You and I are contemporaries, and have seen all of this happening over the decades. Is it really that difficult a concept: that maybe the government DOESN’T have our best interests at heart, and are busily chipping not only the New Deal (nearly all gone now, if not entirely), but the very Constitution out from under us, so that their grab for total power can be unimpeded by law when they finally show their hand?

It’s shocking to see how many people, friends of mine among them, are completely without compassion for anyone who has already been victimized, and are unable to extrapolate, to envision themselves as the next victim. Perhaps it’s all one big blind spot:

“Oh, that could never happen to ME, because I’m smart, and also I’m a good, hard-working person. It must be some fault within Those People themselves. Yes, that must be it. It’s their OWN FAULT, so I’M SAFE, because I’d NEVER be that stupid, lazy and careless. And even if something bad DID happen to me, everything would work out all right, because God really, really does love me best, and everyone would see that…”

I suppose it’s only human nature to blame the victim, because that makes the blamer feel safe. It’s despicable, but understandable. I guess.

Ray, did you not see this?
“Self-fulfilling prophesy…”
WOW! You got what you expected!!!
Mega -whatever’s!!!

“The entire argument is really moot, since it’s over a boy who’s fully covered by a program that isn’t going away. Bush doesn’t want to get rid of S-Chip. He’s said he wants to expand it. I don’t think it should be expanded as much as it would have been without the veto, though. I don’t see why a Children’s health insurance program should include anyone over 18 years old, just for starters.

Nobody wants S-Chip to go away. It’s a good program. My question is why it needs to be expanded so much, and why that boy was paraded around asking why Bush wanted to take S-Chip away from him, when that would never happen.”

“Cause the system is FAILING!

Ray, why did you write this, if you agree?
I don’t understand. Maybe I’m stupid…

Ray, it’s not WHAT you said, it’s HOW you said it. And the complete lack of any originality…

But, in reality, it was the complete lack of empathy for “eriney’s” brother. whose circumances you don’t know – maybe he pled to avoid a 20-to-life sentence.
I taught in a Maximum Security” for almost four year’s, so I have some idea’s of guilt and innocence… (And, no, I don’t side with the accused EVERY time)…

Ray, “There, but for the Grace of God, go I…”

Once, we here in America, were unique – we had a middle-class.

Ray, do you know how often that has ever ever happened in history? That a country had a solvent middle-class?

You can count it on ONE hand, maybe TWO. In all of recorded history.!!!

Ray, do you want to serioulsy discuss this? Because if you do, Maha can give you my e-mail.
Maha – feel free to do this!

Possibly not so much hate as disdain. But it’s there, whether you can admit it to yourself or not.

Are any of you thinking for yourselves?

I’d ask the same of you. You haven’t said anything yet that isn’t tiresomely unoriginal.

Are you really that desperate to have the government take care of you?

Dear, government is an instrument established by We, the People, for taking care of each other. That’s what it’s for — to solve problems that we can’t solve by other means.

The health care crisis is a massive problem that is dragging all of us down, directly or indirectly. You, too, although you’re too brainwashed to see it. Righties keep yapping about “free market” solutions. If the “free market” could find a solution, it would have done it by now. Every other industrialized democracy on the planet — more than 30 nations — have realized there is no free market solution and established some form of universal health care for all citizens. Only the U.S., permeated by hysterical propaganda about “socialized medicine,” persists in ignoring facts and pretending we can solve this problem with the “free market.”

But while ordinary citizens struggle to be “self-reliant,” big business, big corporations, and special interests groups have no problem being “entitled” to all manner of help from the government. And don’t kid yourself that this “help” trickles down.

Years ago, people didn’t go into spasms over “entitlements.” What happened is that after World War II corporate and business leaders effected a massive propaganda campaign that re-oriented people away from their loyalties to organized labor and government. (See, especially, Selling Free Enterprise: The Business Assault on Labor and Liberaism, by Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, University of Illinois Press).

At 56, I’m old enough to have watched the quality of life for American working people erode, little by little. It’s happened slowly enough that people don’t notice it. And of course we have more doodads and gadgets now. But for most working families life is leaner and meaner than it was, say, in the mid-1960s.

Whatever happened to the American Dream?

If you want to know what’s killing it, go look in a mirror.

Whatever happened to EARNING your way?

That’s exactly what us liberals are trying to maintain; to keep people from being utterly crushed by medical misfortune so that they can get back on their own feet. What you want to do is just crush people and throw them out into the trash.

Now, get lost.

Actually, I expected exactly what I got. You read hate into my argument when there isn’t any. What more could I expect out of you?

The entire argument is really moot, since it’s over a boy who’s fully covered by a program that isn’t going away. Bush doesn’t want to get rid of S-Chip. He’s said he wants to expand it. I don’t think it should be expanded as much as it would have been without the veto, though. I don’t see why a Children’s health insurance program should include anyone over 18 years old, just for starters.

Nobody wants S-Chip to go away. It’s a good program. My question is why it needs to be expanded so much, and why that boy was paraded around asking why Bush wanted to take S-Chip away from him, when that would never happen.

Are any of you thinking for yourselves? Are you really that desperate to have the government take care of you? Whatever happened to the American Dream? Whatever happened to EARNING your way? Where did this sense of entitlement come from?

I tried awhile back, but I couldn’t get any of the add-ons to work. Maybe I could pay somebody to upgrade to the most recent WordPress (I’m afraid to do it myself) and then they would work. *Sigh* OK, next week I’ll have a beg-a-thon!

To prove my point:
Maha, when are you going to add a “preview?” I’ve been asking for years. I’d help pay for it, but the money I have goes for health insurance:-)

Love ya, Maha!!!

Ray, yours is a self-fullfilling prophesy. You come to a website where empathy reigns, and you spit out hateful right-wing talking-points.
Jeez, what do expect? Mega-ditto’s?

I want to hear what the other side thinks. But you were unoriginal.
I welcome you to come back when you have some original ideas. Until then, stay in your own hateful “amen-chorus” sites, and leave ours alone.

Respectfully Yours,
cund gulag