The Tea Party Express Will Save America

[...] “The Tea Party Express Will Save America” – The Washington [...]

Goodness, teh white people know how to throw a protest!

Here are photos of the Sacramento, CA event as I photographed it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23809153@N05/sets/…

Tea Party Express is a REPUBLICAN P.R. trick. The Tea Party Patriots (Inc.) trademark is owned by a Atlanta Georgia REPUBLICAN paid activist (Amy Kremer on that bus), and the “Tea Party Patriots LOGO with fists” is owned by REPUBLICAN Dick Armey's FreedomWorks. Dick Armey is paid $400,000 by Freedomworks (Inc & Foundation both pay) to pretend to be a Tea Party instead of REPUBLICAN.

Our Country Deserves Better is a REPUBLICAN PAC. The LEADED TEA PARTY (bring your guns) is run by REPUBLICAN Richard Willich, CEO of Nocatee, Florida-based (MEDICAL SERVICES) MDI Holdings Inc., chairman of Americans For Prosperity Advisory Board. It was a REPUBLICAN State Steering Committee Member 912er Tea Party Activist Challiss McAffee who was arrested for pulling a gun on a homeowner in Idaho recently.

When the facts com out every stinking one of these frauds is hiding their REPUBLICAN identity under the Tea Party label. I hope they break the Repugs into two parties, both splitting the far reich KKK vote between themselves, each looking for their “Great WHITE Hope”.

Is Kenneth “Fainting Goat” Gladney still toolin around in his wheelchair, unable to speak due to the meds he's on to alleviate the pain suffered during his non-beating?

[...] Continued here: The Washington Independent » The Tea Party Express Will Save America [...]

What is happening in America is bigger than any party. Couple of facts: People are truly concerned about the debt that is being asked for our children and grandchildren to pay, with interest, in the future. No one will argue that this is putting our future in deep hock to the Chinese. 2) We just printed two-trillion dollars – each a 68,000 mile high stack of one dollar bills, out of thin air. It is easy to print but it must be paid back with real money, plus interest. We can't just ask Americans and other countries to just throw it away someday because we don't want to pay to get it out of the system. 3) There is a decidedly social agenda now in the White House that is pushing the far-left-social agenda. It is pretty obvious to everyone but those who have their hand out looking for social justice through the greenback distribution of other people’s money. 4) There has been a tipping point in America that Progressives simply don't understand – to their own peril. They think it is about race and try to make everything race, but it is something far more deep in this nations psychic than that. Because they are adrift and having trouble understanding what is happening they paint the right with their same tired old paint brush of race baiting. This time they are so far off the mark that by the time they figure it out, they will no longer be in power. They don't understand the sea change, the shifting and shutter that has run trough America. We are moving toward our roots and they are putting themselves far out on a limb that will not support this nation or encourage the American people to follow them. Soon they will fall a mighty fall and it will because of their own weight, too far out on a branch of Progressivism the country is and was far from accepting. The tree is about to be pruned and it will be much stronger after some of these limbs are trimmed and fall to their demise.

You neo-cons are dangerous! Your regulation destroyer Phil Gramm(the traitor) and your heartless Wall-Street monsters have changed this country forever!!! The working class in America have never had this bad since the depression and you blame it all on Obama!! You twisted people make me sick! I know we working class aren't supposed to matter but we do, and we will do what we have to do to get more rights. I'm presently working for a millonare Repub., have not had a raise in 6 years and recently our insurance was downgraded so we now have a $5,000 deductable so the owner can keep paying his country club dues! This is what Repubs are all about, keeping the working man down. If we complain we are called anti- American or socialists and are told “don't worry some of the wealth will trickel down to the masses some day ,or year”. I want a choice of keeping a $5,000 decuctable or having a plan that will treat me like I am human. There is no “death panel”, this is all crap you repub's make up to terrorize the elderly.Yes you are terrorist! You would rather this country fail and go into chaos so you could say you were right, just like the Moslems terrorist. You repub's are on your own “Jhiad” to destroy this country and turn it into another third world country which we fast becoming. Most of you are just following the rest of the herd because you can't or won't think for your self. This is a pivotal point in the history of the USA may God save us from the Repubs!!!

