Glad to see you guys will be at the convention. I loved the demonstrations today particularly the one where a large number of folks were carrying what is left of the democratic party in those fake coffins. One for each democratic program that has failed over the last 40 years. great theatre.

It's no wonder you support our great leader, George W. Bush.

Bush had the courage to send Americans to die for Halliburton and the courage to ridicule anyone who is stupid enough to enlist in the armed forces or risk life and limb on the battlefield. George Bush must have grande cajones to withstand the attacks of all decent people by claiming he has God on his side.

Keep it up. Attack the war dead all you want. Ridicule the Americans who died on the battlefield defending your right to come to this website and attack them.

With each post, you become more vicious, strengthen your Republican credentials, and remind us why Geroge Bush has to go.

Great Idea Tumeroll. You post a Democrat program that has failed over the past 40 years and I will post a Republican program that has failed over the past 4 years. Or we can go the other way and you post a successful Republican program and I will post a successful Democrat program. Either way you will end up buying the beer. BTW I wonder how many times a NY Democrat will sell the Brooklyn Bridge to a Republican. Since Republicans are so smart they will recognize a good buy when they see the bridge.

Don't know if I have enough time as I am off to work but here are a few;
Welfare in all forms as it has left way too many folks dependent on the Feds.

Education- The federal government has no business in what should be a local matter

Health Insurance - Health care was of modest expense and available to all before the feds started throwing money at it

College education - college tuition was also within reach of most everyone until the Feds got into the act.

It is human nature to want part of this huge pie that the Feds dole out but they forget the strings attached that cost the real money. So they hooked on the cash which really never covers the regulations so they then have to raise prices to cover these costs. Better to not take the money in the first place and "live Free or Die" as we say here in the highest income state, the lowest unemployment, the lowest taxed and the lowest number of folks on poverty and one of the highest with health insurance and 100% with excellent health care.

wish I could do more but one must earn a living rather than rely on the Feds.

Don't bother. Ridiculing war dead shows that you have no human decency in you. Why would anyone care what you think?

Welfare: No matter how many problems we have with welfare I do not know of any Republican program that has been an inprovement.
Education: Where is the failure in education due to any Democrat policy. How about the failure in the Republican no child left behind program.
Health-care: How did the Democrats fail in health-care. The Republicans beat down Clinton's attempt to improve the health-care system. They have done nothing to improve health-care.
I do not know which state you live in but I am sure that everyone has benefited from either state or federal government assistance. There are so many erroneous statements in your post that it would take me many hours to respond so I will not continue this debate.

Joe,

You're dreaming... health care and college have never been in reach of most everyone. Let's think back a few generations. It wasn't until AFTER World War II that the majority of people started going to college and that was because of the veterans' benefits given to the returning soldiers. It was that group that got the college education and really was able to build our middle class. Once they got on their feet, then college education became more affordable, but even then, the majority of people who go to college depend upon some sort of aid. I think the national statistic for when I was in college (and that was 20 years ago) was that 85% of college students received some type of aid. I hardly think that can be described as tuition being within reach of most everyone.

As far as health care goes, you're off base there as well. And we've been through this before too. Health care costs were driven up by the rise in medical malpractice insurance. The insurance went up because several insurance companies flooded the market with a low cost malpractice insurance, driving the established providers out of the market. When these low cost companies realized that they had priced themselves too low, they started raising their rates dramatically so they could make a profit. It is so much easier to cry about trial lawyers than actually looking at the real problems.

So, you can make up situations or dream about the "good old days" but your perceptions never existed in reality.

I don't understand why so many people like to mix health care with health insurance. I have never had health insurance but have always had excellent health care. If I do not have the cash to pay for it right at the moment then I make arrangements with the provider to pay for it over time and if it seems to be an unreasonable price, I negotiate it down to where it makes sense. Never had a problem over that past 50 years. Health insurance for the average run of the mill cold, and most of the human condition is just fools money badly spent. If the majority of the American public would stop falling for all those adv. on tv for a cure of every ailment that our parents and grandparents just shrugged off and they went away then we would have much lower costs. And if every male over the age of 25 didn't think that having a perpetual hard on thatks to Viagra was the best thing since sliced bread that cost would also vanish. Better they date attractive women who can turn them on rather than the feminazi that could kill an arrosal with their looks.

Apparently, you are lucky enough to be in good health. What would you do if you needed a quadruple bypass? Or, if you're 5 year old child developed leukemia?

Here's how it works now:

People who have corporate jobs have health insurance. They are the only one's that have insurance regardless of helath.

People who are wealthy enough pay for their health care regardless of access to health insurance.

The poor use public hospitals which provide the most expensive health care in the country.

The healthy take the risk and go without health insurance.

The unhealthy can't get insurance.

