"They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Why should we send more of the same types of people to Congress to pass the same kind of laws that got us into this economic mess?"
A good reason NOT to vote for Rebublicans who DID get us into this mess. The RR Romney-Ryan RR Rolls Royce is the same one The Bushites drove into town.

Yo Sean, it's not the governments job to create jobs, that's Socialism. The best thing our government could do for us would be to reduce China imports, that would cause an increase in manufacturing in America thus creating new jobs. We will never fix the economy by inventing more state & federal jobs or by throwing around stimulus money.

You are absolutely right Sean. Fewer career politicians, fewer government employees, fewer rules and regulations but better and more consistent enforcement. Level the playing field and get out of the way. That’s what this economy needs.

You have my vote tomorrow and in November. Good luck!

Sean I agree with what you said above, but with all due respect I could have written that article. I know what the problems are, but what would YOU propose as the solutions? That is what I want to know....specifics. I would be interested to learn what you would do if you were elected.

Hi Sean,
Can't wait to vote you in. The Democratic Party platform as of yesterday has ceased to use the words, God and Jerusalem. They also highlighted taxpayer funded abortion and same sex marraige as their values and goals. Good luck to them. The de facto socialist party is the Democratic Party.

You have my vote, Sean. Keep on keeping on. After watching a bit of the Democratic rally, you are more important than ever.

I hadn't planned on voting tomorrow. But I think you DO get it. Maybe it is worth braving the first day of school at our single polling location. Good luck!!

I have been listening to coverage ofthe Democratic National Convetion and it is disheartening. We are facing terible economic times and the "buzz" is gay marriage and government funded abortions. There is no "platform" so all of the talk is about the"electricity" in the crowd. They also mention they are busing in the crowd from local college campi. Can't say a lot more for the RNC.

"...busing in the crowd from local college campi."

Easy to believe because it sounded like a football rally on steroids.

Washington doesn't get it? Tell us something we don't already know! You don't get it! How would a no name freshman with no allies make Washington D.C. get it? You would be a fish out of water if you won, and you will not win.

Donno...funny name, Bielat. Kinda Muslim-sounding. Let's get a look at his brith certificate and school transcripts before we go any further.Someone said they saw him patronizing a Cumberland Farm store where a Pakistani is known to work.....

According to Wikipedia, iRobot was founded in 1990 with funding from an agency of the United States Department of Defense

Moreover, according to iRobot’s 10k for 12-31-12 filed on 2-21-12 with the SEC,

“We depend on the U.S. federal government for a significant portion of our revenue, and any reduction in the amount of business that we do with the U.S. federal government would negatively impact our operating results and financial condition.
For the years ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011, we derived 36.1% and 38.4% of our total revenue, respectively, directly or indirectly, from the U.S. federal government and its agencies."

When Mr.Bielat talks about responding to change and “pulling the levers” to create jobs does he mean pulling on connections in Washington to obtain taxpayer funded contracts? Did he advise Jeff the Painter to go get a taxpayer funded contract like iRobot?
Jim O’Connor

Name one politician that did not say he or she would create jobs? Every single one says the same thing. Vote ind, dem, gop, tea party it doesn't matter, they all say they have some formula that will make jobs. All you that posted on this thread saying you're voting for Bielat are Republicans and that's why he will get your vote. The only jobs politicians create are paid for by taxpaying citizens.

"Sean worked his way through college aided by the GI Bill, Scholarships and student loans....Sean Bielat has focused his campaign on...more limited government..."

Will Bielat's more limited government include GI Bill benefits and/or student loans? What will he cut?

Mr. Bielat claims to have been a manager of a $100 million product line at iRobot Corporation, a company that is heavily dependent on taxpayer funding for its existence and then states that based on his experience he has gained "real world evidence that the government cannot create jobs; only businesses can create jobs."

Pure doubletalk.

Your friend Jeff made a poor business decision. He should have hired temporary contractors, completed the job in excellent fashion and used the job to promote his company to other commercial customers. Your friend Jeff could have sought out another painting company and worked out a deal to split the job in some fashion. Instead, he walked away from the opportunity and blamed the government. Great.

And worse yet, you bought the story.

My father would have worked every daylight minute, 7 days a week, paid his men overtime and crushed that job.

You have a problem with national Romneycare, do you?? You can be a proud Republican and deny health care for 30 million Americans.

Have you signed the Pledge? Do you have the backbone to walk away from Grover Norquist?

Have you renounced the Republican platform plank that denies access to abortion to women in the event of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother?

You’ve spent your waking hours pulling the levers that create jobs? How many veterans did you personally hire?

You think we need to change Washington? But not a word from you about the term limits you would impose on yourself. Not a word from you about fighting for a five year waiting period between leaving Congress and becoming a lobbyist.

Governing is about a lot more than a balance sheet.

Let's see, Obama worked his way up from poverty to become a leader who would save the auto industry, reform the finance industry, give 30 million Americans access to healthcare, get us out of Iraq, and lead this country out of the greatest economic depression since 1939, which by the way happened under 8 years of Republican leadership. Yet you propose that what we desperately need is to elect a corporate raider who made hundreds of millions stripping struggling companies to the bone and selling the parts? Or do you not support your national party and leader?

Bob,Bob. Wake up pal you're obviously dreaming. Obama paid how much for college? Bob? He has done NOTHING but put America trillions of dollars in debt. I think he forgets that all the money he gives away WE have to pay for. This isn't a free ride like his college education.

Shannon, Shannon, you should try a little dreaming... Obama didn't dream away your money--we started doing that seriously in the Reagan era--remember Reagan, who wanted us all to pretend we were rich, and then pay for it later? We're paying for it now. Stop pretending that Obama spent the money without your knowledge. And he's doing very well, considering... Like other leaders--Republican and Democrat--who understand that spending on the right things is a better way of improving the economy than easing up on the uppermost one percent, or (shamelessly) blocking any attempt to resolve our problems because you don't like the man in the White House. SHAMEFUL.

That's what everyone said 4yrs ago about George Bush. Fact is our whole government is flawed and only a revolution could bring about change at this point.

O BAMA will take from the wealth from the towns and absorb them into the large cities . Save Sharon and vote for Mitt Romney !

Did he just tell you that, Tadd? Or did you get this from those most reliable of mediums, the wizards at Fox News? Rush's crystal ball? Just wondering where you get your information about the future.

By the way, this Sean looks pretty interesting to me--smart, and articulate. I don't agree with some of his interpretations (for example, because most small businesses don't yet understand how the VERY new ACA will work, that means it must be a bad thing for the country?? Not so much...), and I don't agree that more businessmen is what we need in Washington (think of the reputation of the American corporate boss over the last ten years... SHAMELESS), but I'm listening...

Hey Emcee, What exactly do you mean by redistibuting the wealth? Is iRobot, Bielat's old company, an example of wealth redistribution? It was started with government funding and it remains dependent on the U.S. government (we the taxpayers) for a significant portion of its revenue (that is not my opinion, it is from iRobot's 10k). According to its proxy statement, iRobot's CEO was paid $2.7 Million in compensation in 2011. Would you agree that iRobot is an example of redistribution?

You are absolutely correct, Emcee. It is all about perception.
If Gretchen and paul believe the Republican party is controlled by religious fanatics and the tea party, there is no way I can change their minds.
If I believe the Democratic party is being controlled by Atheist zealots, nothing paul or Gretchen say is going to change my mind.

Emcee, I remain curious and I'd really like to know if you, or anyone else for that matter, thinks using taxpayer money to form and sustain iRobot is redistribution and if you approve.If you'd rather not answer that's fine.

Ooooooookay.

The truth is that nobody gets it. When will candidates have the courage to say that they really don't have all the answers and that they may not have any of them completely but are willing to sit down with people with diverse points of view and see whether they can collectively come up with the answers???

UglyHat, Solyndra and GM are discussions for another time. My comments here are in response to Mr. Bielat's claim that his experience provided him "real world evidence that the government cannot create jobs; only businesses can create jobs." He then cites his experience including managing a $100 Million Dollar product line at iRobot.

Do you agree with Mr. Bielat that government cannot create jobs, despite the fact that Irobot , where he worked (and employs over 600 people), was started with taxpayer funds and depends on taxpayer funding for over 1/3 of its revenue?

Do you also agree that taxpayer funding to iRobot is a form of resdistribution?

I'm very curious about your views, but if you'd rather not answer that;s fine.

UglyHat, Interesting that you don't believe government's role is to create jobs. So you would oppose government spending for purposes of economic stimulus? What happens when there is no other source of stimulus for economic growth? Where would start-up funding for companies like iRobot come from? What about funding for basic research and things like artificail intelligence? Do you oppose the use of government funding for these? If government doesn't fund basic research who will? Are you aware of any non-government sources of funding for the types of basic research that has no short term commercial viability, but that someday yields companies like iRobot?Where is this private source of funding?

UglyHat, re the GM bankruptcy. I believe you'll find that the UAW made major pre-bankruptcy concessions. In any event, we the taxpayers would have been on the hook for any unpaid pension obligations had a restructuring not taken place. The government had to finance the restructuring because no private lender would do the deal. Would you have preferred a straight liquidation of GM? Didn't think so.

As for the secured lenders, they received about 29 cents on their dollar and they were LUCKY to get that since without the government, GM (and Chrysler) would have been liquidated since these secured lenders were not willing to finance the ongoing operations.

UglyHat, what bankruptcy laws weren't followed? Name one.

UglyHat, you are good.

