Thank you, Dave. For the last couple of weeks (offline, too) I have been over-reacting to the smallest of things (yes, even more so than usual), and I have done the same here with dotcommisar. I was a bit...what's the word I'm looking for...Harsh? no...Brutal? possibly....ah, no - assholish! That's the ticket! An utter asshole! Sorry, d.c. - wish I could promise it won't happen again...

Now, more to the point (and I promise to proofread this 4 times before posting!). The points he's listing may be valid - I'll go a step further and say they ARE valid - but they are the same things which have been pointed out for the last 9 months and, frankly, I am underwhelmed.

The "exchanges" are simply a way for insurance companies to pick up the people who can't get coverage on their job or other reason - and the government is helping by mandating coverage. Why would any progressive or liberally minded person think that setting up a guaranteed revenue line for corporations is a better thing than using that revenue stream to fund the people's alternative? If this is put in place as the precedent, will it be 40 to 60 years before it can be changed "politically?"

It's very high stakes Three Card Monte - after the first few sucker wins, the insurance companies will always show us an Ace.

This analogy may be a bit strained, but please bear with me...Before I left on my first cruise, "revolution" filled the air through talk, music, writing - all because of the draft, Vietnam, and the profiteering from arms by American corporations. Not a violent revolution, but the kind which is done through the ballot box because we believed change must come from within.

When I returned, the atmosphere had changed. You could feel it. The draft had ended, the Paris Peace Talks were being heralded as being productive, Watergate was breaking, The music had changed from What About Me? to Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast. WTF?

People thought the battle was over. Enough of the "revolution" had been accomplished. They'd clean up the other things as they came up; better to get something than nothing, right?

We have no draft, but there is a mandatory system for 18 year olds if they ever want any kind of Federal assistance. The police mentality has grown into a para-military against the populace mentality. Many of the hard fought for civil rights have been stripped away and we have seen sections of the Constitution ignored by administration after administration. The poorest have not found relief, the middle class has been outsourced and mortgaged to the point of extinction, and CEO's complain if their bonuses are lowered from $25 to $20 million.

Because, people thought the battle was over. Enough of the "revolution" had been accomplished...

Now, we are being asked to accept a "foot in the door" (ever had a door slammed on your foot? Hurts...) and that they'll clean up the other things as they come up; better to get something than nothing, right? Just like they tweaked the PATRIOT ACT. Or aggressively gone after known crimes committed during the last administration - remember after the '06 election when we were counseled to "wait until the time is right" by these very same people? Aren't you tired of waiting?

It took from 1973 to 2005 to get anything Liberal or Progressive (other than Gay Rights - their community was extremely active and effective - a lot could be learned from people who won't take "no" for an answer) to even be considered in a positive light. What was Clinton's big "Liberal" achievement - welfare reform??

What has Obama's been? Equal pay? Good, but good enough?

Wait for Guantanamo to close. Wait for DADT to be repealed. Wait for REAL health insurance.care reform. Wait for regulations on banks. Forget about war crimes. Forget about prosecutions. Forget about correcting the abuses to the Constitution.

What leads anyone to believe that any of these people who aren't fighting now are going to fight at some vague point in the future?

Bottom line is: Ignore me. Let me tilt at my windmills while I rock on my front porch and tell those damn kids to stay off my lawn. Why the hell would anyone pay attention to the ramblings of an anxiety prone depressed cynic whose main defense is sarcasm?

What're you? Crazy?

Sorry, dotcommisar.

by MedfordTim on 03/18/2010 12:49:11 AM EST

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