was the subject of a cartoon recently featured.

A few deer were standing in a small field completely surrounded by pollution-spewing factories and commenting that thinning their herd was not a solution in the face of the environmental destruction taking place. "We're not the ones needing thinning" was the reaction by the leader of the herd.

Obviously thinning the human population is not a serious solution but lessening the impact of human population on the environment is not only prudent, but absolutely necessary.

Whether we posses the intelligence to accomplish that remains to be seen but people like Palin greatly reduce our chances of maintaining a sustainable world.

The missing Obama birth certificate? This is a big joke put on by the foaming-at-the-mouth GOP loonies.

Let's talk about something of substance, like the landing of aliens in Roswell.

As a recent bypass surgery patient I was copied on the billing for services that the hospital submitted to my insurance provider.

The grand total on the original bill, slightly in excess of $275,000., was reduced by the insurance provider down to $175,000. This was the amount they paid and the hospital accepted that reduced amount as payment in full.

What kind of system allows a $275,000. billing to be paid off with such a reduced amount? Something is wrong here.

Where did the unpaid $100,000. go? Was it forgiven, or written off?

Does anyone audit this activity? Did the hospital overcharge or was the billing "reasonable" and able to cover actual costs and overhead?

A non-insured person would be liable for the full $275,000. amount with no option to negotiate a reduction. This is why too many basnkruptcies are caused by huge medical bills.

To say that our medical system is broken is not an exaggeration.

#1 Republicans prefer all-white neighborhoods, churches, and shopping areas.

#2 Welfare cheats are a very small minority (like GOP tax cheats?). Republicans want us tobelieve that welfare cheating is worse than tax cheating and that welfare cheating is epidemic.

#3 Banks were not "forced" to make loans. They saw huge profits to be made and they aggressively pushed loans.

#4 Loan documents grew from relatively simple forms to massive documents that only a CPA can fully understand. By your logic, only people with accounting degrees need apply for mortgages.

#5 Reagan's fear of government control set the stage for the economic disaster we are in today.

Republicans are rapidly becoming irrelevant. And, they still have not heard the message sent them by the voters in the past two elections.

If the GOP continues on its present path, the next election will surely flush them into the drain.

The USA has over 46,000,000 folks with no medical insurance, and our healthcare is ranked 37th in the world, and it is by far the most expensive in the world.

We spend huge amounts of money on unecessary military operations (why are we still in Germany and South Korea?) We fight stupid and very expensive wars (Vietnam, Iraq)

We allow the very wealthy to squirrel away cash in tax havens in offshore accounts and Swedish banks. American business spends millions on unneeded employee perks and writes off the cost.

And we have a Republican Party that screams "no taxes" yet when they are in control spending skyrockets.

Is it false to assume that sanity is lacking? Until we can fix these problems we are essentially becoming a failed state.

I guess we'll have to go back and remember who started the Iraq war and for what reasons. And then we'll remember how the war was managed and then we can remember the thousands of needlessly killed and wounded.

And then we can remember the destruction of Iraq and the incredible drain on America's resources and the loss of prestige that has cost us dearly.

As fun as all of this is, the absolute icing on the cake is the malfeaseance and wrongdoing that was done to justify illegal activity in the belief that the end justifies the means when fighting terror. The Constitution be damned.

Congress was fed poor and false intelligence by the branches of government entrusted with informing our legislators truthfully. This was not done. Rather, many of the agencies entrusted with this task were filled with GOP political operatives. Their mission was to fabricate intelligence to support an invasion of Iraq.

When looking at the voting record of the members of Congress we should remember that they voted out of the belief that Iraq posed an immediate nuclear threat and acted accordingly. Dick Cheney stated directly that Iraq has nuclear and biological weapons capability and an immedite invasion is needed.

It is absolutely necessary that we investigate the entire process, and if laws were broken along the way, the perpetrators must be prosecuted.

When Rush Limbaugh is hoisted as THE spokesperson for GOP values we know that pathetic Party is morally and ideologically bankrupt.

Get down on your knees and pray that the past eight years of disastrous performance by the Bush Administration has not put us beyond repair and recovery.

And, when you've graduated from high school you'll hopefully have learned one thing. Obama is not a Muslim.

The enemy of the American ideal is the blowhard that spews hate, lies, and divisivness in place of journalism.

with fear, lies, and discord. The rants of right-wing pundits (the GOP has no credible journalists, apparently) seem to be operating with the secret approval of the GOP.

Obama can stand in the sunshine and proclaim "it's a sunny day" and limbaugh will proclaim that Obama wants the white folks to get skin cancer.

An eight by eight foot cell will help him focus on quickliy answering questions about his past activities.

His penthouse mansion contains too many distractions.