Nobody's watching the clock. [White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 3/10/04]

20. Gay Marriage

BUSH SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS A STATE ISSUE... The state can do what they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this state's issue like you're trying to get me into. [Gov. George W. Bush on Gay Marriage, Larry King Live, 2/15/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING GAY MARRIAGE Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife. [President Bush, 2/24/04]

21. Nation Building

BUSH OPPOSES NATION BUILDING... If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road. [Gov. George W. Bush, 10/3/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people. [President Bush, 3/6/03]

22. Saddam/al Qaeda Link

BUSH SAYS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEEN AL QAEDA AND SADDAM... You can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror. [President Bush, 9/25/02]

...BUSH SAYS SADDAM HAD NO ROLE IN AL QAEDA PLOT We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11. [President Bush, 9/17/03]

23. U.N. Resolution

BUSH VOWS TO HAVE A UN VOTE NO MATTER WHAT... No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to see people stand up and say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security Council. And so, you bet. It's time for people to show their cards, to let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam. [President Bush 3/6/03]

...BUSH WITHDRAWS REQUEST FOR VOTE At a National Security Council meeting convened at the White House at 8:55 a.m., Bush finalized the decision to withdraw the resolution from consideration and prepared to deliver an address to the nation that had already been written. [Washington Post, 3/18/03]

24. Involvement in the Palestinian Conflict

BUSH OPPOSES SUMMITS... Well, we've tried summits in the past, as you may remember. It wasn't all that long ago where a summit was called and nothing happened, and as a result we had significant intifada in the area. [President Bush, 04/05/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS SUMMITS If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side by side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting. I'm committed to working toward peace in the Middle East. [President Bush, 5/23/03]

25. Campaign Finance

BUSH OPPOSES MCCAIN-FEINGOLD... George W. Bush opposes McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free expression. [Washington Post, 3/28/2000]

...BUSH SIGNS MCCAIN-FEINGOLD INTO LAW [T]his bill improves the current system of financing for Federal campaigns, and therefore I have signed it into law. [President Bush, at the McCain-Feingold signing ceremony, 03/27/02]

26. 527s

Bush opposes restrictions on 527s: I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising [in McCain Feingold], which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import. [President Bush, 3/27/02]

…Bush says 527s bad for system: I don't think we ought to have 527s. I can't be more plain about it…I think they're bad for the system. That's why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold. [President Bush, 8/23/04]

27. Medical Records

Bush says medical records must remain private: I believe that we must protect…the right of every American to have confidence that his or her personal medical records will remain private. [President Bush, 4/12/01]

…Bush says patients' histories are not confidntial: The Justice Department…asserts that patients no longer possess a reasonable expectation that their histories will remain completely confidential. [BusinessWeek, 4/30/04]

28. Timelines For Dictators

Bush sets timeline for Saddam: If Iraq does not accept the terms within a week of passage or fails to disclose required information within 30 days, the resolution authorizes 'all necessary means' to force compliance--in other words, a military attack. [LA Times, 10/3/02]

…Bush says he's against timelines: I don't think you give timelines to dictators. [President Bush, 8/27/04]

29. The Great Lakes

Bush wants to divert great lakes: Even though experts say 'diverting any water from the Great Lakes region sets a bad precedent' Bush 'said he wants to talk to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien about piping water to parched states in the west and southwest.'– [AP, 7/19/01]

Bush says he'll never divert Great Lakes: We've got to use our resources wisely, like water. It starts with keeping the Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes Basin...My position is clear: We're never going to allow diversion of Great Lakes water. [President Bush, 8/16/04]

30. Winning The War On Terror

Bush claims he can win the war on terror: One of the interesting things people ask me, now that we're asking questions, is, can you ever win the war on terror? Of course, you can. [President Bush, 4/13/04]

…Bush says war on terror is unwinnable: I don't think you can win [the war on terror]. [President Bush, 8/30/04]

…Bush says he will win the war on terror: Make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win [the war on terror]. [President Bush, 8/31/04]
She definitely calls them out on their flip flops
xx
Don't forget that he flip flops at every turn....sm
of the wind, saying stuff INFORMED voters well know is just a ruse to get votes. Most of the stuff he is so-called "promising" will never get out of Congress - he knows that and is banking on uninformed Americans who think highly of his rock-star status. Personally I always thought the lying was supposed to start AFTER they got into office, but it's obvious that Obama sees things WAY differently than most folks who pay attention to his rhetoric instead of being "sheeple. "
Bush Flip Flops on Immigration Bill...sm

Sensenbrenner: Bush Turned Back on Bill


Key House Republican Jim Sensenbrenner says Bush turned his back on immigration bill


WASHINGTON, May. 17, 2006
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER Associated Press Writer








(AP)



(AP) Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has pushed a tough border security bill through the House, accused President Bush on Wednesday of abandoning the legislation after asking for many of its provisions.

