Hi Heather,
I have lurked for a long time enjoying your postings and really appreciate what you wrote today. One thing I would add is the unquestioning support of corporate welfare by the republican party. Their motto seems to be as the somg goes, 'the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" - a perfect strategy for a bloody revolution in the long run.

Thanks for your honesty and smarts!
Diane

I am not American and I believe you. Please continue convincing your crazy compatriots !!

Hey, Hotrod505........that's exactly how you interact with others & have an intelligent convesation about politics - calling people crazy and insulting them!

when Bush was re-elected I called my 79 year old grandma in Brazil to vent. She said, "why don't you go out with everyone else on the streets and protest and get that Mother Fucker out of there?" I explained that Americans are complacent they don't do coups and that sort of stuff. She proceeded to remark "That is why the rest of the world should get to vote for the President of the United States." I wish the rest of the world could vote for the next U.S president since it effects everyone. If this was the case Obama would win hands down. Since that can't happen I decided this year to become an American Citizen so I can vote for Obama.

I am so, so unhappy you went there.

In the past I have been comfortable with the amount of political content you have shared. I respected our different way of thinking and left it at that. I enjoyed your site immensely and visited daily anticipating another entertaining update. Your sarcastic approach to parenthood is awesome and one that I relate to. I have been cheering as you enjoy success and fame.

Today I am shocked. Not shocked by how you feel just shocked that you would share it. You have mentioned many times that you are careful about what you say on your blog and I believe that has been a wise choice. I am stumbling and bumbling with my own elevated blood pressure and don’t know what to say. I just want to say something. I just don’t think it was a good idea.

Sorry to see you go Dooce, but I am out.

Thank you.

As an American woman I am deeply offended by the cries of "sexism" whenever Sarah Palin's credentials are questioned. Such a double-standard (in which women should not be held to the same expectations as men) is intolerable.

Republicans are pro-life!?! They believe in the right to bear arms!?! OMG!!!! Look, people, we have a two-party system in this country, and each party has its own ideals and philosophies. I guess I don't understand the outrage. It would be like a die-hard conservative watching the DNC and getting worked up about their platforms. What, should either party vanish because its values offend half of the country? Heather, the reason why you are a Democrat is because you agree with that party's philosophy. And the reason why some people are Republicans is because they believe in that party's philosophy. No one has to vote for whichever party they disagree with.

ARMSTRONG FOR PRESIDENT!!!

I have had a knot in my stomach since she was announced last Friday. I couldn't figure out why. You summed it up.

I hate to bring faith into this, but I can only pray that God has a plan for all of this...because I seriously doubt the Republican way is the right one.

Geez, I was shaking from anger watching those speeches last night. I'm not American and I can't vote so I've sworn that if McCain wins, I'm moving back to Europe.

Let's all bow our heads!!

Amen

Holy Shit

and

Well said!!!

ps. could you call mom and tell her to read this, she is pissed at me right now!!

Sweet baby Jesus HERE HERE!

I couldn't agree with you more and definitely couldn't have written it better myself!

OBAMA/BIDEN 2008!

Just Biden Our Time Until We Can Barack The Vote!

Heather:
Please know that there as many conservative as liberal people out there who want the same things in life: decent health care for all, safe environment for our families, great educational opportunities, concern for environmental issues, etc. It's only the approach that's different and neither party platform is perfect. And after the elections are over, it's really just a game of who has mastered the game of compromise.

Truth is neither Palin or Obama have enough experience for the roles they are now vying for, but in the political game, the best and most experienced people are either jaded, not well-liked for other reasons or they're dead. They both have moved up so swiftly beacuse they articulate well and their personalities seem to fit their story well.

What has made you (and me)crazy is how the whole "political game" for electing our President brings out the WORST in all involved and THAT is not fair to the American people.

I must echo "Ron Paul."

Right on!!

i really couldn't agree with you more. i think it sucks that so many people have avoided the politics discussion with family and friends in order to keep the peace, because what does that really mean at the end of the day? that everyone just talks about each other behind their backs?

so thanks for politely breaching that rule and going out on a limb. i wrote about sarah palin's speech today on my blog (www.eatmypress.com) and am just utterly disgusted with the republican party. did you happen to see giuliani somehow convince the crowd to yell "DRILL BABY DRILL!" i seriously had a real moment of crisis during which moving to france popped into my mind.

stop the brainwash. vote obama indeed.

AMEN!!!! Heather THANK YOU for saying what I have been wanting to SHOUT at my McCain supporting family for weeks. I can't say anything without them freaking out. Namely, my sister and her husband who are both doctors and make way over $250,000 a year collectively. It breaks my heart that she won't think about sharing her "luck" and blessings with those less fortunate. I can't believe we came out of the same uterus!

I was raised in a very conservative Christian home, so naturally we were Republican. And as a still somewhat young adult, I'm working on finding my ground in this political poop pile. Although I still cling to a many conservative views, I can understand where the liberal side is stands on many other issues. I wish the Libertarian party would be recognized as a contender in these elections. Both the liberal and conservative sides have become so extreme lately that I'm having a hard time voting for either side. I want to vote libertarian, but then my vote doesn't really matter.

As the Declaration of Independence states regarding the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness:
"...That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Hear hear for a new era of government - a government where the people (not the same congressional representative that's lived in DC for 30+ years) determines how this country runs.

I am not going to write politics except to qualify what has to be a bit of bias no matter how hard I might try...I am a Republican and a conservative and I will vote McCain/Palin and I believe both to be exceptionally well qualified. I am also self employed (for 23 years) and a woman of 53 and pay for my own independent catastrophic coverage ($5000 deductible) health insurance. I also pay my own social security, retirement and disability, sick leave and vacation pay. I graduated from a 2 year technical college, although my family would have and could have afforded to send me 4 years and beyond should I have wanted to do that. I'm white. I am single. I own my own home - no family money involved in that.

But my reason for commenting is nothing to do with politics.

I highly respect your respect your writing and speaking skills. Additionally, I have been in awe and impressed with your aplomb, professionalism and balance when dealing with people regarding your blog - and especially those who are backhandedly and personnally critical.

But today's post was a not pretty rant. I get that you feel passionately about the topic and are angry. And I also get that most of us cannot have a discussion with the opposite viewpoint on a political topic. Still, I was taken aback and disappointed at the anger and underlying tone of meanness in the post towards any who might have an opposing view.

Thank you Heather. I needed this today -- surrounded by people with their heads in the sand. It's unfathomable that they don't get it -- why don't they freakin' "get it"??