UglyHat, You have cited to opinion pieces. Are you aware that on March 29, 2011 a Bankruptcy Judge approved the GM restructuring? The order approving the plan was over 800 pages of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Docket No. 09-50026, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of NY. Again, what laws weren't followed? Would you have preferred a straight liquidation?

I remembered! Go Joe! And remember, the Presidential Race is between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney--we have come a LOOOOONG way!

UglyHat, I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. But if claims like "bankruptcy laws were not followed" are made they should be backed up. Obviously you can't, therefore you shouldn't make such claims.

24 hours since he posted...and not a word from Bielat.

Joe Kane, How was a recession that started in 2007 caused by Dodd Frank which was signed into law in July 2010?

I agree with that Emcee.Repeal of GS was badly misguided and GS should be reinstated.

So Seekonk wants bigger gov't and more regulation?

"...a law devised by Sen. Gramm and two other Republican legislators -- Rep. Jim Leach and Rep. Thomas Bliley -- removed the barrier (Glass-Steagall) and allowed banks to act as both commercial and investment entities."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/phil-gramm-glass-steagall-financial-crisis_n_1705610.html or http://tinyurl.com/9amga3j

Obama does not believe that JERUSALEM is the capital of Israel .

"the subprime mortgage crisis, which forced banks to loan money..."
Could you please explain how banks were 'forced' to loan money?
'Forced' by whom? By what?

Hey Sean,
If the Republican Party is go great, with all the answers to solve our woes then answer me this one. Why were the following people missing from the Republican National Convention: President George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Karl Rove, and Tom Delay. They were missing because the Republican Ideas created an unmitigated disaster of our economy. If the Republican administration had the tiniest shred of credibility with the economy someone from the previous administration would have been there. Condoleza Rice was Secretary of State which had nothing to do with the economic policies so she doesn't count.

Oh Tim, the elephant in the room! Thanks for that!

In reality, Washington AND Boston are out of touch, with everything and everyone. I am contemplating running for state office. How about these ideas; First bill; term limits, (2 or 3 at the most) for ALL state elected officials. 2nd. Immediate 15% reduction in pay of ALL state elected officials, with biennial raises of 1.5%, rather than the automatic yearly 3% raise they voted for themselves, (can you say conflict of interest by the way!?) 3rd. NO retirement benefits/pay for ANY state elected officials. You want to "serve" the public good, allegedly full-time, (though we all know the folks on Beacon Hill are part-timers at BEST) then do it for modest pay, for a little while, then get the hell out. Lastly, at least a 1 term limit hold against taking a job with, or being employed as a lobbyist. (great idea Linda Worthy!) Let's see a candidate propose those ideas! I will not be popular, but that has never bothered me before.

Obama left out of platform the Jerusalem is the capital of Israel ! This will never change ! President of YOUNG ISRAEL !

Benjamin,
The issue of the Israeli capital is obviously one of immense domestic and global --if not galactic--importance. We should not tackle anything else-- the economy, the deficit or continuing wars until this is setrtled.

Fox News: The O'Reilly Factor - watch the video from September 5, 2012. Massachusetts Governors: Patrick vs. Romney.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1824910743001/

@Sean: Good showing in the primaries. Best of luck in November. You have my vote and the vote of many other Independents in Massachusetts.

Does Mr. Bielat believe federally issued student loans are an example of too much government intervention?

From the Washington Post, September 6, 2012: "Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) suggested Wednesday federally-issued student loans were unconstitutional. He also said that disregarding the Constitution could lead down a “slippery slope” and cited the Holocaust as an example of what could happen when a country heads down a wrong path....I’m for student loans. I want kids to have an education,” Bartlett responded. But he explained that he had read through the Constitution carefully and could find no evidence “that the federal government should be involved in education.”

Everyone should know what these "small government" Republicans are all about.

Commenting on Mr. Bielats' responses to my earlier questions: First, thank you for responding.

Why shouldn’t we second guess how Jeff runs his business? Why are you second guessing national Romneycare? Why is the Republican party second guessing the auto industry bailout? You put Jeff’s story out there; you chose to use only a few sentences. Now you have him speaking for legions. Joe, The Plumber, anyone?

Uncertainty causes economic harm...granted. Mitch McConnell, your party’s Senate minority leader said that the number one priority was to make Obama a one term President only half way through Obama’s first term. What followed was a Republican strategy of obstruction. Obstruction causes uncertainty. It was politics above country.

“...there isn't a binary policy solution set.” I realize you are well-educated and that Massachusetts, as a whole, has a well-educated population, but do you see the folks commenting on your Patch article writing at that level? Do you actually know who your potential constituents are? Some of them drive busses, trim trees...even paint houses. My guess is that most of those folks don’t speak “binary policy solution set”.

“I didn't sign the Nordquist pledge.” Glad to hear that; that is a strong positive in my book. However, you answered in the past tense. Let me restate my question: If ever asked to sign Grover Norquist’s pledge, will you sign it? And yes, a binary solution set is intended.

Personally, I think a career in Washington would be fascinating. Your willingness to pledge to cap your fund-raising is another strong positive. But you hedged when you said “willing” -- either pledge it or don’t. ‘Willing’ doesn’t cut it.

“wouldn't serve more than 3-4 terms.” A third strong positive. Let’s make that a firm 4 terms max. How easy would it be to over ride that with “There’s more work to be done?” If you became a four term Republican Congressman from Massachusetts, the pressure on you from the state and national party to hold that seat would be intense. You could only escape that pressure by telling one and all -- now and repeatedly-- that 4 terms is your max. If you move it to five -- now, at the outset -- I wouldn't complain.

“I'd be very willing to support a 5 year waiting period...” Yet another strong positive. But again, there is that word ‘willing’ -- fish or cut bait.

And sadly, like Romney, you missed the veteran question. Readers can think what they will about that. If the DRTC didn’t relay THAT question, it might suggest there aren’t any DRTC daughters or sons in Afghan foxholes. And if there are, double shame on the DRTC.

One of Romney’s responses when asked why he hadn’t mentioned veterans in his acceptance speech was, “You talk about the things that are important.” I don't think the 'humanizing' worked. Let's think about Romney handling foreign policy with this type of insensitivity.

You also did not respond to the question about the Republican platform plank that denies access to abortion to women in the event of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Overall, several strong responses...some fence sitting. And you missed a biggie.

We can't continue to just throw money around when we're broke. Do you run your own household budget that way? Sean Bielat knows what it's like to live within a budget, as opposed to a trust fund. Bielat has children whose future he has real concerns for. Bielat has private sector experience, so he knows how excessive regulations affect small businesses, including JKIII's desire to "end cheap oil". But Sean Bielat has also stated that he doesn't want to make a career out of being a congressman, which makes him the perfect candidate for the job. JKIII won't say that, because politics is the Kennedy "family business. Our country is in way too much trouble for the same "politics as usual" nonsense. Sean Bielat is the refreshing change that we need in DC.

I actually don't really care about 30 million people who are uninsured. And why should I? Many of them don't want to subscribe. Aren't we suppose to value a Personal Responsibility or is it a strange concept for you?

Anonymous,
Personal responsibility: Sure, it's everyone for himself. Otherwise known as anarchy. I won't argue that it is a strange concept. It is a self-defeating concept. A more destructive idea would be hard to find. It’s a splendid concept until folks start to believe and live their lives by it.
___

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls.
It tolls for thee.
_____
John Donne -1624

Once in a while, in these very vigorous discussions, amongst the acrimony and accusations, the facts and the fallacies, someone posts something that sheds a greater light that allows one to step back and reflect; something that reminds us of a larger truth.

Last Saturday, on another blog, Chris M wrote simply,

“Ideology separates us, dreams & anguish bring us together.”

And thank you, Sarek,

for reminding us of John Donne’s words.

Veterans will be the losers if Romney wins. The Romney-Ryan budget has cut tens of billions. Yesterday's NY Times (Sept 10) brought it all to light and the method the GOP is making to hide it in the budget details. Because this is a complicated area of the budget, it's difficult to read and even more so to explain, so the Democrats have left it alone.

I think Romney and Ryan have to be asked the question directly; "Are you cutting VA benefits?" If they say no, frankly they're lying.

Anonymous:
Bless your heart; you do need to dust off your history books.
First, John Donne was not a medieval writer as he lived (1600’s) after15th century, recognized as more or less the end of the medieval era.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages

Second, John Donne did not own slaves. When you go around asserting so-and -so probably did this or that, you are really saying nothing. I could equally well assert that Ronald Reagan probably was a Russian spy. One of the most masterful users of “probably” was Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Finally, while your worldview is enthusiastically shared by some animal species --sharks for example,-- we have only to consider ants, bees and other social insects to debunk this mistaken interpretation of Darwin’s theory. A great deal of evidence has come to light showing that altruism exists in animals:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism_in_animals
By “fittest” you seem to think it means the one who can beat up on the others. In fact the fittest may be the ones best able to help and empathize with others:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13671-evolution-myths-survival-of-the-fittest-justifies-everyone-for-themselves.html

Sean Bielat, I will vote for you if you pledge to do something about bringing outrageous healthcare costs down and, thus, saving our country.

Anonymous:
As usual, you are a tad fact-challenged. Lawyers & malpractice claims amount to a tiny percentage of health care costs. About .3 (point three) percent, in fact.

http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/justice/hs.xsl/8686.htm

What drives up costs are for-profit health insurers. It is a shameful business where profits are made on the misfortune and misery of others. A company could well operate as a non-profit and still create jobs which would pay good wages to its employees.
Or maybe you think, Anonymous, that police and fire departments should be for-profit business as well.
Fortunately, President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act has and as more of its provisions kick in, will continue to lower costs. Admittedly costs are rising but at a much slower rate than when for-profit insurers were unchecked.