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The Tea Parties are not about disliking Obama, or the Democrats, or liberals; nor is it an issue of race, or of being a conservative, or a Republican. The Tea Parties are about hard-working Americans who have watched their taxes go up as the quality of life has fallen, who are now watching their government's response to long-term free market corruption be the stripping of our constitutional rights at an unprecedented rate coupled with an unprecedented increase in our taxes. The Tea Parties are about Americans who are sick to death of a self-serving two-party system that completely forgets about the average American as soon as their feet hit the streets of Washington DC. It is excessive government taxation that has gotten us into this mess, and the failure of the federal government to regulate where it really counts: the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, the credit card companies, the banking industry, the financial sector. These are the segments of our economy that have brought our country to its knees. The government's response to this? Print more money and give it to these corrupt sectors of the market. Tax the average citizen much, much more. Restrict the free market system much, much more. Has the federal government held the insurance companies accountable for their fraudalent ways? No; in fact, the government wants a piece of that insurance pie with a healthcare program of their own. Has government oversight of the pharmaceutical industry protected the American consumer? No; in fact, the FDA has been instrumental in making the pharmaceutical industry the corrupt powerhouse that it is today. When you look at the systems that the federal government manages – Medicare, Social Security, the tax code – you can't help but admit that these are completely messed up – Medicare remains unfunded, Social Security is bankrupt, and the tax code is an absolute nightmare that even the IRS can't interpret consistently from one taxpayer to the next. So why would anyone continue to turn to the government for help? They are the problem! Every time the government gives us assistance, it's somebody else's dollar. It isn't corporate tax dollars – corporations simply raise their prices to cover their costs – we the consumers pay those 'corporate tax dollars.' It isn't the top 2% of American wage earners that get hit – those include our federal employees, and they're not going to do that to their own income! Every dime that the government hands out comes out of the pocket of the little guys – about 75-80% of the American citizenry. How can any American in their right mind believe that their congressperson understands what their constituents' issues really are when they are completely insulated from American life, with their own Congressional bank and post office and barber and private and professional staffs, their own financial accountability, their automatic pay raises, and guaranteed pensions for life and in some cases salaries too – with their primary focus on raising money to win re-election? The Tea Parties are about telling Washington DC to STOP spending, START listening to your constituents, and FIX the incompetence, waste and corruption in their own federal programs before they presume to acquire and control whole chunks of the American free market! The Tea Parties are about Americans fighting for a better life for EVERY American, unless he or she is part of the Washington scene.

To Patrick Hall: You are part of the problem.
We Republicans are NOT in office, get over it. It is your Democratic Admnistration that is putting the waste in spending out there. Ever since Obama got in office he has done nothing but spend more than ALL of the PRESIDENTS of the past. Do you comprehend? Your pricey health insurance will disappear altogether if this gets passed.
1. The ritzy employer you say you have will have his corporate taxes increased,
2. he will decide it is not worth it to fund your “pricey health insurance”,
3. and force you into the public option,
4. which will TELL you what you will get and when you will get it.
5. Check the stats on how long it takes to get a hip replacement in Canada, only 5 months to get the phone call to a specialist, and another 2 years till you get the hip surgery. And that is a direct quote from a renown orthopaedic surgeon from Canada. Check on the waitlist. It is long.
Is this what you really want?
If you do, you deserve what you will receive, which is a lot more problems.

Oh, okay. Keep waiting on that.

Obama,”Liberal Pitch-Man” has lost his integrity and credibility with the majority of voters. Does anyone really TRUST anything he says or does? He came off the street in southside Chicago and brought his thugs with him. Obama wants power and money with full control of this nation. We can't TRUST Obama with our childrens future.

No body makes you work for this man! What? Are you so dependent on others you can't make your own way? Stop crying and start doing. At least the man you are complaining has people working for him – though no one holds a gun to their head to do so. You be the big giver and go out and find out what it is like to run a business, fight the tax system and government regulations and rules, AND afford to pay people and their benefits. Until you have done so, all you see are the assets but not the liabilities, the sleepless nights and the concern about how to keep employees working vs. firing people so others can keep 100% of their current benefits. Times are tough. Nobody owes YOU anything. Move to Cuba and see how wonderful the other systems are like – if you don't get run over from the Cubians trying to make it into America.

