經濟是美國選民首要關心的大事 這 不是什麼秘密。但問題是，民主共和兩黨，誰更善於治理國家經濟？你可能說，當然是共和黨。從歷史上來看，事實恰恰相反，在民主黨總統任期內，美國經濟發展 更快，股市上漲，工作機會增加，遠遠強過共和黨總統。共和黨人，其實就那麼一張萬能的狗皮膏藥 - 減稅。經濟好壞，他們都使出這個法寶。里根時代，個人所得稅的最高稅率超過70%，把它們大幅度地降下來，能夠刺激經濟，我信。我感覺，克林頓時期的稅率 就很好，既有利經濟增長，又保證國家健康的財政收入。小布什已經減了很多了。現在羅姆尼還要在他的基礎上在 大幅地減，刺激經濟增長是假，給他和他的富豪朋友們謀福利是真。最近很多報紙都在報道這麼一件事。九月份，非黨派的國會研究中心（）出了一個報告，指出給 富人減稅根本起不到把經濟蛋糕做大的效果，只會使社會的貧富分化越來越嚴重。詳見Congressional Research Service Report On Tax Cuts For Wealthy Suppressed By GOP。共和黨的領袖們不高興，施加壓力，逼迫該研究中心把這份報告給撤下去了。
你那一票，到底有多重要？ 昨 天去圖書館，發現那裡排着很長的隊，周圍插着很多寫有候選人名字的牌子。原來大家在提前投票呢。很久沒有見過這麼長的隊了，畢竟是總統大選，看來投票很踴 躍。全國一億多選民，你那一票，到底有多重要？可能得看你住在哪，你如果住在紐約這樣的鐵杆民主黨的州，或者是德克薩斯這樣的共和黨大本營，雙方實力相差 懸殊，你投票與否，關係確實不大。如果你不滿，把票投給第三黨候選人，或者自家的小貓小狗，都無所謂。但如果你幸運（或者不幸），居住在佛羅里達，俄亥俄 等十來個搖擺州，你那張票，也許還很有價值。2000年，最高法院判決後，小布什就是在佛羅里達以400多票的優勢勝出而坐上總統寶座的。在這些州，每一 票都很重要。據統計，2008年，在芝加哥、華盛頓等大都市，80%的亞裔都投了民主黨的票，但華裔例外。用專家的話說，華裔投票是all over the spectrum，這跟我個人的觀察比較吻合。我一直覺得，美國人的政治觀點是很分裂對立的，也許只有美國華人之間的分歧可以與之媲美。
“If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it”
馬克●吐溫真是高。你看，幾十年前，少數族裔和婦女就沒有投票權。所以當時有些人還是很明白，voting did make some difference。因為很多人流血犧牲，所以我們今天還有這個奢侈在這裡糾結，要不要投，投了是否有用。我們搭了個順風車，為了他（她）們的鮮血不白流，我一定要參與，而且要帶領我的子孫後代去參與，就這樣一直堅持下去。
FEMA的一些措施起了多大作用，我沒有親歷，也看不見相關報道。但那篇報道提到“the FEMA-led pre-positioning of equipment and supplies and the “unprecedented” federal major disaster declaration before the storm hit”，我也經過一些自然災害，深知提前準備設備和供應是至關重要的。而史無前例地在災難來臨前就宣布federal major disaster，能保證州和地方政府儘快拿到聯邦的資金和物品援助。上星期，國防部後勤局都出動了，購買汽油運到災區，用流動加油站的形式給災民免費發放汽油。
Every now and again, the other side likes to claim President Obama doesn't have a record to run on. They're wrong. Here's a taste of why:
(Just a couple of) the Obama Administration's accomplishments:
1. The first bill President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to help women fight back when they don't get equal pay for equal work.
2. His Recovery Act supported millions of jobs and helped to stave off a second Great Depression.
3. He pushed for and won middle-class tax cuts that benefitted every American worker, and saved the typical family $3,600 in taxes over the last four years.
4. President Obama rescued the auto industry, and now GM and Chrysler are healthier than they've ever been. The American auto industry has added nearly a quarter of a million jobs since June 2009 -- and they most likely wouldn't exist right now without President Obama's leadership.
