you know that's hyperbole. You've got better ideas than that. (And I'l still reading the material!)

Medicare was voted in under the same cloud of accusations of socialism and doom. And it works. Sometimes good things happen for a good reason. Wanting to fix a gaping wound in our nation's health isn't a power grab, it's what governance SHOULD be doing.

The GOP could come up with alternatives, but they're not because THEY are looking at this as a power grab - to get back in power. That's understandable, but really, after the last 8 years - no one should be thinking they deserve it.

You are obviously very well-travelled. My offer stands.

Big YES.

I knew two people who died for lack of affordable health care. And I'll bet other posters know people suffering in one way or another, including some themselves. So I wouldn't go there if I were you. I wouldn't go there at all.

You give the democrats too much credit. We're the party of discombobulation - nothing Congress is doing now surprises me, even though it irks time and again. It was always thus. Remember Will Rogers? “I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"

Congressional Democrats were very available when it came to rubber stamping many of Bush's proposals. They get lonely if they're shut out; Republicans get ornery. It's all part of the Dems' wayward charm, and GOP's attack mode. Remember: Dems are the gas, Reps are the brake. They both have their role, but our drive to meet current events is what's needed now, or else we'll fail as a nation.

I assure you the Democrats are too busy figuring out what each other are doing to have serious designs on single-party rule, unlike Rove, inc.

ok, you went there you little worm. You'll speak up alright, but you'll do it with decency and humaneness. Who the fuck do you think you are coming on here and denigrating anybody's losses from healthcare problems? That's not a right or left wing problem, it's a human problem. Our humanity trumps our affiliation, or haven't you noticed, you little shit? (Pace nycgrrl) Do you have loved ones? Do you expect people to dump on you if you lose them? Is that your experience? Cause if it is, it's brought on by yourself.

You've got all the ability in the world to post your asinine nonsense on a left-leaning site, without getting banned. (Name one conservative site that would give libs an equal courtesy.) Speak up all you want, but honor the rules of human contact.

And name one liberal on here who, having heard you lost someone dear, would deign to tell you "bullshit" rather than "sorry to hear that". You've got a long way to go buster, and you're not going to make it without empathy, and decency.

You just answered Old Joe's description of losing a friend for lack of a liver transplant with a put-down. Are you not even aware of what you're saying?

Old Joe himself told you that you crossed a line with the "no one is dying because of lack of healthcare" junk. His friend did. My friends did too. That's what happens when talking points meet reality. Off-topic has nothing to do with it.

Your nonsense is across the board here. I don't need to step in it again. And you don't need to keep chasing my comments with your cut-and-paste non-sequiturs. Get your own goddamned words. And stay off my lawn.

That was a great Stewart moment, interviewing MacCaughey. Even better cause he aired the whole thing. He is a god and a mensch, in no particular order.

If I'm to expect squaresville to be civil, I must be too. So I apologize for being so harsh earlier about the unfortunate results of healthcare. I accept that squaresville didn't know he was potentially offending, and I'm sorry I suggested otherwise. No one would intentionally dismiss another's loss - I should have known that.

It's a raw nerve, as we all know. We've all lost someone. We all want good healthcare, just in different fashions. We will find a way to provide as a nation for everyone, left, right, rich, poor. That's who we are.

The most important thing we can do on this site is CONNECT. Whether like-minded or different-minded, we're all equal citizens of a country that will be forever learning how to better take care of its polyglot population. It's a bumpy, noisy process, but sometimes - we do get there.

As a lapsed Catholic from a predominately Catholic region, I can say:

The Catholic Church would be much happier if poor people were completely beholden to them. The Church isn't interested in giving people a leg-up; they want subjects, and the more of them (no birth-conrol thank you) and the poorer (South America is outreach heaven), the better.

The Church has some great sounds and smells, and a cool Latin liturgy if you can find it, but then it's got this absurd, recherche Pope who cares more about the wardrobe than you or me.

You may already be a weiner.

Thank you. Every time I get to London, it feels like the (civilized) center of the world. Before the pubs' closing time was relaxed, all the black cabs pouring out of Piccadilly Circus at 11PM felt like the globe taking a deep breath and exhaling.