He basically turned his back on provisions of the House-passed bill, a lot of which we were requested to put in the bill by the White House, Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., angrily told reporters in a conference call. That was last fall when we were drafting the bill, and now the president appears not to be interested in it at all.

Sensenbrenner chairs the House Judiciary Committee and would be the House's chief negotiator on any final immigration package for Bush's signature. He said it was the White House that had requested two controversial felony provisions in the bill the House passed last winter.

We worked very closely with White House in the fall in putting together the border security bill that the House passed, he said. ... What we heard in November and December, he seems to be going in the opposite direction in May. That is really at the crux of this irritation, he said of Bush.

mmmm deer meat
I'm still waiting on ours! Hopefully hubby will get one this weekend, can't afford to keep buying meat at the price it is at! Plus deer meat is so much healthier for you!

My mother also tans hides, so ALL the deer gets used :-D
mmmm....and in 4 years I'll have to subscribe to the weight watcher channel
If they have one.
The flip
MSNBC just showed that a little while ago....the whole clip.  He scratched with one finger, then with the other.  Not at all meant to be any kind of hand gesture.
Wow...flip flop, flip flop....
You yourself said social programs did not need more money thrown at them but managed better and priorities applied. Now you say there is no such thing as runaway social programs and they were not mismanaged. I guess you read a common dreams article and had to readjust your thinking, the article d'jour? lol. You should run for office. You got it down, girl.

Let's look at regime change in Iraq. That was not hatched by "neocons" (whatever the heck that means). It was hatched during the Clinton administration. He went on TV during his tenure and called for regime change, how Hussein had WMD, yada yada, for our own safety we should disarm him, look what he did to his own people, same thing intelligence said during Bush admin (no big surprise...Bush kept the intelligence structure intact from Clinton admin...boy what a colossal mistake THAT was). Clinton is liberal isn't he??
Open your mind and Google it. And figure out a way to spin it. If the attack on the WTC had happened during Clinton's watch, we would have invaded Iraq then, and you would have been on here defending it because a "liberal" Prez instituted it. We would not be hearing conspiracy theories from you, we would not be hearing bring the troops home from you. We would not be hearing you calling for HIS impeachment. No wonder we cannot get anything done in this country.

Moral relativism. In your mind, perjury is not wrong in all cases, it depends on what you are lying about. Go after Scooter Libby for perjury and obstruction (same thing Clinton did) because it is somehow worse when done by a Republican. Not be upset that the person who actually committed the crime (outing an agent) was Armitage, NOT Libby and NOT Rowe, was never charged. In fact was asked by Fitzgerald to keep quiet about it. But THAT does not matter to you.

The fact that you cannot see that yourself proves that you exist in the state of denial and your only "truth" has to come from a liberal page, a liberal article, a liberal TV station, yada yada. Anything printed in Common Dreams is gospel to you and you go no further. Anything printed on a page you don't approve of is a lie and you go no further. You don't even attempt to see if the FACTS are true (no matter where it is printed)..but, what am I thinking????? Why, heck, it CAN'T be the truth, if those evil lying conservatives printed it. LOL. Amazing!!

Oh yes, let's talk about unions. Why are Americans buying cheaper imports? Because union costs have made cars so expensive Americans can't afford them anymore. You don't think that has a direct effect on lots of jobs going overseas?? Of course it does! Unions as they were conceived were a needed thing. A wonderful thing. But many other things, money and power corrupted them. Where is the big money in unions? At the top, not with the union members. And both political parties suck up to them big time because of that power and money. Unions have contributed as much as anyone to sending jobs and manufacturing overseas.

Look at your history. Democrats (predominantly southern Democrats I grant you) DID keep the black population from voting. It was conservatives, largely for religious reasons, who opposed slavery and finally abolished it and were willing to fight a war over it. Even after the war and the emancipation proclamation, southern Democrats passed laws making it impossible for blacks to vote and managed to do so until the 60's. And when that point was made, you spun that by saying the Republicans of that time were more liberal. Spin, spin, spin. LOL.

It was Republicans (conservatives of that time) who started the sufferage movement for women, because conservatives believe that all men (and women) are created equal.

When did liberals get interested in what blacks wanted or needed? WHEN THEY GOT THE VOTE. Hence, the Lyndon Johnson war on poverty which came on the heels of blacks getting the vote. I don't know how much more transparent you can get. Same way with illegals. Oh NOOOO don't card them...they vote for US.

Lyndon Johnson was president when the decision was made to raid social security. And we know where that led, don't we? It was promised that would never happen. I would not call Lyndon Johnson a conservative.

The first pre-emptive war was started by a liberal President "to stop the spread of communism." That was not an idea spawned by "neocons" or the Bush administration. If you want to lay blame, at least lay it where it belongs. Liberals also forced the withdrawal when the war became increasingly unpopular, resulting in the killing fields of Cambodia, when the liberal Congress would not allow Nixon to keep his promises to the South. Now there is something for liberals to be proud of. Got the war stopped, yep...but at what cost?

