newsobserver.com projects - infrastructure - Comments

Reload the Constitution, and Reboot.

GlenBradley — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:25:07 -0500

This Obama bailout is not important. it's not any more important than the Bush bailout was. Both bailouts gave untold Billions/a Trillion dollars to wealthy lobby groups. The Bush bailout favored the right lobby with payoffs, and the Obama bailout favors the left lobby with it's payoffs. That's why it's a 'green' stimulus. Most of the left-lobby is in the green industry.

I dare say the first bailout was the rightward wealth-oligarchy pulling as much value out of the system they could before it collapsed -- and the second bailout is the leftward wealth-oligarchy pulling their value out.

Out of our pockets, and our kids' and our grand-kids'.

End all of this welfare for billionaires, reform US Monetary policy to prevent inflationary theft of value, and stop stealing my blasted money!

You have me in debt for the rest of my life, Uncle Sam, and that is bad enough. but now you have my unborn children and grandchildren paying for today's excess. This mess has to stop! We need to reload the Constitution, and reboot.

Re: Shuler votes against stimulus, again

FFC1304 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:41:10 -0500

Hell, WHO can get thru to Hagan's office? then she has a complete idiot answering in Rawleigh...

Re: Shuler votes against stimulus, again

FFC1304 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:39:36 -0500

Thanks Heath Shuler for sticking to your better judgement! Tell Pelosi to shove it!

Someone get MaxLynda a tissue...

CitizenOpinionated — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:57:12 -0500

Wow...seems as if someone is a little irate.

This is the most important piece of legislation in quite some time. Have you read the bill? Do you know what is in the bill? No...instead you continue to play the BLUENC and HUFFINGTONPOST and DAILYKOS as a source of your news. Let me guess...you also think that Global Warming, or now climate change, is going to cause the oceans to rise and a massive freeze to kill us all in a few years. The Dems controlled Congress since 2006. Both parties are to blame. A President can only veto the legislation. All legislation, spending, tax cuts are all handled in Congress. Learn your civics.

And you speak of financial malpractice - well how about the passage of this Stimulus Bill that the CBO has could have an inverse affect and considering no elected official truly read the bill, then how would they know? What about the 48 hours of public review of the bill that we were promised? Nope they were only up for 10 hours before the House vote. What about the campaign promises of no closed door deals? That is exactly what happen in the joint conference. It is well documented and even Pelosi nor Reid could get their stories straight.

How about this you type into google "Nancy Pelosi and Star Kiss Tuna Fish."

Excluding a tuna company in her district from the minimum wage increase...yeah she truly cares about the poor and middle class in this country.

It is a sad reality, but most all in Congress are complete idiots and do not care about us.

For example, I called Hagan's office to voice my opinion about the Stimulus Bill, not one staffer until I got to her LD could explain to me why she was voting for the bill. They said it would create jobs for Americans, so I pressed how many jobs, when would they be created, how long would they be around or are they temporary. No one knew because no one had read the bill. Lobbyist on K Street had the bill before members of Congress...again well documented. And this is all happening on the watch on Obama. Let me guess...you might respond well he hasn't had enough time...even Democrats were worried about the amount of time they had to review the bill. Why doesn't someone grow a backbone and say NO we should vote on this today, we should let the American people review the bill as we promised and we will take this up on Monday. "But it is President's Day and we were promised a recess." Who cares...this bill could avert disaster according to Obama and the Dems. I would consider that true leadership...what is the rush of taking your time and trying to get the bill right. Explain that you overly emotional and most poorly informed excuse of a voter.

Re: Shuler votes against stimulus, again

maxlynda — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:36:39 -0500

Were Rush-puppets and Newtoids in Congress sincere in opposing spending the people’s treasure on philosophical objectives? When exactly were these right-wing recalcitrants struck by their epiphany?

We know it wasn’t during the last quarter-century, during which Republicans and faux Democrats willingly, eagerly used their partisan advantage to conduct the greatest transfer of wealth in the nation’s history, thus enfeebling the middle class and bankrupting the poor while further enriching the already rich.

It is almost amusingly disingenuous of these feckless neocons and their allies to criticize proposals intended to correct the budgetary malevolence of the inept Bushists. Those who ruled so long with irresponsible arrogance, steering the nation into a murderous, wasteful Middle East war, sitting on their hands as our borders were over-run by illegal immigrants, applauding from the sidelines as American capital raced unimpeded from Hickory and RTP to Indonesia and Bangalore--these rapscallions should be ashamed to even speak now of fiscal responsibility.

