"Appeasement rarely works as a conflict resolution strategy,” Boehner wrote.

Except that we are not seeing any attempt at conflict resolution. This is an all-out war by the Republicans and republican-democrats on the very concept of reform itself. The second best outcome for them is that things stay exactly as they are. The BEST outcome is that they can somehow find a way to steer even more money away from healthcare into the pockets of their campaign finance masters. The 50 million uninsured? The pre-existing condition denied? Fuck 'em!

To me, Boehner's letter translates as "Dudes! What's up? We're working on a plan to make sure you could have fucked the American people over to your heart's content. Now, you're gonna have to give a 10 percent discount, and you didn't even have to."

If the Republicans had ANY interest in reforming the system, if they had even the SLIGHTEST regard for the welfare of the American people, they had eight solid years in which to achieve it. What we got was a colossal fuck up of a "war on terror," for which, as I'm sure you will all remember, Fox News organized tea baggers and town hell mobs to scream at the top of their outraged lungs, "How are we going to pay for it!" Oh, wait, they didn't. These fiscally conservative assholes didn't say jack shit about that, unless it was to shout down people like me who were raising the question.

I weep for the day Obama ever dreamed he could restore bipartisanship to this country. He got all the mandate he needed in the election. We just need to fix the damn country and leave the morons to scream their idiotic screams.

That was a well-reasoned, point by point rebuttal. But you missed a few things.

1. Palin said that "Obamacare" would lead to rationing. Rationing already exists. 1 and 6 Americans have no care at all. The remainder have their care denied all the time. Palin claims the current rationing system is moral and that Obama's rationing would be evil. Please explain the difference to us Godless heathens.

2. Everything she said about "Obamacare" is something she either completely made up, or deliberately misinterpreted. Since what she said is a lie and doesn't exist, why should I be afraid of it?

3. Haven't you ever noticed yet that everything Uncle Rush and Fox has told you for the past decade and more has turned out to be completely untrue? No WMDs, the Clintons did not do any of the things Fox and Rush brayed about, Saddam did not attack us on 9/11. The list goes on. Everything they told you, it hasn't been true. Don't you ever get tired of following them off into nowhere?

Very well said. Divvying up. We have 100 gallons of water in a barrel and a desert to cross. The barrel is leaking, and President Obama wants to plug the leak as he promised. For some reason, this has driven many people into a blind fury. He will plug that leak over their dead bodies. Or his. They can think of no greater tyranny than attempting to plug that barrel.

The barrel has now lost 33 gallons; we have 66 gallons left and we haven't even started crossing the desert. Palin's crowd grows even more furious, insisting that the barrel is just fine.

With the diminished water, we start to cross the desert, and it is obvious that we must be very careful with the remaining water and divide it carefully. Palin's crowd screams that this is rationing. They continue to ignore the fact that the barrel is leaking. To them, the barrel is able to sustain the leaking and also be endlessly self-replenishing. Therefore, no rationing is necessary; to suggest otherwise is unpatriotic. Dividing the water is fascism and socialism. It is downright evil; where's the respect for life?

Sounds real keen, but they don't mean it, not a word. They couldn't care less as long as they get their water. Because the real plan is that 1 out of 6 people crossing the desert will have to do so with no water at all. They may die of thirst in the desert, but at least the water wasn't rationed. Because that would be wrong. That would be evil.