Thank you Heather.

What you are talking about is a better world for your child. That's what we're all talking about. The stakes are so high.

Obama/Biden 08.

I'm British and I say SPOT ON Heather, SPOT FUCKING ON!!

Trooper Gate - someone got fired for tasing his 10 year old son....read up

You are right on the money. Thank you for the link to the comparison of what they say and the facts.

Sarah Palin looks like a terrific politician, but has a horrible agenda with all the religious conservatism. Makes you wish she was batting for the other team.

OH MY GOD, AMEN HALLELUJAH. I agree with every word you wrote, including the part about having to bite your tongue around family members busy a-swingin' on the right, fingers in ears, a steady stream of hypocrisies spewing out of them.

Palin's nomination is a joke. McCain's judgment is shit. The Republican party is the biggest threat I see to this nation's safety and well-being. We are global citizens, not just Americans, and the sooner we have a government who recognizes this and acts accordingly, the better off we'll be.

Now where is my booze. I NEED MY BOOZE.

Jim, while I agree with you on some level, I just can't get my head around health insurance being tied to work. Everyone needs healthcare. Period.

I have a pre-existing condition. I'd like to have my own small business, maybe a franchise, or whatever. I can't afford the risk of not being able to get insurance.

Also, doesn't having our employers provide all health coverage make us more expensive workers? Doesn't that increase the likelihood of off-shoring?

I'm afraid we're moving to more and more service jobs with no benefits.

I'll grant that there are good people on both sides. I'd like to find candidates that would help the average person have a decent life but keep government spending under control. It seems like I have to either vote my social conscience or my wallet. Since I have done pretty well for myself, I vote to try and help others. My recall is that we did pretty well fiscally under Bill Clinton.

THANK YOU! I just hung up on my sister this morning over Sarah Palin and her offensive, condesending speech last night. Her (my sister's) argument is that "one man (bush)can't do all that damage alone" agh!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been waiting for you to weigh in, and agree with everything you've said.
I'm 36, divorced and have been laid off twice in 3 years. I have 13 years COLLEGE-educated professional work experience, and I live in Arizona, McCain's home turf. I've been out of work now going on 4 months, and can't even land a night shift stocking at Target.
The only reason I haven't been evicted is because friends keep sending me money to hang in there. I even got screwed by unemployment, if that makes a conservative feel better.
I don't know what insults me more: the fact that McCain thinks "a woman, any woman" will make me want to vote for him, or that fact that Palin sees our forays into other people's business (Iraq, anyone?) as "God's will."
I'm sick and tired of this, and I'm broke and worn out and scared. And so is everyone else I know. I can't decide if McCain is up to something or if he honestly believes this is what's best for our country. I hope he's up to something, because if he wins, I am seriously going to have to consider leaving the US. I can't do this anymore.

You got it exactly right. Exactly. Amen.

Don't faint, but this Democrat married a Republican. To say the least, I did not get laid last night after pummeling his candidates of choice.

DJK - you dumbass. The trooper DIDN'T get fired. That's the problem. Learn how to read.

Amen, sister.

About Sarah Palin: an e-mail from Wasilla

A suburban Anchorage homemaker and activist — who once did battle with the Alaska governor when Palin was mayor — recounts what she knows of Palin's history.

http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/17341

My parents are cancelling their annual playdate with their grandkids to attend the Palin/McCain rally in Cedarburg.

You know, because they're for family values. As long as the kids are fetuses. After they're born they could give a rat's ass.
Except to remind my kids that mommy's going to Hell but they don't have to.

From someone who got everything from an appendectomy, to braces to blood tests through government health care, yeah I think I'd like to give the poor, misguided Americans some money so they can has a band aid when they need it.

Good for you, Dooce. Speaking out loud and proud is what we need more of in this country. Factionalism is what American politics is all about. But, disagreement need not mean that the other side is evil!

98. The Husband said: "..Palin is Ann Coulter in a woman's body..." Now THAT's FUNNY! I don't care who ya are!

Brad

Sorry, but those without insurance STILL receive healthcare. Our local VOLUNTEER EMS carries many indigent patients without insurance to the hospital every month and none are EVER. TURNED. AWAY.

DJK - I KNOW he tased his kid, the Trooper tased his kid, but the Trooper never got fired. The Public Safety Commissioner got fired. I should know, I work in AK State Gov't.

Amen. And thank you.

Sometimes I wonder why on earth I CHOSE to become an American citizen, but then someone like you comes around and reminds me. Thank you, Heather!

And....BOOM is right.
You have gone from a very entertaining break in my workaday world, to a not-very-frequent posting blogger I read occasionally (when I want to see 2 weeks' worth of pictures from a concert you went to), to...nothing.

I'm removing you from my Favorites and hope that you, Jon and Leta all have wonderful, happy lives. I just won't be checking in to see how it's all going. Your opinions and political leanings are your own business, but when you spew venom left and right (mostly FROM the left, TOWARD the right), I have to say enough's enough. You're a blogger. If you want to be a political pundit, leave the Mommy Blog world and go do that. Combining the two isn't working for me at all.

Thanks for some fun reading over the years. If you need me, I'll be over at the more family-friendly blogs that still espouse some degree of morality and good taste.

Ohhhhh, then you should know. And, why call people names?

I have been reading your blog for several months and really enjoy it. Especially the Daily Chuck part, that dog just cracks me up.

But I do have to take you to task for one of your comments. It has nothing to do with politics, and I agree with several things that you said.

You said : "I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a white, middle class family," which implies that there are no "middle class families" of other races. I don't believe you meant it that way, but it came across as that attitude.

All people should be able to receive a good, solid education so that they can become productive members of our society. But white people are certainly not the only ones with a middle-class upbringing or fortunate because of it.

So well put. I'm forwarding to everyone I know. I feel like the "Stop the Madness" lady.

p.s. my "captcha" was "take minor." HA!

See, this is why you have a business that depends on your writing ability. Because you just took all the things that I'm thinking and made them coherent. So, thanks for that.

The far right of the Rebpublican party has woken up with the nomination of Palin. It's the SAME SCHTICK THAT GOT BUSH ELECTED, the same appeal to the basest, most inane part of our American nature. The SAME PEOPLE who decided that G. Bush was the one "they wanted to have a beer with" will decide that Palin is the one they want to have a beer with. And they will vote for her because of that beer. Because she's a "regular person." Credentials don't mean A THING to many people who will stick with her and vote for her.

