Glad someone actually read my rather long post. I hate to be so verbose, but unfortunately health care reform is complicated and difficult to summarize. I appreciate the additional information you provide. I of course was oversimplifying the pre-existing condition exclusions and you explained them very well. But it really does seem that the insurance companies have really turned up the heat on their customers in more recent years, nickel and diming them on technicalities and such, in hopes of simply not having to pay out, rather than more generally spreading the risk.

Not RoB BlagojeviTCH

Drudge, Beck, Malkin and all the racist Re-thugs LOVE it when videos like this one go viral. Then they don't have to say it: look at all these vicious black people killing each other. The video says it for them. He says it all when he talks about a girl walking out of a building where students have dragged the body of the victim. She's not crying so she must be another vicious, murderous negro. I live in Chicago and I saw the video. What I thought was how immoral it is that poor kids in America have to live under fire like people in a war zone. What other kids in America have to drag their pulverized friend to safety in the midst of a battle? These kids were innocent, caught in something that had nothing to do with them. But for them there's no escape. And Beck uses it to highlight black violence thinking no one can call him out as a racist for it. Well, Beck, why did you focus so intensely on one shell-shocked girl? Because to you she was no different than the rioters - because she too was black. Assh*le racist piece of sh*t.

Jumbled, cluttered, stupidly organized. I commented weeks ago but looks like "jumbled and cluttered" is the new "clean and reader-friendly".

Wouldn't it be great to see it on the stands and know that some idiots would actually buy the wrong book?

You're so right! I remember telling people back during the Clinton impeachment that this was all about fat ugly repugs in Congress who were jealous of Clinton because he was so attractive to women.

Hi-larious! (For those who may have missed it, it's one of the first letters.

As for Camille, the following sentence is the only true and intelligent utterance of your entire column:

"Republicans, on the other hand, have basically sat on their asses about healthcare reform for the past 20 years and have shown little interest in crafting legislative solutions to social inequities." [altho I would substitute "no" for "little"]

Right on ilanbarak. I would add there is this cringe inducing pride in being ignorant that is also on display, as if once the most pridefully ignorant of all - GWB - made Prezdint, it was okay to put one's own on full display.

And on the left, I agree. Since when do we - the smart ones - demand impossible instant results from our government, especially when it's finally in the hands of an excellent leader. Good results take time to develop and implement.

You do know that the drawing accompanying each article on Salon is a caricature of the AUTHOR, not the subject of the article, right? You spend enough time here to realize that, so we'll all assume that you just lookit the pwetty pitchers and then throw a bomb or two.