Goddamnit!
you suck, congress! 
This just in: Dodd is placing a hold on the Telecom Amnesty act.
The GOP's continued support of President Bush's veto on the S-CHIP expansion bill may just cost them some serious losses in next year's elections. You have 154 Republican representatives that have gone completely against the will of the American people, who overwhelmingly support the S-CHIP program. In one sense, there is no way the GOP can spin this as a Democratic defeat, or lack of leadership here--considering that every Democratic representative--with the exception of two Democrats opposing, and two not voting--had voted for the program. Of course, I'm sure that the GOP will try.
Right now, the Democrats need to attack each Republican who voted against this program--again and again throughout the elections. This is a domestic issue that can show just how out-of-touch the GOP is with the American public, and how much the Republicans are still goose-stepping with the Bush administration--especially when you consider the latest Zogby poll showing only 24 percent of American supporting Bush's job approval.
See, the thing is I don't want them to just vote for our best interests. I want these critters to throw their lives on the line. I want someone to die for us. This is not hyperbole.
I want Pelosi, my rep - any of them - to risk his or her life, career, fortune, home, health or family. Put SOMETHING on the line. They won't even risk another congress critter's frown. fuckers.
Woo Hoo! I'm so excited that people who don't set their priorities properly won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
When you have children, your top priority is your children...
Not only do we need to get ads up and running, we need to pass this bill again and send it back to Bush just as it was before he vetoed it. No compromise--make sure Bush and the Republicans who won't overturn the veto are the obstructionists in this.
Woo Hoo! I'm so excited that people who don't set their priorities properly won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
I hope you enjoy your political irrelevancy, JFH. You'll really be crying when single-payer goes through in two years
Shorter JFH: I'm an asshole!
Fucking fuckwanking fuckers.
Woo Hoo! I'm so excited that people who don't set their priorities properly won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
You're such a nasty, smug little piece of shit. Let it be noted that you are literally cheering for a move that will deny health care to sick children whose parents' "priorities" didn't include "getting fabulously wealthy before having the temerity to reproduce." Don't you ever try to portray yourself as compassionate on this site again. In fact, just shut the fuck up.
Oh give me a break Lizard, this bill would have passed easily, if not for the expansion of FREE stuff to more middle class families.
Brian, at least you're honest about intentions... We'll see who wins in the next two years. This was set-up as an election issue and the faux outrage by the Dems is demeaning. If they are so sure of their stance, pass a bill to extend the benefits of SCHIP and then, when ya'll have even more control (supposedly as a result of this), pass the bill with the larger income bracket.
you suck, jfh!
No, no, JFH, let me edit that for accuracy:
I'm so excited that sick children who were irresponsible enough to get themselves born to parents who didn't set their priorities the way that I think they should have won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
You're welcome.
Now a reasonable bill can be negotiated. Why is everyone treating this as the "end all" for providing poor children with health care?
Woo Hoo! I'm so excited that people who don't set their priorities properly won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
Sniff, sniff . . . is that brimstone I smell?
Woo Hoo! I'm so excited that people who don't set their priorities properly won't be aided in their lack of responsibility by the US government.
You are as nasty, NASTY excuse for a human being JFH. Period.
It's shameful to share the same species as you.
if not for the expansion of FREE stuff to more middle class families
Right. Free. Because middle class families don't pay taxes, too.
Dumbass.
Good rebuttal, deeky... In fact, I'll bet you don't even know what the bill does to the existing program...
You realize that a couple with 2 children can make over 61,000 dollars a year and still qualify for this program under the new rules??
The roll call at which I was looking wasn't final or something, I guess.
I suspect you were looking at the committee roll call for the no "T" ENDA bill, which has been endorsed this afternoon. Kucinich voted against it because trans people were not included.
Not that it's likely to change his mind, but here's one example for JFH that illustrates why "middle class" doesn't really mean anything anymore, from yesterday's San Jose Mercury News:
http://tinyurl.com/3ajn9h
Sometimes you can have a "middle class" income and still not be able to make ends meet.
