for discussion: Reading the last post in the "obama thread ( space alien? or ugandan mercenary? )"Asking if blackjack was still around, made me think about how that thread tore a gap in our group. After Watching CNN Correspondant Susan Roegten(sp?) dress down the teaparty demonstrators I turned cnn off for good. after seeing Jeneane Garafalo do the same on Olberman simply dismissing our views as "ignorant racist americans who don't have any idea what they are protesting, I turned off msnbc. I have maintained these self imposed fasts.(boycotts); and wallowed in extreme positions on the fringes of the net On fox today they covered a townhall meeting on healthcare in Lebanon P.A.given by Arlen specter(D). Specter handed out 30 numbered cards. Though it started with one irate gentleman who came prepared to speak and was livid he did not get a #. He was given afew seconds to speak before leaving. Though he was approached by uniformed security, he was offered a chance to leave. He was not tased and drug writhing from the room,Specter let him speak.The 30 questions taken in order were presented in a thoughtful, articulate manner, and removed any "rightwing nutjob" fodder from the fire being stoked (from both sides) in this debate. Senator Specter answered most questions,to the satisfaction of the questioners, he fell back on a couple of political escape mechanisms;one of the His fallback position was(paraphrasing)"the Senate has not produced a "bill", what People are arguing is the vaguely worded house bill.. So now he knows (andother senators who watch know the "raw" spots in the house proposal). My problem, I don't believe him ( Or Obama) when he quickly dismisses somes concerns as :" death boards" that won't happen" , after all this congress will eventually be replaced by the next. I learned more without all the hot blooded fire spitting rhetoric...I'm not saying the political right, conservatives, constuitionalists, Americans who share "our" views are wrong, "bad, ignorant,racist nutjobs", but An honest calm exchange on both sides could back us from the edge of the precipice we are peering over. I still don't understand hard left blogger opinions, but I think my frustration at being offhandly dismissed has abated some. We can always ratchet civil disobedience up the ladder,When the guns come out of the closet, we have started down a road it may be impossible to veer from. I still want the gov out of our lives,and fear them dictating every aspect and acessing our personal accounts and records.... I don't know if this kind of more moderate exchange will in the end affect the legislature. http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/index.html