And we (Dems, non-far-right, etc.) need to realize this. The ONLY solution is to out-vote them. And get ahold of Oprah. Who doesn't want to have a beer with Oprah?

I couldn't agree more. Though I hope you are aware that ads for John McCain have been running on your website for the last few weeks? It has struck me as very odd ad placement for whatever ad engine placed it there!

Palin is a fake and a liar.

This story by CBS doesn't pull any punches. Palin is full of shit.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/politics/animal/main4414049.shtml

I knew I heard something about her budget where she cut spending for childrens programs.

This post is amazing. Thanks for putting so much thought into it.

I have been reading your site for a while, and I want to say thank you for this post. It makes me like you even more! You are awesome and have a great sense of humor and society!

Thank you Heather.
I think these comments reflect a lot of the problems that we are facing. Much of the time it becomes a discussion where each side relies on canned responses, like universal health care will cost us so much more and the quality will go down.
Watch "Sicko" and get a better grasp of health care in this country.
I am one of those citizens that doesn't have health care. And it scares the shit out of me. I will also fight tooth and nail for my reproductive rights as a woman. That scares me even more.
Thanks once again for having the balls to talk about the reality of the situation.
Just because I criticize the government doesn't make me any less PATRIOTIC than the next American.

Heather, you're spot on. And did you see the RNC audience on TV? 99% white people. I'm white, and I'm embarrassed as hell that such a gross misrepresentation of our country exists. Sad, sad, sad. McCain was pulling a political stunt to try to pander to the female vote. He didn't even know Sarah Palin. Who would pick someone he didn't even know for a position so important? How can you possibly trust someone you've never even met (until the day he chose her) with the fate of the entire country? Seriously?

Further, my father also went to the Naval Academy and fought for our country. My father, too, was a Navy pilot sent to Vietnam. Only my father was MIA (and later declared KIA), not a POW, as was McCain. My father never came home. And having come from a family of people who served our country honorably, I can assure you that I am not foolish enough to vote for John McCain who only followed in his father's and grandfather's Navy footsteps because it's what they did -- not because he truly wanted to serve the country.

I am not foolish enough to vote for a man and his joke of a VP pick who are so self-involved and obsessed with money that they plan to give further huge tax breaks to the wealthiest of companies, who don't care that we really are ruining the planet (by sheer numbers of population, we will have used up all the natural resources available to us within a couple of centuries, max -- but, hey, why would McCain and Palin care, because they won't be around to experience it, right?). That we are in fact changing the atmosphere of the planet with byproducts of our society (What numbskull said that there was no proof? Before we were industrialized, we didn't output tons of smog and ozone-depleting chemicals, etc., did we?) There are so many examples I could give, but I doubt this box will allow me to put them all here, so I'll end with yet another example of their hypocrisy... They advocate "abstinence" as a measure of birth control? Seriously? Sarah Palin had premarital sex as a teenager and became pregnant, and then got married one month later. Her daughter is a teenager and had premarital sex and became pregnant. Yes, her daughter should be afforded privacy, but her policies which she has never followed and which she apparently never taught her daughter, have NOT been followed, even by herself! "Do as I say, not as I do," shows the utmost in hypocrisy. Do we really need these people in office? No.

The chance of your daughter getting the help she needs in a country with universal healthcare is even more unlikely. With universal healthcare, the quality of healthcare is far less superior to what we have in the US. I have most of my family in england and went to school there as well. The quality of care your daughter would receive if Obama has his way would make your head spin. I have friends who are US citizens and moved to Canada for a job. My friend was a huge fan of universal healthcare until she moved to Canada and lived with it. She said it was awful. Her children were not cared for at a level that was even acceptable. You get what you pay for.

Well said, Heather.

A corollary:

We don't need to spend more on health care; we just need to spend differently. We don't need more of your paycheck (or Chuck's); we need to funnel money away from pharmaceutical and insurance companies and toward the people who need it.

I lived in the Netherlands for a while, and it's a whole different ballgame. My doctor didn't even have a receptionist; he had an iBook. He didn't need extra personnel just to wrestle with insurance companies. That's a big portion of your medical dollar right there.

As always, thank you for your wonderful writing and photography. Best wishes.

William Ayers
Tony Rezko
Frank Marshall Davis
Jeremiah Wright
Michael Pfleger....and the list goes on.

That's really all I needed to be against Obama, even though there's more, much much more.

Duh, AP not A&P. I'll blame that error on secretly reading your blog at work. ;-)

Dear Dooce... Long time reader, first time commenter:

Last night I danced around my house naked chanting "drill! drill! DRILL!" in total frustration. Acting ridiculous did not make me feel better. So after we totally mess up the environment in Alaska, THEN will it be important to plan for a long-term energy solution?

Earlier today I asked my husband, a Kiwi, "if McCain is elected can we move to Europe?" He said 'no' but I'm the woman, and according to My Big Fat Greek Wedding "The man is the head. But the woman is the neck, and can turn the man's head ANY WAY SHE WANTS."

The only thing funny about Palin's remarks was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNH8tPVMPGs

The problem I see with political discourse in this country is the obsession with MY SIDE IS RIGHT and YOU, SIR, ARE HITLER! In practical terms, it makes it difficult for people to feel okay changing their minds, I believe. Who the hell is going to vote for Obama after a lifetime of voting Republican after being berated for months and months?

I'll be voting for Obama/Biden, but I am refusing to have any "Yes, we are SO RIGHTEOUS!!!!!" conversations with people this election cycle. I am so much more relaxed and pleasant, it's great. I recommend it to anyone.

Thank you. Thank you very much. I am happy to know that I'm not alone or crazy for thinking that it's ok for me to be taxed a little more if it is going to help the rest of my country.

Amen!

I am *so* glad you've posted this. And I know exactly how you feel about trying to strike the right balance between saying what you need to say and still remaining on speaking terms with your family. :)

Obama '08!

I have been on both sides: I am a college-educated white middle-class woman, married to a college-educated white middle-class man. For a while we both worked full-time at jobs with insurance, and we had no kids. I didn't understand welfare or other forms of government assistance then. At all. I may have even bitched about 'my money' going to 'those lazy people.'

Now I am a full-time graduate student with a 2-year-old and a baby due in January. My husband could have the choice between finding full-time work in a horrible job market (he did look for some time) or piecing together a few part-time jobs with no benefits. Either of those options would require us finding daycare for our daughter, an expensive and sometimes impossible notion. Instead we chose option #3: he stays home with our daughter and writes and doesn't make any money. Our only income is my graduate stipend, which is well below the poverty level. I don't qualify for student insurance because pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. So we accept governmental assistance.

