While we have certainly examined this trend before, it seems we must keep revisiting it in hopes that, sooner or later, everyone will understand the very simple reason behind the GOP’s downward spiral.

It’s simple:

- All since January of this year: A staffer for Tennessee State Rep. Diane Black (R-Gallatin) sends out a racially insensitive email…she doesn’t apologize, and isn’t terminated.    Representative Roy Blunt (R-MO) tells a monkey joke at a the 2009 Values Voters Summit…and then makes it clear that he’s talking about President Obama.  Kansas Republican legislator Bill Otto puts a clip on YouTube called “Redneck Rap” where he criticizes the President and then refers to opossum as the “other dark meat.“  Diann Jones, a Texas GOP official, criticized a tax on guns as “Another terrific idea from the black house and its minions.“  Audra Shay, at the time running to be head of the Young Republicans, encouraged and laughed along with racist jokes on her Facebook page and made her own joke about Obama “in a noose“…even after these comments went public, she won the position.  GOP activist Rusty DePass responds to a news story about an escaped gorilla…joking that it is “just one of Michelle’s ancestors – probably harmless,“ and the Republican Party does not apologize.  The chairman of the RNC, Michael Steele, says that he is going to lure African-Americans to the Republican Party with “fried chicken.”  When asked why he is the only senior official from Louisiana not to rebuke a judge for refusing to marry an interracial couple, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) would only respond, “I don’t think that’s the case,” then got on an elevator, declining to make further comment.  Don’t wonder very long why many of the 40.9 million black people in the United States are not identifying themselves as Republicans.

- All since January of this year: Senator Kyl (R-AZ) says that maternity shouldn’t be covered by health insurance, because he and other men “don’t need it.“  Senator Al Franken (D-MN) sponsors his first bill, which states that government contractors that attempt to force female employees not to report harassment and rape, should be penalized…and 30 Republican senators vote AGAINST it.  Republican Robert F. McDonnell, the man running to become the governor of Virginia…wrote a thesis claiming that women should not work, and should stay in the home, and that government credits for child care expenses are part of the “problem.”  The National Republican Congressional Committee said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) should be “put in her place“…and not a single female Republican legislator (or male Republican legislator, for that matter) was willing to denounce the statement.  No fewer than three high ranking Republican “leaders” are discovered to be cheating on their wives, brazenly, and are all connected to the bizarre, “weirdly-Christian,” C Street house, where it appears infidelity was not only encouraged (using the justification that as ‘men of power,’ they DESERVED to do it), but it was also allowed to occur in the building and was covered up by other members.  Don’t wonder very long why many of the 150.6 million women in the United States are not identifying themselves as Republicans.

- All since January of this year: Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Justice Sonia Sotomayor a racist during the confirmation hearings…and another Republican made the “Ricky Ricardo” reference that she’d have “some ‘splainin’ to do.“  Former GOP congressman Tom Tancredo called Sotomayor a member of the “Latino KKK.”  The RNC put out a press release for Hispanic Heritage Month that had obviously just been run through a translator program and was rife with translation, grammatical, and spelling errors…and the ad they put out featuring prominent Hispanics, didn’t include Justice Sotomayor.  Two RNC officials defended Senator Jim DeMint’s failure to “bring home” funds to South Carolina…by saying he was just acting like “a jew” with our country’s “pennies.”  Representative Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) wrote the forward for a new book which claims there is a “Muslim conspiracy” to take over our government, and Myrick and other Republicans held a press conference to ask the Sergeant Of Arms of the Congress to investigate any Muslim interns.  Republican Representatives and Senators cheered on a Tea Party gathering in Washington, D.C…despite the fact that many protesters held sign bearing anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-foreigner slogans and images.  RNC Chair Michael Steele claimed, ridiculously, that gay marriage would hurt small businesses.  Representative Steve King (R-IA) said gay marriage is socialism…and later claimed that the Hate Crimes legislation to protect homosexuals would protect other, what he called, “perversions“…and then he compared homosexuality to bestiality, necrophilia, and pedophilia.  Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is now trying to get gays to support him in the fight against health care reform…despite the fact that he has called the “gay agenda” the “greatest threat to our freedom that we face today,” and also once said, “Lesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they’ll only let one girl go to the bathroom. Now think about it. Think about that issue. How is it that that’s happened to us?“  Don’t wonder very long why many of the 44.3 million Hispanics…and the 5.5 million Jews…and the 8.8 million gay/bisexual/transgendered people…and the 6.5 million Muslims in the United States are not identifying themselves as Republicans.

