It seems like whenever there is a disastrous event, everyone effected becomes a hero. Somehow we have lost the idea of plain old "bad luck". Being in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't constitute heroism. It is that rush to be the first to proclaim "heros" that leads to the Tillman type hyperbole.

And, of course or wonderful elected officials feel immediately compelled to propose new laws and memorials and etc. so they can get their names attached to the event.

Is it time we accept the fact that there is bad luck out there? Bad things do happen to good people all the time. But they shouldn't immediately call for reparations, it isn't the governments fault and we don't need more laws.

Unless someone (we) acknowledge the cost of keeping us alive for the last six months of our miserable life, we will nevewr resolve any health care issues.

I am 62 and i know that some time in the future i will get really sick. And i know that there is a pretty good chance that there will be a medical treatment that will allow me to recover to some degree. But I also know that the cost is not justifiable.

Maybe we need some sort of process that says at 60, no more funding for stents, at 70 no more dialysis, at 80 no more anything. You get sick enough, you die.

Why is that so bad? Maybe if we were not so selfish we would accept death as an okay event. It is going to happen anyway so why prolong the inevitable. we have lived our lives and enjoyed the time, now we need to move on so the next generationss can do okay.

If it takes the government to mandate that we stop our selfish ways, so be it.

Even the brilliant Bush got sucked into the flu craze when he authorized millions to protect us from Bird Flu. And now the same crazies are after Swine Flu.

What is wrong with these people?

Obama should veto the bill to send a message to the crooks that their day is over. Who cares if it is last year's bill. It is just another appeasement of the spend crazy government trying to provide job security for th Congress and senate.

We need term limits to put an end to this stuff.

So where is the surprise? We had draft dodger Bush and President Cheney running the war with their other draft dodger ally, Rumsfeld. Maybe if these guys had sucked it up and gone to Viet Nam they wouldn't have been so gung ho to invade Iraq. Or at the very least they would have prepared for the inevitable psychological messes that would evolve. Both for the Americans and the Iraqis. Imagine how messed up they are.

And the pathetic thing is that the Reserves or Guard or Active soldiers that are being sent there want to believe they are really protecting America from terrorists. As they return, the disillusionment that they were just wasting their time, as we did in VN, will really be uncomfortable for them. All the rah, rah send offs and speeches by Governors and state commanders are just crap. It is nice of those guys to be so supportive when they leave. How about when they come back. Bush and McCain even voted against the revised GI Bill so the soldiers wouldn't quit to go to school. Great Americans! Way to "Support Our Troops".

I was one of the many MN voters who voted Obama/Coleman.

Having gone to a Franken fund raiser I found him to be smug. I don't think he will serve MN well.

Regardless of that, i can't imagine that anyone person or party could have influenced the process of the recount.

At the same time, I hope Franken doesn't think his 255 vote win is some sort of mandate to ignore the roughly 1.5 million that did not vote for him.

I asked him about term limits for Senators and he brusqly told me that he would never support that. So we have another guy looking for a career at our expense. I would bet he won't win a second term and thereby he will implement his own term limit strategy.

WE NEED TERM LIMITS FOR ALL CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS.

Middle income tax cuts will go to Visa and master Card, not to GM or Ford. Money to states and municipalities will be spent on another level of administration.

He should be using investment tax credits for businesses and capital gains tax reductions. Also, tax credits for buying specific things like a house or car.

Cutting someone's taxes by $20 or $50/week or ? just won't make any difference in a person's wallet or in their confidence about the economy in general.

The inevitable result will be rampant inflation. The good news there is that the housing values will climb back to the summer 2008 values.

It is impossible for us to know what effect the whole Homeland security business has had in managing the likelihood of another terror attack. It is the unfortunate process of the government to keep everything a big secret and to tell us about the occasional arrest of some purported terrorist cell. In looking at the airport security, I doubt that much has been accomplished by all the billions that have been sent. The airport security takes away a one inch blade on a wine opener then the airline gives you a five inch metal knife in First Class plus a fork. They take your shoes and search old ladies for some unknown reason. But not at every airport.

One thing the billions have done is let the government continue to scare as many people as possible. Rule by fear is sure effective. What on earth is an "orange level"? No one knows or cares but the announcement over the PA gets everyone's attention that there is something sinister going on.

And the $35,000/year rent-a-cops are there to save us. 1/20/09.