"You realize that a couple with 2 children can make over 61,000 dollars a year and still qualify for this program under the new rules??"
Yeah, because a family of 4 can hack it on $61,000 a year (before taxes) in Chicago or Los Angeles.
You might want to get a reality check, pal.
AE, can't access to the story, but coming from the SJ Mercury News, it doesn't surprise me... Here's a clue to middle class people in San Jose:
MOVE!!
There are plenty of communities across the US that can easily support a middle class income and have job growth rates and unemployment rates making that transition relatively easy
I will say here what I said at Americablog:
The did this in the face of 80% popular support for this bill?
Wow......
I suspect you were looking at the committee roll call for the no "T" ENDA bill
Could be. That sounds like something I'd do, lol! 
Trekkie, as I said before, what's keeping these people in LA and Chicago?!
I thought the Republicans had more political savvy than that. It looks like they've decided to adopt an old saying:
If you're going to sin, sin bravely.
You realize that a couple with 2 children can make over 61,000 dollars a year and still qualify for this program under the new rules??
You know something, JFH? I live in south Florida, my g/f and I make more than $61K combined, and we can't even afford a house. We live ina 2BR apartment on the edge of an iffy neighborhood, and we're lucky to have that, although if the housing crash continues, we might be able to do better in a year. $61K ain't much in a lot of this country, much as you'd like to act as though it is.
And yes--in 2 years, we'll be working on passing a universal health care plan on top of this, which will cover everyone, even your sorry fucking ass.
MOVE!!
Oh yeah. And it's that simple.
Never mind that moving from a place with a less-than-stellar standard of living might make selling your house to move a difficult proposition.
I guess it's a lot easier when you live in Fairydairy La La Land where the wild unicorns and magic beans always make the gingerbread homes instantly sellable.
41,000 gross income - considered middle class/year for a family of 4:
8,000 state/fed/ss/medicare tax/year
7,800 medical/dential insurance/year
1,000 electric/year
1,000 gas/year
4,000 food/year (that's $2.74 per person per day)
12,000 house payment (includes homeowners insurance)/year
950 auto insurance (2 cars)
3,000 one car payment/year
The above expenses will leaves 3,250 for child education needs, retirement funds, clothing, house repairs, gas for the automobils, out of pocket medical expenses (copay, non covered items, etc), any entertainment, and whatever else I'm forgetting. These numbers are typical for the area I live in.
It's a good bet that that 3200 won't go very far in today's economy for a family of 4. I bet that they would be able to use that 'extra' 8k to get out of debt because of needing clothing, gas, education, etc. What exactly are your priorities??
You prove my point, Brian. What the hell are you doing in South Florida (especially paying rent). Move away from that high priced area and go to Alabama, Georgia or South Carolina (I will exempt you from having to go to Mississippi).
There are jobs and standards of living that can EASILY support a couple with an income of 61K (and jobs that pay that to boot)
It is a shame that this bill did not pass. Our health care system simply does not meet the needs of our population.
Alabama, Georgia or South Carolina
Is the whole country supposed to live there? Your solution to the healthcare crisis is to tell everyone who lives in metropolitan or otherwise "high priced areas" to just move to Alabama, Georgia, or South Carolina?
My god, your idiocy really is breathtaking.
Nevermind that a lot of these kids can't get coverage at *any* price, no matter how much their parents make or how much they afford!
So the solution is: let them suffer, apparently.
Liss (and everyone else), he doesn't really believe any of it. He's just a bait-bot. That's the only thing that truly comforts me.
FWIW, my mom and stepfather have had their house in Florida up for sale for nine months now -- a nice house, but not a mansion by any stretch -- and can't get anywhere near even a break-even price for it. If they could even come close they'd go for it in a minute.
And I wish everyone who opposes this bill an exploding pancreas.
"christine | 10.18.07 - 2:58 pm |"
And I'm presuming that the family is a 'normal', 'healthy' family at that. No children with special needs, or adults for that matter.
christine, by my calculations, you're be actually covered by SCHIP in it's current form in 2007. (If not, ask for a couple hundred dollars pay cut and you'll save 5K at least!).
