RO if you think this is such a good idea, why don’t you move to Canada, France, Cuba, Russia, Germany take your pick.  Their leadership is all for dictating to their people. You sound like you would fit in quite well.  Obviously, you are unable to make your own life decisions. You want the gov. to make them for you. Americans DO NOT WANT THIS BUNCH OF IGNORANT PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR US TO MAKE OUR DECISIONS.  THE ONLY THING THEY ARE GOOD AT IS SPENDING MONEY THAT DOESN’T BELONG TO THEM. mAKE A PACT WITH THE REST OF THESE PEOPLE TO RENT A BOAT OR CRUISE SHIP, GO AROUND THE WORLD, FIND YOU A LAND YOU CAN CLAIM & HAVE THE GOV. YOU WANT. I CALL THAT A CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS MOVE. THAT WAY WE CAN SHED OURSELVES OF THE POISON YOU & YOUR LOONS ARE TRYING TO DO TO NOT FOR OUR COUNTRY.  OH! THAT’S RIGHT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE OUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO PLAY WITH.  THE GOVERNMENT IS NOTHING BUT PARASITES LIVING OFF THE BLOOD OF THE PEOPLE.

RO don’t count your chickens before they hatch. God almighty is actually the One Who makes these decisions. This communist admin. & it’s leader & the communists in our congress are lieing to us. They can’t make an accurate distribution of the numbers because absolutely no one but God knows the future. They can’t predict what future prices of anything is going to be next year. sure they can give us a very rough guestamite of what prices will be but that’s no guarantee.  Look at the price of food. Would you have ever believed you would pay 2-4 dollars for a loaf of bread, or near 4$ for milk.  Get real. I don’t know what school you or any of the progressive communists went to but it’s not one that main st. america went to. All of them & you too RO are definitely as intelligent as you seem to think you are. A little quote for all of you that befits all of you. “PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ARE REALLY ANNOYING TO THOSE OF US WHO DO”.

The President, now that he has tackled heath care reform and has gotten it to pass needs to next go after the education system in this country!
Teachers need to be paid a minimum of $40,000 a year to start instead of the ridiculous wages that Bay County pays them and the worst health insurance plan EVER!!! Their Blue Cross Plan they offer teachers is an absolute JOKE!!! Premiums for a family of $700.00 a month out of the teachers check with ridiculous co-pays and caps!
This is a sin.
Teachers with 4 year degrees are making less than a babysitter makes!
They start them at around $30,000 a year but after deductions,(Crummy Blue Cross) they are lucky to make $350.00 a week!
The whole education system needs an overhaul and the kids need computers. Every middle school and high school student needs a personal computer.
We are only as good of a country when we care and educate our children the best that we can and money should be NO object when it comes to quality education!

Teachers in Bay County are paid garbage for what they do. Babysitters make more.
If a teacher has 20 kids and makes $30,000 a year and a babysitter watches 20 kids for 20 work days a month at $3.00 an hour per kid or $24.00 a day per kid times 20 kids, thats $480.00 a day times 20 work days a month or $9600.00 a month or over $110,000 a year!
That’s just daycare without even teaching them a thing.
Yes, teachers are WAY underpaid and Bay County needs to step up and at least start them at $40,000 a year,the national average.
You get what you pay for.

Sorry, but you all are in the total minority. the President didn’t win around these parts but he won the majority vote of all Americans 53% to 47%.
Get used to being in the minority on National issues. There are 300,000,000 other Americans besides the ones living in the past, here in Bay County.
Health Care will pass but it is not what I wanted or most of the Majority as we wanted to end the Blue cross monopoly.
Next, we need to get passage of HR4789, the Public Option Act. It will be on the fast track as it now has over 95 co-sponsers on the hill in just 72 hours! A new record on the hill. It looks like it will get on the floor real soon. This is how we can stop the Blue Cross rip-offs, forever.
Anyone, any age, can but into Medicare, immediatley for the same premiums seniors pay!
This is the real manna from heaven!
I pray for our great President and his family, every night. May God Bless our President!

gator, he probably does. After all, he seems to want the whole country locked in a communistic government which is what his god seems to be pushing us into.

RO i think your the only one that is delusional enough to believe your BS, you probably would have been better following chavez or castro.

We were in slow-moving traffic the other day and the car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read: “Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8”.
 
  My husband’s Bible was lying on the dash board & he got it & opened it up to the scripture & read it. He started laughing and laughing. Then he read it to me. I couldn’t believe what it said. I had a good laugh, too. 
 
  Psalm 109:8
  “Let his days be few; and may another take his place of leadership. ” 
 
  At last - I can voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up - it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray.