Where was your “tea” party the past eight years? President Obama inherited this debt. I am a Republican (or at least I was) but I had to face the fact that George Bush was not capable of leading this country. I was ashamed of many of my Republican friends who remained silent and supported this idiot — just because he was a Republican. He is a millionaire without a clue! I am all for Americans fighting for a better life for EVERY American, but if you think that this was George Bush's agenda, you are mistaken. George made the RICH richer — he did NOTHING to lower the cost of health care — in fact, he NEVER tried. He was too busy protecting the interests of the rich insurance companies. In 10 years when employers can no longer afford to pay the health care premiums for their employees and limit coverage or don't offer it at all — what will the average American family do for health care? Do you want the Govt to get rid of Medicare, too? This is Govt. plan. I know my parents could not live without Medicare.

When is the tea party express going to be in San Antonio and Austin?

Trillions in debt, high unemployment. Social Security BROKE, medicare BROKE, the Post Office BROKE, Fanny Mae BROKE, America Broke! And Obama wants big Goverment Health care and more DEBT. Obama is going to destroy America. He is openly trying to destroy our Country. Obama is a Socialist, what he wants for America was done in Germany under Hitler. I don't want to live in the America Obama wants. I'm not a FASCIST or a SOCIALIST. I'm not a Communist, Obama is.

Of all the things we have to worry about right now, health care seems to be pretty low on the priority.

Another OBAMA KOOK!!! WOW, you must be a drug user! A brown shirt union or Acorn THUG!!!

the tea partys are NOT republican pacs- any time a republican group has tried to step in and take over they have been booted out – although repub's as individuals are involved in the tea party groups, as are democrats, green party, indep's etc. I have read what Organizing for America (barackobama.com), the SEIU and other sites are claiming – and they are so very wrong. these hometown groups are not funded nor directed by any organ. and since you
seem to be looking for the KKK – you need to look at the DNC – their 1924 convention was called the Klan-bake and the KKK was considered an arm of the DNC; the civil rts acts that came after the civil war were voted in by Repubs and voted out by the dem's – or taken out by their democrat appointed judges. MLK was a repub; the republicans were forced to water down the original1964 civil rt act in order to get enough democrat votes to get it passed – b/c the dem's did not want it; the dem's were responbile for segregation, jim crow laws.. you need to educate yourself – maybe you should join the black republicans.. subscribe to their magazine……….

You should join the Black Panthers you big goverment koolaid drinking LIBERAL boot stomping NAZI!!! I have NO TIME for Acorn THUGS! I THINK YOU HAVE A SCREW LOOSE!!!

You are being lied to by Republicans who only want to get back in office so they can keep getting payments from corporations. Your leaders are on the take from insurance and big business. Dick Armey is a lobbyist and his efforts (thus your efforts) are paid for by corporate America. Mike Enzi has taken nearly 1 million from health care lobbyists since 2005. It is corporate America that has sold you out. Obama has only been in office 8 months. Government spending has been out of control far longer than that. Remember – there was a surplus when Clinton left office. You need to do some research before you start ranting, otherwise you just sound like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Why aren't you and your friends protesting outside corporate giants who have sold out American workers for workers overseas? We get a 2 week severence check, after we train our offshore replacement. Why aren't you calling them fascists? Afterall, who has more to gain from controlling the government? And also, the capital letters in your comment just make you look silly.

Actually, it was Bush who spent more than any president in the past, including Obama. As you may recall, Bush passed an unpaid for addition to the Medicare program, and took us into a war (also not paid for) based on lies that the country we were invading had nuclear weapons. I am guessing you have some kind of medical coverage at this point. Tell me, Guest, what will you do if you lose your coverage?

I have to agree with angella – if your organization is really about fixing Washington, why is it that you are only shouting down the democrats. Mike Enzi – (R- Wyoming) is a key figure on all three health care committees, and he has also taken nearly 1 million from health care lobbyists in the last 4 years. Doesn't it bother you that government representatives are taking money from corporations and then voting on legislation that affects that industries bottom line? I agree our interests are not being protected, but not because of Obama. It is your group's narrowminded approach at tagging Obama as thee villian while either ignoring other “villians” or even worse, inviting them to be your key-note speakers, that causes me to lose respect. To tell you the truth, I feel sorry for you. I know you want what is right, but your Obama hate message is just making you look like fools for the Republican party. If you really want to be heard, start naming names on both sides of the aisle. Otherwise, if you do get a new administration in the white house, you may still not get a better government.