BTW, the 41K number is a give away... seeing as the 2006 poverty level for a family of four was 20,444 which makes the current SCHIP coverage of 200% about a 100 dollars short of coverage... nice try
"FWIW, my mom and stepfather have had their house in Florida up for sale for nine months now -- a nice house, but not a mansion by any stretch -- and can't get anywhere near even a break-even price for it. If they could even come close they'd go for it in a minute."
So they must have bought their house in the last 4 years, 'cus even with the current depression of home prices in Florida (which, BTW, is recovering), they'd be making at least 10% on their investment. BTW, I've NEVER made the breakeven point on my house, counting the amount of money I've put into improving the house.
"And I'm presuming that the family is a 'normal', 'healthy' family at that. No children with special needs, or adults for that matter."
That's the thing about insurance, you gotta have it before you need it. That's the advantage of maintaining COBRA benefits, you ensure that pre-existing conditions are covered.
Good rebuttal, deeky...
it wasn't a rebuttal. it was an insult.
I don't see the big deal. You go back to the table and negotiate. Ultimately, you pass something both parties agree on. This is the way it's SUPPOSED to work.
JFH, I have no need for schip. I'm single with no kids. I also make 52k a year now and work for an institution that has very generous benefits for someone with my skillset. The 41k is what I made in 2003/04. I used that number/year to get some of the insurance and tax numbers. It was pure luck that 41k will equal 200% poverty level today. But, the numbers are relevant for households of 4 in my area today. I may have rounded some of the numbers one way or the other, but they'll still hold.
Gas heating is going to be a bitch this year around here. There's already people ordering only 100 gallons of lp for the winter instead of their normal 200 gallons, due to prices. I just hope that this winter is pretty mild.
"That's the thing about insurance, you gotta have it before you need it. That's the advantage of maintaining COBRA benefits, you ensure that pre-existing conditions are covered.
JFH | 10.18.07 - 3:23 pm | "
Have you looked at the prices for COBRA lately?? I haven't, but in 2000, when I needed it, it was $400 a month for a single, childless, 35 yr old female.
So they must have bought their house in the last 4 years, 'cus even with the current depression of home prices in Florida (which, BTW, is recovering) etc. etc. wank wank
Wrong, dumbass, they've owned that house for over six years now. And they work in real estate themselves and have done so in multiple cities for longer than you've been alive, so I think they understand the markets both locally and nationally a little better than you do. And if it's "recovering" it sure hasn't trickled down to where they live yet. I wish you were right, because I'd like to see them make good money again and be able to sell their house and move somewhere they like better. But you're out of your depth here, grasshopper.
Shit like this makes me wish trust funds were illegal.
Hey JFH:
I live in Alabama, and my kids are on SCHIP.
MY husband runs his own drafting business. As a small business owner, we pay a SIGNIFICANT amount in taxes. I'm a stay at home mom that does cooking, teaching, and sewing on the side. We bought our house for $55K (just like the Frosts) and make mortgage payments. Our 2 cars are both 11 years old, and paid for. I teach Sunday School, is that good enough for you?
We have 3 children that we insure, and at an income of just under $50K for a family of 5 we just barely qualify for SCHIP.
Where are these magical $61K and $83K numbers? I have yet to see the CFR (code federal regulation; proposed, albeit) cited anywhere, and trust me-I've looked.
Back up your judgement on us moochers with some facts please.
That's the thing about insurance, you gotta have it before you need it.
Try being born with a congenital condition......................
You go back to the table and negotiate.
They'd already done that. This already was a bipartisan bill.
Wev, JFH: the more people who do not have health insurance, the more demand there is for universal health care. So, woohoo! in winning the battle, you're setting up to lose the war.
go to Alabama, Georgia or South Carolina
Huh. Brian, I think JFH just told you to go to hell.
Meowser, there's no such thing as a "trust fund" these days that make them tax benificial.
Also, no offense, but most real estate people (especially sales) don't have much knowledge of economic trends. I knew that the real estate bubble in Florida would burst after the series of hurricanes hit. My father and step-mother made a HUGE amount of money in the Florida market... It's all timing and knowing when and where to buy and sell.