And these incidents…are just the SOME of the RECENT ones involving politicians and other political officials.  I’m not even including the race-baiting and fearmongering from the presidential campaign, nor any of the numerous incidents involving the right-wing media.

In the end…it’s simple mathematics.  Each of us was taught in grade school that America is a “melting pot.“  The problem is…it’s not stirred very well.  There are clumps: enclaves of single-race, single-religion, single-creed people all across this country.  Within those caches of homogeneity, people often fall into the simple trap of forgetting that, while within their clique all may share very similar profiles and opinions…the rest of the nation varies considerably.  For example, when you have lived most of your life in a small town or suburb where everyone is white, goes to the same evangelical church, votes Republican, watches FOX News, and opposes homosexuality…it may be hard to imagine that there are a VAST number of American who are not white, go to some other church (or don’t attend at all), vote Democrat (or Independent, or not at all), think only fools watch FOX News, and support (or simply show tolerance towards) gays.

Those people also live in America, and millions of others representing every possible race, ethnicity, sexuality, creed, and lifestyle…and they are full citizens with full lives, equal rights, and one vote apiece.  And forgetting that they vote, not just in the polling place but with their wallets, will lead to the continued withering of the Republican Party.  It’s simple math…and simple politics…and there’s no excuse for the GOP not knowing this.

Only four categories this week…but lots of links, so let’s get started…

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• We’ve all been witness to the GOP’s recent “enlightenment” regarding the nation’s debt.  For the last eight years, while they held the reins of Congress, the rampant government spending was “absolutely necessary.”  Now: It’s the equivalent of kicking our grandchildren in the teeth.  Or, as Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) recently put it, it’s the equivalent of “waterboarding” them.  Coburn said, “We’re going to waterboard them.  We’re going to flood them with debt.“  Senator Coburn was referring to a program funding the study of political science, which Coburn claims is not necessary…since people can learn all that they need to know about politics from CABLE NEWS.  It’s suddenly quite obvious where HE learned most of what HE knows about it…
• It’s an established fact that Republicans have had some difficulty adjusting to the “internet age“…perhaps best displayed by the fact that most of them don’t seem to realize that if they say something that directly contradicts what they said one year ago, the clip of both statements will be on YouTube before the day is out.  Want to see a slideshow of the “Top Nine Republican Internet Fails?”  Here you go…
• The number one problem with allying oneself with a minority of loud, activist, ignorant, and unreasonable people…is that you suddenly lose the support of the much larger body of normal, moderate, sane folks.  Want to see what happens if you try to win the moderate people back by behaving like a reasonable human being, open to compromise and the good ideas of others?  Watch here as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) finds out what happens when the lunatics figure out that you are not really one of them:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP7nCyqMTsE

• Liz Cheney is not quite done fighting her father’s battles…no matter how many times she appears on discussion panels and is identified as having the foreign policy knowledge of a teenager.  Now she has formed the “Keep America Safe” organization, whose mission statement claims to support “an unapologetic approach to fighting terrorism around the world, for victory in the wars this country fights, for democracy and human rights, and for a strong American military that is needed in the dangerous world in which we live.“  Ms. Cheney…first of all, even if we look only at the fact that planes have not crashed into buildings this year, President Obama ALREADY has a better track record than your father had, in terms of keeping the country safe.  Secondly, Obama has succeeded in gaining international allies in the struggle against terrorists…allies that your father helped to alienate.  And third, well, I think the DNC put it best in their response: “Last fall, the American people overwhelmingly rejected a radical foreign policy authored by Dick Cheney that alienated our allies, emboldened our enemies, depleted our resources, distracted our focus and made the nation less secure. The Cheneys lost that debate and their approach was deemed a failure. The Cheneys can continue to focus on securing their sullied legacy if they want to. But, the President will continue to focus on securing the country.“  Exactly.
• Retaining his crown as “King of the Bizarre Analogy,” RNC Chariman Michael Steele said in a recent FOX interview that he feels like…well…health care reform is a “train,” and President Obama is the conductor, and Obama is trying to get all the Republicans to get on board, and Steele sees himself as a “cow on the tracks.“  Ok, sure.
• I mentioned in a previous post, one way that you know that the GOP is focused on simply OPPOSING EVERYTHING is when a number of GOP legislators vote against Senator Franken’s first bill:  a bill protecting rape victims, working for companies with government contracts.  Here’s Jon Stewart, who points out what should be an obvious truth: “If, to protect Halliburton, you have to side against rape victims, you might want to rethink your allegiances.“

