Michael da Man

Obama released the short form of his birth certificate long ago to satisfy any rational person of his citizenship. The irrational on the other hand continue to rant and rave for years making fools of themselves and the Republican party and damaging the right wing in the eyes of the country. Then Trump starts making points by pretending to be a birther so Obama releases the long form making Trump look like a fool. Genius!.

Arizona is about to pass a law that presidential candidates have to prove US citizenship to be on the ballot there. Obvious this is prompted by the Arizona birthers who think Obama was born in Kenya. This is going to backfire on the birthers and state because Obama is gong to be able to prove his citizenship and the state is going to be forced into the embarrassing position of certifying his citizenship - the only state that has to and the state most loath to do so. Its the Law of Unintended Consequences - the right wings worst enemy - ask Jim Demint!

The Tea party is obsessed with debt and Democrats who they blame for it. Every time I have seen one of their leaders on a talk show they seem to be oblivious to any historical facts such as: 1. The US was running budget surpluses when Republicans and GWB took office in 2001. 2. GWB and the Republicans in charge from 2000 to 2006 waged two wars "off budget" meaning it went right onto the debt. 3. GWB and the Republicans passed a huge tax cut for rich people, who didn’t need it, that went right onto the debt. 4. The Republican "anything goes" relationship with Wall Street and Big Biz took us to the brink of economic ruin making the bailout a necessity, which again, went right onto the debt.

To the Tea Party, unknown, unimportant events occurred, then Obama was illegally elected and bailed out his pals on Wall Street making him a socialist/communist/white people hater who wants to bankrupt the country. Theirs is a simple world unbothered by any hard to grasp facts but severely bothered by dark skinned presidents.

They have pulled off some amazing hat tricks:

1. GWB elected president in 2000 with 550,000 fewer votes than Al Gore

2. Started 2 wars with no declaration of war which brought billions in war funding to their rich business pals.

3. Came through with billions of tax payer money to their rich supporters with the tax cut of 2001

4. Perfectly compensated for their minority party status by the "Citizens United" supreme court ruling allowing Republicans to vastly outspend Democrats.

5. Get voters to blame Obama for the financial crisis they caused.

It is killing the America we love but it is genius!

You see a question that the right wing doesn't like and like clockwork there is a blizzard of screaming right wing responders. Then occasionally you see only level headed, intelligent responses like the righties were on break or in a team meeting discussing strategy. It turns out there may actually be organized right wing dirty tricksters at work. Check out this network analysis article:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/bogus-grass-roots-politi...

Glenn Beck predicted the Left would be taking up arms again the Right. Could it be because of the Right's plan to bring down the Obama administration by whatever means it can? If they get the majority in the House I've heard speculation they will start a whole range of investigations to tie up the administration and try to impeach Obama like they did Clinton.

The answer is no! I've been a conservative Republican since the 60’s. Conservatives believe in fiscal responsibility but also know that in times of war and national emergency, both of which apply today, it is necessary for the government to take extraordinary measures including deficit spending. Today's so-called conservatives are really anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-minority fanatics who have no knowledge of history or government. If they get in power again they will finish the job started by the neo-con Republicans from 2000-2006 in destroying the United States as the world's leading nation.

Yes they are, but only when they are in power. Examples:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/03/31/after-8-years-of...

I know - this is a union article so biased in the Republican mind. The facts contained however CAN be verified so if you want the truth do some research into the facts and be a good citizen.

So, you don't want the government "running" health care because it can't do anything right. Facts you missed when you were getting your C in history and civics: the gov inspects your food to keep rat droppings out of it; the gov enforces safety rules for hundreds of devices such as elevators and cars; the gov makes sure doctors have to actually have a degree in medicine; the gov keeps cocaine and heroin from being sold over the counter at the drugstore like it was in the early 1900's; the gov runs a first class postal system - try sending a letter via UPS if you don't think so; the gov makes sure airliners fly in regulated lanes to keep them from crashing into each other; the gov make the guy in the other car have car insurance so you can get remuneration if he runs into you; the gov is the reason you have paved roads to wherever you go; the gov has mine safety laws to reduce the large number of deaths that used to occur in mines; the gov makes sure the drugs you take actually have a safe drug in them; the gov runs prisons to keep the monsters of society from victimizing you; the gov runs a first call military; the gov runs first class police; the gov runs first class fire fighting; the gov regulates the electrical industry so you have power in your home. These examples go on and on.

40,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health care insurance. For a Christian country this is unforgivable. Thousands lose everything they own when they have a medical emergency and have no insurance coverage. This is a sick system.

FYI, I’m a Republican but still think for myself.

Starting with Reagan the Republicans have cultivated the notion in the American People that government isn't the answer to any problem. By and large most Americans now believe that. Now that the government is on the verge of showing the American People that government CAN do something for them the Republicans are in a rabid frenzy because if the People start to realize the truth they will look to the government for other changes, such as better food regulation and putting the brakes on the export of jobs and industries overseas - activities that are profitable to the Big Business masters that the Republicans report to but hell on average Americans. Health care reform is the best thing for the American People in decades!

We could set up a clearing house so people who want to move from one to the other could swap for equivalent houses and jobs. The two could still be allies, even have a common defense, but each have a government and laws they can be comfortable with. I'm for it.

Since, in your world, anyone against your positions is a Commie, Fascist, Socialist or liberal fiend why would the conservative AARP and even more conservative AMA come out in favor of the house health care bill?

Jesus said "Whatever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me". Republicans want to keep health insurance from the needy so, in effect, they want deny it to Jesus. Will they be judged on their actions when they stand before Him?

If not, here it is: they fear it will SUCCEED, not fail, and the Democrats will get credit and will win more elections. If you are a Republican and don't know this fact you should look into your party more deeply.

Looks like it. The theory is representatives are elected to Congress to work for the interest of their constituents but today Republicans ONLY represent the most conservative members of their districts and states. All others might as well live in Iran - they have no representation. At least there are still some Democrats who consider the interests of constituents who are not just Democrats.

Yes. The new "Tea Baggers" favor rich and powerful business interests over the people's interests which means they would have favored the rich and powerful British East India (Tea) Company.over the American colonists.

Probably. Because they have an irrational terror of nuclear energy, and too much influence, the US had to build coal and oil fueled power plants that dump millions of tons of hot house gasses into the atmosphere. If the US had used nuclear energy it would never have happened and we would never have heard of "global warming". John McCain got that one right!

When you support the right of your health insurance company to:

1. Dump you when you find out you need open heart surgery

2. Raise your rates when you get sick

3. Refuse to insure you because you already have cancer

4. Let you die to increase their profit margin

Symptoms of delusions as described in Wikipedia:

1. The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force.

2. That idea appears to exert an undue influence on his or her life, and the way of life is often altered to an inexplicable extent.

3. Despite his/her profound conviction, there is often a quality of secretiveness or suspicion when the patient is questioned about it.

4. The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief.

5. There is a quality of centrality: no matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to him, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly.

6. An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility.

7. The belief is, at the least, unlikely, and out of keeping with the patient's social, cultural and religious background.

8. The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of his or her psyche.

9. The delusion, if acted out, often leads to behaviors which are abnormal and/or out of character, although perhaps understandable in the light of the delusional beliefs.

10. Individuals who know the patient will observe that his or her belief and behavior are uncharacteristic and alien.