BJean

patty if you want to find out how things get done in Washington, on the hill, I suggest you get hold of some biographies or even autobiographies written about various historical political figures. In fact, there have even been some made for TV movies to that effect. To suggest that anything that happened during the process of getting the healthcare reform legislation passed is unique to this congress or president is simply ignorant. Ignorant of the facts.

Two thumbs up!

eek indeed!

Sharon, what you said! I notice patty didn't read my church rant or she would have known that I said most churches survive because they keep their congregations, parishoners, et. al., burdened with guilt. I was not speaking of a church that I attend today. The only reason I said not all churches are heavily invested in guilt peddling is because I know of a Unitarian church that doesn't preach guilt and negativity. But after having been to lots and lots of different churches (including Pentacostal) they generally keep their members feeling guilty. That's how it's done. That's how it works. That's how they keep the money in the coffers. And it's how they keep people coming back every week. And all you have to do is listen to people discuss religion on television and/or people throughout your own community to know that it is a widespread practice and not just one church. And some of the people who rant about religion here at LBT reveal just how endoctrinated and guilty they truly are.

The President doesn't look at Americans - any Americans - as his enemies. He looks at them as his fellow citizens. The fact that some folks disagree with him on certain issues is to be expected. But for governors of states to act like they have a case, when they know it is a bogus and illegal claim, is expected to generate some kind of response from the president. When he said bring it on, he meant that there is no way that a lawsuit like that has any merit in fact and if it is filed, he will welcome the chance to show the lunacy and political prejudice of it.

Leigha the basic lack of knowledge and brain power of the individual who wrote that is stunning. It also shows how ignorant people are about the illegal alien problem in our country. The Republicans got everyone all up in arms about it when they needed something to take the heat off another of their dirty deeds. At the time you would have thought that the problem just sprung up in the past couple of years.

And tea bag demonstrators are lumped in together because they march and demonstrate together. The fact that the Republicans and Limbaugh and O'Reilly and Beck and others have helped to incite the tea bagging behavior and before all the criticism happened, they said the tea baggers were doing the right thing, is proof that they deserve to be lumped together. Just because all of a sudden they're saying people shouldn't be violent carries no weight with me. They incited this behavior and they LIKE it. Nobody in her right mind would excuse them for it at this point. And some of the major players in the Republican party endorsed the behavior of the tea baggers, the deathers, etc., also indicate that they deserve to be lumped in with them. As for these pictures and claims that you've made about concrete being dropped on Republicans and all that is a mystery because we don't know anything about them - who they are and what organization backed them financially and encouraged them to do that is a mystery. Just posting pictures isn't very impressive without data regarding the organization behind the demonstration.

patty I do not know Cleo's. We are not in cahoots. We post some of the same thoughts for a reason. And it isn't because we have some kind of conspiracy to make right wing extremists look stupid or crazy. Just like on your side of the spectrum, there are people who say some of the same things you say. Doesn't mean you're in a conspiracy to further your agenda.

Hey, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

I wouldn't be surprised. She's the one who thought of it. I have a feeling that she doesn't understand the term "impeach" As for Cleo's post with all the signs, it's obvious that some of those signs were professionally made. And some of the slogans are too politically saavy to just come from some random citizen who's disgruntled with the health care reform bill. I feel sure that there is some really big money behind a lot of this. Smacks of the same nasty political thinking as the Swift Boat freaks.

I disagree. Nothing is as bad as being racist. Or as stupid. Sounds to me like you're trying to do the very thing that you are complaining about by insinuating that my use of the term tea bagger somehow equates to being a racist. My calling the tea baggers that instead of the TEA PARTY stems from my lack of respect for them and especially because they try to identify themselves with an event that has no relation whatsoever to what they're doing. So I consider that name, THE TEA PARTY to be a misnomer. And I consider them worthy of my distain no matter what nutball demonstrators from the left do. What's wrong with calling them tea baggers anyway? They adopted a name that they absolutely do not deserve to use. They're trying to compare themselves to events in Boston when early Americans demonstrated against the Crown. But dumping tea into the harbor isn't exactly the same as threatening bodily harm or shouting a racial slur or suggesting throwing bricks through windows or suggesting that our president is a Muslim or that he isn't an American born citizen or attempting to subvert the legal process of passing legislation. Sorry dude, I agree that we shouldn't generalize and lump the tea party in with the entire party of Republicans. And I said so, in an earlier post. But as I also said, the Republican party has brought this on themselves. And none of this is is an effort to say that there are no people from the left side of the argument who are guilty of doing bad things. Certainly there are. And trust me, I have just as much contempt for them as I do for the right wing wackos.

