Olive, You do love to hear yourself talk, even when you know nothing about the subject. "Republicans routinely shortchange..."; "Republicans do not include cost of Afghanistan & Iraq wars"; "Do not include cost of the VA"; "Do not include cost of the NSA"; "Do not include cost of CIA". "Do not include cost of Homeland Security". You showed your ignorance of the subject matter in your first paragraph - Budget matters, and spending bills originate in the House of Representatives; And I'm gonna give you three guesses as to which of our two political parties has been in control of the House for the past 6 years. And would you mind explaining to me just what the hell is a "neo-con"? Thanks

I am a simple person: I have to reduce issues to their lowest common denominator: Justice Breyer and his 3 dissenting justices, are doing their best to turn our 2nd Amendment "guarantees" in an issue of "tolerance"; Secondly, our liberal members of Congress, the Brady crowd, Mayor Bloomberg, et al. cringe at the very mention of putting this "right to keep and bear arms" issue on any ballot. Why should they, when they are successfully stacking the Supreme Court.?

Idopas, you and others are missing some vital points. Lets think logically, O.K.? The 2nd Amendment of our Constitution(You have no such creature in the U.K.)gives us the right to keep and bear arms; The colonials fought several wars in order to get us where we are. I'm sorry, but shooting and killing to protect individual freedoms is not foreign to us. The Police are not here to protect you and me, as individuals; their primary function is to keep, or maintain, the "public safety". We strongly believe that "A standing army can only control, if the citizens are disarmed". Once the U.K., law abiding citizen was disarmed, he/she became a neutered slave, not a citizen. You must live with it; We colonials do not - yet!!!

And lets not forget A.C.O.R.N. received Billions of stimulus dollars; they are alleged to be "community organizers". Where have we heard that job description before????

Senator Lindsay Graham(R-S.C.)said, in his much publicized Town Hall meeting "This is where the Republican Party is headed and if you don't like it, you can leave". I watched in disbelief - such arrogance! He's telling his constituents that he is running the show, not them. Remember? There was another meeting wherein the congressman told someone in his audience 'Don't tell me how to run my office". My point is simply this - George Mason, in 1788, said "Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state".

I'm not from Ohio; I am from Georgia, but geography is a moot issue when you see and listen to the transparency and inherent honesty of John Kasick. I've been a Kasick fan for longer than some of you bloggers are old; I can even recall when "civility" abounded in the halls of Congress. I thought then, and I think now - this man would make a helluva President.

And, Bud - every President/Governor, prior to Obama, has brought their spirituality right into office with them. We are not a nation of agnostics.

BALANCED! Tell me - if her resume cannot compare with that of Mr. Obama(Cambridge Police are Stupid)and if she is clueless, and if, as your collegue Bob says, "she is the least qualified", and if she conducted a "pathetic campaign", and she is "poor, white trash", and beyond that she was "entertaining" and has now stepped down off the political stage, why are you and Bob, and Chris Matthews, Keith olbermann, and Katie Curic(she of the lowest rated CBS evening news)all ranting and raving about her, tearing her and her family apart, as if they are lion's prey, casting aspersions on her, as a political figure, a wife, mother, beautiful and intelligent(yep! I said it)individual. She's left the room, Balanced, Bob, et al; close the door...

And speaking of the illustrious Dr. Bates, does anyone know anything about, recall from earlier studies, or even care who W.E.B. DuBois was, what his philosophy was, and why Dr. Bates occupies the DuBois "chair"?? Google him and you will completely understand the actions of this idiot, and you will also understand why our other "idiot" said(to the nation and to the world)"the Cambridge Police acted STUPIDLY".

Foreget the labels you attach to Barack Obama. He is not a Democrat; He is certainly not a liberal Democrat! He is a "died-in-the-wool" socialist/marxist. It is not his intent to further liberalize the Democrat party; it is his intent(don't you believe him?)to "fundamentally change this nation". He intends to make America into a "centrally-controlled" form of government. Am I the only dummy who sees this? Or did I just miss the last ferry?

Helen Thomas personified all that is, and has been, so terribly wrong and arrogant about the "White House Press Corps"; even the name has a ring of elitism about it. She, like so many of our elected representatives, feel that if you hang out inside the beltway, you are immune from the world outside; one takes on a god-like persona. This is not the first time she has exposed her anti-semitic sentiments, BUT, can we hope it will be her last, and she really should have kept her phony apology to herself. The only quality the press has always claimed -"objectivity" - has now gone by the board