What a well thought out and completely rational comment. The use of both sheeple and kool-aide in the same post gets you 5 bonus points.

It could have been 10 bonus points but you didn't mention anything derogatory about the tea-party.

Way to start the comments out on a civil note. btw, Jones used Flavor-Aid.

Wow....really?

What page in "Comebacks for a 12-year Old" did you rip that gem from? Right-winged fool.

Yes, another very insightful comment. You are only awarded 2 points as this comment is preferred for either GWB or Romney. An addtional 3 points would have been awarded had you mentioned the 1%.

"Yes, another very insightful comment. "

Pot, have you met kettle? Good, now STHU.
Funny how you didn't make your unoriginal and uneducated comment after JT above. Oh, that's because you both swing to the right on the wingnut vine.

You are also awarded points. 5 points for the spectacular use of wing nut, and 2 bonus points for the STHU.

Usually points are only awarded for unoriginal nasty name calling, but in your case we went to the judges and based on your use of the classic liberal strategy of attempting to silence anyone they don't agree with you got the extra two. Nice job!

Rebecca, maybe you should do a little research before you make uninformed comments. Ryan's plan would give everyone the opportunity to have the same kind of insurance congress has. You can find interview after interview of him explaining that. And by the way, his proposal is bi-partisan, with a liberal democrat. But don't let facts get in the way of your posts!
http://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/wydenryan.pdf

His plan wants that Rebecca lol

No, read that link. Ryan doesn't want to give us the "same kind of insurance congress has", he wants you to be able to have a choice between plans like congress does. No where does he say the same kind of insurance, only a choice. Doesn't mean you are getting the cadillac plan. I have choices now, BCBS or Kaiser...no change!

Linda, I might remind you that you have choices now. Just wait until ObamaCare is fully implemented in 2014. Socialized medicine, can't wait! I hope the government can run our health care system as efficiently and lean as it runs everything else.

When I was in Ireland recently (they have "free" health care), we passed a neonatal hospital and the locals joke that the new facility is great and that there is only a 10 month wait. Is that the direction we are heading?

MZ - Just to clarify about socialized medicine. My wife has relatives who live in Italy, and I recently spoke to a British man who has just moved here recently. There is no question socialized medicine is not perfect, but it is not the horror story that most of the conservatives like to portray. Not one person from Europe that I have spoken to would change their system for ours. Yes, there may be a longer wait for some procedures that are not life threatening, but if there is a serious issue that needs immediate attention, you are taken right away, I have been told.

By the way, have you tried to get into a dermatolgist lately? The wait here is usually at least 2-3 months. My wife just called her physician for an appointment, and they told her the soonest they could see her is November! We sure have our waits here, too.

The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

They are all actually 19-22 year olds and the stress of trying to find a job in this economy has clearly taken its toll.

Perhaps the young-uns gave up their seats to their elders, maybe they still teach courtesy at Walsh.

I was there! Defiantly a lot of young college and High School students!

Mr. Spirgen, you had to be there to know the number of the youth who attended - it was very large. Myself I had 6 children attend - all under the age of 21. Even my 6 year old knows that abortion is murder, and Obama is for abortion, and he knows that Romney/Ryan is not for abortion.

Sorry - my last post was a bit incoherent regarding the abortion reference. I should have thought that out better before posting. What I was trying to say was that my children know the importance of recognizing the dignity of every human life - and they feel that Paul Ryan is squarely behind that philosophy. So much of what is written about (Jobs, Medicare, Govt.) all stems from the pro-life movement. How better to address those issues than to have someone who is squarely pro-life running as the VP of our nation. Unfortuantely, we don't get that with the current administration. Paul Ryan excites that in our youth - at least at my house he does!

Fake Right-wing numbers!

I will take that bet but lets make it dinner for 4 (not including the loser) which would make 5

I was reading the other day about France and their taxes. Something along the lines of 75% for anyone making over a million. Sounds fair right?

The only problem is that the wealthy French are leaving in droves (surely because they are selfish).

Since the top 10 % of earners in the US pay approximately 70% of all federal taxes, I wonder would happen if even a few percent of them decided to opt out of the American experiment.

If you are fortunate enough to become wealthy and build businesses that are sustainable, what would you leave behind for your family? Even if you only had a few thousand dollars, what would you do with it? I have to assume you would send it to Washington as the politicians are certainly better at deciding how our money should be spent.

Bye the way, the car elevator sounds cool, I kind of want one.

Don't forget your friend Obuma is also a millionaire and he has never had a real job. He is a career politician that made millions off of tax payers.

Ed, check out AMAC. It's a conservative alternate to the AARP.

ObamaCare will take 700 billion or so from Medicare to fund his "free" healthcare plan. Medicare was becoming insolvent, under the current plan that will just happen a little quicker. I don't know wether you can afford Romney, but I am relatively certain that you won't be able to afford Obama, nor will you be happy with the rationing of services.

I think you have that backwards. First, this 716B cut was the same one that was in Ryan's budget passed in February-it was okay to him then. Now he flipflops on his own budget. Vouchers to seniors to pay for their own healthcare...sounds like he's working for the insurance companies too...

Linda, are you referring to the insurance companies that authored ObamaCare. You know, the bill that had to be passed to find out what was in it?

They say that the 716 billion will be reductions to what Medicare pays out for services. That is how they claim them as a savings. Believe what you want, nobody is calling you stupid or gullible. I am more an a little concerned with the impact on services from that 716 billion dollar savings.