Well let's start by pruning FEMA. I don't live by the ocean or a blazing forest. And, let's see, what else can I pick. Pell Grants – I'm done with school. Highway funds – I don't travel much. NASA – I'm just not interested. Medicare – I'm not old. Medicaid – I make too much to be on it. Social security – I already have a retirement plan. Funny, there haven't been any protests about all that government spending, but then, maybe a lot of those you say are concerned about the debt benefit from those programs. Maybe they don't currently need health insurance, so . . . . now all of the sudden, you give a damn, because it is something you don't need. What will you say when you do? Think the corporations who control our government will swoop in and help you out?

Bla, Bla, Bla, Bla!!! Another big goverment koolaid drinking boot stomping Nazi!!! Yes, Obama has been in office 8 months and he has spent more money than Bush did in 8 years!!! Paying at least 50 CZARS!!! Half the people in the Whitehouse owes TAX money!!! Charlie Rangle owes at last count 1.5 million in back tax!!! People don't want big goverment!!! Your another Obama KOOK!!! You must be a drug user!! I THINK YOU HAVE A SCREW LOOSE!!!

The angrier you are, the happier I am. I hope it really upsets you futher to know that I am none of the things you describe me as (my “punishment” for having disagreed with your holiness). In fact, I support two children on $12 an hour, with no government assistance whatsoever. We have no health insurance, so we just don't go to the doctor. I have no debt – credit card or otherwise, because I happily live within my means – in fact my monthly obligations are only $1,000, which includes the nice 3 bedroom home I rent. We are not wealthy, but still we are very happy. But you haven't answered my question. If you are so upset about America's fate, why aren't you protesting against corporate greed? Why don't you go after companies that are sending our jobs overseas? Are you OK with that? And what about the surplus Bush spent? What is your answer for that?

Why am I not protesting companies? Duh!!! Why? Do you want to go after the companies left in our Country? You must want to run the rest of our jobs off!!! You liberal Socialist Dems regulated and taxed our companies out of business. Why shouldn't they go overseas! Dems like you made it too expensive to operate in America. You Dems are destroying the tobacco industry soon they will be overseas too. You liberal socialists also hate Wal-Mart, McDonalds franchise if you have your way you people will run all our jobs oversea!!!
If you hate your job, get another one. IT's definaty not my responsibility to pay for your childrens health care!! Give me a break!! What do you want me to cry you a river. You liberals want to blame everything on Bush. Obama OWNS whats going on in this Country now. Obamas been in office 8 months and spent more than Bush did in eight years!!! No, you never made me angry I simply think your an obsequent buffoon!!!

You sound like a good Democratic Socialist. Many Porgressives have your mindset. Debt and what people need are two different things. For example, there was a plant in Ohio that made engines for a military vehicle that was discontinued. No matter, the pork was still delivered and the engine plant had to continue to produce the engines even though the vehicle was not. You see, you take this and multiply it by all the Congressmen and Senators and we have one big Cluster F*uck. More debet has been created in the last year than between George Washington and George W. Bush. I don't care what you want to argue, we as a nation can only support so much of this. Also, it is the corporations that actually hire people, pay into qualiifed plans, provide health beneftits…. When did that become evil? I guess they can just hire on to the fastest growing employer in the nation – the governmennt. They create nothing but a hole for the working people to throw their money. One day the limit of the American's patience will be hit and the 20 some percent of Progressives and Liberals in the nation will find they probably will enjoy lliving in Cuba better. They can get free health care and all the other benefits of a closed society.

Keith – Thank you for not calling me a nazi or a drug user. It is helpful toward having debate if the person you are talking to doesn't feel the need to demoralize you for having an opposing opinion. I agree that the spending needs to stop – but who is it that gets to decide what people need? For example, the engine plant you speak of – the people that work there probably felt that they needed that pork to keep their jobs. Ohio's Republicin Senator and its Democratic House Rep. both wanted the money. And that pork may be the very reason that many of the people of their districts will re-elect them. Not all of those people are socialist democrats – some of them are republican workers who want to stay employed. So my point above, made sarcastically, was that the public, both liberals and conservatives refuses to look at the big picture when the program getting funded is one that meets their needs. The people who live near the ocean feel that FEMA is important. And the people without health insurance – some of whom own small businesses or work for small employers who cannot offer it – think we need a health care public option. That doesn't make them Nazis. It doesn't make them unamerican. It makes them just like the next guy who wants what they want because they need it. So where does the line get drawn? I agree with many arguments put for by the conservatives. Notably – I am not in favor of a public option for health care, but I can still understand why some people would favor it, without thinking they are nazis or unamerican for thinking that. They are trying to protect themselves, just like the people who want that government sponsored plant to stay open, or the people who need FEMA dollars. I am not anti corporation, but I am put off by the corporate control via campaign finance that gives corporations a larger voice than others. Large employers, like those on Wall Street and in the health insurance industry have shown that when push comes to shove, they will shove any American, liberal or conservative, in front of the bus rather than part with their excessive executive incomes. I am interested to hear your opinion on what you think we should do about rising health insurance costs and the uninsured working American. For example, I am for portablility, like the auto industry offers.