We're too ashamed to talk about this with our family members, who think the only people on welfare are lazy good-for-nothings. Our choice to be on welfare is a choice to have a better future for both of us professionally, and a better relationship with our children and each other. I don't think I should be made to feel that's a bad choice.

Heather...I think I love you. In a totally-Democratic-girl-crush-oh-my-god-she-totally-nailed-the-election kind of way.

I cannot fathom how the Red State People thought Sarah Palin was the way to go. I mean, she hates polar bears for crying out loud. And we all know that polar bears are cute and cuddly. But seriously, I wonder if anyone gave that choice even a nanosecond of thought before going "Hey! she has a vagina and so does Hillary and now we'll get those Dems to cross over to the other side!"

I have been a supporter of Obama since December 2006. He is EXACTLY what we need to get this country back on track and to get everyone health insurance - that doesn't cost $300 a month - and college educations and tax breaks for those of us who don't own 9 houses in 4 different time zones.

I can only hope that enough of us believe in Obama to take him all the way to the White House. I shudder at the thought of what the USA will be like if McSame wins.

I'm in Canada, and believe me when I tell you we're up here sitting in our igloos and horse-drawn carriages, shaking our heads both to keep warm and in utter disbelief at the cost Americans pay for health care. Heck, we go out and luge FOR FUN, that's how much we don't care about smashing bones or catching colds. Not to say that our public health system doesn't dangle precariously from time to time, or that we're as removed from American policies as we'd like to think we are, but you guys have within your power to change this and other essential policies that you can only benefit from, and it elevates me to read such articles as yours here. I wish you and your country all the best in this election, and know we're dedicating all ours bathtub beers and moonshine in the hopes that we can all freely have our stomachs pumped together and in peace someday.

The second to last paragraph put my feelings into words precisely.

Thank you!

So VERY Thankful for this post.

Amen!

My family is split down the middle just like our nation in regards to this election. I hear it from both sides and try to remain neutral and disengaged from the conversations because I just don't know which is better. Neither platform solves any problems for me, it's just trading one set for another. Personally, I think that it's a choice of which person will do less harm overall. When I was in college, I was a registered Young Republican. In the last four years, I became a registered Democrat.

I like that Obama's message seems to be that it's not JUST the government's job to figure out how to turn this country in a better direction, it's EVERYONE'S job. However,
common sense says you don't make it to the level of Presidential Candidate without SOME swamp water in your boat. Will he follow through on his promises or be like every other politician? I also grew up in a white, middle class family. I was given the opportunity to go to college and I dropped out after a year, but at least I had the choice. I make more money than some families with two jobs and I'm thankful I live in a safe, clean neighborhood. But even *I* can't insure my kid, or myself, because I make too much money to qualify for government help, and too little to actually pay all the bills after the gov takes their chunk out of my hide. There are weeks when *I* have to decide how we're going to eat and still have electricity. I can't afford to help those less fortunate or I'm just going to become one of them in the end. My head is barely above water. I'm sure many people are in the same position.

So this year the choice is pretty darn hard, because even tho I recognize I am better off than some, I can't afford to give any more money in taxes or I will end up being one of those that needs the very programs I'd like to help out with. Which just makes me part of the problem instead of part of the solution. If enough people in my situation slip below the water, what do we become? A Socialist nation?

I agree with Meredith from Atlanta. I live in a town where it is your "god-given" right to get disability and not work. I see it everyday in my line of work. People raping the system because they can. With that said, I do agree with some of what you said, and I respect your opinion. I never seem to agree with my fam on such topics either.

I love your site and stories! Your daughter reminds me so much of my son.

"I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich, but because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me."

Right On! I agree!

On most subjects, I love reading your blog. I realize a blog is a persons private little niche on the internet and they can write what they please. But like Jim, a commenter a few above me, said (in not so many words), we all know this country has problems that need fixed. But like you, listening to what the other side wants to do makes me want to get my gun (and we do own them) and go around shooting things. Difference is, you and your liberal friends are my "other side."

I can respect that you have an opinion and although it'll cause me to shed large quantities of hair and claw my ears off, I'll read your opinions too. I just can't respect a view of "helping" people that involves giving them more money. Poverty isn't a problem you can throw money at and expect things to change permanently. We need a lower cost of gasoline, grocery prices to drop, housing rates to go back down, and a steady tax rate. We have a steady tax rate now and it's a fair one. Obama says he'll "tax the rich" but we all know that that will include the middle class.

Yeah yeah yeah, all us Conservatives talk about is TAXES! WELFARE! GOVERNMENT TAKING OUR MONEY AND GIVING IT TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T WORK! Damn right. Democrats will tax the hell out of everyone, not just the rich. Welfare is a joke. And our money DOES go to people who don't work. I see them all the time in my neighborhood and the grocery stores I shop in.

This comment's going on forever. I'll end it with: Republicans aren't the ones who need to get their fingers out of their ears, it's Democrats.

I understand those families. My family is one of those families. I am a stay at home mom, with a part time job. My husband has 2 jobs.

The only times I have been to a doctor of any sort in the last 10 years have been when I was pregnant. My husband has been unable to pick up his prescription medications in two months because we cannot afford it. If it wasn't for Medicaid, my two children wouldn't be able to have regular doctors appointments. We live paycheck to paycheck, and have to juggle between keeping our utilities on, our mortgage paid and food on the table, and see which company is willing to work with us and wait.

It is sad to be in this position, to say the least. I have had opportunities. I am a college graduate. But in the area where we live, all the jobs are lower income. A previous poster suggests IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT HERE, MOVE! Move to where, exactly? And how? With who's money?

On a different note, conservatives (especially pro-lifers) terrify me. First they want control of reproduction, then sexuality, then putting women "back in their place". It's MY BODY damn it, not yours, and I'll do what I like with it, thank you very much. I make my OWN decisions, not you. "My place" is not under your thumb.

Funny how they're so concerned with life as long as it's in the womb, but couldn't care less what happens to the baby or mother after the infant is born.

McCain terrifies me. Obama leaves me worried and unsure. I probably won't know for sure who I'm voting for until I'm in the polls. It's like trying to pick AIDS and cancer. Maybe Nader, who knows?