And don’t give me the old malarkey about competition reducing health care costs: “Fact: Private plans profit by competing to enroll the healthy and shun the sick. The industry is so consolidated that there is no effective competition in most regions of the country.”

http://pnhp.org/blog/2012/08/14/ryans-premium-support-proposal-for-medicare-myths-and-facts/

Sarek, you could be more objective by citing some neutral websites instead of biased liberal left ones. This came up first in Google: http://www.regence.com/transparency/regence-and-reform/what-drives-up-health-care-costs.jsp
And the physicians I am talking to are opposing Obamacare, not supporting it.

Anonymous,
"And the physicians I am talking to are opposing Obamacare, not supporting it"
s an argument, this wouldn't seem to carry muchweight. It is neutralized by the physicians I [sarek] am talking to who believe Obama careis the best thing since sliced bread And they outnumber you physicians 100:1.
And the neurtal website you cite does not even mention malpractice costs since its pie chart deals in slices of rounded percentages.The malpractice percentage is too low for the chart to bother about..

It is amazing to see what a conglomeration of haters and stereotypers this fellow Bielat attracts. A person could use the comments of his supporters to write a book about the cloying overlay of ignorance in right-wing American politics today. All they are lacking is matching brown shirts.

Yes, the Republicans have SUCH a good record of "stabilizing" the Middle East, and not "propping up" (not to mention, replacing) Muslim and other regimes.

Obama 2012--the SAFE and DECENT choice for Middle Class Americans!!!

I am just wondering how the life of middle class (those who work in private sector and not union members) has improved during the Obama presidency? Not a bit.

Anonymous,
One indisputable improvement for the middle class;Bush is no longer their president.

Explain how the democrats plan on paying back the nearly $6 Trillion dollars in DEBT incurred over the past (4) years while in office.

I think Barney Frank and Tedd Kennedy have done more damage than anyone to this country.

Dennis you're a typical liberal Demcorat, your answer is to blame George Bush for this mess? Who had control of both the house and the senate from 2007 until 2010?? It was Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid who thwarted any attempt by then President Bush to turn things around. Pelosi and Reid spent taxpayer money just like drunken sailors, and when President Obama took office in 2009 the spending got even worse to the point that we are 16 trillion dollars in debt, no thanks to the liberal Democrats.

The greatest Democrat of them all, Thomas Jefferson, wouldn't recognize his party today. Even JFK wouldn't.

@paul... "No one in the history of this country ever did more harm than George W. Bush." ... unless it is Barack H. Obama. He moved troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, essentially escalating the war in Afghanistan. Then recently he destabilized the mideast with the takeout of our allies, Mubarak and Ghadafi. The area has been taken over by the muslim brotherhood much to the detrement of Israël. Syria is ready to blow up and Lebanon is soon to catch fire. Are you safer today than you were 4 years ago? The answer is an emphatic NO.

Bush's biggest mistake was to make war in the Middle East, Obama's was to escalate the mistake.

@Emcee --Please check on the history of the US relationship with Moammar Khadafy ("Ghadafi") of Libya. He was never an ally of the US. It is widely known that his regime was implicated in the destruction of the Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland; Ronald Reagan sent US plans to bomb his palace in an effort to kill him; he was a known financier for terrorists around the world. Only in recent years, when he understood that he could be at risk for his behavior did he mellow and give up any nuclear ambitions. Clearly, your mistaken view that he was ever an ally of the US calls anything else you have to say into serious question.

Emcee, the Nazis were not socialists.

And we are making the same mistake on Syria now. Assad is no friend of US or Israel, but at least, he is not suicidal. Those, he is fighting with are much worse. Mark my words.

Emcee, I would say they were more fascists that anything else. What is your understanding of fascism?

@UglyHat... the ugly business of spies and counterspies and the CIA makes for strange bedfellows. I grabbed the first quote that came up from Google, but I had heard about this odd alliance during many of the recent interviews.

Given all the personal attacks, hostility and insults displayed in this comment section, one might expect physical assaults to break out at the local grocery store, dentist office or polling place.

It is unfortunate that a nice little web site for local news, has turned into a political war zone. I want to read about Mansfield stuff if I am on Mansfield Patch, not what people from Foxboro , Walpole and Seekonk want to write. Editor, pull this Political CRAP off here, or you will be losing people coming here. Vote how you want, just shut UP about it.

I sure hope it stops, BEFORE THEN

Mansfield Patch deletes anything said against Mansfield.

Correct me if I'm wrong...Clinton Was able to clean up the First Bush financial mess....and Obama wasn't able to clean up the second Bush financial mess???

The bottom line is Democrats are not fighting for middle class. It's all illusion like "Hope and Change" mantra. Only brainwashed idiotikos believe into it. They only need to use middle class for votes, taxes and donations.

And if those "right wing Republicans" didn't take over congress last year Dennis, we'd have what, a $17 trillion deficit now with Stimumess II for more public employee raises, puppet theatres in Minnesota and boat ramps to dry lakes, just like stimuless I ?
Don't forget Barney Frank's role in starting the Bush II mess, giving houses to people who had no skin in the game. Yes, it was all Bush's fault.....for giving in to and believing it would work.

OK---I have just come out the end of this Bielat supporter tunnel of madness (God, what a stench in there!) --more conviced than ever that we need JOE KENNEDY FOR CONGRESS! Donations may be made at joekennedy2012.com .

Keep throwing away more and more of your money. You must have plenty of them. But your money won't buy my vote and those people who use their brains.

Amen, Dennis.

@Dennis... "(God, what a stench in there!)"

As soon as you leave the room the stench will clear up, and take Kennedy with ya.

@Sean Bielet - try catching the video clip if you haven't already, of Phyllis Sechafly, a Constitutional Lawyer, who was interviewed with Mike Huckabee on FoxNews on Saturday, 08/30/2012.

Phyllis Schafly is a rightwing anti-feminine wog. She is no authority. Faux Gnus is scraping the bottom of the barrel with its guests lately.

Sean Bielat, now he's suddenly an expert in foreign policy. Where does he get off criticizing the President, the Democrats, and Kennedy? He's a little 'jumped up' self-important twerp. A carpetbagger from PA.

Both candidates have iffy residential statuses. So let's call it even.

No, let's not, but in any event, that's low hanging fruit. What about my other questions ?

Mr. Bielat, I'm late to this party, but wanted to pass on a couple of thoughts --

1. I think you're on the mark with your focus on the detrimental effect uncertainty has on our economy. In my opinion, uncertainty is doing more damage than what would result from a clear decision on critical economic issues in either direction. You're one of the very few political candidates who has flagged this. That suggests to me that you really do understand what it takes to move in a direction that will fix this economy.

2. I applaud your decision not to bow down to Grover Norquist's "no new taxes" pledge. Although I am in favor of limiting taxation, I am appalled by the number of political candidates who have demonstrated a willingness to pre-assign their authority to make decisions while in political office (should they be elected) to an unelected leader of a lobbying group. Why would I support candidates who are so weak-backed that they hand their discretionary power over to someone else before they are even elected?

3. In the last election cycle when you ran against Barney Frank, I heard you speak briefly at a rally in Foxboro. You articulated the principles behind what I believe should be the Republican Party's position on key issues more clearly and effectively than any other candidate I had heard up to that time -- or since. Explaining the principles behind policy positions can be difficult when everyone is trying to pin you down on specific points, but keep it up!

Executive Order No.: 138.....@Sean Bielat - I understand that this Executive Order no.: 138 has been making the rounds recently, it's for government to control the internet. A glimpse...

Executive Order no.: 138 - it's for government to control the internet. Just one week after the democrats called to keep the internet free at their convention, Obama is grabbing more government control to impose more mandates and regulations, without Congress.

That's 138 Executive Orders to date, 138 times that Obama has overturned the will of the people and imposed his personal political beliefs on all of us.

Excerpts from the above are from @Sean Bielet's own website/enewsletter sign-ups etc., and from other emails, writers, bloggers on the web. In case anyone else was wondering the source of the information.

Now, let's take a look at this.....Executive Order - U.S. Constitution in Article II, Section I. Congress must pass a bill canceling or changing the order in a manner they see fit. The president will typically veto that bill, and then Congress can try to override the veto of that second bill. The Supreme Court can also declare an executive order to be unconstitutional.

This is why it is so important to vote Romney/Ryan 2012, and eliminate the obvious, gross misconduct of the left-leaning socialist liberals.

How about the gross misconduct of starting a war using outright deceit? A war that cost thousands of American lives? How about the overreaching "Patriot" act, the phone-bugging, the outing of an American intelligence agent by the Administration? And I'm sorry, it wasn't soooooo long ago, we all remember it because it was the last Republican regime. Now when you raise that REALLY old specter of "socialism"-- how do you finesse that with Romney's universal health care in Massachusetts?

Obama 2012--the only choice for working Americans!

Treason @David Nolta - the paperwork is already in place.

Look up the legal definition.

Janet: I give up. I don't know what you're talking about. Are you saying that what the Bush regime did was treasonous? I would probably agree.

@Janet Sroczynski -- Obama is really off the pace. G.W. Bush signed nearly 300 Executive Orders and, as you say, Obama has "138 Executive Orders to date". Nearly 300 times G.W. "overturned the will of the people and imposed his personal political beliefs on all of us."
Have you been watching 'Obama: 2016" again or is your tin foil hat too tight?
P.S. Your post was barely logical and there ain't no paperwork that's gonna fix that.