You say you are not talking Democrats and Republicans, you are talking liberals and conservatives. I say tomato, you say tomato. Semantics. It is all the same. Most Democrats are liberal...in varying degrees. Your definition of "liberal" is not the same other persons who call themselves "liberal." When a Democrat does something you don't like, first thing heard is "he/she is not liberal." I guess you have to, in order make a vain attempt at a consistent message. So far it ain't happenin.

Media manipulation and lobbying were begun by the conservative party? First I would say prove it with something other than Common Dreams opinion pieces, but given the benefit of the doubt, let's just say they did. And here is the big BUT...it has certainly been perfected to a fine art by liberals. And what, pray tell, is the conservative "party?" Don't see that on any ticket. Just like I don't see "liberal" on any ticket. I thought you were not talking about democrats/republicans. Oops. That is what happens with cutting and pasting sometimes.

Your post looks like a left wing conspiracy theory ohhh myyy gooodnessss it is all THEIR fault, WE have NEVER EVER done ANYthing wrong, they are EVIL, EVIL, EVIL and EVERY bad thing that has EVER happened to this country was perpetrated by conservatives! Let's get the picks and shovels and torches and go to the castle and DESTROY them. LOL. Good grief.

And you wonder why people don't take the hard left seriously???

I tell you one thing....if BOTH sides don't quit playing the blame game and own up to the fact that no one party, no one ideal, no one ANYthing got us where we are, nothing will change. I cannot believe the colossal arrogance of anyone to state that it is all someone else's fault and accept no blame whatsoever.

Why can't we just drop all the labels, and when a good idea comes down the pike join in support of it instead of automatically rejecting it because...GASP...a "liberal" had it, or...GASP...a "conservative" had it. I am sure we do have some common goals in there somewhere, but they get lost in the power struggle.

It's like high school. Just bigger cliques. Superficial, judging someone by a label and engaging in group ridicule and dislike and not seeing individuals and not behaving as individuals but rather in packs. It was ridiculous then when we were teenagers. It is even more ridiculous now that we are adults.

SIGH. When we will we put away childish things??
...and on the flip side...we will soon see...sm
what Obama will do with his regime.


I have a feeling it won't be pretty.


At least we'll have a reason to throw all the democrats out of all branches of offices when they fall flat on their you know whatsits, and find they can't do what they think they can.


The American people won't stand for what the country is about to become, you included, once you wise up and see what's about to come.
No one gives a flip about retreat.
that perpetuates division and hatred....quite another story. No only do you have the reading comprehension of a 2nd grader, you can't seem to count past 3 and are obviously outnumbered by folks who have zero tolerance when it comes to bigots. Such a bore.
And on the flip side...
http://www.pnhp.org

France, which comes in 1st in WHO health care rankings, has a better plan for the US to emulate than England's. It *can* be done right, if we try.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042070.htm
Now Bush has flip-flopped...sm
The UN is a viable and necessary institution now. This is his latest on the UN.

When he was making the case for the war it was screw the UN.

In the wake of the mess in Iraq he has changed his tone, done a 360.
Re: Canadians...The flip side. s/m

There is a flip side to some Canadians coming into the US to get health care, jump the line, etc. For every Canadian that comes here for care there is an equal or larger number of Americans entering Canada to obtain more reasonable medication. Also, a small but growing situation are Americans traveling to India for surgical procedures that they otherwise could not afford in the US.  


As I have said before, I certainly do not have the magic "fix" for the health care debacle, but there is a flip side regarding Canada, etc.


on the flip side .. those with $$ pay more in taxes ...
by virtue of the money they SPEND -- their property taxes are higher; all those clothes and cars and boats and fancy diners out are taxable items ....so they automatically are already paying more into the tax funds that those with lower incomes.

I am also one who thinks it should be a flat tax -- WITH NO LOOPHOLES ... keep it fair and keep it simple.

We don't make much ... but I don't think it's fair to take from the rich and give to the poor. Let the rich give of their own accord, if they so desire.

I could have worked harder, made better decisions/different choices ... but I didn't and those who did should not have to support me.

I agree with the other poster - I would give the shirt off my back to those who really deserve it but our social programs have propagated a whole generation that think they are owed something just for being here and being American.

oh well .. back to work .. LOL
Is tht so? So I assume that you are a flip-flop,
WHAT exactly made you change your mind?
Biggest FLIP FLOP of all time...sm

So does Bush think there should be an exit strategy or not?


He's a joke!


Conservative Santorum - a flip flopper?

 


Group accuses Santorum of switch
Conservative association says senator made '180-degree turn' on intelligent design





By Lauri Lebo
Daily Record/Sunday News











Dec 25, 2005 — A conservative organization that touts itself as a supporter of traditional values blasted Sen. Rick Santorum for his withdrawal of support for the Dover Area School District's unconstitutional intelligent design policy.