Oh Heather, I dearly love you but I think you have been duped by your political party. You of all people should understand the need for independence and free thought. You are one of the most independent women out there. But your party and your candidates don't want you to be. If you really listen to the rhetoric they are touting, you would be frightened if not horrified at the true vision they have for this country. Michelle Obama actually quoted from socialist doctrine in her speech. Socialism...the same line of thinking that eventually led to Joseph Stalin murdering millions of Jews in Russia. Your party and candidate also have a misunderstanding of the basic principles this country was founded upon. The US Constitution provides these basic RIGHTS to all citizens: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nowhere in that list is healthcare, a job, even food listed. These things are PRIVILEGES and are found in the hard work produced from having freedom. I am sorry to say Heather, but it is not the government's responsibility to feed you, clothe, you, give you a job, give you healthcare, and make you happy. This is your responsibility. The government's job is to provide a country where those things are possible if you make the right choices.

Bravo for this post. I lurk here a lot, but I don't think I've ever commented. Today, I am moved to do so.

Amen sister! I hope you don't mind, I linked to this post from my own blog because you say it with much more flair than I ever could!

YEAH! VOTE OBAMA!

You said it so well, Heather. Thank you.

AND SHE'S TRIED TO BAN BOOKS!!
We want this kind of person in charge?

My 2 and a half year old son had a asthma attack in the wee hours of Tuesday A.M. Shallowed breathing, crying, a frightening thing for us all. I ended up in the ER with him, because it would have been 5 more hours before his pediatricians office would open. I actually had to weight the decision, because even though we are 'fortunate' to have health insurance our last ER trip cost us almost $600. Which we have yet to pay for.

I actually considered waiting since my office visit copay is only 20 bucks. Obviously, I made the right choice but it shouldn't have to be. Thought we struggle to make ends meet, we make to much to qualify for state funded health insurance. Something needs to be done.

I will vote Obama over ovaries in November.

True that sista!

I've never been this excited about an election, because, for the first time, there is a candidate I feel GOOD voting for.

While you may be upset that McCain chose Pallin as his running mate, I take the position that it just puts Obama in an even better position.

Seriously, McCain's choice was so politically motivated and showed such poor judgement, it just makes Obama look even better.

I only wish Tim Russert were alive for all this.

Heather, I have to comment because your post left me with the distinct impression that you think a college degree is a guarantee of financial stability and health insurance. Like Ashley #169, we are proof that it is NOT. Between the two of us, we have 4 degrees -- two postsecondary (one Ivy League) and two postgraduate (MA and MBA). None of these have protected us from a layoff which has resulted in the loss of 100% of our income and 100% of our health insurance. I am due with our second baby in 3 weeks. We have enough savings to put food on the table for the next few months, and no debt to speak of ... but let me tell you, being highly educated, professionally successful and upper-middle class is NO GUARANTEE it won't happen. Faster than you can blink. I NEED government assistance until we are employed again and will NEVER complain about paying taxes into social programs again.

So, no, Anon #123 -- Fuck YOU.

I appreciate your website and enjoy reading your funny stories and I can appreciate the trials you have overcome. I am sincerely gratful you stopped when you did as I do not come to your site to read about your view on politics.. I like your funny Mommy stories and your personal victories over various issues.

Yes! Thank you, thank you. For years I voted Republican, then I woke up and took my head out of my ass. I cannot discuss this issue with my family at all, as they still lean hard to the right, and for goodness sake, he's a BLACK MAN! We have to change the way our government works - for the better - or the next thing you know, only Bill Gates and Donald Trump will qualify for health insurance.

As a parent of a child with Epilepsy (which our current government does not consider a disability in any way), I feel you.

Thanks for the link to the AP fact check article. But hasn't anyone ever told you the AP IS a liberal propaganda machine?

Seriously, though. I'm a copy editor at a mid-sized newspaper in a conservative town and a huge number of the letters/calls we get regarding AP articles have to do with how the AP is the leader of a liberal conspiracy to destroy America and our "values." And many of those letters and calls are based on rumors that have long been proven to be untrue ("When Barack Hussein Obama [they always make an effort to use the middle name] takes the oath of office on a Koran, you'll see why you should have voted for McCain," "Barack Hussein Obama hates America and will let the terrorists take over," etc.)

By the way, this?

"After watching her speech last night, I've decided that Sarah Palin is Ann Coulter in a woman's body."

Hilarious. If I were drinking anything, it would have wound up all over my computer screen.

Word to the Avon Lady.

Except she's probably a Republican, so Word to Jon.

I hadn't even thought about the fact that if something happens to John McCain while he was in office, then Palin would be our President. F that noise. She's whacko.

Everyone and their neighbor needs to VOTE IN THIS ELECTION.

Thanks for the post.

Obama '08

Peace, Z

I think what a lot of people don't understand, too, is that it isn't just "lazy/uneducated/trash" people who are up against a wall right now.

My SpouseCreature was raised, as was I, in a white upper-middle-class family. He attended college and has his degree in Radio/Television Production. Despite this, his take-home pay is just under $600 every two weeks. It would be considerably more than this if it weren't for the fact that his employee-sponsored health insurance costs us around $300 per paycheck. And this wonderful health insurance for which we pay so much? They are currently telling me they won't pay for x-rays I had last month, or for my FUCKING PAP SMEAR IN JUNE.

And I STILL feel like we're pretty damned lucky, so long as I don't think about it too hard, and we STILL donate to the food bank and the children's shelter when we can, and I STILL believe in the social programs we have in this country. (It doesn't hurt that my upper-middle-class father's job? Running the welfare board for the county I grew up in. I was raised with a thorough understanding of what taxes are, why we pay them, what other people go through, etc. I have never, ever been under the delusion that "they" are taking "MY MONEY." And people who do say that drive me insane.)

I can't even imagine where we'd be if we hadn't had the opportunities we did have.

I think this is what Bush was talking about when he said "Compassionativity." Except that he got it all wrong, of course. Oh, and he was lying.

So, you know.. long time reader, no time commentor. It's just not my style. But seriously, after watching Palin speak last night and feeling like shooting steam from every orifice.. you just hit a nerve and made me want to say "I am SO glad I'm not alone."

My job is working with some serious good ole boys and some people who just seem generally clueless. My family is a mix-up of some extremely conservative (read: My Mother Who I Do Not Claim Every 4th November) and some liberal minded folk. And really, no matter who I talk to, I feel like my heart is breaking and my brain is about to shatter.

I'm scared to death of what another 8 years of this mess is going to bring. I almost felt confident that Barack would do it, that we could get a real, honest fresh start in this country.