There are many solutions to the problem of health care. The worst is for the government to say that it's the new competitor on the block, start taxing employers at 8% if they don't have health insurance (I would dump my employees in a minute for an 8% cost). What is the real fear is just like the Social Security and Medicare. The money was taken out of Employers and Employees incomes (Yet we act like it is a gift of the Federal Government). The Government didn’t pay for this. I don't remember seeing on my paystubs the part the government was paying for. Regardless, both Social Security and Medicare are going broke in the not too distant future. THAT is why the government wants to change the plan. They want a new foundation that will tax everyone – including young people who don't normally purchase health insurance. That means every single person in the nation will have to pay premiums or the employer. This will be a huge tax on many people that they are not paying now and will put some small business owners out of business because 8% is far more than they can afford to keep their heads above water. The worst thing about it, not counting that the government will have access to all your personal health records (maybe they will have a fat tax someday if you are over 20% overweight – don't laugh), is that we don't know what future politicians will do. How many laws have been passed were politicians are still alive and say that they did not mean for the law to be like it is being interpreted today? Ore has been changed or the Supreme Court has made things different? Too many! Once this can is open, we don't know what will come out of the box. We do know that if the government has its tentacle in it, it will be very, very bad for the people. I am reminded of “V for Vendetta.” That is about what it is coming to if we don't start fighting back now. You see, the fight isn't about today, its about our children's and grandchildren's future. God only knows what we will have wrought by then but I can promise you this. Some politician someday is going to be telling the American public that we just don't have the money to keep this thing going as it is and something is going to have to be cut or taxes are going to have to be raised. Would you bet your life against me on that?

The is no reason to be uncivil, or call each other names. If we set down and had a cup of coffee we would agree on a lot more than we would disagree on. Regarding health care, the government has been on of the largest contributors of the problem. You can purchase auto insurance across state lines, However there is a State Insurance Commissioner in each state that you must get the insurance policy approved by. In NY they may require that the insurance company pay for wigs for someone who has chemotherapy and loses their hair, while in another state they may not have that requirement. This cause a disparity in medical care cost. Also, when you go to a doctor in N.D. vs. L.A. there is a big difference in cost. Why? It cost 1/2 million dollars for a small home in L.A. How much does it cost in N.D.? The standards of living are different,

I think that all of us want to make sure a child has medical treatment if it has boiling water accidently spilled on it and it receives third degree burns. Tell me one hospital that would look at the color of the child, or it's nationality and say – hold on, we don't know if we can treat you? Physicians are surly not understood. However, there is a very basic problem here in Southern California that we must consider. Many of the hospitals are suffering because of the many illegal aliens who go to the emergency rooms to receive care. They must be treated whether they have coverage or not. Interestingly, the L.A. times did a big article on the failure of hospitals about five years ago and never brought up the illegal aliens as a problem. Also, we are one of the few countries that allow the birth of a child in this country to become a citizen. This causes a desire to have a child here. Expectant mothers have been known to walk up and down the sidewalk in front of the hospital in Indio, CA, for example, waiting to go into labor. Once that happens we have a new citizen born at someone else’s expense. This came about after the Civil War. Up to that point, the laws were different on the books. Because of the issues with slaves and their children, the laws had to be changed to take their offspring into consideration, otherwise under current law, back then, they would not be American citizens.

80% of all medical expenses are received in the last 24 months of a person life, on average. Doctors are forced to take defensive medical techniques – ordering every test that will protect them from lawsuits. Interestingly, insurance premiums for some specialties are now running at over $200,000 – JUST FOR INSURANCE PREMIUMS to protect the doctor from liability. No wonder many want to retire at an early age.