Senator Rick Santorum's agreement with Judge John Jones' decision ... is yet another example of why conservatives can no longer trust the senator, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania said in a news release Friday.

The association's president, Diane Gramley, said Santorum - who is expected to face a tough re-election challenge next year from state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr. - should heed her organization's remarks.

It's a warning that he needs to be careful, Gramley said. That he's beginning to lose his conservative base.

A year ago today, an editorial by Santorum praising Dover's intelligent design policy appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I commend the Dover Area School District for taking a stand and refusing to ignore the controversy, he wrote.

Dover school officials were so pleased that they printed the piece in a newsletter sent out to district residents.

But last week, one day after Judge John E. Jones III sharply criticized former Dover board members and ruled that intelligent design could not be included in the science curriculum as unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by former board member's actions.

Jones, in a strongly worded decision, left no doubt that he believed board members lied under oath in order to cover up their motivations - getting religion into science class.

Gramley criticized Santorum for changing his position.

He's almost made a 180-degree turn on this issue, she said.

In August, after President Bush said he supported teaching intelligent design in science class, Santorum said he didn't agree.

Rather, he said he supports teaching the controversy over evolutionary theory.

As far as intelligent design is concerned, I really don't believe it has risen to the level of a scientific theory at this point that we would want to teach it alongside of evolution, the Pennsylvania senator said during an NPR interview in August.

But in a 2002 Washington Times op-ed article, Santorum wrote that intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes.

Gramley said Santorum's change of view is an indication that he may be diverting from his conservative positions, in order to court more moderate voters.

Santorum also said he intends to withdraw his affiliation with the Thomas More Law Center, which defended the Dover policy in the lawsuit.

Santorum could not be reached for comment Friday.

http://www.ydr.com/doverbiology/ci_3342145



Seems like Harry Reid has done some flip flopping of his own




FLASHBACK: Dem Senate Leader Harry Reid: 'Our Federal Wallet Stretched To Limit By Illegal Aliens Getting Welfare'

'Even worse, Americans have seen heinous crimes committed by individuals who are here illegally'

August 5, 1993

The Office of Sen. Harry Reid issued the following:

In response to increased terrorism and abuse of social programs by aliens, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today introduced the first and only comprehensive immigration reform bill in Congress.

Currently, an alien living illegally in the United States often pays no taxes but receives unemployment, welfare, free medical care and other federal benefits. Recent terrorist acts, including the World Trade Center bombing, have underscored the need to keep violent criminals out of the country.

Reid's bill, the Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993, overhauls the nation's immigration laws and calls for a massive scale-down of immigrants allowed into the country from approximately 800,000 to 300,000.

The bill also changes asylum laws to prevent phony asylum seekers. Reid said the U.S. open door policy is being abused at the expense of honest, working citizens.

We are a country founded upon fairness and justice, Reid said. An individual in real threat of torture or long-term incarceration because of his or her political beliefs can still seek asylum. But this bill closes the door to those who want to abuse America's inherent generosity and legal system.

Reid's bill also cracks down on illegal immigration. The 1990 census reported 3.3 million illegal aliens in America. Recent estimates indicate about 2.5 million immigrants illegally entered the United States last year.

Our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants placing tremendous burdens on our criminal justice system, schools and social programs, Reid said. The Immigration and Naturalization Service needs the ability to step up enforcement.

Our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits often without paying any taxes.

Safeguards like welfare and free medical care are in place to boost Americans in need of short-term assistance. These programs were not meant to entice freeloaders and scam artists from around the world. Even worse, Americans have seen heinous crimes committed by individuals who are here illegally, Reid said.

Specific provisions of Reid's Immigration Stabilization Act include the following:

-- Reduces annual legal immigration levels from approximately 800,000 admissions per year to about 300,000. Relatives other than spouse or minor children will be admitted only if already on immigration waiting lists and their admission does not raise annual immigration levels above 300,000.

-- Reforms asylum rules to prevent aliens from entering the United States illegally under phony asylum claims.

-- Expands list of felonies considered aggravated felonies requiring exclusion and deportation of criminal aliens. Allows courts to order deportation at time of sentencing.

-- Increases penalties for failing to depart or re-entering the United States after a final order of deportation order. Increases maximum penalties for visa fraud from five years to 10 years.

-- Curtails alien smuggling by authorizing interdiction and repatriation of aliens seeking to enter the United States unlawfully by sea. Increases penalties for alien smuggling.

-- Adds alien smuggling to the list of crimes subject to sanctions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Expands the categories of property that are forfeited when used to facilitate the smuggling or harboring of illegal aliens.

-- Clarifies that a person born in the United States to an alien mother who is not a lawful resident is not a U.S. citizen. This will eliminate incentive for pregnant alien women to enter the United States illegally, often at risk to mother and child, for the purpose of acquiring citizenship for the child and accompanying federal financial benefits.