The Democrats and the President are trying to clean up the “mess”, that 8 years of Republicans have directly caused up to and including an almost complete National Great Depression that was avoided in February,2009, by our great leader having to make some unpopular but needed moves to avoid everyone in this country from being in soup lines! You need to check your facts! Bush, pushed through the unfunded prescription drug program which has devastated the National Debt. Everything President Obama has tried to pass,is funded,pay as you go. The Health Care Bill, actually CUTS the National debt as it is fully funded by taxing those over $250,000 and automatic premium deductions from the uninsured from their paychecks when they are employed.
Reagan, alone, increased the National debt, more than ALL presidents combined, in US history.
Republicans idea of the American Dream is a $10.00 an hour job at the local Walmart,no benefits,selling foreign produce and hawwking Chinese trinkets.

Freedom of speech is what the majority will allow.  Everyone has a right to an opinion and I really enjoy the conversations on here.

jday I believe this is a FREE COUNTRY & OUR CONSTITUTION GIVES ME THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF MY SPEECH. It is obvious that you have little respect for anyone including yourself or maybe you are all for taking what doesn’t belong to you because you didn’t earn it, or you are one of those who looks at O as the savior.  Whatever your problem is is your problem.  I will NOT SHUT-UP.  WHICHEVER SHOE FITS, WEAR IT.  WHY WOULD YOU BE INSULTED WHEN WHAT I WROTE WAS THE TRUTH.  IF YOU ARE A PROGRESSIVE YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH.  EVERYTHING O HAS HANDED IS NOTHING BUT DECEIT.  YOU WILL FIND THAT OUT.  I THINK FOR MYSELF, I DON’T NEED SOME SO-CALLED INTELLECTUAL TO HELP ME DETERMINE THE TRUTH, MY GOD REVEALS THE TRUTH TO ME.  OF COURSE, IT COULD BE THAT YOU DON’T WANT OTHERS ON HERE TO HEAR THE TRUTH, WHICH IS COMMON FOR PROGRESSIVES.  YOU ARE FREE AS I AM TO SPEAK YOUR PEACE.  I KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE & I WILL NEVER SHUT UP UNTIL THE DAY I DIE.  I SURE PUSHED YOUR BUTTON.

firecracker…..shut up.

Mr RO You need to look at the mess of things your progressive demos have made of our country.  Every program they have come up with is DESTROYING our country.  Social security, medicare, medicaid, the un, the irs, the fed reserve.  all these are entitlements that need to be dissolved.  Our founding fathers did not have any of these things in mind when they created the constitution.  Americans need to stand on their own 2 feet & stop expecting those who work hard for whatever wealth they have earned to pay for the others to sit on their rumps & collect from the haves.  I am not a have & don’t expect the haves to take care of me.  What the gov. gives the gov. can & will take away.  God is the One Who gives us our unalienable rights NOT THE GOV.  AS FAR AS RESPECT GOES FOR OBAMA.  I DON’T GIVE AWAY MY RESPECT; THAT’S SOMETHING YOU WILL EARN FROM ME.  I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR A PERSON WHO IS DOING NOTHING BUT DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY.  I DON’T CARE WHAT COLOR A PERSON IS.  RESPECT IS EARNED.

Athena, I appreciate your input as a parent. I can also share your frustration with Tyndall Clinic, but we can save that for another story. You bring up a good point about ESE teachers and the variables that don’t seem to have been taken into consideration. There is a lot more research into how this is going to be accomplished before any real solution will exist. In the meantime, the government needs to quit threatening districts with financial cutbacks if they don’t jump on board. Rushing legislation is not smart or productive, but it sure seems to be the popular course of action lately.

This is not a healthcare debate, boys.  Please stay on topic.  RO, my son is one of those “2nd graders who can’t even tie their shoes”.  He has Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome (hasn’t been properly diagnosed yet, thanks Tyndall AFB)  He is a bright young kid who has recently been moved into mainstream classes because he excels academically (mainly thanks to his awesome teachers in ESE) but has not yet been capable of tying his own shoes.  Are those awesome ESE teachers supposed to get their pay raises based on how their students are progressing as well?  His previous classmates have barely progressed in the last four years, but not through any fault of the teachers. 

Also, unfortunately for parents like me who are in college (Master’s degree) so that we can better provide for our children, often do not have time to help our kids with more than the four hours of homework they already receive.