And now there is Sarah Palin. Who, rather than making me feel proud, makes me ashamed to have ovaries. And I'm really nervous that she and McCain are going to pull the wool over our collective eyes with this nonsense.

Long and babble-filled way to say, Dooce, man, FINALLY someone makes sense.

YES!

Anyone that thinks ANY presidential candidate is not in it for themselves is delusional.

I am undecided but see the liberal hate as just as ugly as the right wing hate.

The Congress has more power than the Presidential office. I believe the majority goes to the Democrats?

It's not about the party, it's about the people.

I guess everyone who reads your blog agrees with you 100%.

I do not.

I think both candidates are a disaster waiting to happen.

Thank you for expressing your well-thought out opinion about Ms. Palin. I am beyond tired of the emphasis being put on the fact that she is a woman with a pregnant daughter as much as I am tired of the emphasis being put on Obama for being half-black.

McCain was tired of Obama getting all the attention, so I guess he figured it'd work for him to go out and do something caaarAAAzzzy and ask Ms. Palin to jump on board.

"You're hot and have a pregnant 17-year-old daughter? I want YOU!"

McCain will most likely die in office anyway, which would leave this redneck woman with five kids (one of whom has Down Syndrome)to keep the country in order. I can't see that going over so well.

Sarah Palin's speech was the flashpoint for anyone who still cares about America and what we (still) represent to the free world. We have an obligation, folks, to uphold that promise. We laid the groundwork here in Europe back in 1948, thanks to the Marshall plan. We kept the Soviet menace at bay, at great expense to our economy, but not even the GOP dared object... back then. How things have changed.

Just think of what Sarah Palin would have said about that, had she lived back in 1948, but blessed with the same pea-brained mentality as she showed yesterday.

If you really care, DO SOMETHING!

"They are waiting to see if we are going to put yet another fundamentalist loon in charge of public and foreign policy,"

BTW, the loon in question is the former Lt. Cmdr John McCain, a man who, for his country, _chose_ to face horrors you and I can't even imagine. Show a little respect.

You should also know that said "loon" is no fundamentalist and has referred to folks like Falwell as "agents of intolerance". I expect your other opinions are equally well-informed.

If that one sentence is a fair sample, well, I can't possibly imagine how anyone could find your self-righteous opinions annoying.

It's about damn time SOMEONE wrote about it!! Thank you for putting into words what I'm too afraid to get attacked about on my blog!!

"I get the feeling that people around the world are looking at this election as a gauge to see if America is finally ready to wake up and realize that we are not the only country on this planet."

So true and on top of that the world is hoping that the political discourse in the US for once will raise above the binary "bring em on" and "either with us or against us" level, which is why we do like Obama and his nuanced speaking, amongst many other reasons.

Listening to the scary and immoral, yes IMMORAL, Palin speak yesterday made the hair on my arms stand up, just as much as the monkeys cheering in the background did. The only thing that is assuring is that at least the German press (I was born in Germany) dissects Palin's speech and maps it against the facts.

And DMC: "is the healthcare system broken? no. certainly out of whack, but not completely broken." Are you high? Name me any other so called 'first world' country where kids die because their parents can't afford healthcare.

Folks, please all go and vote. Can't take another four years of under-qualified and over-confident knuckleheads pissing at the rest of the world.

Keep on keepin on.

Obama 08

I'm a libertarian, and so am not jazzed about either McCain/Palin or Obama/Biden. What worries me about both traditional partisan sides is the tremendous hate each has for the other. Their respective adherents seem to focus all their energy into feeding that hate and blaming the opposite side for all the problems of the world instead of, you know, just solving them.

It seems unbridgeable. But y'all, we're gonna have to find a way to bridge it if things are really ever going to change.

I suppose I'm "rooting" for an Obama/Biden win just to disprove the idea that simply having a Democrat everything is going make this country miraculously better. When we ALL, both sides, get our fingers out of our ears and screaming LA LA LA LA LA at each other ... then, maybe.

10 years ago I moved to the U.S. from a country that can only be called a welfare state. I'm continually baffled by how many Americans seem to break out into hives at the words "socialized medicine." These people have no idea what they're talking about, having never lived in a country with socialized medicine. So, having experienced both types of health care, let me dispel some myths.

1. TAXES WOULD GO UP

It has to be paid for somehow. But do a Google search and find a chart that compares U.S. military spending to the rest of the world's. Reducing military spending would go a long way towards paying for health care for everyone. If the U.S. government would stop wasting trillions of dollars on war, that money could be spent on programs that actually benefit the American people, like health care. The burden of socialized health care doesn't have to mean an extreme hike in taxes.

2. QUALITY OF CARE WOULD GO DOWN

Oh, please. I've had my share of health problems while living here, and let me tell you, only 1 out of about 10 of the doctors I've seen were actually able to help. There have been so many stories this year of people dying in emergency rooms because they were ignored by the staff. That's quality health care? The truth is that the quality of care in the U.S. is no better or worse than any other industrialized country. The difference is that it costs more and is not available to everyone.

3. YOU CAN'T CHOOSE YOUR DOCTOR WITH SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE

Not true. My family (who still live in the aforementioned welfare state) can choose to go to whichever doctor they want. Whereas me, with my insurance, can only go to in-network providers, otherwise they'll only cover about 50% of the expenses. Americans with insurance generally don't have as much of a choice in providers as they think they do. And I'm not even going to get into what choices the uninsured have.

4. LONG WAITING LISTS

This part is true, because there just aren't enough doctors and nurses, and when everyone can afford to get the health care they need, there's bound to be a bottleneck. My sister had to wait a year for a non-emergency surgical procedure. On the other hand, a woman here once told me that she had to bully her insurance for *three years* before they agreed to pay for her gallbladder surgery, because they didn't consider her extremely painful condition as life threatening.

For the first five years I lived here, I had no insurance. I didn't get seriously ill during that time (that happened later--dodged a bullet on that one), but I did have some minor complaints, and because we couldn't afford to pay for repeated doctor's visits, I left it untreated, which has caused a chronic condition that I'll be battling for the rest of my life. My family ask me what's the best thing about living in the U.S., and I give them a long list of the things I love about this country. When they ask what the worst thing is, I tell them it's health care.

It's the 21st century. It's time for the U.S. to catch up to the rest of the Western world and make sure that every American can afford to get the health care they need. This should be in the Constitution as a basic human right. The current situation is downright shameful.

DSM is mistaken.

