Politics

No problem. I'll switch it over. I did notice that yesterday. :-)

For kicks and giggles I'll do a little math too. Here's a couple of figures I'll just throw out there first. In his presidential remarks to a joint session of Congress President Obama stated that under the new health care reform that it will help insure over 30 million Americans who had previously gone without insurance coverage.

(Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ )

Several reports done by news, health organizations, and health providers show that in 2009 the average cost of insurance per single person was approximately $5,000 dollars, while family premiums hovered around $13,000 dollars.

(Source: http://www.usatoday.com/money )

Now let's do some math!! If you take $5,000 plus $13,000, you get= $18,000 dollars. Now divide that by 2 and you get the average cost of insurance premiums per person in the United States for 2009. Which is $9,000 dollars. Let's take this number out for a spin.

Let's just consider half. Not even anywhere close to Obama's figures, but just half of those he says this reform will now cover. 15 million people. 15 million new people paying insurance. How much will that generate in revenue for hundreds, if not thousands of companies, doctors, dentists, hospitals, etc. Let's just add it up and see. Let's assume that 15 million people pay out the average cost of premiums from 2009 at $9,000 dollars per person. Drumroll....

You get $135,000,000,000.00. That's right. You're looking at actual dollars that can be generated from just half of the figure Obama states will now be covered. That's one hundred thirty-five Billion dollars of revenue for our economy.

Now, just for kicks and giggles let's play a little more math time. Times that figure times two and you get the expected revenue from the entire 30 million insured. That brings the overall revenue (yearly) to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

I don't need to explain exactly how this helps everyone do I. From the plastics corporations who manufacture the tubes for syringes, to the staff at your local hospital, the dentists who save the tooth you didn't think would make it, to the carseat you have to purchase for a bouncing baby boy.

I have belief in my president, and I have faith in his policies. I want them to work because America needs them to work so very badly. You can argue that 17,000 agents cost so much annually, but I know he has a reason. I know it must be a good one at that. He has promised fiscal responsibility, growth, and I believe him. I know you do not, but I do.

Entertainer? How frightening that this is true. He spews hatred and racism and his follower applaud. He would love to see our country fail, just because his party isn't in charge. He's nothing more than an egomaniac with a radio show.

Although it is so historic to me to have lived during what I consider a fascinating time in American history when we elected what I hope will be the first of many Presidents that are not white, the fact remains that when I look at Obama I see two things. I see a man who honestly wants to affect real and good change in this country. Whether he'll accomplish it is up to him and history. The second thing I see is a husband and father. Honestly, I don't know who I admire more. The President or the family man who just wants a better tomorrow for his children and theirs too. For those of us who think and open our minds freely their is vast opportunity in this life, and for those who can't or won't their is always ignorance and misunderstanding. Unfortunately ignorance is hard to get rid of when generation after generation they breed and teach it to their own children, and tell them that that type of behavior is not only acceptable, but a way of life. It's just plain ignorance. And unfortunately their is to date no cure. Which is why so many will only ever be able to look at Barack Obama and never see past the color of his skin.

I have always had much more of a liberal view of government, and therefore I do vote democrat more often than any other party, but I will not exclude a candidate simply because of his party. I voted for many democrats, several republicans, and I believe 3 or 4 independents. I do not believe in blindly following a particular party just because I consider myself a democrat. If I come to believe that someone else can do a better job, then they'll have my vote. And you are absolutely right. Following blindly is something I wholeheartedly believe only leads to submission of the mind, and forfeiture of thought. All politicians need to understand that they are their not only to BE our voice, but to HEAR it as well. And as Lyndon B. Johnson once said "You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'."

Tomegun, I did notice the primary responses. I know they consider him an entertainer, but my question was limited in space so I unfortunately had to be a little vague. Let me clarify. I wanted to know if Rush's base, the conservatives of America truly support him on all of his talking points. With that in mind it is actually Rush himself that decides the talking points here as everything he brings to point on his radio show is then opened up for interpretation and discussion. I also know that this has been discussed before, but I have not been able to discuss it myself at length with others on this site. I thank you for your thoughts though, and I agree. If what he has said in the past does not qualify him as a racist then you are absolutely correct. What does qualify? Does one really have to use the "n" word before it's just not okay with the American public? Or perhaps just his supporters? I don't mind that people support him on his political views, but don't tell me that you don't think he's a racist or that he's never used such racial comments to describe how he really feels. That's not even ignorance any more, that's just plain stupidity. When you can go to sites like youtube, FOX (yes FOX NEWS), MSNBC, and others and play videos of him SAYING this over his own broadcast, how can you honestly look another human being in the face and say anything to the contrary. It's nothing more than denial by his supporters. I myself supported a local city councilman in my hometown of Athens, Texas. I even allowed him to hang posters in my grandmother's cafe, but the moment I found out that he had said something derogatory at one of the city's council meetings, those posters came down and I told him to his face that he had lost my vote. As it turned out that fall, he had lost more than just mine, and suffered a landslide defeat. There are consequences to the actions and words we use. I just wish others were not so blinded by their support of an individual that they allow themselves to follow someone like sheep to the slaughter. Sorry, but I won't have the wool pulled over my eyes. I see him for exactly what he is. And an entertainer he is not.