When you look at the present value of an annuity due, then factor in the amount of the lost income a doctor has while in school (lost wages while others are working) and then factor in that they are going into the red with loans that have interest) you will find out that doctors must work for YEARS to catch up with the sister or brother who went into a business or profession and took home $65,000 a year, or even less. They make a lot of money, they work a lot of hours, they are broke on the A*s for years. By the time they break even they don't really have all that many years to put them money away to be truly wealthy. Most end up with moderate retirements and are able to travel and get the home paid for.

There are many solutions to the problem of health care. The worst is for the government to say that it's the new competitor on the block, start taxing employers at 8% if they don't have health insurance (I would dump my employees in a minute for an 8% cost). What is the real fear is just like the Social Security and Medicare. The money was taken out of Employers and Employees incomes (Yet we act like it is a gift of the Federal Government). The Government didn’t pay for this. I don't remember seeing on my paystubs the part the government was paying for. Regardless, both Social Security and Medicare are going broke in the not too distant future. THAT is why the government wants to change the plan. They want a new foundation that will tax everyone – including young people who don't normally purchase health insurance. That means every single person in the nation will have to pay premiums or the employer. This will be a huge tax on many people that they are not paying now and will put some small business owners out of business because 8% is far more than they can afford to keep their heads above water. The worst thing about it, not counting that the government will have access to all your personal health records (maybe they will have a fat tax someday if you are over 20% overweight – don't laugh), is that we don't know what future politicians will do. How many laws have been passed were politicians are still alive and say that they did not mean for the law to be like it is being interpreted today? Ore has been changed or the Supreme Court has made things different? Too many! Once this can is open, we don't know what will come out of the box. We do know that if the government has its tentacle in it, it will be very, very bad for the people. I am reminded of “V for Vendetta.” That is about what it is coming to if we don't start fighting back now. You see, the fight isn't about today, its about our children's and grandchildren's future. God only knows what we will have wrought by then but I can promise you this. Some politician someday is going to be telling the American public that we just don't have the money to keep this thing going as it is and something is going to have to be cut or taxes are going to have to be raised. Would you bet your life against me on that?

Keith – your comments are helpful to understanding your position. I agree that the government cannot manage money and even when attempting to offer programs that are beneficial to Americans, they screw up even the best of intentions. The corruption is rampant, on both sides of the aisle and in all agencies. I suggest anyone reading this posting visit the website sponsored by CREW – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. It is depressing but necessary to educate oneself that the government has been hijacked by theives from all parties and that both Republican and Democrat administrations have hired some questionable profesionals to administer the programs we pay for. From the department of defense to housing, someone is on the take and what was meant to be good, turns out to be insolvent for us and profitable for a few on the “inside”. Particularly disgusting is the rampant abuse of federal dollars within the department of defense – all while our brave men and women are putting their lives and limbs in danger. To go one step further, much of this corruption is directly tied to corporate interests – afterall, it is an American corporation providing the kickback for the politician's turned eye or hand picked bid. These politicians and corporations are ripping off the American tax payer while American families send their sons, daughters, husbands and wives into war zones to protect the ideals of capitalism. (My criticism does not suggest I am a socialist – just points out that if socialism is a dirty word, we may as well recognize the underbelly of capitalism as well).

Regarding health care, I find America seems to have a conflicting set of values. For example, there have been criminal charges brought against those who refuse to seek treatment for a child diagnosed with cancer due to religious beliefs, yet an insurance company can drop an individual and thus assure a patient cannot receive similar treatment. So the cries about death panels and rationed care in a public option are moot – because that is already happening and will continue to happen, sanctioned by insurance corporation policy and the government's “turned eye” toward it. Insurance company regulation only becomes necessary because of the questionable practices of this industry. If they would operate above-board, they would not require regulation. But again and again, corporations prove themselves to be untrustworthy, and sooner or later, some government agency has to get involved and parent their activities. I don't want the government to get involved in private industry either and I would like not to have to pay people to babysit adults. But I also want private industry to get the hell out of government and stop ripping off consumers. I want American private industry to step up to the plate as corporate citizens (a privelege they are fighting for in front of the Supreme Court so that they can fund political ads) and make moral and ethical decisions with respect to those who have helped them become profitable in the first place – the American laborer, the American taxpayer and the American consumer and with respect to those who have given their lives to protect the ideals of this country that allow them to be successful. I hold that if insurance companies can afford to lobby our government to the tune of $40 million per year, they can afford to treat consumers with respect and stop lobbying our government and reduce their premiums. Personally, I don't have a problem with being denied life saving treatment based on my ability to pay. I accepted long ago that I may not receive medical care when I need it. But I wonder how many who are protesting against reforming the system have that same mindset. When the shoe is on the other foot, which it will be if health care costs continue to outpace corporate insurance programs and the public's ability to pay, will these same protesters accept their death sentence without objection?