To be blunt, too bad your parents are as adept.... (or lucky)
Carol, I haven't read the actual bill myself and only relying on news reports that explain how the expansion of the program will work.
And can I, again, be blunt, a senior draftsman can probably land a job for 50K with medical and 401K benefits. If he wants to be independent and take the risk to run a growing business, that's fine. But why should the rest of taxpayers fund his dream?
If he wants to be independent and take the risk to run a growing business, that's fine. But why should the rest of taxpayers fund his dream?
I thought you conservatives were all about the small businessman? Entrepeneurship. The Ownership Society. All that stuff.
Funny how you love the small businessman when you're using him to defend corporate tax cuts and a refusal to raise the minimum wage, and hate him when he's relying on the social safety net his taxes (and his employees' taxes) help pay for.
Josh, assuming your moniker means your from MN... I wouldn't trade my life in SC for yours in MN for any amount of money and I've been offered significant amounts to go there. Trust me, I've spent over a year of time in MN in the last five years and you can have it...
BTW, Brian, outside Minn/StPaul, you could also afford to move up there or SD or ND... I merely thought you wanted to stay in the south.
I wouldn't trade my life in SC for yours in MN for any amount of money
But nonetheless you presume to tell everyone else where they should live as if where they live now doesn't matter to them as much as where you live matters to you.
Yeah, good schools, good standard of living--can't have that.
JFH is like performance art today, acting out every stereotype of the idiot neo-conservative.
JFH, seriously, do you realize that you've become a parody of yourself? Do you realize that sitting officiously at your computer and telling us which states to move to, when to buy our insurance, why our parents are stupid investors, and why we need to switch jobs doesn't make you seem wise---it makes you seem like an arrogant asshole (whose socio-political philosophy, incidentally, must be pretty fucking flimsy to require this much life-coaching from you to make it work)?
People, the SCHIP is still in tact. Bush wants to continue the program, it is a great program. But, it was designed to help POOR CHILDREN, not middle class children or even adults. This is just a backdoor for Universal healthcare and it doesn't work. Lower my friggin' taxes and instead of giving the government 1/3 of my income I could afford my own damn insurance. Cut taxes and people will spend more it is that simple...more disposable income.
Lizard- Yet you want the government to act as a "Daddy Warbucks" and bail you out of any situation that you have put YOURSELF in. Stop making excuses for your bad decisions! Many are not your fault, but nor are the rest of us.
Josh and Melissa- I have nothing but respect for MN and especially its educational system. My only point was that weather factors into many individuals decisions in where to move. Brian, I assumed, wanted to stay in a warmer clime or a coastal area so I suggested other areas that meet that criteria. Then again, when I was making the money he was making money location wasn't a factor, "standard of living" as Josh points out was much more important.
I think JFH just told you to go to hell.
Naw, Josh, Hell is in Michigan.
But, it was designed to help POOR CHILDREN, not middle class children or even adults.
I beg to differ, mrmikey. The program to help poor children is called "Medicaid." It's been around since 1965. SCHIP is designed to help the middle class who don't qualify for Medicaid and who can't afford their own insurance.
JFH
Your position is very familiar - "I got mine, so the rest of you can head in."
Considering that NO ONE will give me insurance because of pre-existing conditions (which are the result of genetics and not poor decisions), I'm just SOL. Is that your position?
This is just a backdoor for Universal healthcare and it doesn't work
Oh, you mean that Universal Healthcare that exists IN EVERY SINGLE OTHER DEVELOPED WESTERN COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?!
That system that "doesn't work?" You ARE aware that every one of those other countries laughs at Americans when they say they have the best health care system in the world?
Hell, getting back to civilised health care is one of the reasons I am leaving this country when my studies are finished.
Wow. That's the first time hearing news of a House vote brought real tears to my eyes. What on earth place are we at in this country?
And because I'm not sure, does it have to be 2/3 of total or 2/3 of voters? Because I'd like to know exactly how much hatred to portion out to the nonvoters.
