On Dec 24, 10:50*am, sandy wrote:
I haven't participated here much--last year or so.
There was just too much political wrangling going on
and I found it too hard to ignore. So I largely took a powder.
(no not that kind. all my dollar bills are still in my wallet).

So, exhibiting typical consistency on my part, the following:

The republicans unanimously opposed historic health care
legislation today--watered down and impotent as it was, due
to their unanimous hostility for over a year now. But lose the
battle they did. Or soon will, as the senate was the only
reactionary chance left for them.

All of which reminded me:

Republicans opposed social security, originally and as recently as
a few years ago.

Republicans opposed the Marshall Plan after WWII.

In the early 50s republicans did half-heartedly supported voting rights
for southern blacks, largely because it was Yellow Dog Dixicrats who
supported segregation. But after the civil rights bill passed and it
became clear the new wave of black voters would all vote democratic,
the republicans almost instantly switched camps and became
states-rights reactionaries. They got the Ross Barnett, Bull Conner-like
democrats and they've controlled the redneck south ever since.

The republicans also opposed Medicare.
And now they've done absolutely everything possible to give
Health Insurance corporations the right continue ripping us off, and to
keep upwards of 20 million citizens out of any kind of health care luck
at all.

I'm beginning to think this kind of stubborn
resistance to needed change is a genetic condition. Rational
evaluation of the evidence just doesn't support this kind
of boneheaded behavior.

The only thing non-obstructionist they've ever done is to
drive us into near bankruptcy by slashing revenues (taxes)
and giving most of that the rich, and to start a series of
ill-advised and remarkably expensive wars. *And I count Viet Nam
in that category too, even though Johnson started it. Because
everybody knows Johnson did that because he was so afraid of
right-wing reaction.

:-)

Yep, and some of these congressmen have been in on the stealing, fraud
and overbilling of medicare. For Example, former Senator Bill Frist,
whose conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, insider trading and
campaign finance problems caused the group Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to name Frist as one of the
most "corrupt" members of Congress. The Frist family fortunes come
from the Hospital Corp of America, which Wiki says "was the subject of
a decade-long Federal investigation into double-bookkeeping and
suspected criminal fraud involving the bilking of Medicare, Medicaid,
and Tricare (the federal program that provides health insurance to
members of the military and their families)." So much for his claims
to be a patriot.

HCA companies had to repay more than, $1,700,000,000 yep thats more
than ONE point seven BILLION dollars, in fines the largest ever in US
history. And afterwords guess what? the Bushees let HCA stay in the
medicare program!!
I challenge anyone to deny that this occurred. See, for normal
Americans OVERBILLING is what the white collar thieves call it; to the
rest of us it's just plain stealing. Come on whackjobs, explain it
away.

These howling sons of bitches had 12 years to do something about
healthcare reform. They did diddly squat, zip, Nadya. Now, after being
coaxed, offered a role, treated as colleagues, the only thing they
have to offer is to spend MILLIONs to scare elders, lying that Obama's
efforts to crack down on FRAUD by fly-by-night companies and GOP
donors, are cuts in service.

The corrupt ideologues and Snake handler preachers who have captured
the GOP do not deserve the support of real conservatives and
Republican moderates. They stole your party and you owe them nothing.
Soon they will ask you to vote for some of the worst bigots and
theocrats to run for public office since reconstruction. Fight back.
Take your party back. Preserve the American two party system, the
bulwark our forefathers built against radicalism. Wise up. Don't be a
chump for the corporations and Wall Street.

Dave
America First