• It recently came to light, in part because of the work done by the National Women’s Law Center, that in eight states, insurance companies can and do consider being the victim of spousal abuse a “pre-existing condition” that allows them to deny coverage.  State and Federal representatives from most of the eight states expressed immediate embarrassment and outrage over the situation, and most have already taken steps to remedy the matter. But not Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.).  When the president of the National Women’s Law Center, Marcia Greenberger, appeared before a Senate committee to discuss the issue, Burr thought it appropriate to repeatedly interrupt and otherwise disrespect her:

Greenberger:  If I could get back to your question about the specific examples: they manifest themselves in many different ways. For example, if a woman ends up in an emergency room with cuts, bruises, broken arms, black eyes, typical injuries that result from domestic violence, we know of instances where women are being denied insurance coverage and neither the insurance company…

Burr: My question…

Greenberger: …doesn’t view that…

Burr: …is specifically about North Carolina…

Greenberger: …and I’m trying to answer that…

Burr: …and the insurance commissioner tells me we haven’t had a case. We haven’t had anybody…

Greenberger: Well, I’m trying to explain. First, I think it’s great that he is now explicitly having a rule, which as our report pointed out, didn’t exist before. So that’s really excellent, because of the way insurance companies deal with this issue in particular. They will often deny the coverage of victims and survivors of domestic violence without saying that that’s the reason…

Burr: …I’m just going by your report…

Greenberger: You asked the question about did we follow up and we did.

Burr: Well, I found more information in my one call to North Carolina than I think your report did.

• Again? Representative Bill Otto (R-Kansas) has obviously not been paying attention.  First he puts a video on YouTube titled “Redneck Rap” where he raps (and badly) his various criticisms of President Obama, and about eating opossum, which he calls “the other dark meat.“  This obviously drew allegations of racism (at a minimum it is childish, insensitive, and inane), and eventually the clip was removed from the site.  And now…Otto says he’s going to repost the video, because it was his adult daughters who took the video down, and also because he fears that “People are going to think that this was done by people to shut me up.  I’m getting hate e-mails from Maryland to California, but, hey, that’s part of the game.“  Mr. Otto:  It’s not a game, it’s civil service and YOU are an elected official, jackass.  Next time, listen to your daughters…and try to learn from the lessons of other, like the OTHER Kansas legislator who just recently got in a heap of trouble for saying that the GOP is looking for a “great white hope” to defeat Obama.

THE MEDIA -- PUNDITS, HACKS, AND OTHER INVETERATE LIARS:

• Want the “short version” of the merry war between the White House and FOX News?  Here goes…

WHITE HOUSE: FOX News serves as the propaganda arm of the Republican Party.

BILL O’REILLY: Nuh uh…

MEDIA MATTERS: Umm…it’s pretty obvious, guys…

GLENN BECK: The administration is like the Nazis…and we’re the Jews!

NEW STUDY: Not only is it true, but we found something interesting:  Most of the anti-Obama forces aren’t particularly racist…the only thing they have in common is they all watch FOX News, and because of this…they believe some pretty outlandish sh-t.