Mitch McConnel and John Boehner, along with Richard Burr, Patrick McHenry, et al and ad nauseum, championed most of the idiocies of the ineffectual administration of George Bush, whose legacy is a nation waist-deep in debt, mired in testosteronic misadventures and struggling now to come to grips with growing unemployment and financial ruin at home and disrepute abroad.

We’ve heard all the right-wing arguments. We’ve watched as Congressional Republicans dragged out their alarmist GOPAC charts and sad-mouthed about the sorry state of the world. We’ve heard how, given the chance, the GOP will lead us at long last to a tax-free Nirvana of peace and prosperity.

I don’t know what new Heritage Foundation-inspired tricks the right-wing has up its sleeve, or how the Norquistrians will seek anew to divide and conquer the electorate. But I am familiar with the sorry record of the McConnels, Boehners and McHenrys. Voting en masse against the stimulus package was merely political theater. For me, the only rational response to this appeal for another shot at leadership is, “Not a Chance in Hell.”

Re: Shuler votes against stimulus, again

CaryCurmudgeon — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:32:44 -0500

Mr. Shuler is apparently one of only eight democrats in the house not suffering from rectal-cranial inversion. The bill is 1,100 pages long. An aide with a good sense of humor could have added a provision granting pardons to martian gangsters, and it would have been approved.

Re: Shuler votes against stimulus, again

tangoz — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:34:26 -0500

Schuler is right. I would have less heartburn over the Spendulous boondoggle if it was adequately reviewed. I do not accept the lies that this entire bill is a stimulus bill. It is a payback bill for unions and left wing kool-aid drinkers.

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

CitizenOpinionated — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:39:02 -0500

Federal Agencies are controlled by the President through appointments, hiring and whatnot. Thus when an executive order of this manner is stated, then it is logical to state my affect, thus why the trade organization has expressed their concern.

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

englewood — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:20:05 -0500

While the order is union-friendly, it is not an order "stating that all federal funds going to construction jobs must use union workers."

To quote the order directly:

"Accordingly, it is the policy of the Federal Government to ENCOURAGE executive agencies to CONSIDER requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects in order to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement." (capitalization mine).

If the order had been meant to rquire union workers it would have said so. But it doesn't.

We're all entitled to our own opinion, but not our own facts. As far as the UNC education....geez, we just can't seem to agree on anything, can we?

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

CitizenOpinionated — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:54:19 -0500

Just read it and you must be incapable of reading through his KOOL-AID rhetoric as it is precisely how I described it. You can thank UNC-CH for my education.

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

CitizenOpinionated — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:47:50 -0500

Blogs are not facts necessarily.

Obama Issues 4th Union-Friendly Executive Order
Friday, February 06, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - President Barack Obama has issued an executive order backing the use of union labor for large-scale federal construction projects.

The order encourages federal agencies to have construction contractors enter project labor agreements. Those agreements require contractors to negotiate with union officials, recognize union wages and benefits and abide by collective bargaining agreements.

Obama's order restores a Clinton administration rule that was rescinded by President George W. Bush.

It is the fourth union-friendly executive order that Obama has signed since he's been in office.

This is what the AP wrote on the matter...

Facts are facts and the statements I made are completely true and substantiated by these article...Thanks for playing

As for my statistics...here you go...The Associated Builders and Contractors has already come out against the executive order. The organization claims that union-only project labor agreements increase construction costs between 10% and 20%. It also says that it discriminates against the 84% of construction workers that chose not to join a labor union.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/construction-building/20090206/DC6802106022009-1.html

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

englewood — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:59:25 -0500

CitizenOpinionated:

Your statement about the presidential executive order is simply untrue. If you care to do so, you can read the actual executive order at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/02/obama-exec-orde.html

Re: Pols see infrastructure as key

CitizenOpinionated — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:29:45 -0500

Spending money on infrastructure might be well served during these tough economic times, but I am extremely worried about a recent Executive Order that has not been highly touted in the ranks of the media. Pres. BHO made an executive order stating that all federal funds going to construction jobs must use union workers. Facts show that 84% of the construction industry in not unionized, thus only a select few would be eligible or the remainder would have to join a union. Union workers will raise the cost of each project by 10 to 20%.

Is this truly the best bang for our buck, during this these economic times?

Re: Engineer: N.C. needs some work

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:57:45 -0500

Is that any way to talk to a "civil" engineer?

Seriously, please refrain from telling people to "shut up."

— RTB

Re: Engineer: N.C. needs some work

FFC1304 — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:48:01 -0500

SHUT UP! They've WASTED MORE MONEY THAN THEY HAVE SPENT WISELY FOR DECADES IN NC ! ! !