The overwhelming Democratic Majority does want health care overhaul and to eliminate pre-existing clauses along with lower premiums. The problem is the Majority wants a STRONG Public option which doesn’t seem to be in the Senate Bill that is being reconciled.
The minority wants Blue Cross to continue to deny claims like they’ve done for decades and keep jacking rates like the 39% increase just leveled at Californians! The majority SPOKE when they elected our President and his platform which included health care overhaul. He defeated the Republican platform, overwhelmingly and won the election with ease.
You are in the minority,sorry, you ARE the weakest link. Goodbye.

now now RO you cant go by polls, if so your god wouldnt be pushing the crap health bill, thats going to make our health care like a 3rd world country, or the cap and trade thats going to put us back in the stone ages, along with the extra $100-200 extra on our eletricty bills every month, they want carbon emmisions back to the levels it was back in 1900? there wasnt any back then? what a bunch of dumb arses? but back to subject your god needs to look and see that the american public doesnt want this crap, only a few in the minority like yourself do.

Every teacher is against this so it ought to tell you something. It’s a bad idea. In talking to an award winning teacher who is very dedicated and outstanding, it was explained along with the other issues I mentioned that teachers who work in a Title One School have low income children whose parents are drug addicts or are in prison and are foster kids,some of whom can’t even tie their own shoes in second grade and have been abused or not even attended school or a FAKE home school and have major learning disabilities. They are dumped sometimes,midyear and these teachers have to deal with that which takes their time away from the other 20 or 30 kids their trying to teach,also,as the BAY District constantly,knowingly,violated state law and overcrowds classrooms so as not to hire another teacher! Merit pay is fine if the teachers can make the WORK RULES so they can be successful. We need to listen to the teachers concerns,first!
The parents need to teach their own kids who are slow.

I agree that teachers need to be held accountable, but I just don’t feel that this is the right way to go about it. My concern is for the students. If there has to be an additional exam to determine the teacher’s competency, then the pressure is being put on the students and I can see that backfiring big time. It’s hard enough for many kids to deal with FCAT. Having to take a test that could affect their teacher’s paygrade is asking for trouble. And how would that work in the lower grades with kids who don’t read yet? At my son’s school, teachers move from grade to grade and students can end up having the same teacher two years in a row. I agree that there are issues regarding teacher’s performance and pay and I do not agree with tenured teachers being untouchable. At our school we are fortunate to have a knowledgeable teaching staff that is led by an academically motivated principal. I just don’t want any ill will coming back to the students from teachers who receive paycuts.

Brian7, he likes to throw that race card around very easily when someone doesn’t agree with him about his god. I do respect the office but NOT that thing in it. I say thing because I can’t use it’s name and the word man in the same senstence. The last REAL man we had in that office was Ron Reagan but I’m sure this guy won’t agree. His god wouldn’t know a REAL man if he saw one. Now, off for the weekend.

Okay, let’s not drop the race card unless you can prove it. That is one of my peeves.

I agree with you on the respect.  I respect the office but not the man.  Regardless of what happens to this country, you have to respect the office of the president.  Even when Nixon or Clinton were in it.

I don’t respect the direction Obama is taking the country and I do not think he is qualified to be CIC let alone president.  I will respect the office and I separate the policy from the man.

As for “THAT THING” in the White House. He is our President of The United States of America, and you should show some respect even if you disagree with him as he is our Commander-in-Chief.
This just shows your ignorance and our racist attitude.
The President is trying to clean up a complete mess that was left to him over a 9 year period. We are very lucky to have him as the economy would have already collapsed and we would be in a Great Depression, since last February, if it were not for his brilliance.
He would get a lot more done if he could get a little support from the Party of No, who are nothing more than corporate shills that anyone with a brain can see.

Great answer retired one.  But, like in any job, if you don’t like the pay you go somewhere it pays more.  Which is what has happened in Bay County, you pay cheap, you get lower quality teachers.  The good teachers move south for the better paying jobs.

Merit based pay is fine for teachers. I am not against that if the RULES for teachers are fair.
Right now in Bay County, you can ask any teacher if they are for this and the answer is NO!
You dumbells want to know why?
If you checked into it or were in that profession you could see that as a teacher,you are not on a FAIR playing field. Your pay in Bay County borders on $30,000 a year to start but you have to pay $700.00 a month just for Blue Cross, that covers hardly nothing. Wages are way too low for a 4 year degree when teachers start at $40,000 in other states.
Then, state law says you are not to have more than 20 students in some classes, yet this law is broken in Bay County,DAILY. You may end up with a fluctuation of 18-25 students or more at times.
You CANNOT be responsible for outstanding teaching when you have way too many students in a class. The plan is fine if the state also enforces classroom overcrowding! They do this to SAVE money at the expense of the students.

WRAINEY, no problem. When I read all of the comments, it made perfect sense. There is one Odama worshipper that blames everything on Bush, the Republicans, space aliens, or whatever. I’m learning to ignore that individual as much as I can so I don’t get drawn into his fantasy world anymore. He actually thinks that thing in the White House is human….can you beat that?