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It’s congress’s fault, not the companies. They’re a bunch of lying hypocrites. The increase has a lot to do with them systematically debasing our currency by drowning us in debt and bailing out wall street. No one talks about the dollar being the main reason for the price increases. Euro based economies aren’t complaining about oil increases the way we are.

http://www.theoildrum.com/tag/oil_prices

Look at 2001. Oil was more euros than dollars. Now look at it.

Are you kidding? They are liberals! Gates Foundation is a huge supporter of Planned Parenthood as is Buffett.

No way. The company is messed up. They claim it's for economic reasons. If it's really for economic reasons the man is not taking time at work to smoke so he is fulfilling his part of the agreement. He's saving the company money by not taking smoke breaks and is therefore being rewarded. Smoking at home has nothing to do with the economics of the business. At least from what the article says.

If they're lying and it's not for economic reasons, and is to enforce some healthy lifestyle fetish they have, then they are being discriminatory. Did he technically break a contract? Yes, but forcing someone, or incentivising someone, to sign a discriminatory contract is not right either. I'm not a lawyer, but I have a hard time believing that an employer/employee contract that tries to change an employees non-work related behavior that in no way affects job performance or company performance is not a valid contract. Contracts like that should be illegal. What if some company said, we'll pay our employees to not attend church on Sunday. A company, like the government, has no business trying to force their beliefs on an individual.

"Laserline said its no-smoking incentives made economic sense, claiming that every full-time worker who smoked was losing an average of 12 work days a year in cigarette breaks. Smokers have to punch cards to clock their breaks."

The whole point of program is so the company has more productive workers. They should not be able to have any say on what someone does on their off-hours. He's being paid to not smoke at work which he doesn't do. Him having a cigarette at home is none of his company's business and is really unenforcable. It would cost more than 68 bucks a month to track every employee at all hours to make sure they don't smoke. This whole thing is just messed up. The company's wrong on so many levels.

"You want Homeland Security? Get rid of those clueless idiots and give that job back to the National Guard and the Coast Guard, the agencies created with the experience to handle these disasters and get rid of this ridiculously ineffective agency and it's interference with common sense."

I agree 100% with that. FEMA did drop the ball. Besides the military, there isn't one federal institution I would trust to get or do anything right. Running things locally is the way it should be done. The Governor/Mayor just did a terrible job.

I think that's a really good idea! Seriously. The levees are what caused most of the damage anyway. NO is six feet below sea level. If there were no levees there would have been six to ten feet of flooding. Build thirty foot levees around the city, you get thirty feet of flooding when they're finally breached. Levees stop the frequency of flooding, but they compound it when they fail. Building it like Venice would be accomomdating nature rature than trying to beat it. Interesting thought.

They're probably crying over their lost family members. MS will likely have thousands dead.

Thank you for your comment. I wish all Freepers thought like you. What we (some Freepers are) should be clamoring for is some real leadership to get this situation under control. It helps no one to whine and complain about the inevitable mobs that will arise when then the leaders showed no prepardness, no effective response, and people are struggling for their lives. It's a mute point. Mob rule is a given in that type of situation. It's up to the leaders to prevent it and to fix it. They did and continue to do nothing. Bush should fire everyone at FEMA and put the military in charge. They're obviously the only goverment organization that can do anything effectively these days. Leadership, discipline, and courage are what's needed. Sorry for my rant, but like you I had some things to get off of my chest.

What's wrong with FEMA? Are they insane? They're collecting people to take reports and help them go through the insane bureacracy to get federal assistance? Good grief. Their lack of prepardness, lack of any kind of evident plan for a disaster that has been expected for fifty years is beyond belief. Their lack of any kind of operational effectiveness on the ground is also beyond belief. The situation is out of control. What is the government for if it's not for this type of situation? The military is obviously the only government agency that can do anything effectively these days. Put them in charge. Can the mayor, the governor and all the local admins who dropped the ball even more than FEMA (if that's possible) and put a general in charge.

As long as you agree that if that situation I described did occur, that they would be justified in taking a bottle of water then we are in complete agreement.

I said "I agree looting food/water is wrong if it's not necessary and there are legit ways to get it." Read a little more closely next time.

I object to the absolutist language being used in saying the looting is wrong in any way, shape, or form. I simply provided an example of where it wouldn't be wrong. I'm not saying this example applies to any of the looters in New Orleans. Probably not, but I don't know and neither does anyone else on this thread.

How can you be so obtuse? I agree looting TV sets etc. is despicable. And I agree looting food/water is wrong if it's not necessary and there are legit ways to get it. But you're statement "any way, shape, manner, or form" suggests that an elderly man, or a young mother with a newborn should die on the sidewalk rather than grab a bottle of water from walmart? Human life versus a bottle of water? You have a very twisted sense of morality.

Are you joking? Catholics obey the pope on matters of faith and morals. That's it. The Pope doesn't say here's the law of the land and here's how it's going to be enforced and here's the system you're going to use. If he does say something along those lines it's not binding on any Catholic.

Right. And it's not like someone on a suicide mission cares if there're cameras around. It's not going to stop terrorism.

Easy Doc . . . I wouldn't call it assinine. It's a very quickly growing sentiment. I personally know about thirty people who have had births over the last two years. About 10 had births with mid-wives either at home or at a birth-center and the other 20 had births at a hospital. In all ten mid-wife births the mothers were 100% happy with the experience. Some of the mothers had had hostipal births before and couldn't believe the difference. The 20 hospital births? About 12 C-Sections, 2 serious infections (infant) requiring lengthy hospital stays and the other 6 had negative experiences as well. I do agree that litigation is probably one of the reasons for this though. Docs, especially OB's, are so afraid of litigation that every decision they make is made based on risk (litigation) management and not necessarily what is best for the patient.

The biggest reason is that they've spent the last fifty years catching up to midwives in terms of general birthing knowledge (and still have many years to go). A couple of weeks ago a study came out showing that episiomoty's (a routine practice for most OB's for the last thirty years) have been found to accomplish nothing and if anything, do more harm. article here

And when docs first starting doing births they thought it would be a good idea to strap the mother to a table on her back and knock her out. Good grief. Anyway, they're great to have around when you absolutely need to be cut open, but other than that, they don't have a very good track record.

Great article. You're correct in the fact that it is truly a bi-partisan topic. I personally don't think the negative effects of vaccines will end with the removal of thermosol either. I've heard so many accounts recently of infants with unheard of auto-immune responses. Can't say it was vaccines for sure, but I'm going to heavily weigh the risks of each vaccine when it comes time for me to decide. Let's see . . . 80% chance of chicken pox or 0.001% chance of autism or some other unknown . . . I'll take the chicken pox thank you.

This site has a list of all the current media articles, updates posted by family members, and info for those wishing to donate.www.susantorresfund.org

I saw that, but it's a shortened version and is missing a lot of info, pictures, interviews etc.

I saw that, but it's a shortened version and is missing a lot of info, pictures, interviews etc.

Very sad story, but with the help of our prayers may have a happier ending.