What do you think the impact will be? Is it possible that doctors will refuse Medicare patients? Is it possible that doctors will leave the profession or not enter it in the first place? Could there be rationing of services? Somehow the 716 billion that would have been paid for services won't be now.

I know, there is a board Appointed by a health czar to figure all that out. It will probably work out just fine.

MZ, the savings will come from patients who will now be insured. Right now, hospitals must serve all patients whether they can pay or not. Hospitals lose a lot of money on helping these patients, due to this law, which was passed in 1986 and signed by Reagan. Now, they'll receive payment through the new private plans, which is actually cheaper than offering services gratis. Both hospitals and private insurers like this. By the way, referring to Obamacare as "socialized medicine" is the stickiest misinterpretation: hospitals won't change, and insurers are still private. The government will have no additional ownership under Obamacare.

Ed, you are 100% correct. The $716 billion in savings does not include any cuts to the benefits of seniors. The bulk of it is from savings from MedicareAdvantage, which was a give away to insurance companies in the first place. This is a way to slow the growth of medicare, and as was mentioned, Ryan had these same savings in his budget that every Republican in congress voted for...I think MZ is ignoring this fact.

The government will have no involvement?

There are all of these people currently with no insurance that are a burden on the system as you state. How will all of these people magically get insurance? Exactly how will this work?

Either the government will exert force and make people carry insurance through the threat of fines or worse, or they will end up on a government plan. Am I to believe that a government that currently distributes food stamps, welfare, etc to over a 100 million of its citizens will actually fine those that aren't insured? Am I to believe that a system that collects no federal income taxes from almost 50% of its citizens will not put them on a new entitlement?

All we need to do is look at the history of these programs and how they have grown over the years. They are no longer what was originally "sold" to the public. I am sure this time it will be different.

You have missed my point. Entitlement ? I busted my a$$ for 45 years paying into SS and you call it "entitlement"? WHATEVER YOU SAY. But the deal is this: I rely on my SS check NOW to LIVE. This isn't about "legacy". This isn't about "burden". This is about NOW. I never made a pile of cash. Payday to payday without a lot of savings. So here we are. RIGHT NOW. So save the philosophical BS. Lied to ? Just keep preaching. Think I got duped ? If you're listening to Rom & Ry, you're being manipulated, not me. $6200 per year ? Just where will that come from ? Not from me, that's for sure.

I don't know you or pretend to know your story. What I do know is that I will not rely on the government. I am busting my a$$ just like you. I am paying into SS just like you did. Perhaps the only difference is that I know there will be little to nothing in the "lock box" when I retire so I am preparing accordingly.

I don't need to listen to any politician to be able to, with reasonable certainty, predict how these things will end. It makes no difference to me what Romney, Ryan, Obama, or anybody else promise. I will count on none of it.

As for the "philosophical BS," are you inferring that SS, Medicare, etc... are sound and can payback on the promises? They are not solvent. The only way you get what you were promised is by the force of the government taking from someone else.

I will continue to pay into these failing systems all the while knowing that I will never see the principal I paid in, let alone any return. The money I pay supports people just like you. The only difference between us is I have more time to prepare and I KNOW that I cannot count on these failing government programs.

What Linda writes is so true. I hope you never have to rely on the government like I do. I hope your plans and contingencies all work out. I had a plan, too. Kinda like: "work till you drop." That's what day-to-day working stiffs do these days. But then there was the cancer diagnoses. Then the surgery and chemo after that. And, lo and behold, the chemo damages my heart and work days are done ! Not wanting to sound like a sob story. Just life. Being dealt with. But leave my SS and future Medicare alone, dammit. Go play politics and legacies somewhere else.

I am not sure where the disagreements are? I can't figure out how you think I can impact your SS or Medicare. Can I do anything but contribute to your SS and Medicare? Trust me I do contribute. Are you debating that these systems are solvent and that I should count on them being viable when I retire, or be struck by some illness?

How am I playing politics? As stated earlier I am sure these systems are bound to fail and am preparing as best as I can to handle any contingencies my family may need. Does that make me a bad person? I thought that was the American way, to be as self-reliant as possible.

At no time have I stated that I want your benefits altered in anyway. Now that the government has been firmly involved in health care and retirement benefits for decades, I do fear that a free market solution is not possible.

It seems to me that you are telling me that I need to prepare even more than I am, not less. If that is the case I will take your advice.

Ed, I think you need to look at what you have since Oboma. Your fire and police forces are at bare minimums. You are now paying for trash pickup. Your take home pay is less. Your food and gas prices have gone through t

How could anyone trust Obama-Biden to lead the country since they both like to distort and lie so much?

For instance, look how much Obama avoids telling the truth...

According to a recent analysis by Politifact, a nonpartisan watchdog and Pulitzer Prize winner, Obama rarely gives true information in his public comments. Politifact reviewed 3 statements that Obama has publicly made over recent months and found that of those statements:

One was "mostly true"
Two were "mostly false"

In total, that means 2 statements were inaccurate, and 1 was mostly true. In other words, he was accurate 33 percent of the time.

Further, Obama has only kept 37% of his promises (thankfully).

Per the same Politifact site, over half of what Biden says is a half truth, mostly false, false, or pants on fire.

Being an extension of NPR and winning a Pulitzer prize definitely guarantees a straight down the middle ranking, with no possible favoritism for one side over the other. If you look a little further into the ratings, you would realize that often times the cherry pick a word, or phrase from people who are campaigning. The number of statements also varies wildly.

In addition, I have yet to know about a politician that was completely truthful. If you find one, please let me know.