@Linda Worthy - re-read what I wrote, it is from @Sean Bielat's website as an excerpt. Do you have the $6 Trillion @ Linda Worthy that you and your pro-Obama supporters just spent? Of course you don't. And you don't have another $6 Trillion of your hypothetical money to spend, in the next 4-years if Obama get's into office. Therefore, you and the rest of your pro-Obama supporters are $12 Trillion off, further into DEBT, and off the financial cliff you go. Typical over-the-top democratic liberal spender. Is your own hat on too tight? Right back at you.

My post is logical, and there is already paperwork in place for Treason. Go read your history briefs, or did that get by you too? Get yourself educated. Better yet, read up on Constitutional Law. And learn to protect our Amendment Rights. In the manner and the spirit in which they were written.

And no @David Nolta, I was not referring to George Bush, but rather to Obama's continued over-reach. Re-read the post.

And if the so called executive order by Obama were to actually go into effect, where would all the pro-Obama teacher/union supporters go to get their "Internet-driven" banking transactions performed. Just think about it. Others of us already have, and we do not like what we are seeing. Banking and internet transactions go hand-in-hand. And so do software company transactions.

You can't afford another 4-years of Obama, because you haven't the money. Simple economics.

@Janet Sroczynski

WOO HOO!!!

"In the manner and the spirit in which they were written."

JOE KENNEDY FOR CONGRESS

here's a criticism by a Christian clergyman of Romney's love of money and the Republican greed-show that passes as a campaign. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-reid-jr/servile-before-the-throne-of-mammon_b_1897074.html

Where does the money come from for your War, Janet? I think you are the one who should start reading the posts. And then yes, by all means, read up on treason, and the history of the working, middle classes of this country. And who has worked for them, and how THEY have paid for everything they have ever received, and a lot more.

More rubbish from @Dennis Naughton. I saw your pension listed online @Dennis Naughton, you are a full time democratic blogger being supported on taxpayer money. We expect this type of rubbish from you, and dismiss your beliefs. You are so far to the left, it's ridiculous to have a conversation with you. You should take your own advice @Dennis Naughton - as others in the Foxboro/Patch.com website have suggested to you, typically strong Republicans suggesting you get yourself educated. Or in your own words above: "It is one thing to put out disinformation, propaganda and even outright lies. It is quite another to actually start to believe them oneself - dangerous to one's psychological stability."

I notice that not one of you has offered any suggestions at all, as to how you plan on paying back the $16 Trillion DEBT, and nearly $6 Trillion of that DEBT occurred during the past (4) Obama years.

Just the facts.

@Dennis Naughton - the full time blogger from the Milis Public Schools at Gross Annual Earnings of $74,490.48. Excerpt from a prior post on the Easton/Patch.com website, here's the link found in the public domain:

http://bostonherald.com/projects/your_tax_dollars.bg?src=Mtrs#page=1&results_per_page=20&order_by=&src=Mtrs&action=get_data&payroll_search=&last_school_district=EASTON%20PUBLIC%20SCHOOLS

6 Trillion or 600 Trillion Debt. Who cares? Who cares about future generations? We just need to survive here and now.

VOTE JOE KENNEDY FOR CONGRESS.

VOTE SEAN BIELAT FOR CONGRESS.

@ Sean Bielat - see what you can do to try and fix the mess in Washington. And when you speak, feel free to talk about things like:

1) Venture Capital
2) Seed Money
3) Building Your Own Business
4) Angel Investors
5) IPO's

Let's send you to an event @Sean Beilat, and see if you have any interest in attending or know of someone who might. It is the upcoming Boston and New York BioTech Conferences, see their website for details at: http://bbbiotechconference.com/

1) November 1 & 2, 2012 New York CEO Conference

2) BD Biotech Conference - April 2-3, 2013 @ Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA

Jobs & Opportunity for networking.

Gee - GYB-Grow That Business.....a PwC-PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP publication; along with the MoneyTreeSurvey...also a PricewaterhouseCoopers publication. Get a head-start at: 1) http://www.pwc.com

Tell me, is Codman & Shurtleff a J&J-Johnson & Johnson company planning on attending. Someone would have to attend, in order to find out. 1) http://www.jnj.com

When I look at these Democrats candidates I just cannot stand them. They have real personality flaws. Elitist, self-entitled, obsessed career politicians who never worked in private sector, know nothing about business, never fueled their cars or changed the bulbs by themselves. And they pretend they stand for the little people why staying away as far as they can from those little people.

For you readers, here is a general measure of the accuracy of information provided by Janet Stroczynski: She talks about the "taxpayers' money" as the source of teacher pensions. By doing so she incorrectly implies that taxpayer dollars completely fund teacher pensions. That is not so. Here is how the pensions are funded: Teachers pay a percent of their pay to the MA Teachers Retirement Fund from each and every paycheck from the start to the end of their careers. Since teachers are considered state employees, the state also pays a portion of the pension (Historically, the state has not fully upheld its end, and has instead used the money for other purposes.). All pension contributions are placed into an investment fund. That fund is the source of the teacher pensions. Under current law, a teacher hired after April 1, 2012 will actually fully fund his/her pension. In some cases these post 4/1/2012 teachers will actually be paying as much as 110% of their own pensions. Those teachers will also be required to work until they are 67 years of age before qualifying for their full pensions. Keep Janet's "inaccuracy" in mind in everything else she writes, as it must always fit into an ideological box. Consequently, Janet never allows herself to be influenced by the facts.

More rubbish from @Dennis Naughton.

Again @ Dennis Naughton, describe for all of us:

1) All the business(es) that you have either founded and or led to a successful IPO-Initial Public Offering; include links to provide accurate sources for Patch readers.

Here is a fact to influence @Dennis Naughton:

http://foxboroughrtc.blogspot.com

@Dennis Naughton - I am going to respectfully ask that you find some other person to pester. I am a Chief Executive Officer and President of my own software company based upon IP-Intellectual Property, patent no.: 5,759,118 - and a well respected member of the Venture Capital community; and an Invitational Guest Speaker at the college level.

Denis Naughton. I've seen the schools in other countries. And I can tell you, our American teachers are very spoiled species with high sense of entitlement. Moreover, our public schools are providing very mediocre education. Our high-school graduates don't know basic math, science, history, geography facts. So that we have to import more scientists and engineers from 3rd world countries.

I still don't get it what is Romney's fault that he was born to wealthy family and was able to multiply the fortune by playing within the rules of capitalist society and became successful executive and governor? If I had a portfolio, I would trust Romney to manage it, rather than to Obama the community organizer. You people are full of envy and hate and thirst for wealth redistribution.

David -- while I'll agree that the comments made by JS are unresponsive, your use of the phrase 'Tourette's typing syndrome' is unfortunate.

Tourette's Syndrome is a mental/neurological condition. I agree with Linda Worthy. Let's not resort to stigmatizing the mentally ill. They have enough problems.

Ever since Janet S wrote bluntly, and I quote, "Treason@ David Nolta", I have hoped that there IS some medical excuse for her comments. I have not stigmatized in any way the mentally ill. But I am happy to remove a comment that seems hurtful or in bad form to people I respect, and perhaps even to people I do not respect.

Liberalism is a mental disorder.

@Anonymous and @Emcee of Seekonk - you are both correct in so many of your statements. The disrespectful comments above from @David Nolta,@Dennis Naughton and @Linda Worthy continue, and yet as you can see none of them has proposed any idea, at all, for how they are planning to address the nearly $6 Trillion DEBT that pro-Obama supporters like them have incurred. Talk about nonresponsive. They are good at spending OPM-Other People's Money.

@David Nolta - do you have some medical excuse for your comments? Seek help. Find a good fiscally conservative Republican, and have them work with you.

"Mia Love Brings Down the House at RNC" - video @Linda Worthy. Link found at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/mia-love-brings-house-rnc-17105289

"But if you don't like the laws of capitalist society then go live in Cuba." Posted above by a Sean Bielat supporter. This sort of black and white thinking is why I will VOTE JOE KENNEDY FOR US CONGRESS IN THE 4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. We do not need another member of the House who has a closed mind.

VOTE JOE KENNEDY FOR INTELLIGENT AND INSIGHTFUL REPRESENTATION IN THE 4TH CD.

VOTE JOE KENNEDY FOR CONGRESS. HE HAS A POSITIVE AND OPEN APPROACH TO ALL CONSTITUENTS.

That's better. I think Joe is positive and has an open approach. However, I'm still voting for Sean Bielat. Positive and open just goes so far.

I'll take positive and open any day over the negativity of the Tea Party in the House. As a Tea Partier, Bielat will just feed into that roadblock to national progress--something the country can just not afford.

A vote of for Joe Kennedy is a vote for Nancy Pelosi..Queen of the Leftist coast.

Sean Bielat is just pandering to the Republicans/Tea Party. Lots of 'dark money' heading his way, the kind of money that funded a Scott Brown win. We can't afford either one of them. They have passed the test of ideological purity and are playing from the Republican playbook on how to get elected. Scott Brown says he's bi-partisan--were he to be elected, he'd switch over to the Right wing very quickly. Brown owes the Republican party big-time. His goal is to turn Massachusetts into a Red State.
Sean Bielat, you are no Barney Frank.
Scott Brown, you are no Ted Kennedy.

thank god they are not either kennedy or frank, mass has had enough of our money given to the "you owe me " crowd. mignon man

you mustn't have seen the poll that showed all the Red States across the South, excluding TX are net recipients of tax monies while Northern states end up with a deficit. Know the fact and stop repeating Tea Potty slogans. They are so easy to tune out now; they've been repeated so often....