• It’s fun picking on CNN’s inability to both perform research and report news.  It’s especially fun…if you’re Jon Stewart of The Daily Show:

• Remember the rather bizarre reactions from some members of the media when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize?  Well, Rachel Maddow thinks it can all be explained by “Obama Derangement Syndrome:“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMJuEOaF84o

THE HEALTH CARE CARNIVAL OF DESPAIR:

• By now you’ve heard that the Senate Finance Committee managed to pass the “Baucus Bill.“  You also heard that Republican Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) voted along with the Democrats to send the bill on.  And recently, it may have come to your attention that another Maine Republican, Senator Susan Collins, may also lend her support for the bill.  Well, MoveOn.org, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the AFL-CIO, and the Communications Workers of America would like to remind you:  it’s a CRAPPY bill, that would make a mountain of money for the insurance companies, would change little in the way they do business, and would NOT serve to get all of America’s uninsured the health care coverage that they need.  In fact…any OTHER House and Senate version might just be a better choice.
• Thank you, Captain Obvious: The most ridiculously unnecessary headline in health care reform news comes courtesy of The Washington Post:  “Health Insurers Emerge as Obama’s Top Foe in Reform Effort.” That’s right….”emerging“…as if it weren’t always the case.
• Think only our elected officials are in the pocket of the health insurance industry…but our stalwart media will be there to keep us informed of the truth regarding the health care debate.  Maybe not. CNN contributor, Alex Castellanos…has been revealed to be connected at the hip with America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the monolithic insurance lobby currently (and ferociously) campaigning to kill reform legislation.
• You don’t generally hear about “progressive faith groups,” but the American Values Network aims to change that.  They are currently releasing ads…emphasizing the moral and religious arguments supporting heath care reform.  It’s not a difficult argument to make, and represents one of the best examples of “fighting fire with fire” that we have seen in a long time.
• Is it obvious that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has a new book out?  Not only has he been making the usual talk show rounds, but he also managed to inject a little sanity into the health care debate.  Of right-wing assertions that the Obama plan represents “socialized medicine” and warrants comparisons to Britain, Canada, and France, Frist said on C-SPAN, “What the Obama administration is doing is not socialized medicine.  Socialized medicine is where the government owns the hospitals, owns the doctors, and decides how people get paid.“  Yes…thank you…finally…is everybody listening?

MISCELLANY:

• In Lakeville, Massachusetts, someone carved a swastika and the word “Obama” into a golf course green.  The course manager believes that someone used either a cleated golf shoe or some other tool to perform the vandalism.  Strange…one would certainly think that America’s golfers have had some extra time to get used to the idea of having a very popular, half African-American leader.
• NEW HERO: Dylan Ratigan hosts the “Morning Meeting” show on MSNBC, and lately has shown to be a tough, bright host…who knows how to play hardball.  In a recent interview with Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ratigan responded to Donohue’s attempts to claim that free, unfettered enterprise has the solutions to all problems by saying, “unless the government and people like you that lobby to the exemptions that allow banks to [speculate with taxpayer money] get out of the way, we will never have fair play again in this country and we’ll have job creation by virtue of taxpayer theft, which is ultimately destructive, and I would argue, treasonous to this country.“  When Donohue complained that, in essence, it’s harder to spread economic propaganda when the host asks hard questions, Ratigan responded, “Yes, it is.  Especially when you talk nonsense.“
• Oh no they didn’t: The White House decided to take a play out of the “Sarah Palin Media Strategy” book, when confronted with the mounting criticism in the blogosphere regarding the administration’s failure to achieve civil rights goals for gay citizens.  NBC White House Correspondent John Harwood reported, “For a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn’t take this opposition, one adviser told me today those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely-divided country is complicated and difficult.“  Caaaarefullll.  Remember the role bloggers played getting Obama into the White House?  UPDATE: The White House would like to disavow those comments…never happened…nothing to see here.

Now what could we possibly add to all that?  As CNN would say, we’ll “leave it there” for now…and see you back here on Monday.