I agree that illegal alliens should not be afforded privileges, including free health care. I further agree that illegal immigration is a huge problem that must be rectified – including the granting of citizenship to children born here by illegal parents. I also want to note that this problem has been on-going, and is not a product of liberal socialization but a product of inaction or ineptness or even corruption on the part of our government as a whole for a long, long time. In fact, in 2006, Robert Schofield, a Homeland Security supervisor under Bush was convcited of accepting $600,000 worth of bribes for falsifying documents for illegal alliens – and this was not his first offense. So as not to appear partisan, I accept that similar corruption can, has or will occur under a democrat's administration. And in a complete departure from my liberal leanings, I support rounding up the illegal immigrants and sending them all back to where they came. There is a process on the books that one must follow to enter this country legally. It should be enforced. But illegals aren't the only people seeking emergency room treatment because of their lack of insurance. There are plenty of legal Amercians seeking emergency room treatment and charity care because they lack insurance and those of you who are insured are paying for their care, like it or not. Tort reform alone will not fix that – though I do agree tort reform needs to be addressed, and I also agree that physicians are being treated unfairly as regards to their income. My sister is a physician. She recently responded to an attack on her salary ($300K per year) with an offer to reduce her salary to $150K if the tax payer would pay off her student loan and cover her malpractice insurance. The person with whom she was trading comments declined the offer. She confirms your statements regarding malpractice fear and overtesting to prevent what is most likely invevitable for all physicians – the law suit.

I particulary appreciated your explanation of the problems associated with portability. Just goes to show that something that sounds like a quick fix and a great idea is riddled with issues just like every other easy catch phrase that is handy to throw out there as a solution to the problem. I did not take into account the issues you raise and it seems that portability would quite problematic. This is a perfect example of how two people on “opposite” sides of political ideology can learn from each other through civil conversation. And a perfect example of how such civil conversation is not possible when you attack someone and call them “Hitler” because they disagree with your party line. I know that you get that, I just threw that in for anyone who might take the time to read this far into my response. I'm sure there won't be many, as comments not laced with hostility are certainly far less interesting to those with offensive and ALL CAP remarks. Those in the tea party movement who resort to these immature tactics are hurting what could be a truly progressive and results oriented movement. Unforunately, with damage already done, the tea party group might need to change their name now to something that does not recall for the rest of us the image of fellow citizens carrying signs depicting our president as a witch doctor or sporting Hitler's mustache. Regarding social security and Medicare, there is another issue that is of great concern, and that is the reality that our elderly society is growing and living longer. Some of the longevity is due to medical acheivements that enable people that would have died from an illness to linger for years, even decades, in spite of their quality of life Sadly, this includes many who no longer have any physical or mental capacity to function and are not cared for at home by their children, but warehoused in rest homes just waiting to die. To that end I would suggest viewing a recent airing of Frontline which highlights the perils of outliving your natural life expectancy and giving some thoughtful consideration to the necessity for living wills. The notion of restricting care for the elderly is heartwrenching – but so is the notion of prolonging life for someone to suffer indefinately. But again – who decides? Not me, thank goodness. I want only to have to decide that for myself. But if the tax payer is going to pay for it, someone is going to have to decide when enough is enough, and if that is not acceptable to our collective moral conscience, we are going to have to cut something somewhere else or raise taxes to deal with this. I feel very sorry for the elderly. It is not lost on me that I will be elderly sooner than I like. I think it is important that we as a nation our realistic about our individual inevitable end and make plans and peace now with how we want that to turn out.

Your thoughts are always welcome. I have enjoyed conversing with you. Should this string no longer become available, you may contact me directly at jrand12345@yahoo.com

Peace

BS, BS, BS, BS!!! Wow, talk about a guy that wanders in vein!!!

Thanks for the communicatin. We have too much we agree on to not work to solve the difficult things we see differently.

Keith

Hi…
Looks like the Tea Party Express surely knows a hell lot about protesting. I think the liberalism is going to have a hard future. I wonder when the Tea Party express will be there in San Antonio.