What Dennis fails to mention in his post above regarding funding teachers' pensions is the commonwealth's unfunded pension liability. True they contribute, however "their" share of contributions plus earnings is exhausted within a few years. At that point they are on our dime. This is further aggravated by the fact many teachers and administrators retire in their mid-fifties. A good example is Martes & Theodoss both retiring at age 57 with $100+K pensions.

@deb
William Weld: 1991-1997 (Republican)
Paul "Big Dig" Cellucci: 1997-2001 (Republican) Jane Swift acting 1999-2001 (Republican)
Jane Swift: (2001-2003 (Republican)
Willard "Mitt" Romney 2003-2007 (Republican)

You said nothing about "unfunded pension liability," Dennis. I stand by my statement above. Further, teacher pensions were liberalized in the late 90's allowing increased payments into it by the teachers, and allowing earlier retirements. Blame it on the "irrational exuberance" of the time,....the pols thought that gravy train would last forever.
You can blame the Republican governors, but the fact is that your party has held overwhelming veto-proof majorities in both houses for over 30 years, and could pass anything without the gov's signature. The only exception to that was the Senate for the 1st 2 years of Weld's term

If you go back and look for those Republican governors' efforts to close the unfunded liability, you will be disappointed. As for the legislature, they certainly are not without blame. This ignoring of obligations to pensionees by many elected officials of both parties is part of our current unfunded liability across the country, not just in MA. Certainly the greatest single contributor to unfunded public pension liabilities across the country at present is the Bush Great Recession. It decimated pension funds across the country.

Dennis, truth-telling from someone knowledgeable on the subject.

Question of Emcee: why is RI "pitiful"--a bit of superiority in your attitude? RI is
sQuggling, too.
And, Emcee, you actually gave a backhand compliment to a Democrat (Deval Patrick). Maybe we aren't 180 degrees opposite after all....

Romney and Patrick had to substantially raise taxes and fees to fix the mess. The hardest hit are the middle class and poor.
Patrick gets kudos. Romney gets slammed.

Now all we have to look forward to is more liquor licenses, and an expansion of gambling. Legalizing prostitution and weed can't be far behind.

Whoopee.

Let's take the case of Central Falls,R.I.: Central Falls was inefficient, to put it nicely, in funding its public employee pension obligations. Ultimately, for a varitey of financial causes, Central Falls went bankrupt and was placed into receivership. The receiver oversaw a plan that included cutting existing retirees pay by 55%. While doing that, he also made a special point of making sure that all Central Falls municipal bond holders were fully paid with interest. In other words, the retired public employees of Central Falls had money taken from them to pay municipal bond holders, without concern about the impact this would have on these elderly people who has done nothing wrong. They had worked and paid into their pension funds all their lives; the city did not pay its part of their pensions. The retirees were forced to pay the price--in effect, paying twice.

@Steve--Just to clarify--what I said above had nothing to do with Romney or with partisan politics. I know what you mean about trying to keep track of the above comments, so want to be clear. The point about the bondholders was that it was just morally wrong to take it out of the pensions of helpless senior-citizen retirees. It was a breech of a social contract and they were just an easy, helpless target.

Regarding the voters and city budgets, I am not aware of any requirement for a Central Falls public employee to live in that community, so it is likely most commuted in from outside. Even if they had lived in the city, they certainly were not a majority of the voters in the community, thus could not control city government decisions.

FInally, I do not understand why anyone who is worried about Social Security would support the Republican ticket of Romney/Ryan who have pledged to work to privatize it. If they do, and the market tanks again as it did under GW Bush, you would have nothing in your retirement.

time to start a new thread.....

wonder if any of the candidates, both sides, would try to live on food stamps for a week like the mayor of Phoenix AZ.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/09/26/917651/phoenix-mayor-attempts-to-live-on-a-food-stamp-budget-im-tired-and-its-hard-to-focus/

@GM: A proportionately fair contribution by the 1% of all Americans, who control over 50% of the country's wealth, is certainly not too much to ask. The symbolic aspect of that might just be enough to help motivate everyone to be more optimistic, confirming the sense that we are all in this together. It is not about the amount of money. It's about the idea that we are all doing what we can to solve out national problems. That is the point President Obama is making---and that Mitt Romney is resisting.

it's also that US corporations/multinationals are sitting on billions of profits they 'earned' in the past . They are NOT investing in this nation or creating jobs. They crow about how great they as capitalists for earning this money, but capitalism has a moral requirement to it, to help the nation grow. The idea of profits as the be-all-and-end all of everything is simply greed by another name.

They are like Scrooge McDuck in the old Daffy Duck comics, sitting on piles of gold, gloating (perhaps I'm showing my age). From Reagan on we were told that 'trickle down' economics works, that "a rising tide lifts all boats." Well, the only trickle down is of people's hopes going down like sand in an hour glass. And the rising tide took the yachts of the wealthy out to sea, beyond sight of land.

What good is wealth if you don't use it? You know the old saw "you gotta spread it around." Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are giving their money away, but how many other billionaires are doing this? The capitalist system needs to get back to its moral foundations, if it ever had them to begin with.

Please understand this is my own opinion here. I am not speaking as a democrat but solely for myself. I don't have any active contact with local or national democrats.

Not sure Dennis- but you may have broken a record for blogging- are you aiming for a staffer job with Joe Kennedy ? Talk about dog-napping a blog.

so many people in error, so little time. Can you believe that posters like Dennis (whom I've never met) have a passion for good governance, fairness, small 'd' democracy, and the ability for our nation to solve its problems. I think he's trying to educate and inform. All he gets from the other side is negativity and cynicism.

@GM-perhaps we can give both @Dennis Naughton and @ Gretchen Robinson a quick "virtual glimpse, online" -of what it takes to actually start a business, run it to profitability, and then after expenses, taxes, salaries, deductions, healthcare, etc.etc., let's see how much money they actually have left over to "donate" to all of the causes they care about.

Let's start with @ Dennis Naughton. Recently on the Patch he complained about a local group of kids begging and/or panhandling for money to raise $$$ for their local golf team. @Dennis Naughton used to coach golf. So for some reason this bothered him, he blogged about it on Patch. Then he had a problem with a woman selling whoopie pies at a local farmer's market, and complained about that too. Perhaps both @ Dennis Naughton and @Gretchen Robinson could get together and create their own recipe for a low-fat whoopie pie, produce it at a local commercial kitchen and start raising money for the golf team. If it does well selling, then perhaps @ Gretchen Robinson could use any money left over for all the causes she too wishes to support. People would like to see you "earn" your money, and not "take" it from others, hence the top 1% income earners....and the Mitt Romney comment above.

Entrepreneurial idea above, let's see what you actually do.

@ Dennis Naughton - you are the one who has been snarly, constantly...and to people who you have never even met. Go back in and re-read your own posts on the Patch. You are a chronic complainer, and unless someone has a big "D" for democrat next to their name, you are full of arrogance and insults. And your writing online, speaks to it.

I am a very happy person @Dennis Naughton, and accomplished. And once again, you have yet to take me up on my suggestions for you above. I have pointed out a wonderful opportunity for you and @Gretchen Robinson to save us Patchies from your dog-leg-left-democratic-views, and get on out there and actually practice what you preach. Stay out of our wallets, and try reaching into your own wallets. If you democrats "want" all of these entitlements, then get out there and "work" for it. Like all of us.

@ Anonymous - I closed my subchapter S in another state; and may/may not re-open in MA; I have already asked the local group in Easton if they offer software tax credits for software companies that locate here/Easton; they were looking into it...years ago. It was the town administrator I spoke with. I work off a laptop; and therefore do not require much space/infrastructure or additional employees. Designed that way, on purpose...it keeps my cost(s) down, and flex-schedule for me. I thought everyone wanted to work this way. The IP-intellectual property assets I retain to this day/patent work, etc. I came back to this area, Boston-to teach entrepreneurialism, from the ground floor level on up....as a hobby.

To that end, if you go along to: 1) http://www.oliverames.org - email and/or chat further with principal Wes Paul at OA, and under a small article in the local paper some time ago, he too also posted an interest in forming a "Young Entrepreneur's Academy" - see/read: http://www.wickedlocal.com/easton -for a back-dated copy of the article, or catch it online if it's still available, or at your local library, or email the newspaper editor and ask for a copy of it.

Although I may not always agree with the philosophy of those on the far left, democratic-leaning liberals, I oftentimes kept them busily employed. My background is also at 1) http://www.pwc.com. A big 4-global accounting firm.

Dennis, have you and @JS had a long running feud? Is this attitude from her carried over from another blog in another Patch edition?

@ Anonymous - how busy I kept people, well...let's take a glimpse at how life was, once upon a time...in Providence, RI. At the base of 1 Citizens Plaza, Providence, RI there is a small coffee shop...I would get "bored" at a big 4-accounting firm....think about that, others might too.....so for a cup of coffee I would go, to Cafe' LaFrance...then located on the 1st-floor. As I tend to be entrepreneurial, I tend to be a bit, oh......well, entrepreneurial. Beat to my own drum. And hence meet others with similar interest levels, at the same type of coffee shop. We met, chatted...and then we would work on projects of interest levels to all of us. Here's a glimpse at what some of us, including myself....were working on:

1) There's Something About Mary - with 20th Century Fox; filming; Gross: $200mil plus. Lots of people were busy working, and all different types on the voting-block:Independents; Democrats and Republicans. All of us...working. And having fun.
2) ESPN - the "X-Games" -held in Providence, RI -at the base of college hill; by Brown University. The $$$s and news/film-coverage there too; and all working....having fun too.
3) Providence - the TV-Series - filming;actors/actresses-google a search under character for: Dr. Sydney "Sid" Hansen; Actress: Melina Kanakaredes. Working/fun too.
4) The build-out of the new Providence Place Mall. Jobs. Working.
5) The Dot-Com era - prior to the bubble. Working. Jobs. Fun. The Middle Class was alive and well. Working.