-- Mandates that aliens who cannot demonstrably support themselves without public or private assistance are excludable. This will prevent admission of aliens likely to be dependent on public financial support. This requirement extends to the sponsor of any family sponsored immigrant.

-- Increases border security and patrol officers to 9,900 full-time positions.

END


maybe he's just a flip flopper - like 100 years in Iraq
He should have just said "I don't remember" like the pubs have over and over and over.
I think the flip flop prize still belongs to Joe Biden...
from "He is not ready to lead; the job does not lend itself to on-the-job experience" to "He is ready to lead." Talking about the #1 on his ticket. Think that one still takes the prize. :)
Huh.......must be that PT mother you so
xx
How many did your mother have?
xx
Does your mother know you are up
x
Does your mother know
su
They are all in this together, even the mother, ..sm
The mother should have told her..'I am not going to take care of your 6 children anymore, stop having babies', BEFORE she went through IVF.

This are all poor people who use this 'babymaking scheme'
to abuse teh welfare system.
Origin of Mother's Day.

Published on Friday, August 26, 2005 by CommonDreams.org 


Mother's Day in Crawford 
by Medea Benjamin and Gayle Brandeis
 
When Cindy Sheehan marched into Crawford, Texas to ask President Bush why her son died in Iraq, it was Mother's Day. Not the Hallmark-infused, soft focus, breakfast-in-bed Mother's Day that shows up on the calendar in May. This was the day that Julia Ward Howe envisioned when she created Mother's Day in 1870 as a time for all the mothers who lost their sons in the Civil War to protest the senseless violence.


Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation begins:


Arise then... women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!


Cindy Sheehan has risen up against the senseless violence of this war in Iraq, and countless women and men have risen up with her. The numbers at Camp Casey continue to swell, and support pours in from all corners of the globe. While George Bush says he feels Sheehan's pain but must get on with his life, Sheehan's supporters are uprooting themselves from their lives-often at great personal sacrifice-- to vigil beside her in the hot Texas sun. Tired of seeing our soldiers and countless Iraqis die in an unjustified war, millions of Americans-especially mothers--are joining Sheehan's revolution of the heart. And in the process, they're exposing Bush's own heartlessness for refusing to meet with a grieving mother, and more tragically, for needlessly putting our sons and daughters in harm's way.


Those in the smear-Cindy camp have told Sheehan, in no uncertain terms, that she should go back home, where she belongs. But Sheehan has followed Julia Ward Howe's imperative:


As men have often forsaken
the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great an earnest day of counsel.


Sheehan's hoped-for day of counsel with Bush may never arrive. But another sort of counsel is taking place, the sort that Howe imagined:


Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace.


This is precisely what is happening at the vigil in Crawford, Texas. Women are running the camp itself, organizing Sheehan's schedule, holding women's circles to share their grief and hope, writing letters appealing to Laura Bush, and strategizing ways to broaden and deepen this movement for peace.


During the Vietnam era, the anti-war movement was fueled primarily by students. Today, the anti-war movement is being fueled largely by mothers. Look at some of the organizations that have been created in the last few years: CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Raging Grannies. All of them reflect a mother's intense desire to not only shield her children from harm but to stop her children from doing harm to others.


Again, we hear the voice of Julia Howe.


We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.


In a recent statement urging Americans to listen to Cindy Sheehan, Elizabeth Edwards said, If we are decent and compassionate, if we know the lessons we taught our children, or if, selfishly, all we want is the long line of the brave to protect us in the future, we should listen to the mothers now. Thanks to Cindy Sheehan, the mothers have arisen. Thanks to Cindy Sheehan, the world can't help but listen. Hopefully, George Bush is also hearing the message.


Medea Benjamin and Gayle Brandeis are members of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, a group that has been actively involved in the vigil in Crawford, Texas. Medea Benjamin is co-founder of CODEPINK, founder of Global Exchange, and nominee for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. Gayle Brandeis is the author of The Book of Dead Birds, which won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for Fiction in Support of a Literature of Social Change.


I bet you have. Your mother must be so proud. nm
nm
As the mother of an interracial son
I can tell you that I see my son as biracial but the world sees my son as black. No matter how much I stress to him how special he is to be of both races when we fill out school papers, doc office papers, etc. we are forced to choose between black or white. This is a visual world we live in and if Obama was running around calling himself a white man then people would have a problem with thst too.
I am a mother...So flame me if you want..however. sm.
Our son is 11 and can debate the pros and cons of both Obama and McCain, Biden and Palin with the best of them. We have taught him that conservativism is the way we think, but everybody is entitled to their own opinion. We are a minority - being conservative in a rapidly turning libral world. And my husband is one of those people railed about...an "angry, white male who clings to his guns and religion."