Republicans take the tax credit on their charitable giving more than Democrats do - might want to recheck those 2006 facts and figures.

Universal Healthcare would NOT cost the average taxpayer any where near $3,600.00 - but don't let a little thing like reality stop you.

Please, enlighten us on the vast experience Palin has to offer oh wise one. After you recheck your facts of course.

AMEN.

And coming from an athiest, that should mean a lot.

I am 100% in complete agreement with you. I have always felt that the Democratic Party were much more intune with what "real" people go through everyday. I too feel priviledged to be in the top 10% of income earners (well not me but my hubby) and it is still tough for us to make it sometimes with two kids and infertility and adoption, etc.

My parents couldn't afford to send me to college. They wanted me to go but with no $$ it took me a while to go. I am currently into 6 digit student loan debt as I work on my PhD. I will have my college education paid off by the time I am 71. Yes you read that right 71-years-old.

The Repbulican Party is so out of touch. I am tired of this rhetoric about smaller government that the GOP stands for--really. Isn't the military part of the government and that is pretty fucking big and we spend a shitload more money in one month on military matters than we do an entire year on education, health care, or welfare. So please show me how the GOP's idea of smaller government is better?

Go Obama.

I'm so very much in agreement with you, Heather. I'll admit to voting Republican in the last two elections -- it was how I was raised, and I really believed that our current president wasn't at fault. I thought he was handed a mess, and was making lemonade out of lemons. I was NAIVE AND STUPID. This time, I'm not. This time, I have two little nieces that I love dearly -- I can't imagine loving my own children more -- and I won't see what's left of this country further degenerate for their generation to clean up. It's time to vote for change.

Amen, sister.

I live in Canada. I can walk into my doctor's office (if I have an appointment) or a clinic (if I don't have an appointment), show my card, and get treatment. the two times I gave birth I showed my card and receive treatment. My mother who has been successfully fighting breast cancer for the past 20 years has received surgery, medications, and has the option of going for radiation treatments just by showing her card.

For this I pay $108 each month for my family (3 or more individuals). My widowed mother pays $54 each month, or a percentage less if her income is below $28,000 (I love her lots, but I don't do her tax return!)

However, overall, we pay higher taxes. Is it worth it to pay a little extra for gas, to pay a little extra for day-to-day purchases, and to see a little less on my paycheque because of income tax? Is it worth it to have 20 years and longer with my mother, who wouldn't have been able to pay cash for here treatment? Do you really need to ask?

Universal health care is not the devil.

You are so effing fantastic, Heather.

I think Chuck should run for office.

Thank you for your personal and great post on this political year! I'm right there with you! I try to be so patient with others when I listen to their right-wing BS; but it is continually trying and totally frustrating! It is so hard for conservatives just to think about others and want to help someone outside of their very limited "correct" charities? Anyhow, I just agree!

www.indigeneartforms.blogspot.com

Amen, hallelujah and praise the Lord! How did you get in my brain to speak the thoughts that are about to make MY brain explode?? Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This must be the "experience" DMS is talking about:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

Yep, she's a hum-dinger.

That $27 million she got for a town of 7,000? Do the math - that's $4000 of MY TAX DOLLARS to each citizen of that little town of hers. Why don't we start our universal healthcare collection with that f-ing money? THIS is GOP's idea of responsible spending? Talk about taking from one and giving to another. Earmarky - that's my new nickname for her.

Thanks for your thoughts! As a Hillary supporter, I was at first glance dismayed by the pick of Sarah Palin until I read what she was about. Any woman who votes for her simply because she is a woman never truly was a Hillary supporter at all.
We are the only nation that looks to take care of (or police) other countries before taking care of our own.

If you ask me, I think mother nature is voting for Obama too!

But she is VP MILF

*Love* the post above about global warming being an unproven theory and it not mattering who people in other countries want to win *our* election. Considering the amount of fossil fuels the United States consumes, and the amount of pollution and chemicals we are putting into the world's air and waters, they SHOULD care who is in office in our country. I DARE whoever wrote that, and everyone else that reads this site, to read the book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, by Thom Hartmann. If you think global warming is just a theory, you will gain some valuable insight. If you are a rational human living in this world without your head up your ass, you will learn what we must do now to save this planet so our children have the resources to continue living on a healthy planet.
I am a Democrat, I am voting for Obama, I don't think anyone is perfect. I don't believe all Republicans are horrid people, that their beliefs are stupid: the right to believe what you want is what makes this country what it is. I am simply saddened and sickened that it seems the majority of Republicans are backing candidates and ideas that are in complete detriment of what this country stands for. Helping/Caring for others. Protecting the future of our children, their education and their environment. Protecting the freedoms granted to us, the freedoms and civil liberties that make this a country that we are proud to call our own.
Most importantly, I find it ridiculous and absurd that the amazing people of the military, who have sacrificed to "defend" our coutry are dying in a war that is not only unneccessary but is costing over 4 Billion dollars A WEEK. Especially when Americans are going without food, clothing, shelter; being forced to choose between taking their medication or being insured or nourishing their bodies with food. When our children don't have enough food to fill their tummies; when our elderly are choosing between life-saving medication and whether or not to eat dinner: this is the breakdown of America that I and so many other "crazy liberals" are ready to stand up and reclaim. No one should be dying in Iraq, and we should not be shelling out the bucks to let this war continue on indefinately.
As I said before, nobody is perfect. But let's take a chance that a change will do us good. And let's tell the republican hypocrites who are telling us how to live our lives-- Homophobic Cheney and his gay daughter, Strong Family Values Palin with a pregnant teenager-- to look within their own lives before they make judgements about the lifestyles of others. If I were a pregnant 17 year-old girl with my opportunistic future stretched out before me, I would be spitting nails at the bad luck of having an anti-abortion vice presidential hopeful as a a Mom. No matter what that little girl really wants, she's going to be a mother herself in a very short time.
The constitution calls for Americans to rise up and change a government that is no longer working for us. The constitution gives us rights, and with these rights comes duty. We are charged with the duty of creating a government that is of the people, for the people, by the people. We have lost that in the last eight years, and it is time to reclaim it.
I love this country. I am proud to be an American. I don't agree with what is currently happening in this country; but I am know how fortunate I am to live in a place where I can freely express my beliefs without fear of what may happen to me. I respect our troops and the women and men, along with their families, who are doing so much for the USA. I respect the office of the President; however he was voted in it was done by the people of this country. I hope that in January I can once again respect the person who sits in the Big Chair in the Oval Office. Only we can make that happen.
Thanks Heather for opening a dialouge about this. I, too, have held it in to long. It's time for everyone to stand up for what they believe in-- we have been quiet and complacent for far too long.