@Linda Worthy - it is not an attitude from me, but rather an attitude from @Dennis Naughton. His opinion and his writings, are inline with the Obama-administration and the nanny-state philosophy. My entrepreneneurial-ways are going to bother him, and take votes away from the upcoming election, especially those that wanted to take the country into a socialist-democrat-direction; which I oppose. And Mitt Romney has that venture capital background, and is running against Obama. Two very different types of views, for our country....going forward. Life is full of choices.

@Dennis Naughton - it is the other way around. When you find someone who doesn't agree with your policital leanings, ie...not a democrat, then you insert yourself into the conversation, and send your bullying, ornery comments along to them. As you did to me. Read the comments you posted about me, someone who you have never, ever met before. Shame on you. Take your own advice, and feel free as I stated here before, do not pester me. It is you who is retired, blogging until wee hours of the night as another poster above pointed out to you -Ed Bertorelli, when he mentioned to you that were dog napping this entire thread. That was a polite way he put it to you, as many other posters in the past have suggested to you. Don't forget, this is a Blog about Sean Bielat, and he is not a democrat. Go post all your rambling thoughts on your own candidates' blog website, where you might have some common ideas with others who believe as you do.

Some of us have children in the school system and in local colleges, who need jobs and a good quality education. That is our focus. Hence we understand venture capital, the infusion of cash into businesses-1st-round of financing, 2nd-round of financing, etc.-on the road to an IPO. So we tend to want to vote for Romney/Ryan 2012. And we are here on Sean Bielat's Blog, chatting.

@Anonymous - try taking a look at 1) http://www.twlc.org - Tiger Woods Learning Center.

JS: stop being so paranoid. This isn't about you. If you feel like a victim, ask yourself who is responsible for that?? There's too much hostility on this thread, yes, but notice how many who defend the republicans just post the most absurd smears and hate speech. It's disgusting, truly. Adult human beings disrespecting a candidate like Joe Kennedy and Elizabeth Warren.

The truth is that Bielat and Scott Brown are down on the ticket and the unfolding, richly deserved, self-defeating campaign of Romney is affecting these two races. So both candidates are running so far away from Romney/top of the ticket, that they try appear as if they are not republicans. The don't put Republican on their signs or I don't see Scott Brown showing that he has any ties with the republican party.

You can't fool all of the people all of the time. People are aware that big money, Rove, Koch brothers are funding this runaway train wreck of a campaign. (Yeah, Soros is giving a million to the Democrats but Adelman will give 200-400 million by the time this election is done. (He'd put a casino on every block!)

Bielat is nobody special, plucked from obscurity by the national Republican party. They have hated and waited for Barney Frank to retire and planned this years ago. Trouble is Republicans have no back bench and Bielat was the best they could do. And he's not much, in any case. A carpetbagger from PA.

where's your proof??

we have videos of a Republican state staffer and Brown campaign staffers with their "war whoops" and "tomahawk chops." We know that another video surfacing from this summer with Brown speaking an in the background his supporters are heard giving war whoops. And he doesn't stop them, despite what he said when the original video emerged. He said, in effect, I would have stopped them if I'd known. Then the earlier tape shows him not objecting and not saying to his supporters/staff that this is wrong, racist, disrespectful, unseemly.

I remember at the end of the Bush II administration there was all this talk about black helicopters flying over by night. It was even mentioned in a Sun Chronicle article. It was coming from conservatives.

You folks get in a snit real easy and you get a wee bit paranoid too at time. You control your anxiety and your fear level and we'll try not to sound quite so outraged with the Right's many injustices.

@GM: You might want to read that Gretchen said again about who was paranoid. Clearly you jumped to a wrong conclusion.

did you even read it my post? did you even comprehend the totality of what I wrote?? it's import as part of this discussion. I was offering an olive branch and trying to be a peacemaker. I guess you can't do that here.

There is a lot of 'paranoia' out there. Everyone has a touch of it, call it extreme anxiety. We're anxious that the other party's candidates will win and we'll be bereft. Then we will have to deal with the loss, anger, frustration. Some republicans in the west are saying if Obama wins there will armed insurrection. That's paranoia. More than paranoia the whole republican party is flailing away. And they keep not getting the message here. They are out of touch and finally the nation is realizing it.

The problem with the Right is that they have lived in ideology land for far too long. And Democrats after 8 years of Reagan and 8 of Bush II Democrats have had to live in the world of reality. We've had to look at ourselves in the mirror. It will soon be time for the Republicans to do the same. Will you/they?

Look at the Republican leaders drifting back to support "legitimate rape" Sen. Aiken. He compared to student college loan to 'cancer.' On and on. Now the Republicans need every republican candidate for Senate to win and they hold their noses and cuddle up to to Aiken. Face reality folks.

Marco Rubio at the RNC video at:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80493.html

Clint Eastwood at the RNC video. Talking to an "Empty Chair."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=933hKyKNPFQ

Check out this morning's Sun Chronicle article on Sean Bielat's unpaid bills. Looks like an integrity gap has been revealed. Perhaps Sean would like to blog about this to explain it to the voters whose money he would be overseeing if elected to Congress. dehttp://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/bielat-owes-k/article_18beea1a-2ebc-55c6-bf57-52a64f8df2e0.htmlbts.

@Emcee- Truth now. Did you read the article before replying? If so, how would you defend Bielat as a trustworthy guardian of the people's money. After all, under the Constitution, all money bills begin in the House.

Gretchen, I read your post and comprehended the "totality of what you were saying" pretty quickly. I have to admit, you disguised the olive branch pretty well. I missed it.

This is probably pointless, but here are a couple of issues that I think are important.

1. There is a tradeoff between individual freedom and the degree to which government provides things for us. The cost of government providing more is the loss of individual freedom. I think there is a growing segment of the population that prefers greater individual freedom over greater government care-taking. But some people have grown accustomed to being taken care of. They're scared to death of having to go back to taking care of themselves.

2. I don't think that many people understand what Jefferson meant when he asserted that people's right to own private property is a fundamental prerequisite for people to truly be free. A lot of people readily saw the health care mandate as "just another tax" rather than as a case of the government reaching into your wallet and telling you how to spend your money (i.e. taking control of your private property). Because we have a real issue with rising health care costs, the problem with government controlling your wallet is being overlooked.

3. The feigned outrage about "war whoops" and "tomahawk chops" is just hot gas designed to distract from real issues. If racism were really the concern, there would be more outrage about misrepresenting one's background here.

@GM Secretary of the Treasury took immediate corrective action when it came to his attention? How about Bielat (If you read the article you would know). As for your other vague generic references to "other members of President Obama's Administation," you would have to be specific for anyone to respond. From a logical standpoint, however, none of this has anything to do with the issue presented by the Sun Chronicle article about Sean Bielat's refusal to pay his debts.

@GM and Emcee: As Barry Goldwater often said in his 1964 campaign, "In your heart, you know I'm right."
@deb: Thanks for your honesty here.

As I recall, Barrry Goldwater was later convicted on charges of misrepresentation and served time with Richard Nixon in the maximum security prison iat San Clemente.

since the House of Representatives makes the Budget, it would behoove any candidate to make sure she or he to dog the accountants to follow through. Others here may minimize but I think this shows Bielat as lackadaisical.

gimme a break, they both have accountants to do this for them. Bielat has the same kind of 'invisible hand' guiding him as Kennedy. Only we know about the 'invisible hand' behind Kennedy. That's been my objection to Bielat, who are the invisible people and who are the invisible money men funding this run. I suspect they are national figures who would want a payback.
Remember the Republican party hates Barney Frank (he stood up to their bullying) and is making this race the focus of national efforts. That's okay and legal but let's have some transparency. Who is backing him??

Of course they each have handlers. But wouldn't you agree the Kennedy machine can afford far more seasoned handlers?

wouldn't you agree that we don't know who or what PAC is funding Bielat's campaign?? With Citizen's United we don't know!!! That's why so many of us see the whole election process being taken over by big moneyed interests. That would make $30,000 look like chump change to them, something easily ignored.

How else is a Bielat suppose to keep up with the big money interest of a Kennedy?

do you know nothing about Citizen's United decision and how it is dominating the electoral process in this election? The SCOTUS sold ordinary Americans down the river. This is far bigger than this election. Democracy as we've always lived it/practiced it is being highjacked. This is a non-partisan issue, or should be. But look who supports Citizen's United....

If citizens united is the elephant in the room, we won't know who the REAL beneficiary is until Nov 6, will we.
I look forward to the post game show..

we won't know...ever. It's all hidden. "Corporations are people, my friend" said Romney famously during the primaries. Whatever corporations are they are not people, you might agree. With Citizens United it's all hidden because of their "privacy." It's a game changer in terms of fair elections and the continuance of democracy as we know it.

Obama pledged not to take PAC money but then Republicans started setting PACs and accruing millions. You do follow the shenanigans of Karl Rove and others who are not, to say the least, on the side of the American.

Behind closed and privately they speak of setting up a "Permanent Republican Majority" in Congress. The SCOTUS is already in the pocket of Repub. party. All they need is to have Romney win and take over the House and they are well on their way.

Americans have traditionally balanced their votes with a president of the opposite party to Congress, at least one house. And the SCOTUS is supposed to be above politics but this bunch certainly is not, as Citizens United proves.

