One year of Obama - Extremely Disappointing.

[Lurker]

It pays to be a middle of the line supporter. Had I been an Obama fan right now I would have been kicking myself in the nuts. Thus far he has been President for a year or thereabouts and by and large I am yet to see anything that makes him stand out for me. Here are a few big letdowns: a) Kissing China's you know what(or should I say Yu-No-Wat?): As the US President who has travelled most in his first year(read 20 countries), it is absolutely flumoxxing to see him not visit India yet. I mean of the 20 important countries in the world for diplomacy India does not rank in there? WTF is the man, and his Administration, smoking? He found time to bow to Japanese Emperor, and Chinese Premier, but suppose no time for Manmohan Singh. A usual explanation could very well be that Obama wants to avoid South Asia trip thanks to the law and order(or lack thereof) in Pakistan but for how long will United States make those kind of ridiculous arguments? Its been 40 odd years and we all know how well that diplomacy has panned out. This is not to mention supporting Chinese position on Tibet as also "inviting" China to work with United States in maintaining peace in South Asia. Needless to say Pakistan has welcomed both. Economy situation: Far from improving its down in the poopers. Jobs should have been the priority instead his Administration, perhaps on purpose, turned the focus on Healthcare. So far them have got beat on both. Job market is in the toilet with no signs of improvement. I know a few people who have not only had problems finding jobs but are now in danger of losing their unemployment benefits, if they have not lost it already. c) Finance Organization: For the first time in my life I overdrafted an account recently...by a grand margin of $27 in a credit limit of 20K per month. And was slammed by 39$ as overdraft fees by the Banking giant. After giving an earful to the Customer service they did take it off but this is a huge problem for most people and for the first time I understood it myself. Easy to make judgement calls when people dont make payments etc but there are times when genuine mistakes are made, specially in this economy. I can understand a certain %age of the total amount, with a cap but 39$ overdraft for exceeding payments for 27$? Go figure. Needless to say this was a lead item for Obama and well this happened to me in his Administration. d) Immigration: Royally effed. This has been one disappointing ride. xxx

[gs]

Agreed. Totally flattered to deceive. Watch dems get their behinds reamed in next year's elections. The hispanic community is a huge democratic votebank and they are mighty pissed with unfulfilled immigration reform promises.

[Laaloo]

I actually voted for him. :((

[punjabi_khota]

It pays to be a middle of the line supporter. Had I been an Obama fan right now I would have been kicking myself in the nuts. Thus far he has been President for a year or thereabouts and by and large I am yet to see anything that makes him stand out for me. Here are a few big letdowns: a) Kissing China's you know what(or should I say Yu-No-Wat?): As the US President who has travelled most in his first year(read 20 countries), it is absolutely flumoxxing to see him not visit India yet. I mean of the 20 important countries in the world for diplomacy India does not rank in there? WTF is the man, and his Administration, smoking? He found time to bow to Japanese Emperor, and Chinese Premier, but suppose no time for Manmohan Singh. A usual explanation could very well be that Obama wants to avoid South Asia trip thanks to the law and order(or lack thereof) in Pakistan but for how long will United States make those kind of ridiculous arguments? Its been 40 odd years and we all know how well that diplomacy has panned out. This is not to mention supporting Chinese position on Tibet as also "inviting" China to work with United States in maintaining peace in South Asia. Needless to say Pakistan has welcomed both. b) Economy situation: Far from improving its down in the poopers. Jobs should have been the priority instead his Administration, perhaps on purpose, turned the focus on Healthcare. So far them have got beat on both. Job market is in the toilet with no signs of improvement. I know a few people who have not only had problems finding jobs but are now in danger of losing their unemployment benefits, if they have not lost it already. c) Finance Organization: For the first time in my life I overdrafted an account recently...by a grand margin of $27 in a credit limit of 20K per month. And was slammed by 39$ as overdraft fees by the Banking giant. After giving an earful to the Customer service they did take it off but this is a huge problem for most people and for the first time I understood it myself. Easy to make judgement calls when people dont make payments etc but there are times when genuine mistakes are made, specially in this economy. I can understand a certain %age of the total amount, with a cap but 39$ overdraft for exceeding payments for 27$? Go figure. Needless to say this was a lead item for Obama and well this happened to me in his Administration. d) Immigration: Royally effed. This has been one disappointing ride. xxx

You are judging him too damn fast. 1). So he works on the health bill, which despite the worst ever lie campaign from the right wing (WTF DEATH PANELS!!!!:hysterical:), has already been passed in the house. 2). Regarding the overdraft fees, if you have read recent news, there has been a crackdown in process already. 3). Guanatanamo bay..first steps taken towards closing it. 4). Stem cell research is back. 5). Cash for clunkers a major success.

[Ram]

Have to say Lurker's assessment of the Obama administration will make even Fox news proud.