There's a term for all these righties who want to pay no taxes but demand the best services: "Greedy bastards."
Does a House Rep. position come with family health benefits? Because I just thought of something that I, as a taxpayer, really don't want to pay for. I think we could save a significant amount of tax dollars by not funding health care for Congress, and letting them buy their own private insurance since it's so easy and cheap.
Also, one could move out of the city to live in these more affordable areas (i e "the boonies"). But, in addition to things like schools, standard of living, and the weather, what about those intangibles? As JFH noted, anywhere outside of the Twin Cities metro are cheaper than living in the city, but for some people, living in the smaller towns is not an option. As a gay person, living in those small towns would be hell. Rent is more expensive in Minneapolis than it would be in, say, downtown Buffalo,MN, but then again the jobs become more scarce the farther you move from the cities, not to mention access to a community of people with whom you belong. Living in small town America--especially in Alabama, Georgia, or South Carolina--would compromise my overall quality of life, much less my safety. Should I be penalized for living somewhere where I can thrive and live in safety, or should I pack up and move to Mayberry, where I get to wonder if the local KKK won't drive past hurling epithets and beer bottles at me?
Lizard- Yet you want the government to act as a "Daddy Warbucks" and bail you out of any situation that you have put YOURSELF in. Stop making excuses for your bad decisions! Many are not your fault, but nor are the rest of us.
This is funny, actually. You assume that I'm concerned about my own situation, because you can't imagine that I might actually feel passionately about the wellbeing of anyone other than the Almighty Me.
In truth, SCHIP won't mean a damned thing in my life. I don't have and don't want kids, and my income is (barely) over the limit anyway. I've made good and bad decisions in my life, and I have, to this point, been fortunate both financially and medically.
Don't project your patholigically self-centered worldview onto me, please.
By the way, you seemed convinced upthread that people with the means to buy private insurance before they got sick were sitting pretty. Again, you demonstrate your utter unfamiliarity with reality. My parents are quite comfortable financially, and they've always had excellent private insurance. Now that they're in their sixties and have both survived cancer, their premiums cost them more than $20,000 a year. But that's probably their own fault for not knowing when to die, right?
JFH: First of all, thank you for admitting that you haven't read the actual legislation and that you are relying on the mainstream media to provide your info. Unfortunately, that just doesn't cut it in Spin City (Washington DC), and the facts you were spouting off were WRONG. Check out http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/qu...?c110:H.R.3162:
and get back to me.
Furthermore- let me respond to your accusation that my husband is asking American taxpayers to fund his "dreams:"
Here you have an example of talking out of your ass again. What do you know of our situation? As a matter of fact, my husband HAS been searching for a new job, desperately, for over a year now. Nevermind the fact that he provides a good service for people all over the country (he works in several different states via e-mail from our little town in Jackson). My husband is just doing little things like help re-build New Orleans and fix people's houses after the hurricane; but you're right- he is unable to get us insurance. So he IS searching for a new job. And when he gets hired by some big corporation (that has our best interests at heart I'm sure, ie, Enron) maybe they'll outsource all that architectural drafting to kids in India. Go America!
But what do we do until he gets hired somewhere? Just suck it I guess. Or sell off all our assets. Hey. I got a 96 Nissan Quest Minivan with no air conditioning. You looking to buy?
Hey Melissa...
This may not count as a Question of the Day, but please see if you can answer.
Can you name on scathing documentary on any First World Country's Universal Healthcare?
For all the ranting & raving my parents have done about Canada's UHC, the most I could find was some reports about longer lines in ERS. I couldn't find anything about the rumoured "died because I couldn't get the cancer treatment I needed." BS
Twenty thousand after tax dollars for insurance. Well, I suppose they're lucky they weren't just thrown out on their ears, huh? If you do have private insurance and you do have a kid with a heart defect or brain injury or something of that nature, they can and often do simply cancel you for it once they've paid out initial expenses. Even if you buy insurance, the decision to continue the policy resides with the insurer, not the policy holder.