The Right was SO angry at Chief Justice Roberts (narrowly) supported the Affordable Care Act that they were beside themselves. They assumed they had the decision all locked up. Thankfully, Roberts, IMO, protected the ACA so it has a chance of going forward and protecting the health of ordinary people.

You might look up Permanent Republican Majority and read up on both sides of the issues....

and I get accused of hateful names. Nancy Pelosi is a good public servant.
As for SCOTUS, people like Scalia went from Constitutional conservative to partisan zealot. The problem of Citizen United and how it harms democracy will not go away.

@deb: I am recommending a book for you by a woman who is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. This is certainly not a left wing publication by anyone's standards. Her name is Ellen Schulz and her book is entitled Retirement Heist. You should read it to get some insight to what has happened to employee pensions in the hands of private sector companies.

How odd that the democrats would try and bring up a possible debt issue regarding Sean Bielat, and yet they fail to bring about suggestions on the Obama raised DEBT over the past (4) years alone, of nearly $6 Trillion. And they have no way to pay it back either. At least with Sean Bielat, the talked about $30K in debt is under dispute, according to the press releases cited as sources.

How many people own new homes? That is debt. How many people have car loans? That is debt. How many people owe student loans from college? That is debt. That is why people work. Sean Bielat working out hisfinancial terms over the suggested $30K in dispute, is workable. However, the $6 Trillion in new Obama administration debt, is not.

How about the newborn baby who now has nearly $50K in new debt, assigned to the young infant upon birth. That is what the past (4) years alone has done. Passed on the debt, to the next generation....upon birth.

Do you want to have 2 children, that is $100K in new debt. That means you have to earn roughly twice that amount ($200K), net after taxes, to pay it back. And that is just to break even, to pay back the debt, that the democrats have handed to you at birth.

Time for a change in leadership. Time to vote Republican. Time for Romney/Ryan 2012.

@Anonymous- when I wrote a comment above regarding creating a low-fat whoopie pie, and sent the comment along to @Dennis Naughton and @ Gretchen Robinson, I had this group in the back of my mind, by example: 1) http://www.NewmansOwn.com - re: Paul Newman. According to their website over $330 million has been given to thousands of charities since 1982. Read his biography on the web/Wikipedia, if interested further. I recall from reading online it started as a hobby/a joke amongst friends. From there the idea, business plan grew...and the resulting $330 million donated to charities.

If @ Anonymous-you are still hoping for additional programming work, try the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or Microsoft's Cambridge location, hiring and expanding as of this past week's news broadcast.

Anonymous - no idea where this person claims to be in - she posts on multiple sites

?? I haven't a clue what this is about?

@Patch editors - perhaps you could provide a description of your policies. A blogger above @Darren Major seems confused. I am not sure who he is referring to either, when he writes "she" posts on mulitple sites. If the reference was to me, then feel free @Patch editors to describe your Patching-capabilities, across regions. Thanking you and in advance.

Are you the same @Darren Major who claims to be a Massachusetts liberal activist on Twitter? Perhaps you could confirm your identity. And let all the Patchies know who you are.

Spend your time @Dennis Naughton coming up with ways to decrease the nearly $6 Trillion in DEBT that was racked up in the past (4) Obama administration years. I noticed you haven't offered one suggestion yet, on how you plan on paying back all that DEBT.

Perhaps that is just the point. You have no plans, at all....to pay back the DEBT. Only incur more DEBT, and pass it on to future generations. Just as I pointed out above.

Once again, you are on a Republican blog website for Sean Bielat. If you @Dennis Naughton have all these questions, then pick up the phone (for a change), and call Sean Bielat, or call Mitt Romney...and introduce yourself, and ask them the questions yourself.

This is a PATCH site as far as I know. Where do you get the notion that it's for Sean Bielat. Does he already think he owns the world?

You have a right to your opinion but you don't have a right to your own facts. And the Obama administration has racked up a far smaller proportion of debt than Bush II did. Get off you high horse and let's find some common ground and simply agree on the real facts, not the 'truthiness' of Republican spin meisters.

Where might Sean Bielat be in the middle of a Monday? Can I call him at 'work'?Does he work? Or is his 'work' running for office full time?
You folks are always styling him as a "businessman" but no one knows much about his shadowy so-called business experience. Seems like someone is paying his mortgage and expenses. How about a little transparency. And put out some reliable facts to back up your incredible (to me) statistics. Or find some that are more reliable.
Romney, his facts change ever 5 minutes and so do his answers. He'll say (and has) anything and say something different. He said on the stump that he's in favor of an exemption to the abortion ban he (and Ryan, Santorum, and most conservatives) want, in the case of rape of incest. A couple hours later his team came out with a statement that, No, in fact he does not. Which is true? What will he say tomorrow??

I think this whole argument to bash welfare recipients is getting old. It's not working, this talking point. In fact you and I are the entitled ones. We have the time during the day to yackty-yack here, on our computers, with our DSL lines, our warm houses and apartments without rats and cockroaches, our cars, our suburban neighborhoods where the police are our friends and not out to stop and frisk if your skin is the wrong color.

Republicans care nothing for the poor as far as I can see. They are just a convenient scapegoat for your putdowns. How Republicans square that with their religious commitments to care for others is something I have yet to figure out. And believe me, this clergy person has tried.

Mr. Lunt, Who are the investors/owners of one click politics or ocp,holdings, llc? The Chinese? Karl Rove? Who?
What's the basis for your claim that left wing liberals sit on their behinds and collect welfare? Any data? Any facts to back this up? Didn't think so.
Also, since i robot (which now employs over 600 people) was funded with government money and is dependent on government money for over one-third of its revenues, do you agree with Mr. Bielat that government cannot create jobs?

I believe that Government doesn't create jobs, private sector companies create jobs.

Mr. Lunt, If I wanted Tea Party/Fox News mantra I'd have asked for it. Do you have anything in the way of facts/data in response to my questions? Didn't think so.

Mr. Lunt, Obviously money for government grants to fund companies like i robot originated from the taxpayers. When referring to our public schools, do you use the term "government schools"? Do you have facts or data in reponse to my other questions about one click politics/ocp holdings llc and your other bromide about liberals collecting welfare and flat screen televisions?

Jim,
To be honest with you, I don't have any data regarding one click politics or its holdings; however, if you want to find out, I would suggest that you go to their website for that information, companies provide that information for viewing especially for potential investors. In answer to your other question, there was an article in the Boston Herald back in 2010 which revealed that Massachusetts welfare reciepients had no restrictions on what they could buy with their welfare money and many were buying flat screen TV's and using their EBT cards as a personal ATM on the backs of hardworking Massachusetts taxpayers. In other words, the Massachusetts taxpayers are the ATM for the welfare reciepients.

February 15, 2011 - Boston Herald

"A frustrated House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is cracking down on welfare card abuse after a Herald review found that Bay State recipients blew nearly $200,000 in taxpayer dough last year on a broad array of luxuries — including booze, lingerie, tanning parlors, jewelry, movie theaters and even pets. ..."

@Dennis Major - I do not have an ID problem. You sound like a problem/troublemaker to me. So stop spreading your liberal lies. And don't write back to me either, I'm not interested in hearing from you.

@Janet: people post to the whole group not at specific individuals. It's for discussion. It is for people to air their different points of view, and even if it's mostly 'hot air' at times, I might suggest that if you don't want to discuss, then disconnect from this thread.

@Gretchen - thanks for the thoughts. The only reason I posted to certain individuals, was because questions and/or comments above were being deliberately sent my way. I have already disconnected from this thread, when yesterday the Patch sent me over (40) automatic emails as follow-up to this thread. I just don't have the time or capacity to read through all of them.

@Sean Bielat - best of good luck to you. Stop me sometime and introduce yourself and/or vice versa. I am sure I will see you around in certain circles, it's a small world.

"House lawmakers defied Governor Deval Patrick Wednesday and voted overwhelmingly to advance a measure that would prevent welfare recipients from spending their benefits on alcohol, lottery tickets, tobacco, and other items.

...

"House members, some of whom were incensed by the governor’s comments, rejected Patrick’s changes Wednesday and approved the measure he had rejected, which would also prohibit welfare recipients from using Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to buy pornography, jewelry, and tattoos...."

The Boston Globe
Thursday, July 12, 2012

I wonder if either the "Globe" or the "Herald" are among the 25 resources Gretchen uses for armament when she suits up to do battle on the Patch.

I didn't say it was 'typical' of conservatives to "whine." I hope they don't actually.

I was quoting Mark Shields, who said "Whine Country" on PBS "Inside Washington program Saturday. He was dealing with Charles Krauthammer, hence Shields' exasperation with Krauthammer.

C.K. was whining and kept interrupting Shields and Nina Totenberg, after he'd had his chance to speak.

Now that, in my experience is "typical" of Republican debaters: to interrupt, especially interrupt a woman--never give the other side a chance to speak.
Rude, I say!!

One question I wanted to post here. Why people ever become liberals? Somewhere I heard it's kinda mental disorder.

WOW! it has been reported that Sean Bielat saw Elizabeth Warrren as the decisive winner in tonight's debate with Scott Brown. Can anyone confirm that?

When I was watching the Scott Brown- Elizabeth Warren debate this evening, Professor Warren said she supported jobs; however the type of jobs she is referring to are either shovel ready construction jobs or other union jobs, not jobs for the private sector. In other words she supports greedy union jobs and where does that leave everyone else, the folks who have degrees in different fields??? They are left in the unemployment line. Senator Brown was right on track when he said that private sector business and corporations don't want to hire because of the uncertainty and real possibility of increased taxes and regulations on private sector business. Senator Brown, Sean Bielat, Mitt Romney and in my case living in Attleboro, Jeff Bailey and George Ross have my vote because they understand the need for business taxes and regulations to be reduced in order for real private sector job growth to happen.

