Reply #165: I have not been here much either

[frogcycle]

and have not seen any of that to which you refer, nor will I pursue seeing it.

I do, though, commend you for your excellent post. My best wishes to your girfriend; let's hope it is a well-managed condition and that a cure is indeed developed sooner rather than later.

You summarize quite well the fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans. Dems believe government is an institution of the people which can and should do things on behalf of the people. Republicans believe government is there to serve the interests of business. That means conducting wars to protect their turf, fuel, etc., and that is about it. A subset of Republicans, who are only Republicans because the libertarian big-business-interest REAL Republicans conned them into shambling mindlessly to the polls and voting "R" to save those precious 'lives,' believe that whatever the Republicans are for, whether war, free trade, or tax cuts for the wealthy, is just fine because they are saving them babies right and left. No-one in that entire bizarre consortium of wealthy business tycoons and fundie abortion clinic bombers gives a crap about the welfare of the population as a whole.

The candidate to whom you refer seems to be a mix of both extremes. I commend your insight and the eloquent way in which you "tell it as it is."

I only glanced through the responses above; what I saw appeared to be the predictable knee-jerk taking of offense at anyone who criticizes one's position. It is about as meaningful as the background hum left over from the big bang.

I hope you didn't spend much time looking through them. At least from this quarter, your points are well taken; your personal concerns are noted and respected, and your writing style, as always, is a delight.

"how in the name of Tom DeLay's floppy shriveled nutsack"

is as elegant a turn of phrase as I have seen in quite a while.

Hang in there, WP, and again, my best wishes to your girlfriend.