The only "solution" to this is get a job with good benefits and never, ever lose it. That means you must know 20 years ahead of time if that company will ever have any layoffs that might involve you, and whether the stress of the job (or anything else, for that matter) will ever make you physically ill to the point where you are not able to continue. And if you do get laid off and your COBRA runs out, shoot yourself in the head and die, and take your spouse with you. That way the kids automatically qualify for Medicaid. The kids would surely rather have the coverage than their actual parents, nu?
(I don't have a personal stake in this either, being childfree and intending to keep it that way. But that's how us squishy libruls are, always having to feel shit for people who aren't us.)
JFH is like performance art today, acting out every stereotype of the idiot neo-conservative.
I like to think of him as a one-man carnival of douchebaggery.
I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound! I am huge douchehound!
Well, I suppose they're lucky they weren't just thrown out on their ears, huh?
Sad and true.
The only "solution" to this is get a job with good benefits and never, ever lose it.
Yep---and guess what? My father had one of those for a long time, but then he became one of those highly successful small-business entrepreneurs the Republicans pretend to admire. My mother, meanwhile, taught part-time because she wanted to be with her kids more often. Real drains on society, huh?
Unlike some people, they've used their position of relative privilege to lobby strenuously for all manner of bleeding-heart causes, including universal health care. The message in our family wasn't "We're the chosen ones, and to hell with the rest of the poor schlubs"; it was "We're the lucky ones, and with good fortune comes great responsibility."
So they must have bought their house in the last 4 years, 'cus even with the current depression of home prices in Florida (which, BTW, is recovering),
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the final proof that JFH doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. The south Florida housing market is nowhere near bottom, and is going to fall even more because we have, between Dade and Broward counties, another 60,000 units of new construction coming on line in the next 12 months. Downward pressure on the market, anyone?
It's funny. Reading the comments.
Conservatives love to shout "Won't someone think of the children." When it comes to Free Speech, any LGBTQ issue, or any Religious matter.
However, when a bill actually DOES think about Children, they veto it.
Here you go Melissa, I'll save ya some trouble.
I love this blog.
I love this blog.
I love this blog.
I love this blog.
Yes, families who make up to 80k/year don't need government assistance. let's leave it alone....
Finaly the total dipshit turned up with his usual dipshitiness.
Just one qustion Randyjerkoff. Since when did any government in the whole fucking world have any money of it's own? They get it from the people. And in return they are supposed to be responsible to the people. Not just the ones who pour millions into their election campaigns so that they can steal even more.
And if you can read words beyond two syllables go and read about the French revolution and what happened to the dickheads who forgot that very simple principle.
Does Msr. Guillotine possibly ring a bell?
GOM, I love you.
But you already knew that.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...
Oh, randyson, you say the wittiest things!
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the final proof that JFH doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. The south Florida housing market is nowhere near bottom, and is going to fall even more because we have, between Dade and Broward counties, another 60,000 units of new construction coming on line in the next 12 months. Downward pressure on the market, anyone?"
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Brian, who doesn't have a clue about economics... Building new homes is a sign of an economic resurgence, only a family that bought a house during an overheated bubble would be upset at that news.
Yep, GOM, the answer is to kill that golden goose laying the eggs... The top 5% pay for, like, over 50% of this program already... shoot why not have them pay for more?!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Brian
He's like a cute parrot. I say we keep him!
Liss, then you're the one to clean the cage.
If you think the douchehounds will be howling when single-payer health care is passed, wait until the brown majority finally arrives.
The Radical Right, which is what passes for conservatism in the USA, depends inextricably on white Anglo bigotry for its votes. The Kloset Klansmen ARE "the Base". The Brown Tide will DROWN the Radical Right. I'm 44; I just hope it will happen soon enough for me to gloat. 
"Yep, GOM, the answer is to kill that golden goose laying the eggs... The top 5% pay for, like, over 50% of this program already... shoot why not have them pay for more?!
JFH | 10.18.07 - 7:08 pm | # "
Yeah and that top 5% have over 90% of the wealth.
Thanks Christine, I was just about to say the same.