[triam]

Agree with PK, it is too early a . Dynamics have changed, China owns US and that is literally speaking. WRT India, respect is not granted, respect needs to be taken, did India express disappointment that Obama is ignoring India or India's interests? b. Economy is improving, I am sure you know that in any economic meltdown, first to go are jobs and last to come are jobs, give it a year more. Health care has been disappointing, with how dems are dropping the ball, but lets wait and see what happens in the Senate. c. Credit card reform is on the horizn Feb 2010 I think. Beyond that, Immigration is currently in the back burner and rightfully so, with 2 wars, one major economic crisis and the health care reform, something has to go back to the queue and immigration is that one. Yes there have been major faux paus, within the democratic party and his leadership have cme to question, especially how close the health care reform was and how much has been given up from the original intent but it is ok. FYI, I am not a big dem supporter, infact i lean towards a lot of libertarian ideals although I am nt a hardcore libertarian.

[Brainfade]

You are judging him too damn fast. 1). So he works on the health bill, which despite the worst ever lie campaign from the right wing (WTF DEATH PANELS!!!!:hysterical:), has already been passed in the house. 3). Guanatanamo bay..first steps taken towards closing it. 4). Stem cell research is back. 5). Cash for clunkers a major success.

Healthcare: I agree - he has been instrumental in bringing the discussion to the forefront. It is a huge issue, and I vehemently oppose his strategy to solve the problem. But, until he made it important, the Republicans were happy to ignore it. Now, they're putting their plans forward - too little, too late from the GOP. I hope the current version (little/no tort reform, movement towards the big HMO a.ka. Uncle Sam Insurance, making employee-provided insurance difficult enough that they will stop offering it) does not go through the Senate. But, if it does, one has to credit Obama for making it happen. I will not enjoy it, but I would chalk it up a success for the guy. Gitmo: Again, I disagree with the decision - now, those prisoners are going to be spread over the US? But, he got done what he wanted to get done. Stem Cells: P_K, with all due respect to your high IQ (and I know you have a high IQ - how else could one do a PhD in math?), you are wrong that stem cells research was not there during GWB's regime, and Obama "brought them back". Fact is that GWB's gov't had NEVER banned stem cell research. Here is the layman's version: Two major types of stem cells: Non-Embryonic & Embryonic. Non-embryonic stem cells: GWB gov't had NO RESTRICTIONS on these. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs): GWB's gov't had NO RESTRICTIONS on federal funding to work on ESCs developed prior to August 2001 was NOT RESTRICTED. That is - scientists could perpetuate these cells for research and get NIH funding to do it. GWB gov't restricted federal funding to develop NEW ESCs after August 2001. Private funding for this work was NEVER RESTRICTED. Obama's gov't now provided funding for working with new ESCs. That is the only change. To this day, while ESCs have been touted to have great potential, it is still "potential." There are many problems associated with them - they form tumors, they are more prone to be rejected by the donor. Non-embryonic stem cells, OTOH, have met with clinical success - for e.g., umbilical cord cells, bone marrow cells are widely used. More recently, cells called iPS cells (non-embryonic, but with the potential of ESCs) have been developed - you can take a skin cell and make it behave like a highly potent stem cell. None of this work was restricted by GWB. If you really want to learn about stem cells before you state a position, check these out: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics6.asp http://www.stemcellresearch.org/ Cash for clunkers: Success is how you define it. Did it sell a lot of cars? Yes. Are the dealers still waiting for the gov't to pay them? Yes. Will lower 2010 sales balance out the spike in 2009 sales? That is, over a 2-yr period, there would be no increase in new car sales? That would only mean that you and I subsidized car purchases for folks who would have bought a new car anyway in 2010 with their own money. It remains to be seen, but that thought doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

[punjabi_khota]

^ I will go through those sources but 2 immediate questions come to mind. 1). Do you believe it was OK that Bush banned federal funding for ESCs ? It is not how much was the effect of that lack of funding but more about the spirit in which it was banned. 2). From what I know about reseach in US, I believe NSF and NIH are the 2 biggest sources for all research. Private funding in engineering/physics is pretty much absent, but I do not know the scene in bio-med. But if I had to guess, I would think that the scenario is the same for that field too and hence lack of funding from NIH pretty much kills any area of research, especially blue-sky research which may pay off in 20 years rather than 2-5 years. I can imagine pharma companies funding research for developing some vaccines but not sure if they fund stem cell type stuff.

[Brainfade]

^ I will go through those sources but 2 immediate questions come to mind. 1). Do you believe it was OK that Bush banned federal funding for ESCs ? It is not how much was the effect of that lack of funding but more about the spirit in which it was banned.

A small, but very important clarification - he did NOT ban federal funding for the 15 ESC "lines" that were in existence. He only stopped federal funding for creating NEW ESCs after Aug 2001. Note that stem cells can be perpetuated forever in the laboratory, and researchers share these lab cultures freely. Thus, ESC work has continued freely (with federal support) with those 15 old ESC lines. Do I agree with it? At that time - a well-thought-out yes. Why? A biological (not religious) argument can be made for new life beginning at conception. So, there are enough secular, ethical concerns about embryonic stem cells that we need to respect. Considering that the old ESCs were still available and thriving, the decision represented a good compromise. But now, it has come to light that some of those lines are contaminated and not useful any longer. Plus, the existing lines do not represent all races and ethnicities. So, we may need to open up the development of new ESC lines. Rant: The devil is always in the details, but the media glosses over them. "Bush BANS stem cells" is an intellectually dishonest headline, but has a huge impact even on intelligent readers. It's like the media said "Obama bans missile defense." But, did he, really? Not at all - he dumped the current systems to then fund newer, better systems. Who's listening, though? Be that as it may, there is new research that can reconcile both points of view on stem cells. Scientists can now take non-embryonic cells (e.g., skin cells) and re-program them to gain all the therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells. If you are interested, google "induced pluripotent stem cells."