You make a huge leap, assuming Elizabeth Warren does not favor public business.
Ridiculous on the face of it. The private sector, especially corporations are sitting on, literally, trillions of dollars because they can cut employees (and have done!!) and keep their bottom line going. Once this election is over they will start investing again. They will have to get off their butts and innovate in order to keep up with the world market--which hasn't been sitting on their butts, I can tell you!!!

I've talked to Jeff Bailey a couple times. Yep, nice guy, and probably a good minister. What is it about ministry, that would make him a good person to help create jobs and know about how to help businesses.

I'm a clergy person myself (and so is my husband) and would never attempt that. And how does a minister who handles church budgets think he can better manage the State budget? He's running for Mass. senate and the house makes the budget.

George Ross, he doesn't want even one debate, let alone two. He's 'too busy' he says. Reminds me of Federal rep./and candidate for VP, Paul Ryan who just said "I don't have time to explain" how their tax plan work. Ross and Ryan and Romney and Bielat and Brown have all the time in the world. Explain away. We'll listen, just as we've been listening all along. Trouble is it's all made of hot air and ideology. It may sound good at first to voters but there's no there, there.

Darren,
Liberal left looneys such as you actually don't get it. Warren and the democrats support greedy union jobs, not real private sector job growth. The reality of the situation is that there are millions of people unemployed and alot of these people have Masters, Bachelors and Associates Degrees, alot of recent grads as well as experienced out of work college educated folks and Warren's statement is that we need more union jobs such as construction and teachers etc... Professor Warren isn't dealing with the facts, the facts are that high business taxes and overregulation is preventing private sector corporate America from hiring people, and that is due to the liberals that you and others support. The looney left wing liberal Democrats are all anti-private sector business and pro- union and government jobs.

You can tell Scott Brown feels inadequate, with his put-downs of Elizabeth Warren as "professor," and his comment: 'I'm not in one of your classrooms.' And his earlier remarks about not needing Professor Warren to tell him about the issues. Clearly he's intimidated by her candidacy. He has been all along!!

Remember this one?
"I've been either discussing issues, meeting on issues in secret meetings and with kinds and queens and prime ministers and business leaders and military." Scott Brown/June 23rd, Sun Chronicle. (Brown made this comment on at least one other occasion).

Brown is either in fantasy land with these inflated statements -- or he's overwhelmed by the daunting task of running against Elizabeth Warren. So he makes stuff up.

And he's right. His polling numbers with Massachusetts numbers are something like 9% lower. He has a gender gap that he won't be able to overcome because women don't trust him, not on equal pay and not on birth control and women's access to abortion. He'd vote with the extremist agenda Republicans laid out for women!

He hasn't got what it takes. He spent his 2-1/2 years filling out Ted Kennedy's seat basking in Republican acclaim, fundraising for Republican candidates, and NOT learning the job of Senator. Elizabeth Warren is serious and capable do do the job. She'll work for Massachusetts from day one. And she'll walk right onto the national stage fully able to stand on her own two feet.

la-la-la

Darren,
In answer to your question about which regulations are preventing private sector companies from hiring?? Look no further than Obamacare, which is the biggest tax increase on the middle class, and included in the regulations is a tax on medical device companies and the devices that these companies produce. Another fact from Fox News is that corporate America looks ahead two or three years down the line in business planning and decide if there is a need to 1. hire workers 2. retain them. 3 lay off workers. Because of the uncertainty of the regulations that have resulted in Obamacare, companies are not taking a chance of hiring full time workers. Instead what they are doing is making due with what they have, trimming staff, and if they are in need in labor, companies hire workers from temp agencies which is a way to get around not having to incur high healthcare expenses due to the effects of Obamacare. The fact is, the Obamacare regulations is bad economic policy for business and job creation.

You are wrong because the fact is corporations save money by using temp workers. It is cheaper for companies to go this route because they don't have to pay their healthcare benefits, the temp agencies are the ones that pay the healthcare benefits, there are some temp agencies that don't pay healthcare benefits at all because they hire employees on a contract basis which is based on their client needs. Their client needs can range from a one week contract to 6 months, a year and even temp to permanent.

Another fact is that Obamacare is bad for business and job creation due to the reasons stated above. Once Mitt Romney, Sean Bielat and Scott Brown are elected ,you will see a different tone from corporate America, more hiring and low unemployment.

The previous two posts raise an important issue about where health care costs go. Mr. Lunt is suggesting that temp agencies are paying the costs for their employees. He also pointed out that some of those employees may not be getting health care coverage, so that would lower the total cost of health care coverage. Sinclair pointed out that temp agencies then pass on the costs of health care coverage to their customers. I agree with that point, but there's a follow-on question. What do you think the corporations then do with the added cost being passed on to them? They pass that cost on to their customers.

One of my beefs with Congress is the easy willingness of Congress to mandate benefits that are paid for by corporations. Congress takes credit for the benefits they mandated, but accepts no responsibility for the costs they are imposing on the public as a result of their mandates. I don't believe people in Congress don't understand that when you add costs to a business, those costs will be passed on to customers of those businesses. Does anyone seriously think, for example, that extending mandatory family health care coverage to 26-year old "children" is really a no cost change in insurance coverage? Maybe it's a good thing to do, given our current employment environment, but who actually pays for this added cost of providing insurance? All of us who have health coverage are paying for it. Funny, but I haven't heard any politicians owning up to that.

Sean Bielat was at the Milford Library last night. I asked two questions concerning the mortgage interest deduction and the federal minimum wage. All voters should know that Bielat supports the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction and does not support a federal minimum wage.

21 New Taxes regarding Obamacare/ObamaTax/PelosiTax are Listed on:

1) http://www.buttetaxpayers.org and http://www.buttetaxpayers.org/?page_id=46

And don't forget about the 16,000 "new" IRS agents to be hired to "police" the 21 New Taxes.

Another helpful article to read regarding Obamacare/ObamaTax/PelosiTax is this article by David Zeiler, Assocciate Editor of "Money Morning" - entitled: "The Bill for Obamacare Is On It's Way, And Guess What? It's Addresssed To You." Google a search for the article, it discusses many of the 21 New Taxes imposed by ObamaCare/ObamaTax/PelosiTax, including this "little gem" tucked so neatly into the Obamacare/ObamaTax wording...."The Home Sales Tax" - Do you own a Home? Do you own a Condo? Do you own a Townhouse or a Rental? Then you will want to read about the 3.8% New Tax-entitled: The Home Sales Tax. Google a search for those articles on the web too.

@Darren Major - get yourself educated. And since you seem to have some type of far-left leaning liberal disorder, and you doubt I am who I say I am....then I cordially invite you to call this individual: Mr. John F. Gontero, Partner/Business Leadership/Business Development Strategy, PwC-PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2 Whitney Avenue, # 207, New Haven, CT and telephone 1.203.562.3301. Do tell John Gontero that I have said hello. Perhaps he has the time or the interest level to explain things to you.

I would say that Sean is wrong when he points out that companies have been passing the cost of healthcare to employees long before Obamacare. Ten and even twenty years ago when I was working for various companies the standard practice was that corporations paid most of the healthcare costs, about 90 percent, it was only as recent as 2008 when the trend of passing along the healthcare costs to employees began to happen, Obamacare will make it even worse than it is now. Today corporate America continues to find ways to lower their healthcare costs,some of their actions have included passing the costs to the employees and hiring part time employees who work 20 to 30 hours a week. By hiring part time workers, companies don't have to pay healthcare benefits, this practice is mostly evident in the retail industry where the retailers don't pay healthcare benefits to employees who work up to 30 hours per week.

Yes, GM
My earlier post says excatly what you are saying. In other words, lets say from 1984 when I began working up until 2008, the standard prctice for companies was to pay 90 percent of the healthcare costs to their employees. Between 2006 - 2008 this trend began to reverse and companies then began the practice of passing the healthcare costs on to their employees as a way of saving money. Healthcare costs for employees may have risen during this time period; however, for employees, companies had been able to continue the practice of offering top wages depending upon which industry an employee has worked in and the specific job type. Of course, the recession in 2008 began and companies have had to shed employees and operate with less labor while doing more. Another thing to point out, as technology has advanced, the need for labor in some industries have decreased as well. I agree with you about Obamacare being bad for the economy and job creation.

If you worked in healthcare or dependent on healthcare you wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Affordable Healthcare Act. For decades democrats tried to make healthcare a priority and republicans blocked it. Imperfect as it is, at least Obama and Congress passed it. This was despite the obstinacy and lies republican put out at every turn. I think it's a triumph.

The best thing going for it is that it is humane to cover the uninsured. You folks, I bet have insurance. You have health insurance don't you? Why would you deny it to elders, children, adults, some with disabilities and facing cancer without a way to buy treatment.

In time this approach will save money. The one thing I don't like, (well there are several) is the compromises with republicans. Drug costs have to be brought down. $356.00 my husband paid this week for one month's worth of a medication. He has another that's more. Yet in Canada and Europe, they wouldn't stand for excessive profits. People have literally died of cancer because they couldn't get treatment. It's profits before people--it's the republican way!!!

If that isn't immoral, what is? If that isn't against the teachings of every religion, what is?? I bet a lot of you are religious people. Please tell me how you reconcile your Sunday faith with your political stances?