Result? Huge halth insurance profits. And, the United States pay 200% per capita - for every person in the country - health insurance or not - more then any other industrialized nation, despite the fact that 20% of our population has no insurance and therefore no easy access to health care except via hospital clinics and emergency rooms.

As a result, we are less competitive on the world market and we lose more jobs oversees - not only low skill jobs to "third-world" countries, but, high skilled jobs to industrialized nations with universal health care.

You always bring things back to yourself: You and your family are healthy, so, why is everybody else whining about the cost of health care?

If your beady little eyes could see past your greedy little nose, you'd understand that national and international economic factors and competition are at stake here. You're irrational claims of self-reliance - even as you drive on roads that wouldn't be there without a subsidy from other taxpayers, and turn on your tap to get a glass of water from a water system that you didn't personally pay for, and flush your waste into a sewer system that you didn't build yourself, either.

You would be laughable if you weren't so sad and working so hard to destroy our country.

Wrong again o great one! I neither use a public water system or a public sewer and yes I do have indoor plumbing. You see here in God's country we have our own wells and our own septic systems which we pay for out of our own money. As to driving on the highways, Ibelieve that for every gallon of gasoline I pay more in taxes to various government entities than I do for the actual product and that is supposed to pay for the roads only the polititions keep taking the money for other things.

As to my financial situation for the majority of my many years I was living with an annual income below the national poverty line yet some how managed to have a home, raise a family, send my child to college and stay married to the asme woman for 35 years until she passed away from ALS (Lou Gerhigs desease. Even with that illness we never had to pay more in mediacl bills than we would have had to pay for health insurance. last year I had my prostate removed and the bill came to $27,000. I met with the hospital and by negotiating I had the bill reduced to $10,000 which I am paying over a ten year period. So if one has an ounce of self reliance this country is a wonderful place to live and thrive with out having to worry what the government is going to do for you and worry if the "wrong" person gets elected the bennies will stop.

Become self reliant and you will enjoy a much better life than having to always look to the government for your good. The string that are attached are never worth the reward.

So, you accepted charity from the hospital by negotiating down your bill and then paying it out. Who do you think picked up the difference between $27,000 and $10,000?

It is truly wonderful that you get to live in a rural setting where you own your own well and septic tank. But, our economy is primarily driven by enterprise that takes place in urban centers.

As I think I said previously, you take your life situation and project it onto the entire country and then claim that others are deficient or lazy because they aren't as self-reliant as you. The reality is that people who work all over this country in urban and suburban settings make a variety of goods and services available without which you could not live your "self-reliant" life.

Please don't write back and claim that you grow all your own food, grow the sheep and cotton to spin the yarn that you then weave into fabric to make all of your own clothes, make all the tools that you use to till your land or clear your septic tank, and that you made your own computer from materials you mined yourself on your own property.

The people whose labor and intellect created your life for you cannot perform their work at home on some mountain top in a red state.

You should be grateful that you have been able to live your life in a beautiful envirnment. You should be grateful that you have the ability to live as self-reliantly as you do.

But, until can provide for all of your needs yourself, without support from anyone, stop attacking the people that provide goods and services that contribute to your quality of life.

By the way, you would not have had the opportunity to have your prostate gland removed if it weren't for the taxpayers that subsidized the hospital, subsidized the education of the doctors and nurses in the hospital, and subsidized universities that develped the surgical techniques, the medications, and the medical equipment used to your benefit.

As Dave and Geoff have pointed out on Radio Left a number of times, the Red States get $1.25 back in federal taxes for every $1.00 paid, while Blue States get back .75 for each $1.00 paid.

Now if the federal government didn't take all this money from everyone in the first place then you wouldn't have to worry about which state gets back more than another state. The money would stay localyy and it would work locally for the good of those people.

And you are right, I do not grow my own food etc. I think that I buy most everything from China as that is where the American public seems happiest getting their goods because they are inexpensive. And fyo, I spent the bulk of my life in the highest taxed state in the country - NJ and still managed to life very well under the proverty line with no Government assistance. Its all in being self relieant.

By the way, if the hospital wasn't able to accept my lower payment, trust me they would not have done it. But you see the $10,000 is still more than the federal government pays for that operation if one is on Medicare.

And I do not remember attacking anyone who provides goods and services. I still work every day and provide both goods and services. In fact I have three totally different businesses that I do as a self employed person. Other people do exactly the same type of work but they get a pay check. They pay higher taxes and are always worried about getting fired but I never have to worry about that becasue I am the employer and the worker. Great opportunity that works whether you work in NYC or Northern Alaska.

besides, I'll bet I can take any person willing to do it from poverty to middle class in three years providedthey have at least a basic level of intelligence (not education just intelligence).

Since you seem to be one of those who is in the lower classes, would you like to try?