So…I’ll skip my usual narrative and get right into a summary of recent developments:

DEATH, DEATH, AND HOW ABOUT A LITTLE MORE DEATH:

• Death Panels: It started out as a simple provision, to require insurance companies to reimburse you for having a conversation with you doctor about living wills, hospice, requesting treatment, and refusing treatment.  Republicans inaccurately labeled this provision as “euthanasia” and said it was the equivalent of “the government pulling the plug on Grandma.”  We discovered…a co-sponsor of the provision…yup, a Republican.  Then we find out…there’s an identical provision in the Medicare bill from recent years, and most of the Republicans…SUPPORTED IT.  And now it is revealed…that even some private insurers have such a policy provision (look where it says “Choose an Advance Directive to designate the kind of care you wish to receive should you become unable to express your wishes.“).  That’s right -- insurance companies have “death panels!“
• Have you heard about the “new” thing to be afraid of?  The “DEATH BOOK.“  Michael Steele and other Republicans have been charging that the Obama administration has published a book for our soldiers and veterans…encouraging them to commit suicide.  Steele has said, “I mean, this is crazy coming from the government, and this is exactly what concerns people and puts them in fear of what the government control of health care will look like.“  There are just a few problems with this claim:  First…the book was actually instituted during the Bush administration.  And secondly, the book, titled “Your Life, Your Choices: Planning for Future Medical Decisions” does absolutely nothing to prompt veterans to end their lives.  The book merely informs vets how to set up living wills and advance directives, should they become incapacitated and therefore unable to communicate their medical wishes.  The White House has responded with a fact sheet and a timeline to refute these claims…apparently still unaware that opponents are not interested in facts OR timelines.

THE REPUBLICAN PLAN:

• Remember when the Republicans put out their own “Economic Stimulus Plan“…the one that had no actual figures, no specific programs or plans?  Remember how the media, even the conservative media, pounced on them for releasing such an embarrassingly deficient document?  Well, as proof that some people never learn, the GOP has now released it’s own “health care plan” in the form of a “seniors’ health care bill of rights.“  It opposes any cutting of costs to Medicare (despite the fact that it is a huge, socialized, government-run health care program with quite a bit of waste that COULD and SHOULD be cut).  It also says that the government should not “ration” seniors’ care…despite the fact that no one is TRYING to ration seniors’ care.  Lastly, it opposes government getting in between seniors and their doctors…which, AGAIN, nobody is proposing.  Wow.  A plan that protects Medicare against two threats that don’t exist, and prevents making the program more cost efficient…while at the same time the plan offers no suggestions on how to IMPROVE anything?  Nice work…
• When asked, on Fox News, why the Republicans didn’t do anything to improve Health Care in this country over the years that they held a solid congressional majority, Michael Steele offered: “I don’t have an idea… That’s one of the flaws of the past, that we tripped ourselves up . We had a perfect opportunity even when we didn’t have control of the House and Senate during the early days of Bush first term to at least put in place our imprimatur on the health care debate But that’s the past.“  Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) had a similar excuse: “Now, I don’t know why the leadership — I came to the Senate in 2005. I can’t account for the five years before that. But the fact is, is they didn’t take advantage of any of the opportunities they had to make big changes, and they could have done this and they should have, but they didn’t.“  The truth is, of course, it’s not that Republicans somehow just “forgot” to do health reform legislation…it’s that they DON’T WANT health reform legislation (and don’t want us to realize it).  Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) was a bit more forthright on the subject when he just came out and said that the GOP’s plan is to oppose the reforms, slow the process as much as possible, weaken the bill as much as possible, and they will compromise nothing.  Enzi’s constituents have pointed out the other cause for the Republicans’ universal disregard for health care reform…they are protesting the sizeable contributions Enzi has received from insurance companies to make sure that these companies don’t have to compete against a Public Option.
• I Rest My Case: With regard to the claims I made in the previous item…Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, admits that he has not even read the health reform bill, does not know what is in the bill, but will still VOTE AGAINST IT.
• Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN), as always, has presented a most realistic and effective means towards achieving the GOP goal of defeating health care reform:  fasting and prayer.  Bachmann urged, “That’s really where this battle will be won -- on our knees in prayer and fasting.  Remember: faith without works is dead. So we’re asking you to do all of it: pray, fast, believe, trust the Lord, but also act.“  She also dredged up the “Death Panel” nonsense, saying, “Thank God that Sarah Palin said that…These are true.” Ohhh-kayyyy.

