Hi, Peter. I think that currency manipulation thing has more to do with it than productivity. The reason I say this is, if someone's currency is ALWAYS going to be less than another country's currency, in the long term (and that is what is going on here), it will always be cheaper in that country. If it costs x to make it here and x-y elsewhere, anytime there's a problem, the people making things will choose to make them where it costs x-y to make the widget. Productivity has nothing to do with it.

Live to fight another day is one thing. The problem I have with that is simply this. Moody's stated they wanted to see $4T in cuts. If we pass < $4T, doesn't that mean they're going to downgrade us?

The Phelpses may be offensive, but what they do will NOT result in the death of people (like yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theater might), so they should be allowed to do it.

As Americans - ESPECIALLY after the McCain/Feingold/Shays/Meehan assault on free speech - WHICH our NO GOOD Supreme Court upheld initially - we should be EXTREMELY cautious of attempts to limit free speech.

There can be no doubt, that there are people in power IN OUR COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, who will use ANY excuse to put their toe in the doorway, so as to pry away the defense of our freedoms and take them away.

Let the Phelpses scream. Shutting them up will hurt ALL of us a lot more in the long run.

Hi, Onesimus.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that.

WHY did they nationalize the Bill of Rights into the states? Wasn't it already there under the EXISTING Constitution?

With respect to the legislatures electing senators, I'm from Massachusetts. How does the thought of Barney Frank and Gerry Studds being our two US Senators strike you?

Brown Schmown. My state is insane.

I suggest a tweak, rather than a repeal.

Perhaps we've been living in different countries for the past 30 years, George.

Marc, I was joking.

Ann is one of my favorite Americans.

Ann, it WASN'T a "Ft. Hood tragedy", it was a Ft. Hood MASSACRE, you liberal weenie.

It's like Reagan said, "Communists reserve every right for themselves. They will lie and cheat to achieve their ends...."

Thank God for the second amendment.

Hi, Jerry.

Very nice article. I think it would be more believable if the State of Hawaii hadn't insulted all of our intelligences by producing the Certificate of Live Birth, as opposed to an actual Birth Certificate.

An Hawaiian Birth Certificate is certainly Constitutionally as valid as any other state's Birth Certificate.

The nub of the matter is the Hawaiian Certificate of "Live Birth" without an attending physician or hospital being the equivalent of any other state's Certificate of Birth WITH such info is the problem.

To say it doesn't matter or is equivalent is fatuous.