5. He doubled funding for Pell Grants, helping to make college more affordable for nearly 10 million families.
6. His student loan reform ended billions in subsidies to banks serving as middlemen and reinvested those savings directly into students.
7. The President established the American Opportunity Tax Credit, worth up to $10,000 over four years of college.
8. His Race to the Top Initiative helped spur nearly every state to raise academic standards.
9. His tax cuts, social-welfare programs, and economic policies lifted nearly 7 million Americans above the federal poverty line in 2010.
10. President Obama has signed 18 tax cuts for small businesses since taking office.
11. We've seen 5.2 million new private-sector jobs over the last 31 months.
12. The unemployment rate is at the lowest level since President Obama took office.
13. Health care reform -- passed after decades of failed attempts by every previous President -- provides affordable health coverage to every American and will lower premiums by an average of $2,000 per family by 2019.
14. Obamacare expanded access to lifesaving preventive care such as cancer screenings and immunizations with no out-of-pocket costs for 54 million Americans.
15. Obamacare ends insurance discrimination against the 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.
16. Because of Obamacare, over 3 million more young adults have health insurance today than would if the new law hadn't passed.
17. The parents of over 17 million children with pre-existing conditions no longer have to worry that their children will be denied coverage.
18. President Obama has ordered the overhaul of federal government regulations to make them smarter, practical, and more efficient. Just a fraction of these commonsense initiatives will help save businesses $10 billion in the next five years alone.
19. His historic investments in clean energy have helped more than double the amount of electricity we obtain from wind and solar sources and helped increase biofuel production to its highest level in history.
20. President Obama is doubling fuel efficiency standards, which will save drivers more than $8,000 at the gas pump, not to mention lessen the impact of automobiles on our environment.
21. President Obama has taken unprecedented action to address climate change, reaching historic international agreements to curb carbon emissions, and taking action here at home to reduce carbon pollution from our vehicles and promote clean energy production.
22. He has taken historic action to protect our environment -- signing one of the largest expansions of protected wilderness in a generation and putting in place standards to reduce toxic air pollution that will save thousands of lives.
23. President Obama fought for and won landmark Wall Street reform that reins in the abuses that led to the financial crisis and ends the era of taxpayer bailouts and "too big to fail."
24. Wall Street reform created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the nation's first federal agency focused solely on consumer financial protection -- and the Bureau is already protecting families from unfair and abusive financial practices from Wall Street banks and shadowy corners of the financial industry.
25. As part of President Obama's commitment to transparency, the White House has posted its visitor records online for the first time ever.
26. President Obama's all-of-the-above approach to energy has helped cut the United States' dependence on foreign oil to its lowest level in 20 years.
27. President Obama responsibly ended the war in Iraq.
28. He announced a plan to end the war in Afghanistan and transition security responsibility to the Afghan people.
29. President Obama sent the largest security assistance package to Israel in history and funded the Iron Dome system, which is protecting Israeli homes and schools from rocket attacks.
30. President Obama rallied the international community to implement the toughest sanctions on Iran in history.
31. Through the President's historic increases in Veterans Affairs funding, he has expanded and improved healthcare and job training access for our returning veterans.
32. President Obama negotiated the New START Treaty with Russia to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in both countries. At the same time, he also secured commitments from dozens of other countries to lock down nuclear materials.
33. His administration naturalized 11,146 military service members as U.S. citizens in 2010; more than in any year since 1955.
34. President Obama set a bold new plan for the future of NASA space exploration, using the skill and ability of the private sector for short trips to the International Space Station, while building a new vehicle for exploration of distant space, and doing everything in his power to support the economy on Florida's Space Coast.
35. President Obama recognizes that tourism is one of America's largest economic engines; he's worked to encourage international visitors to come here, maintaining our security while keeping millions of Americans in good, paying jobs.
36. He has affirmed his personal support of marriage equality, directed the Justice Department to stop defending DOMA in federal courts, and took the practical and compassionate step of extending hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners.
37. He fought for and won the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, allowing gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly for the first time in history.
38. When Congress failed to fix our broken immigration system, his administration did everything in its power to improve it, streamlining the legal immigration process and announcing a policy that lifts the shadow of deportation from hard working young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
39. Oh, and he gave the order to send troops in after Osama Bin Laden -- and has decimated al-Qaeda's senior leadership.