Our country is going down the tubes, politicians and bankers are raping our country and getting away with it, we owe our souls to the company store aka China et al, and who pays for it??? We do..our children, grand-children, and gg-children.

To those who think that Obama walks on water...google Ayers, Rzko, Wright, Soros, and You-Tube. Listen to any conservative talk show..if you can find any, and listen. With all the overwhelming evidence about Obama and his "friends" etc, we are on a long, slippery slope to destruction of the greatest country there ever was. The founding fathers are spinning in their graves with what our country has become.

Ok, off my soapbox.
does your mother know you are on this board?
how old are you?
and my mother recently said to me (sm)
It doesn't matter who wins...when it is time it is going to happen, regardless of what we do. If he is meant to be in office he will be. God's plan will come to pass no matter what.
Recollections of my mother

Her mother got $.25 a week for groceries to feed 8 kids. Many a night they had ketchup bread or if they had it, sugar bread (toast with butter and sugar), potato or pea soup. Meat was a luxury and they might have had chicken once a month.


They worse shoes with cardboard in them when the soles wore out. Everybody wore the next-in-line older siblings child's clothes when they outgrew them unless they were . My aunt stated by the time the clothes got to her, they were patched so many times the thread hurt her skin.


Their idea of play was to go to the coal yards and pick the best coal they could and get it home without getting caught by the Iron Police.


They didn't have a car. They didn't have a radio. They would hear news by going to the store and listening to their radio.


All the kids had to quit school when they were 16 so they could get a job and help out at home. At that time, the only jobs for boys were in the coal holes as breaker boys and slate pickers and the females cleaned houses or worked in the garmet factories. They would hand over their paychecks when they got paid (which was not on a regular schedule, either). My mom worked for $.10/hour cleaning homes 5 days a week. My aunt made $.08/hour 6 days a week in the garment factory. Out of the pay, they would receive $.50 to do with what they wanted and it had to last until the next payday.


 


His MOTHER was a U.S. citizen

Good Lord, this gets more ridiculous every day.


No, her mother did not.......posters like YOU did!
xx
As a mother of 2 teenagers . . .
I have had many discussions with them regarding the responsibility that comes with trying any substance, and I told them that if they were going to experiment with something, I would much prefer they smoke pot than drink alcohol, as in my state the rate of alcohol-related teenage deaths is alarming.  Of course, I told them that, unfortunately, pot is illegal and so using it would constitute breaking the law.  But we as parents know that our kids are going to be exposed to all manner of things and I would rather they be intelligently informed of all consequences.
My mother always told me
Ignore them and they'll go away.
I don't think there's a limit to what a good mother will do,

be it grizzly or human, when her child is taken from her, and no valid, truthful explanation is given as to why.


Look at the lengths Beth Twitty is going to in Aruba.  She wants answers, as well.


Somehow, though, it seems worse when you entrust your child to your government and then, once the shock and disbelief has passed and most of the other grieving stages have passed, you wake up one morning and realize the man you believed and believed IN, the president of the United States, deceived and lied to you and continues to lie to other mothers all over the country.  My heart goes out to this brave woman and all those other mothers who also have lost their children.  If Bush had 1/1,000th of her courage, this country might be in a much safer place today.


Okay, I get it....liberals believe that the mother's choice....

trumps the baby's right to life.  I get it.  I do not agree.  And it is not a "religious" issue, that is a misstatement.  There are many who are not "religious" who do not believe abortion should be legal either.  I do not split hairs; I believe life begins at conception, it is ridiculous to stay anything different.  If something grows, it is alive.  That is science, has nothing to do with "moral issue."  So why not just tell the truth?  That a mother's choice, in your eyes, trumps the right of the baby to live.  I do not happen to agree with that.  And I cannot understand how you keep on and on and ON about "all living things" yet are okay slaughter of innocent babies by the millions every year in this country.  Abortion results in a dead baby, regardless of the "soul" issue.  As to moral issue...killing someone is against the law in this country.  Murder is illegal.  If a mother waits a day after the baby is born to kill it, she is a murder.  Just because the baby is now outside the womb?  Gimme a break.  If you want to give a woman the right to kill her baby, so be it, that is on you.  But at least call it what it is.


Scott Peterson was charged with two murders...Laci's and Conner's.  If Conner was not "alive" how did Scott Peterson murder him?  There are many states who charge a person who kills a pregnant woman with two murders.  See how ridiculous it is to state that, then turn around and say if Laci had chosen to kill Conner, that would have been okay, because it is HER uterus.


All that being said...we all have issues that are important to us.  I believe the issue of abortion is very important.  I believe the right of the child to live trumps the right of the mother to dispose of it like yesterday's trash.  I am entitled to that opinion, and I am entitled to try to get a law overturned that was unconstitutional on its face.  I am entitled to try to get it on a ballot in individual states so that the people of this country can decide if they want to, in their own states, legalize abortion.  I am entitled to choose a candidate who will work toward those goals as well.  That is not the only reason I chose this candidate, but it is an important one.  And I am entitled to never vote for a Democrat for the same reason, just as you have the right to never vote for a Republican for whatever reason.


