>>>You misunderstand my position badly about what you describe as the welfare state. Do I like ponying up tax money? Nope. I consider it a price of the society we live in. We are all in this together, which a disconcerting number of people seem eager to forget. Not everyone who receives assistance from the government -- from us -- is lazy, theiving, or both. That is a harsh world view I choose not to share.
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>>>One of the things I admire about you is your military service. Thank you. I realize this sounds smarmy as hell but it's true. I admire and thank everyone who serves in the military. Every time I read those little sidebars in the NY Times about deaths in combat, which they report religiously -- name, age, hometown, place of death -- I wince. Salud, soldier. I just don't think it makes the opinions of vets more valid than those of their fellow citizens. Heck, you should meet my brother (Navy, no combat). If they plotted his views and yours it would be hard to find any discongruity.
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>>>The idyllic world of the 1950s and 1960s you describe is the same one I grew up in. I could ride my bike all over town, play ball all day, and all I had to do was be home by dinner. It was a great time to grow up. To quote The Boss, that world is gone, gone, gone. Not all for the worse, either. In any case we can't put the genie back in the bottle.
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>>Geesh. As you know I have supported health care reform for years. I do believe in it and I also believe in taxes for those services that are necessary for a safe society and universally used. I also believe in supporting those who are proven physically or mentally handicapped to the point where they cannot support themselves. The other crap (and there is a lot of crap) needs to go away. I even supported one of Gore's policies: a separate account for social security so it is not a part of the one fund to be abused by the govt. However, sometimes you make it sound like we are no longer a free country but living in a commune! :o) Now THAT's scary! :o) I really really hope this country doesn't evolve into that. I'd rather everyone who wants to live in a commune leave the country and go join one elsewhere. :o)
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>>On a good note: isn't the $200 million in private donations for Haiti AMAZING given the current economy?!!!!!! It gives one hope.
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>Yes, it does. There has been a nice program where I work. There was a good response to the first appeal to employees last week, then they sweetened the pot this week. The CEO promised to match the cumulative contributions and anyone who donated $10 or more gets to wear jeans the rest of this week. I am wearing jeans <g>. (I contributed last week, as well as to the Red Cross from home, but they agreed to make the new offer retroactive).

so no donation and you can be naked from the waist down. Sounds like a great idea. I wouldn't want to share seats though especially those plastic ones.