This is also very disturbing to me. And the support of the extremists comes from the very top of the GOP, Steele. It seems there is no hope for moderately conservative people these days. And some of your everyday Republicans are angry at Democrats because they've been lumped in with the nutjobs. But what else can be expected when the people who run the party and who are Republicans on a national level of government fully endorse extremism rather than true debate?

You people are awesome and just made my day!!! I so seldom have contact with people who get it. It is a very unpopular thing to say but I believe that our churches are a source of right wing propaganda too and people are exposed to their preachers (aptly named) on a regular basis. Churches have a huge investment in keeping people guilt ridden and down. Now I know that there are churches that are making an effort to actually address personal and social issues in a more positive way. But I do not think that the majority of churches in America that work that way. When support of the right wing extremist, anti-abortion, anti-homosexual, etc., stance comes from your minister, who are you to doubt him? And often he or she quotes scripture to support those declarations. To criticize the Bible or your miinister (or the Pope) is blaspheme, right? My goodness wonderer, you're awfully young to have figured out so much of this political/governmental stuff. Kudos! And leroy you're smack dab on point with that last post. Same goes for phil, Leigha and Cleo's. Like I said you all made my day!

Wonderer I think you're right about one thing. Money rules everything in this country including our politicians. So how do we hope to fix it? Regulation - not deregulation that the Republicans have always favored.

If requiring health insurance is unconstitutional then why isn't it unconstitutional to have a law that requires me to have liability insurance for my carl?

Ok k-man, as far as I'm concerned the fact that you only chew certain foods makes you an honorary elitist. Actually I think you probably still get a few nutrients from that process. Man it sure seems like you've broken the weight loss code. And I for one am very impressed!

Well even the people who championed this legislation cannot know for sure how each and every aspect of the bill will play out. Time will tell.

patty, are the people in the photos you posted part of an organized group like the tea baggers? Does the Democratic party encourage these kinds of signs? Do you think that the media and legislators encourage this kind of behavior in Democrats? One reason that people have lumped mainstream Republicans (if there are actually any left) in with the tea baggers, birthers and violent acts that extremists have exhibited this week, is because the many famous Republicans have encouraged this behavior and in South Carolina, the Republican party said they want to work with the tea baggers and possibly merge with them. A few Republicans in congress said this behavior should be condemed but very few. And many have behaved badly on the floor of congress themselves. So lump them together is what we do. No, it isn't actually representative of each and every person who was against the health care reform legislation. So no it really isn't fair to label all Republicans ignorant extremists that have a penchant for violence when they lose. I do understand why it is so offensive to you and I hope that you are as against the really bad behavior this week as I am against any bad behavior by people who might be considered Democrats. But honestly, showing these photos above really doesn't in any reasonable way, excuse the behavior of the wackos exhibiting violence against the legislation, the legislators or the president, now does it?

patty where did you get that information about an organized group of "tens of thousands" of people who violently attacked people, threw cement bags from bridges on Republicans going to the convention? Were the Republicans on foot or in cars or buses or what? Why did they attack a bus full of Cub Scouts? And Clorox? In the bottle or squirted from a sprayer or how'd they do that? Squirt guns? Did they put anybody's eye out? What "curse slurs" did they yell at Republicans? But the most important piece of data would be who the heck were these people? If there were tens of thousands of them, were they a huge organized group of some kind? What did they call themselves? Who organized them? Since the news media didn't see fit to tell us any of this at the time - nor have they since then, that I know of - we need to know about this and it seems like you're the person who is willing to report this important news item. So please, give us the specifics because I very much want to know about this. I'd specifically like to know how many people were sent to the hospital and what their injuries were. Were the Cub Scouts physically harmed or only emotionally? Also, how many of those tens of thousands were arrested? I'm sure there must have been a lot of arrests because I saw lots and lots of policemen lining the areas near the convention hall.

k-man: "Oh the democrats are already drinking bottled water. How else would we wash down all that arugula and brie?" Don't you dare cast aspersions on my arugula, brie and pear salad! Btw, I don't know where you are in Cali, but I can give you a tip on phenominal pizza - best ever, seriously - if you're in the LA area. Freshest and best ingredients, best crust, etc. It has been recognized many times but is a very small "best kept secret" kind of place.