2). From what I know about reseach in US, I believe NSF and NIH are the 2 biggest sources for all research. Private funding in engineering/physics is pretty much absent, but I do not know the scene in bio-med. But if I had to guess, I would think that the scenario is the same for that field too and hence lack of funding from NIH pretty much kills any area of research, especially blue-sky research which may pay off in 20 years rather than 2-5 years. I can imagine pharma companies funding research for developing some vaccines but not sure if they fund stem cell type stuff.

Will get to this later. This post is long enough :-)!

[Master Blaster]

Maybe he'll do better if we give him another noble peace prize?

[Deleted_User_1]

It pays to be a middle of the line supporter. Had I been an Obama fan right now I would have been kicking myself in the nuts. Thus far he has been President for a year or thereabouts and by and large I am yet to see anything that makes him stand out for me. Here are a few big letdowns: a) Kissing China's you know what(or should I say Yu-No-Wat?): As the US President who has travelled most in his first year(read 20 countries), it is absolutely flumoxxing to see him not visit India yet. I mean of the 20 important countries in the world for diplomacy India does not rank in there? WTF is the man, and his Administration, smoking? He found time to bow to Japanese Emperor, and Chinese Premier, but suppose no time for Manmohan Singh. A usual explanation could very well be that Obama wants to avoid South Asia trip thanks to the law and order(or lack thereof) in Pakistan but for how long will United States make those kind of ridiculous arguments? Its been 40 odd years and we all know how well that diplomacy has panned out. This is not to mention supporting Chinese position on Tibet as also "inviting" China to work with United States in maintaining peace in South Asia. Needless to say Pakistan has welcomed both. b) Economy situation: Far from improving its down in the poopers. Jobs should have been the priority instead his Administration, perhaps on purpose, turned the focus on Healthcare. So far them have got beat on both. Job market is in the toilet with no signs of improvement. I know a few people who have not only had problems finding jobs but are now in danger of losing their unemployment benefits, if they have not lost it already. c) Finance Organization: For the first time in my life I overdrafted an account recently...by a grand margin of $27 in a credit limit of 20K per month. And was slammed by 39$ as overdraft fees by the Banking giant. After giving an earful to the Customer service they did take it off but this is a huge problem for most people and for the first time I understood it myself. Easy to make judgement calls when people dont make payments etc but there are times when genuine mistakes are made, specially in this economy. I can understand a certain %age of the total amount, with a cap but 39$ overdraft for exceeding payments for 27$? Go figure. Needless to say this was a lead item for Obama and well this happened to me in his Administration. d) Immigration: Royally effed. This has been one disappointing ride. xxx

Hannity, Rush and Beck have unzipped their pants for you!! :finger::finger:

[SRT PWNS]

Hannity' date=' Rush and Beck have unzipped their pants for you!! :finger::finger:[/quote'] It seems Bin Laden, Obama, Wright, Ayers, Satan, and all other terrorists and liberals have done the same for you.

[punjabi_khota]

It seems Bin Laden' date=' Obama, Wright, Ayers, Satan, and all other [b']terrorists and liberals have done the same for you.

Oh hai, Palin.

[SRT PWNS]

Oh hai' date=' Palin.[/quote'] Oh Hai Louis Farrakhan! ^_^

[punjabi_khota]

^Wanna hook up ?

[graphic23]

^Wanna hook up ?

For more gems by SRT PWNS: http://indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=151929 A great quote:

Stephen Colbert is one of the messengers of evil and a servant of the filthy left media. This so called "neutral" guy is a pitiful disgrace to the US. The things he says go hand in hand with what Islamic extremists use to develop hate towards the non-Muslim world. His comments on the Iraq war in particular reveal what a disgusting' date=' sorry excuse of a human being he is. He is however, no different than all others who follow the leftist ideology. If evil is to be completely annihilated, then those who blow themselves up in the name of Islam to kill innocents for no justified reason, must be destroyed, their Liberal supporters must also face extermination alongside their external terrorist allies. There should be no place on earth where evil should be allowed to prosper, the will of the good, free and innocent man should never, under any circumstances be taken for granted. Good must prevail; sadly this looks very bleak right now because of the sheer mass of evil that exists in the world today.[/quote']

[SRT PWNS]

Thank you graphic23, you picked a fine quote of mine to display here. Me excite! O_O

[Macj]

The best thing Obama has done is opened up research and development funds after 8 yrs of hiatus. Now we can really start observing VY Canis Major in all its Hyper Giant splendor. About cash for clunkers another vast Federal bucket will have to cough up the deficit to pay for all those subsidies. Other than that mediocre to say the least, before you say it, yes Bush was 'mediocreer'.