So JFH. You're so fucking keen on not paying for something you don't want how about you and yours paying for this goddamned war and let us who know it's just another Rethuglican ploy to empty the treasury into their own pockets and steal someone elses resources off the hook. Sound OK to you?
And it's like I don't own a car so why the fuck should I pay for the roads?
But the evidence to date is that the idea that the top 5% is the goose laying golden eggs is a crock.
Mostly what happens is that goose gets fat and never lays anything.
Redistribution of wealth is Socialist. I want less government, give me my money and I will take care of myself. I don't need any Washington pinhead telling me what I need or what is good for me. If I want to help someone I will donate to charities or to someone directly as I have done for years. I do not want the government confiscating my money and giving it to whomever they see fit. Why do any of you want someone taking your money from you? You earned it, this is the land of opportunity not entitlement.
Why do any of you want someone taking your money from you?
Maybe because we're smart enough to know that providing a strong social safety net is an important part of a modern economy. You want to protect your investments? Then protect the American economy, dumbass.
I don't need any Washington pinhead telling me what I need or what is good for me.
That kind of defeats the purpose of having a representative democracy, doesn't it? Or has that concept somehow escaped you?
On the other hand, you seem to prefer a president who views himself as a "unitary executive," giving the finger to Congress and the courts and doing whatever he wants without anyone overseeing his executive decisions.
Make up your mind, willya?
Helloooo...The Senate and Congress are Democratically run if they don't like his decision then do something about it. They have the numbers but no balls to use them. I don't agree with every decision the president makes and I sure as hell don't agree with a "social safety net". I am self reliant and if need be I could be more via hard work and imagination. Why don't these overpaid...way overpaid windbag politicians take a paycut and give it back to the people? I am yet to see one politician that is not well to do i.e. Millionaire Mitch McConnel or even Nobel Algore. But no, they will raise our taxes or add new ones to take the money they need for there many, many entitlement programs from the drones.
I am self reliant and if need be I could be more via hard work and imagination.
Well, that's you. That's good. Unfortunately, not everyone is like you through no fault of their own. Do you care about anyone other than yourself?
And when you're talking about "Washington pinheads telling you what to do," does that include your Dear Leader?
mrmikey has obviously bought and drunk the really strong version of Ayn Rand's masturbatory fantasies.
For such people I recommend they find the nearest desert island for sale, buy it and move there.
They obviously don't want to live with other people in a society, so why should they?
I'm rich because I'm, like, so totally talented and brilliant. I earned all my money on my own; the fact that I was born middle class to white parents had, like, absolutely nothing to do with it.
I believe that all Fetus-Americans should be protected via machine guns, but when they're born, fuck them! They're just trying to steal my taxes!
Must... hoard... money! My money, mine!
All these compaints about tax dollars going to help needy people but no conservatives complaining about tax dollars going to kill innocent iraqis. Selective outrage?
Maybe because we're smart enough to know that providing a strong social safety net is an important part of a modern economy."
No argument there, but the way in which it is provided is the issue. Why would we want the government to have even more control of the health care industry? What evidence is there to show they're better suited to run ANY industry?
Well, medicare and medicaid operate at around 2% administrative overhead while HMOs are at 9% or higher. So theres that, amore.
That only further proves my point, because government intervention is in large part responsible for the inefficiencies of HMO's.
Why are you people so stuck on wanting the government fix everything???
Why are you people so stuck on wanting the government fix everything???
Maybe because we're sick of seeing the government waste our money on wars and give-aways to their buds and we see how good things could be done with that money. Our money.
amore, you talk about "government" as if it was some alien force imposed on this country from outer space. We ARE the government. It's called representative democracy. If you don't like the way things are done, quit pissing and moaning, get off your ass, and do something about it, like run for office yourself or work within your community to change things. Otherwise, all you're doing is just complaining and solving nothing.
So either get involved or STFU.
Good answer, kg. You missed the point completely.
OK, Bobby. I shut up now. Your brilliance is just too overwhelming.
The true reason, and the ONLY REASON why the Repukes killed the passage of this bill is because they fear it will be the next step toward Universal Health Care, and God knows why they they don't want that.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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