BlogHer - Last presidential debate of 2008 tonight: Watch with us here! - Comments

We've never had a shortage of well educated kids

Denise — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:15:22 -0500

Kids are turned away from universities all over the country right now - community colleges in every area I've lived in ARE affordable and accessible - making them more affordable and more so does what?

I've got two kids in community college right now, and the middle child plans to go back again in the spring.

Both kids were offered grants, loans and scholarships. One of them is paying $250 a semester. The other is paying $750 a semester (two different states, different loads, different programs.) Neither of them took full advantage of the financial assistance available to them because we all realize we don't need a free ride, or even a partially free ride - we didn't want to take funds and programs away from people who can't afford that 1K a semester that we've spending to pay for college.

(Next year when all three are in school and Michelle & Jenn move to four year programs, I'm going to have to force them to seek financial help and avail themselves of grants and scholarships that are open to them - but both girls will have their AAs, from community colleges in the spring - and we'll have paid less than 5K total.)

If that isn't affordable and reasonable, I'm not sure what is.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

My understanding

terrasears2 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:56:40 -0500

Make employer contributions more fair by requiring large
employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the
cost of quality health coverage for their employees to contribute a percentage
of payroll toward the costs of their employees health care.

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Barack Obama will pay for his $50 - $65 billion health care
reform effort by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than
$250,000 per year and retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level.

Gotcha.

GreyDay — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:52:11 -0500

I thank you.

An entertainment & culture blog for women of color http://GreyDaySoul.blogspot.com My Celebrity blog - http://RoseRollinsFanBlog.blogspot.com

More coorporate government

cooper — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:29:23 -0500

The difference I have always seen is the more government of McCain is in cooprorate governement ,or coorproate welfare ,which is basically what has increased so significantly over the last 8 years. His privitization of public services stance (coorporatization if you will) will destory further the middle class - big governemt in that way, small government for the people. It means poorrer services for the people, poorer schools , roads, and so on. It really does not seem much different to me at all than what has been happening over the last 8 years. I amtotally against priviizationof public services.

I like taking away the tax breaks and incentives for coororporations who do not provide jobs, or in some other wa contribute to the local economy.

Health Care: I don't think either have a perfect plan, and think either one will have to spend some time to make it really beneficial to the American people. As to which one idoelogically will really care to do that once in office, I have to say Obama.

cooper

Thanks everybody! As you find factchecking

Lisa Stone — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:19:25 -0500

I wholeheartedly invite the links here. Not to mention pictures of Joe the Plumber...

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

wise

cooper — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:14:00 -0500

wiser not to

cooper

We need education help on all levels

cooper — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:09:04 -0500

They are starting to throw out SAT''s and I imagine the trend will continue.

College was more affordable twenty five years ago, it was also more affordable to live.

In other words the cost of a college education has grown, the public university cost in many states has grown - not as the cost of living has grown but three to a fifty times or more than the cost of living increases in salary which people might expect( and currently may not be getting)

A few years back NC haD a 52 percent tuition jump over a 5 year period - that is huge, and that trend over the last ten years is pretty common. Just look at trends at any Public University System.

When public college cost increase well over the percentage of expected cost of living increases it becomes a big deal to a large part of the middle class. With our middle class shrinking already this makes it more difficult to maintain a middle class, and when the middle class disappears, as has increasingly happed ed over the last few years , we get into dangerous territory. It also makes that upward mobility America very difficult.

not comparable

cooper — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:44:24 -0500

"kill him" at alive rally compared to tee-shirt slogans, or even verbal poltical slogans?

That McCain thinks them comparable clearly show me his reaslining skills are not very good.

cooper

Can he last

cooper — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:39:08 -0500

That is a really big concern for those of us who find her ideology appalling, and her intellect unproven - from what we've seen so far.

cooper

Community college students

Liz Henry — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:33:18 -0500

My impression is not that college is about partying. The students i taught in community college were in debt with student loans, working full time, and living at home. I respected them a lot. When you say "our" kids who do you mean by "us"?

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Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that

Erin Kotecki Vest — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:52:06 -0500

I am hoping he meant he didn't back that behavior, but he sure didn't say that.

Sigh.

Unreal

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

I'd like to hear why you like Palin too

Liz Henry — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:46:54 -0500

I'll read this with close attention whenever you get around to posting it, Denise!

It boggles my mind, and I'd really like to know!

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Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America

I don't think he believes it

Liz Henry — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:43:39 -0500

I don't think McCain believes any of that stuff about ACORN. It's like thinking that Food Not Bombs is some kind of Maoist infiltration of the U.S. Totally bonkers. It's just a play for a conspiracy theory people will believe. And it's code for the entire body of those theories including the "Arab" one. He is trying to appeal here to older, Cold War voters who know the key words that mean "Commie".

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Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America

Thanks Maria!

Lisa Stone — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:42:04 -0500

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

McCain said he backs his supporters

Liz Henry — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:38:02 -0500

I didn't hear him repudiate it. At least he didn't repeat it. But he answered Obama's question by saying he backs his supporters. He counter-answered something about Obama supporters having tshirts with tasteless (presumably anti-McCain/Palin) tshirts.

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Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America

Last presidential debate of 2008 tonight: Watch with us here!

Lisa Stone — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:04:45 -0500

Tonight's your last opportunity to watch two men who would be president, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, take questions about how they would lead the United States.

Will you watch? What's the one question you would ask if you were Moderator Bob Schieffer? (Ellen Bravo has some great questions for both campaigns left over from her post "What Women Wish Gwen Ifill Could Have Asked.")

An estimated 60-65 million Americans will tune including us here at BlogHer.com -- join us at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, 6 p.m. Pacific Time as we live-blog the event. Instead of transcribing as I did last time, I'll record each question in the comments and then we can debate their answers ourselves. I hope you'll join me!

Tonight's debate is happening as a CBS | New York Times survey says Obama has opened a 14-point lead over McCain, and former "HillRaisers" for Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton held a big fundraiser for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Here's what I'm reading from you thus far this morning:

Audreyh68: Paralyzed With Fear Over the State of Our Economy - "I had a wonderful post ready to go, all about "A Day in the Life
of..." and then I went and watched a program on the idiot box about the state of the economy and after curling up into a little ball, rocking back and forth..."

Sara_Callow: Riding the Down Escalator Up - "At a time when the market is tumbling around us, homes are falling out of escrow for lack of financing, nearly everything dollar related seems terribly unstable, and the daily newspaper details depressing stories of families in over their heads on a house purchase - we are buying in..."

And, because I love you all and have a heart, I'll close with:

Megan Smith: Political Comedy Videos Are Not Just For SNL & Why Aren't There Any Pro-McCain Parodies? - "With twenty-two days left until Election Day 2008, I thought now would be a good time to bring you some political video parodies that aren't so well known, but still quite funny..."

Okay, let 'er rip!