And as to my "religion..."  That is also why I obey the law of the land, which right now is legalized abortion.  I don't picket abortion clinics and shout at women going into them.  I don't shoot at doctors who perform abortions.  And if, by God's grace, some states are allowed to pass abortion laws, I would hope each of you would respect the right of those states to do so, just as I have respected the law currently in place.  There will always be places to go for abortions, and if Americans can go to India for surgeries, women who want to kill their babies could surely find a state to go to to have it done. 


You want to champion a certain segment of society (the poor, unfortunate, suffering....).  I want to do the same, only my segment is the most vulnerable, the most defenseless, the most at the mercy of others, the unborn children.  Why does it grate you so much to have voices speak for them?   Do I, and others like me, not have that right?  Apparently not, in your eyes. 


I still shake my head in disbelief that your caring for "all living things" does not extend to the babies and how you can justify their destruction on the altar of "choice," and not only that, but castigate those who would speak for them.  God forbid it ever comes to the day that another has that kind of power over YOUR life, to decide if you live or die.  God forbid!


I was an unwed mother with a republican mom.
I got accused of being promiscuous and my mother raled on and on about how much I had embarassed her and the family before I could get a word out of my mouth about being virgin when I was date raped and ended pregnant. Abortion was illegal then and BC had not shown up either. That issue was surronded with all kinds of shame and blame. I was wisked away to an unwed mother's home the day after I graduated from high school (age 17, 4 months along) in the middle of the night where I hid out for the remainder of the term (which was more like a prison term than a pregnancy term).

The Catholic religious establishment who ran the home never missed an opportnity to let me know what a slut I was and how I did not deserve to be a mother. That was the extent of the social support system in those days. I was then forced to sign my first-born son over to "fit parents," just 5 weeks shy of the legal age of 18. The paper said that I had "no parental rights" and that I would never be allowed to find my own son.

This was the reward I got for being a straight-A student and staying virgin until date rape happened. I was, shall we say, fairly outraged by the time I got to college and proceeded to live up to my mother's worst expectations of me. I became promiscuous for about 2 years or so, took drugs and drank my way through my freshman and sophomore year, but high, drunk or sober, I was ALWAYS front and center in the Women's rights rallies, supporting pre-Roe-Wade initiatives.

I stayed like that until my second son was born at age 26, a year into my marriage. I kicked my habits, straightened up and raised him, but to this day, whenever I entertain the idea of looking for my first son and my second son's big brother, those words, "No rights" and those "slut" attitudes echo in the back road of my memory, and I just remind myself how I have to learn to live with it (as if).

With that being said, my mother would have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put me in the position SP has now thrust her daughter into. She has only ignited the fires of outrage smoldering inside of me for the past 42 years. We would not be having this conversation if SP had looked before she leaped. For me, there is nothing she can do to convince me that she is deserving of this office. If she had the guts some of the other posts say she has, she would refuse this nomination. So trying to stand back and be respectful of her family privacy...not as easy as it sounds, but for the sake of her daughter, and my own, I will be giving my best shot.

The unwed mother above whose life
nm
(And so is my 82-year-old mother, who has voted

how was the mother making the choice?
she was giving a speech on stage... and who was using the baby for anything? we wouldn't have even known if the cameras didn't keep flashing back to them!

How can you be worried about the safety of the baby when it is family members and close friends holding it? I mean, I'm trying to see your point, but it's still stretching a bit...
His own mother signed him up as Muslim
This was at a public school in Indonesia, where other faiths are taught as well. The records are there in his mother's handwriting. She signed him up not to have Christian lessions but Islamic.
I hear ya on that. My husband's mother

moved a trailer onto our property to get away from property taxes. We decided to rent her trailer. Bad mistake. A minister from our area called us and said this family just moved to the area but really had no place to go and nothing but a few suitcases. Would we rent our trailer to them? Mind you, 2 adults and 4 toddlers trying to squeeze into a 2 bedroom trailer.


We were hesitant, but cut the rent since the pastor vouched for them. I even went to all my friends and wrestled money, food, or cleaning items from them so this family could get a good start.


Three months later, the trailer looked like a dump. The hardwood floors were all full of dirty diapers, feces, etc....and the people did not even own an animal! The toilet backed up (kid stuffed a stuffed animal down it and they never told us). We tried to get them out the lawful way but it didn't work (winter coming, can't evict during the months of September  through April).


Finally, had it and my husband put a note on the trailer with a butcher knife and told them if they didn't get going, he would bring a backhoe in and push the trailer over.  They were gone the next day and it took us 3 months and 6 tri-axle dump trucks worth of garbage to get the place cleaned up.