Yes Leigha I had heard about that. kimaly, no we do not own a construction company. But the Dems are trying hard to help small businesses and get the construction business some stimulus to get things going again. Is yours a commercial or residential construction business? Or both? And in what way is health insurance handled differently for a construction business in the reform bill?

Didn't we all know that the Republicans would conveniently get phone calls and carefully constructed threats from people, whom they claim are Democrats? I sure did. It totally goes along with their usual subversive activities. When something awful they support backfires on them, they send out letters and get someone from their own camp to go public with whatever crazy idea they can come up with to deflect the heat off them. The Republicans are the ones who exhibit the obnoxious behavior, the threatening behavior, the foul language and accusations, i.e., the birthers, the deathers, Joe the Plumber, etc. The Republicans are the ones who link arms and write and sign letters that are published and broadcast over the airwaves. They're experts at lies and ugliness (remember the Swift Boat campaign they used against Senator Kerry?) There are lots of incidents that they have been responsible for that go back to the Nixon era. And probably before that but I was too young to witness them. So nothing new here. Nothing to see. Move along.

Leigha do you know anything about the candidate for governor, Bill White? I'm relatively new to the state and like some of what he's said. But I know you can't pin your hopes on rethoric.

kimaly: "If we took a good look into disability and medicaid and got those off of it that really don't need to be on it then maybe the people that do need it could have it also cap insurance companies and the amount hospitals and doctors can charge you. Just think of the money we could save there. Also I get 1 script a month and it cost $152.00 for 30 pills. stop this. Cap what they can charge for scripts. And the Constitution states No laws will be forced on the people that do not apply to congress. So why are they exempt from this Health care program they are shoving down our throats?" We own a small business and I am not worried at all. We've been told that it is not going to bankrupt us or damage us in any way. Right now my husband and I cannot enroll ourselves in the good insurance that we provide our employees because of "pre-existing conditions" and our employees insurance is far better than what we can get through another company, for which we pay a lot more money. Our pre-existing conditions consist of both having surgical procedures that will probably never involve any subsequent related medical problems. You've said that you think caps should be on meds, etc. Well how do you want to go about making that happen? It's not going to happen without congress and the president getting involved. They're doing as good a job of getting it done as they can without any help from the Republicans. I am positive that if Republicans had a better plan to put forth, one that was fair to most Americans, Democrats would have been receptive to it. Everything they came up favored the insurance companies and pharmacutical corporations. Not what you're saying you need. And I don't get why you say this has been "shoved down our throats." We elected the people in congress and we elected the president. We sent them to Washington to make things better and that's what they're doing. Saying it has been "shoved down our throats" is simply a propagandist slogan put forth by the party of "no you can't." Did you vote for Republicans? Then you should be wondering why they aren't doing a better job for you. You should be complaining that they are simply being obstructionists instead of contributing to the improvement of this country for you and your small business. You should wonder why they refuse to work with Democrats to bring the best legislation forward that is possible. You should also be embarrassed by their part in inciting terroristic behavior toward those people who are trying to make things better for us. This is how a democracy works... the majority rules. The Republicans ruled for 8 years and now it's the Democrats' turn. I can understand sincere differences of opinion, but militant obstructionism is unAmerican and inexcusable behavior. I can understand it if you feel threatened by this legislation, especially if you have bought the false information that the Republicans have repeated over and over. But arbitrarily deciding that legislation has been shoved down our throats is just not the truth.

And Gov. Perry is the king dumbf*** so he'll be happy to stay in charge of the newly named dumbf***istan, the state formerly known as Tejas.