There are already multiple examples of many nations that have implemented variations of this. Did it destroy any of them?

I bet real solutions for most flaws/drawbacks that are used as arguments against providing nationalized health care have already been tested by those countries.

How about we have a look?

"...George W Bush kicked the crap out of the terrorists, particularly al qaeda..."

Well actually he kicked the crap out of Iraq, and if you do a little reading you will find out that al qaeda was not really doing anything there, nor were any of the 9/11 murderers from Iraq.

But hey, if the facts are too inconvenient for you, then just go right ahead and ignore them.

This story was not presented so that we would like the teller, nor is it required to have a happy ending to be worth reading. A tale about the human condition sometimes touches a nerve and just leaves it at that, no happy ending, with the character still just as flawed as at the start, still muddling along without any seeming regard to the damage done or what they could do to fix their lives.

It is a little uncomfortable when a train wreck like Louise goes through what should be a life-changing experience, but just keeps motoring along down the same road. She is not the only one to do that, lots of people go to their grave the same way - flawed to the very end. And that is a scary thought, that sometimes change never comes.

WTF!?!

How can they not tell who got handouts? Are they embarrassed? Captains of Capitism don't want to admit that they are merely men who make mistakes and need to be bailed out by lowly working class folks who might be eking out a living doing menial work in some miserable little business that employs ordinary people in some blase business in some non-descript town, somewhere in America outside of the pillars of power?

That little weasel Kohn needs to have a shock collar put on him next time he testifies before Committee. Give the c-span viewers some kind of ability to text in votes like on American idol - shock or no shock.

That is where I think we really end up. Not so interconnected that a hiccup in Madrid, causes indigestion in Singapore, but still able to move goods between nations when it really make sense. Not just cents.

I also think we need a coherent national emissions standard that is realistic, but ambitious in promoting efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. It kind of seems like a sham to say "every state can do what they want", when it reality we know that California is the tail that wags the dog. Why doesn't the dog just go ahead and wag it's tail in way that reflects the whole dog's mood?

Sigh. Somebody always reminding us that mere mortals are always thinking they are more clever than they really are. Especially when they have something to sell us (Not Scorpio69er, but the really smart guys who make our economies "work".)

This quote reminds me that we are really just toddlers playing with matches...

Never in the history of the world have we faced so much complexity combined with so much incompetence and understanding of its properties.

Obviously it applies to more than just the present discussion. When you look any issue in this more abstract sense, it is kind of scary, because I don't think any of the proponents of new technology/ideas/schemes go beyond the obvious direct connections to do any real analysis of the impacts of their proposals in real world systems - they just aren't able to. To consider complex behaviors (unintended consequences?) is not really conducive to the 'Just Do It' school of getting things done.

So just go ahead and implement your idea, and let the ultimate laboratory of the real world provide you with the final feedback. You can make adjustments on the fly because you are smart (you have an MBA!).

Anyone interested in investing some mortgage derivatives?

It is great to hear the focus on the power grid and renewable energy sources, but I agree with the previous poster. The idea as explained:

With cars often used only a small fraction of a 24-hour day, battery-operated vehicles could be paid for services to make the national grid more efficient...

doesn't sound like it solves the problem.

If the car has so much excess battery capacity that they can routinely be partially discharged and still have enough for driving needs, then doesn't that mean the car has too many batteries? So shouldn't the excess capacity be taken out of the cars and put into large scale storage (maybe not even batteries?) that probably is simpler and more efficient than trying to manage 10 million little storage sites that appear/vanish as drivers park/drive off? Aren't there usually losses (nothing is 100% efficient) whenever power is transformed/converted and such?

I didn't even know that technology was commercially available. That makes me feel more optimistic, even though we are told by another poster that we are destined to suffer in the hell of some post economic-apocalypse in short order.

Since I don't have a bunker stocked with MRE's to ride out the collapse of civilization, I guess I will just try to be optimistic. This new President isn't perfect,... but DAMN! He actually seems unwilling to ignore facts and appears to be willing to face reality in an intelligent, mature fashion. With the shrub gone, we just might be able to change things for the better, in spite of breathtaking obstacles.