ren – You make a really good point in your last paragraph. There’s some trust issues that I have, but for the most part, I trust enough of our government to do the right thing and take care of things. I’m not about having more government, but at that same time, when there are people that need care and can’t get it, then there should be other options for them, even if that’s a government provided option.

sybil law – Thank you. Appreciate that.

kevin – I listened to that sound byte on Howard’s opinion. Very interesting take.

alex – Those two quotes are great and from two different people I like and respect, too.

robin – You are most welcome.

delmer – Yes, funny how it depends on the president speaking and why it was ok, but not for our current president.

As Alex mentioned above, the Keith O. commentary was well done.

tori – I like how you think and how you are raising your children. And of course, differences of opinion should be discussed and not shoved under the rug.

I read a blurb where one of the Florida Republicans said he didn’t want his kids listening to Obama. When asked what he thought of Reagan’s address to school children the guy said that as he recalled, Reagan’s address was more about staying off drugs. It wasn’t … it was pretty political in nature.

We all need to chill out a bit and make decisions based on facts and not fears.

(I think Joe Wilson was out of line — and incorrect — but he did apologize, and the Dems need to back off a bit; it makes us look petty. I liked Keith O’s bit that covered Bush’s lies and the fact none of the Dems saw fit to scream “liar” at him in public… it was good to have W’s mistruths all strung together one after the other.)

It is this week, evident that the greatest threat to the nation is not terrorism nor the economy nor H1N1 nor even bad health care. It is rank, willful stupidity. When did we come to extol stupidity ahead of information, and rely on voo-doo, superstition, and prejudice ahead of education?
-Keith Olbermann September 10, 2009 Special Comment

…I would never put anything past this stupid country…This country just gets dumber and dumber by the day.
-Bill Maher; The Situation Room w/Wolf Blitzer July 27, 2009

Start with the premise that you think the Democratic party in general, and President Obama specifically, have a fundamental goal of converting The United States to a Socialist state. It doesn’t matter if its true or if there’s any evidence in support of it, just start with that premise. Now, any statement made or action taken will be colored by that perspective. It’s actually quite easy to see how almost anything could be considered to be advancing that agenda.

Take today’s Presidential address to our students. Why was it necessary to interrupt the school day and have the President speak directly to the (in some school districts, captive) student audience? Sure, you and I see this as a perfectly reasonable, potentially educational, and certainly memorable activity. But from the perspective described above, it can clearly be seen as another step forward toward government control.

On a related topic, I’ve seen or heard several recent comparisons between services currently provided by local government and proposals for services to be provided by the federal government (or, if not directly provided, at least orchestrated). It seems that some people consider these to be the same thing. If we already have government run police, fire fighting, schools, etc., why should we be so resistant to national health care? Regardless of whether or not national health care is a good idea, it is distinctly different from a local service. In theory, we *should* trust our local governments more, as we have a great deal more power to change them. In practice, I’m not sure it really works out that way, but that’s an entirely different topic.

No one questions what their church group is telling their children. Or what the teachers are normally teaching. And what about how much wonderful information children are learning by riding a school bus?? And hello—-the television?? That thing spouts out bullshit all the time! But if a legally elected official in the highest office of our entire government wants to say, “hey, stay in school you little whippersnappers!” -that is crossing a line?? Give me a break!

I wanted to copy this and call it my own – instead, I just mentioned it and linked to it in my blog. You can expect millions of readers (or maybe just one) to head this way now. You’re welcome.