This may surprise you, but I have voted for a Republican several times in my life. I don't always go with a democrat simply because he or she is affiliated with the party I believe shares most of my ideals and beliefs. I vote for the person I believe can handle the job, make changes that matter, and basically won't screw it up. As for Barney Frank, I have no idea if I would vote for him. First of all he has made as you said some questionable remarks and decisions during his terms in office that I have a real problem with, and secondly he resides not only in a different district, but in an entirely different state. The same can be said for Nancy Pelosi, but I would go even one step further to say she would NEVER have my vote. Although my ideals are very liberal I consider her to be what I call an Ultra-Liberal, and that just scares me. I believe government sometimes needs to step in and solve certain issues, but it should never be the only solution to every problem in America. I don't know what you mean by black entertainers. Sorry. Could you be more specific about which entertainers you are referring? Although I can sympathize with the feelings and thoughts of a race of people who only 50 years ago still had to use a different set of bathrooms and the "n" word was still a common reference to their race, I believe older entertainers still look back on these times and use this type of feelings for their current material. I cannot be so sympathetic with the younger crowd, but can to a degree. I'm certainly not empathizing with the thought that it's okay for them to say some of the things they say on stage or what have you, but as I said before to a degree some have still had experiences that in my mind justify to a point the things they believe and share with their audiences. It's not for us to judge them for how they feel when we have no real idea of what it's like to incur comments, suggestions, or actions that define our own race. I have never been called cracka, whitebread, or any other derogatory term by any african-american in my life, but I have personally seen and heard a friend of mine called the "n" word by a group of my own race. I'm not saying it's right for a black entertainer to say certain things while on-stage, but by that same accord I certainly can't condemn them for it either. Racism is an ugly tree that takes deep roots among even a nation as civilized as America, and rarely lets go.

Now, whether or not Rush Limbaugh knows that some of the "facts" that he reports on his show are actually bogus and founded on no real basis at all is unknown to me. I can't say whether he deliberately makes these statements that are so profoundly false that it would seem as though at some point he would begin to question who is actually performing this research? Not to mention that he should seriously consider confirming these types of reports before declaring them to be facts on a national broadcast platform like his radio show. Here are just a few examples of the unbelievably stupid, racist, and sexist remarks he has made on his broadcast.

"Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream."

"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed."

"They're 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?"

"It has not been proven that nicotine is addictive, the same with cigarettes causing emphysema."

And my personal favorite:

"There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492."

Okay, where to start with all of the facts that are so wrong with this last comment. Grab a history book people! First of all Columbus did not discover any continent in 1492. He "discovered" Hispaniolia, one of the many islands in the Bahamas. Later he sailed on to discover Cuba and Haiti, but never at any point did he land in South, Central, or North America. Two other voyages for the New World would still not bring him any closer to the discovery of the North American continent. It would be Columbus' fourth and final voyage where he would land in and explore parts of Central America like Panama, Honduras, and Costa Rica.

In fact it would be one of Columbus' own students and admirers Amerigo Vespucci who would sail and reach the southern continent which would later be known as South America.

Now to the claim that we somehow have more forest land acreage now then when Columbus sailed in 1492. No. From as early as the year 1630 when pioneers of the Americas actually began logging such information the acreage of forestland was estimated at 300 million acres. Today, there is just a little over half of that figure.

I don't love or hate Rush Limbaugh, but if this is the result of his "homework", it's time to go back to school.

Also, I don't dislike people because of their wealth, their status, or otherwise. I dislike people who use their status or position to demean people and spread misinformation solely for their own benefits.

I don't think that conservatives are idiots. I do believe they don't understand that their beliefs that federal government is never the answer to any problem and that the states can manage everything their own. That's just ridiculous. The very notion itself is a catch 22. Although I would love the federal government never to have to intervene the simple fact of the matter is that states CANNOT handle it on their own. Many assume we can just allow states to handle things like health care, but their is a dark and ugly truth to all of this.

Some states have legislatures that have every possible power granted to them by what federal law does not cover. Those same states may have governors who have supreme power of veto so that one could effectively cancel out the other.

In my home state of Texas they were and are so distrustful of politicians that they gave very few powers to the body of our legislature and even fewer to the governor. Texas, though most people do not know it, has quite possibly one of the weakest gubernatorial seats in our nation. He or she is allowed to make certain state seat appointments and on occasion has the right to use the power of "line item veto". Do you realize that this power literally consists of the power to veto a single sentence from a bill. That's it!!! And even then you can only use it so many times per document!!

The idea that we can depend on the states to pass certain pieces of legislation for the good of their own constituents is preposterous because it lends to the belief that every state holds the same powers of both legislation(state senate and house) and executive(governor). Which, clearly they do not. That is the problem I have with conservatives who think that most laws or reforms should be handled by the states, because they cannot. Not effectively.

I disagree that Rush represents you. I believe you are a person of reason and intelligence. He seems to me a man of low character who would do anything to be in the limelight, anything to offend those with whom he does not agree, and to demean people simply because of their status, their sex, their race, and even their religion. On the contrary, I believe that Mr. Limbaugh does in fact do your party a great deal of disservice. I genuinely believe that the republican party is better than that, or at least, they deserve better than that.

I'm open to any comments. Especially by those of the conservative beliefs. I really just want to know if the Republican party, conservatives, or tea partiers really feel like Rush Limbaugh has the pulse of the republican nation. I'm sure some of you already know what my feelings are on the matter, and I will discuss them with you, but I just wanted to get a few general reactions to the question.