Needless to say, after that, I called the pastor and told him what had happened and he was heartsick. He said he found out that the husband, through this pastor's kindness, had job offers like crazy to help this man, and he refused every job that came along!  The pastor apologized to us but it really wasn't his fault. It was this man and wife who snookered everybody in the area. They left the area owing thousands of dollars through the generosity of others (I'll pay you back when I get a job.)


We sold the property a few months later to our best friends who also wanted to buy a property but couldn't pass the credit lines at that time. They could afford to pay our mortage, so we made an agreement with the bank and every month, they paid the mortage payment on our property and the property taxes on their property. They're still living on that property and they have no mortgage. It's free and clear. They even built up enough credit with our bank that they could build a house on it and get rid of the gosh-awful trailer.


His mother remarried an Indonesian man
nm
Obama's mother was an atheist......sm
She did not believe in God or Jesus or anything taught in the Bible.

Christianity does not work the same way Catholicism does. If I understand the Catholic faith correctly, if your parents are Catholic, then you are automatically Catholic and are christened as a Catholic in infancy. However, with Christianity, a person does not become a Christian until they accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. Once profession of faith in Christ is made, baptism follows as a sign of obedience but in and of itself imparts no salvation.


His mother was a professed atheist.
x
This I did not know, I thought O's mother was a christian...
In the catholic faith the baptism is very important. Only after the baptism one is a catholic or christian, I believe.
Nightmares Of My Mother... (long)sm


My mother has told me many stories about life during the Great Depression. Of course, she was only a child, but the stress of her parents was extremely palpable as they scrimped and saved to provide for their family.

Grocery stores of those days were nothing like what we have today. You didn't just go to a store to buy a bill of groceries IF you had the money. My grandmother would buy coffee, baking powder, flour, sugar and salt and maybe a bottle of vanilla every once in a while. As the depression dragged on and the US became involved in WWII, ration books were issued for most of those things. Gardens were grown to provide vegetables and my grandmother would work late into the night to can the vegetables that my grandfather grew. And it wasn't just dropping them in a bag and vacuum sealing them. It mean preparing the vegetables, "blanching" them, sterilizing the jars and lids and then processing the jars in a huge "canner" after filling them. She also had a canning machine that used metal cans and with that she could put up even meats. I have heard my mother speak of her mother canning vegetables for some of the rich town folks who paid her a little bit of money for doing so. Granny kept chickens for both eggs and meat and a couple of cows for milk from which she made butter, buttermilk, and cheese. She belonged to the Home Demonstration Club where she learned to make ketchup with tomatoes from the garden and mayonaisse from the eggs her hens provided. She even learned a new recipe for cornbread which involved using a tablespoon or so of sugar, which she had never used in cornbread before. My Granddaddy came in from a long day in the field, took one bite of it at supper, and said "If I want cornbread, I want cornbread; if I want cake, I want cake." LOL

Occasionally, someone in the community would kill a beef or hog and come around selling meat from the back of his wagon or truck. You could buy a "chunck of meat", not necessarily T-bone steaks or bacon or some other certain cut, just a chunk of meat. You could only buy what your family would eat within a few days as there was no refrigeration except for the "ice box" and the well bucket.

My mother also grew up picking cotton from the time she was old enough to drag the sack behind her. It was hard and brutal work as the cotton hulls would cut your fingers to ribbons if you were not careful. This was done in the late summer in Texas and the sun beat down unmercifully on them as they picked cotton for a nickle or dime a sack.

Shoes were hard to come by and from spring until the first frosts of winter, most kids went barefoot everywhere. I have pictures from my mother's childhood showing barefoot schoolchildren. If you were lucky enough to have a pair of shoes that fit, you had to "save them back" for church or going to town. Mother has told me that, as a child, they would place their shoes on a thick piece of cardboard and trace around the outline, cut it out and place it inside their shoes because there were holes in the soles.

There was no electricity in the rural area where my mother grew up, so no lights, no electrical appliances, no fans. Cooking was done on a wood stove or coal oil or kerosene stove, summer and winter alike. Often during the summer, the house would be too hot to sleep in and they would make pallets with quilts in the back of Granddaddy's old truck and sleep there in the hopes of catching a summer night's breeze.

But even with the hard times, life had it's good times back then as well. Families visited, neighbors helped neighbors, values were taught and people genuinely cared about each other. Most of the rural folks like my grandparents were too poor to know it when Wall Street fell until the tentacles of excruciating poverty wove itself throughout the land. Still, America stood together and faced the depression headon with patriotism and pride in their country and love for their fellow man.

Sorry I prattled on, but once I got started, the memories just came flooding back.
My mother still has one of those ration books........ sm
but I believe it was from WWII rather than the earlier Great Depression. I can remember her telling me that things like leather, rubber, automobiles, and nylon were rationed also during WWII as the bulk of those things went for "The War Effort."