I can relate to your fear. I don't have children, but I spent a weekend with my nephews recently, the 6 year old is typical of 6 year olds... active, impulsive. We took him to a mall to shop for his birthday present, and I was careful to make sure that we knew which of us was watching him. But I went off to find something for him to drink (he was thirsty), and of course he followed me instead of staying with his appointed caretaker. There he was, wandering through a mall, just waiting to be grabbed or wander into a store. He was never in real danger, but it makes me fear being in charge of him for even a day. They move so fast. I don't know how parents do it all day every day.

SOMEBODY has to pay, right? Tragic accidents don't just happen, right? Drivers who fall asleep at the wheel because they are working three jobs in order to support their family must pay if they kill somebody in an accident. Parents who, throught forgetfulness or exhaustion harm their children have to be penalized by the law and society, insane, overwhelmed mother's who kill their children must be jailed for life (actually, this applies to any insane person who kills or attempts to kill). We live in a puritanical society. Anybody who makes a mistake, or who victimizes another, regardless of whether they were able to know right from wrong, is guilty and must wear a scarlet letter for life.

It seems to have been headline news and promoted on every web site for the past week and a half. Meanwhile, Obama is saying that we're losing in Afghanistan, right wingers are saying that we should just let banks fail and have the chips fall where they may (by the way ... we're the chips), more and more evidence is piling up that we are in the worst recession since the big one (aka "the Depression"), even Obama says that his stimulus bill is probably not going to make things better, Zimbabwe has a new leader, and ... well, there are other stories - probably more than I know about because STEM CELLS HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR STORY FOR A WEEK.

I'm not suggesting that stem cell research should be ignored. This is a significant event. But it's really not worth the attention it's getting, at the expense of other majorly newsworthy stories.

A feudal system would absolutly thrill right wingers. It's a perfect reflection of their existing authoritarian structure, anyway. The "leaders" would have all of the land and power, the "serfs" would be cared for by their authoritarian leaders, the church would control knowledge and make sure that the peasants didn't learn things that confused them and endangered their souls. Everybody would be happy, just like they were in the middle ages.

It does happen to older people. He used to be a rational person, but he seems to have lost that ability in recent months. The quotes I read indicated that these people actually are aware that both shareholders and others will suffer, but they don't care. I'm betting that they aren't the ones suffering. I've been banking at BofA for many years, and don't intend to take out my money now, but talk like this gives me pause and could result in a run on various banks. I've heard people talking about moving their money to credit unions already. It's irresponsible to suggest to people that their banks might be allowed to fail. What are they thinking?

Except... that given how many people have pre-existing conditions or "high-risk" health issues (smoking, drinking, weight problems, a preference for extreme sports) it is unlikely that any health plan will be able to exclude anybody who does not meet the criteria you describe to attain health care. And none of the existing health care systems in the world exclude people for participating in high-risk behavior. As a society we have already proven our willingness to support the elderly with medical care, as every nation with national health does. The entire notion that we will develop a system that rations health care based on a person's actions is ludicrous and paranoid, although, in your defense, I can see how you might believe it. That's the straw man being set up by the right.

And oddly, I read a number of very liberal sites, and I have never heard the term "worthless breeder". I did a quick web search, and the term seems to be used mostly in reference to people who breed animals irresponsibly. Perhaps you've been hanging about in animal rights forums and gotten a bit confused?