A MAN NAMED BAUCUS:

• When it came to the Medicare Bill…Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said he gave up one negotiating with Senator Grassley (R-IA) when it was clear that too many concessions were being made in exchange for too little Republican support.  At the time, Baucus said, “I walked away from Senator Grassley. I tend to work with Senator Grassley. But there comes a time when you just gotta say, ‘Sorry.’ These things get watered down too much, it’s just not right, so I just broke with him on that and pushed through a Medicare bill that finally got 60 votes. We had to work hard to get those 60, because Grassley didn’t agree, but that was the right thing to do. So when Ted Kennedy walked on the floor to cast the 60th vote, that’s a moment I’ll always treasure.“  So why now, on the Health Care Reform Bill, does Baucus seem willing to give away the entire candy store to satisfy Grassley…when Grassley is publicly making wildly false claims about the bill, and can promise NO Republican support…not even his own?
• Maybe the fact that Democrats are considering a measure to vote Baucus out of his chairmanship has caused him to change his tune.  Now, Baucus says…he’s in favor of the Public Option (which he had previously given up as a concession to Grassley), that the Public Option is still on the table, and…no, he DOES NOT trust the private insurance companies to police themselves.

THE NEW DEMOCRATIC STRATEGY:

• Let me see if I follow this: there’s a new Democratic strategy afoot.  The House and Senate Bills could go through the reconciliation process, thereby requiring only 51 votes to pass, not the 60 vote “filibuster-proof” majority in the Senate.  However, in the application of what is called the “Byrd Rule,” any portions of the bill that would substantially change funding would have to be separated out into smaller bills (this would include the Medicare items in the bill and the Public Option).  BUT…a totally distinct vote requiring 60 votes could be held to waive the Byrd Rule…allowing the WHOLE Health Care Reform package to pass with only 51 votes.  And why would some Republicans who would not vote for the Health Care Reform Bill, vote in favor of waiving the Byrd Rule?  Well…they say it’s just smart politics, in this article.
• Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) has called for the health care reform legislation to be named after the recently-deceased Senator Ted Kennedy…seeing as it had been Kennedy’s passion throughout his career.  Some think doing so…might “stiffen Democrats’ spines” or even “win over some Republicans.“  We will see…I remain skeptical on BOTH ideas.

HOW NOT TO HANDLE A TOWN HALL MEETING:

• How NOT To Handle A Town Hall Meeting: Representative Wally Herger, (R-CA) was holding a town hall, when one of the attendees proudly proclaimed that he was a, “proud right-wing terrorist.“  Instead of responding appropriately and responsibly, Herger replied: “Amen, God bless you.  There is a great American.“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yw060QwkUE

• How To Handle A Town Hall Meeting: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) held his town hall, and when one participant would not stop yelling and disrupting, the senator warned her, “You’re going to have to stop or you’re going to have to leave.“  When the woman failed to comply and security guards began escorting her from the meeting, the Senator McCain quipped, “Goodbye, see ya.“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BIlVGzziQk

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Representative Pete Stark, (D-CA) seemed to hit the nail on the head when he referred to the newly-introduced and poorly-defined health care co-op suggestions as a “medical unicorn.“  He elaborated: “There aren’t many of you listening who remember the co-ops in the ’30s, which was kind of a Roosevelt outfit, rural electric co-ops, phone co-ops.  But, as I say, there is no real example of either the regulation, or how you would establish them, or where they would get enough people to have a purchasing base. So you might as well talk about unicorns. You know, what is a medical unicorn? My kids all know what a unicorn is. But you don’t. You have never seen one. So I think this co-op is just a way of ducking the issue of having the public plan.“
• Meet Wendell Potter: Former head of corporate communications for Humana and then for Cigna…now ashamed when he hears the lies and scare tactics that he once helped to set in motion.  The man has a lot to say that is well worth hearing.
• Interesting: I have certainly made “Post Office -- Health Care” analogies before…but this writer goes the extra mile.  In short: The Postal Service is an inexpensive, valuable, reliable, socialized program…and when anyone even talks about closing someone’s local post office, everyone in the community goes absolutely ape.  Why can’t more people see the comparison between what the Postal System “IS” and what the Health Care System “COULD BE.“

Stay tuned tomorrow for our weekly “Chaos Theory” edition, where I round up all the news that’s fit to print.