BINGO!!!!

We liberals are a small minority here in the very red midwest...the other day I was informed by a 13 year old friend of my daughter that Democrats are baby killers (or something along those lines). I just sighed and said that we weren't even going there...

Keeping any and all appendages crossed for Obama in 2008!

I agree 100%, Heather. What frightens me is that, if the current economic/healthcare/Irag situation doesn't shock American voters into making a decisive change, then what the hell will it take??

Thank you, Heather. I'm struggling mightily with how I can change hearts and minds and get people to think beyond their own tax burden to finally vote Democrat this year. It gets more and more difficult each year, I think, for the parties to get along.

I know people for whom insurance is not an issue, but I know others who are working their butts off to have normal lives and then their employers do shit like bounce the check to the insurance company so that everyone's insurance is cancelled without notice. I have a friend who moved to the U.K. because she couldn't get insurance in the U.S. These people contribute to their communities and participate in their governments more than average, probably in part because they see their own struggles and want their government to do more for those who are even worse off than they are.

This Canadian is not ready to give up on her neighbours yet. I believe that you will do the right thing come November.

Remember what Barack said, and keep speaking the truth:

We have been told We cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissident.

We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America there has never been anything FALSE about hope.

First time commenter, long time reader...

I heard someone say the other day "the evil of two lessers" and that has kind of stuck with me in regards to the upcoming election. I get badgered on a fairly constant basis on whom to vote for and I shrug my shoulders, shuffle my feet and say "Going to vote for myself again."

Thank you so much for writing this, I've been wondering as to how/why anyone would support someone who has barely any political experience to be considered for the role of VP. There have been alot of people who have already said this, but you're dead on with what you said.

Amen.

I'm pretty sure you don't have time to read this many comments, but in case you do. . .

Here's one "conservative" Mormon living in Lehi who is absolutely freaked out by McCain/Palin and cannot wait to vote for Obama! Just thought you'd like to know there are some of us out there.

Also, my brother in law is currently trying to figure out how to take a job as an independent consultant, while his 3 year old can't get insurance because of a condition when she was a baby. They haven't been able to find any insurance company to cover her, no matter the cost (I think they'd be fine with the $300/month ballpark). Mind emailing me the company you've insured Leta with? It would really help them out!

While I partially agree with you, I have to comment on the can't "afford" college part. Granted, I come from a middle class family...but my parents taught me how to manage my own money and thus, only paid for half of my education and made me cover the other half. I did not have 30K sitting in the bank so I pulled out loans. So when people say they can't afford it, I think they are flat out lazy and just don’t want to go to school. Do the paper work and apply for a loan, get some grants, or apply for financial aid. Or go to community college. But don’t blame the fact people to go to college bc they come from poor families, that is always an excuse in my book. If someone wants an education bad enough, they will find a way to make it happen.

Sing it, Sister.

Thank you for saying all this, at great risk to your relationship with family and advertisers. You are brave and awesome and I love you!

I'm a Republican (gasp!). I don't want to take away government assistance as a transitional measure from those who genuinely need it and benefit from it. But I do support welfare reform so that those who abuse it can no longer threaten its existence for those genuinely in need. Welfare should not be a career choice. Welfare is a great disservice to those who CAN do better. We need to maintain assistance programs, but eliminate "entitlement" programs.

There are many, many issues where the abuse of rights by some threatens the guarantee of rights to all.

See, when I get frustrated I start to cry. I HATE that about myself, but it's how it is. THANK YOU for putting in to words all I have tried to say to my family, but end up crying about instead. If I have to endure another pitying look because I have clearly lost my mind in thinking that we have change in Obama, I will lose my mind!

The insurance premiums for my husband's new job are topping $700 per month for him and our one child (luckily, I am able to get insurance through my job or my premiums through his insurance would be another $300 a month). The deductible is $1000 per person, and then it is 80/20 for most things, but some are 50/50. This is for a well-known nationwide insurance company, and it was the most affordable policy we were offered out of 5. One of the other policies had a deductible of $3000 per person. While we can afford to put food on the table, we certainly can't afford to save for retirement or college or a bigger house or a new car or even emergencies. It is a sad state.
Still I know that there are many more people in a much worse state. A few years ago, we found ourselves with no insurance for my daughter for a month. It was a scary time, and my heart goes out to those people in a worse place than us. I only hope that we Americans can come together and solve this crisis.
Thank you for your rousing commentary. You stated it much more eloquently than most of us can and reached a much larger audience.

Thanks for speaking out. I couldn't agree more!! Vote Obama in 2008, please.

HERE, HERE!! Very well said. You are my hero I am having a Soco and lime in honor of you tonight. CHEERS!

Amen. Amen. Amen. You tell it like it is, which is more than I can say for any Republican I've ever met.

I really like your blog, but in this regard I think you are out of touch with reality.

I am a Anglo Saxon white male who worked his way up from nothing. I conservatively make 6 figures. I can remember when my mother worried about buying food or new shoes for us kids. Insurance, we had no insurance.

I knew that I had one chance to go to college or I would end up with my name on my shirt. I studied hard, got an academic college scholarship and still worked 30-40 hours a week while studying engineering to make enough money to pay rent and eat.

In all of my readings of the documents that guided our founding fathers nothing is ever mentioned about Social Services. In the early part of the last century, people would rather starve than take hand-outs. If some-one does not work for it, then it has no value. Unfortunately, both parties have created a system where people now have a Pavlovian response to Social Services... What is in it for me ... that is now the battle cry of the masses.

Insurance is a good thing, but I think it is the responsibility of each individual parent to ensure that he can provide for his family as best as possible. I agree that children should not suffer needlessly, but who should pay? I have a genetic disorder that I stand a 50% chance of passing on to any of my children. Therefor I have chosen not to have children, as I would rather not watch my offspring die before they reach 2 years of age.

I could have children, roll the genetic dice and possibly have a normal child. Or I could have a child that would be a burden on the system and break my heart and soul in the process.

Everyone is responsible for themselves and their family, and no one else.

From Gloria Steinem:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,7541303.s...

AMEN.

Amen, keep saying it, and VOTE OBAMA '08!

God, you're a funny woman...where have you been all of my life?
Great commentary, I'm so glad my friend forwarded me your blog. That's some good reading! Someone needs to make us laugh to keep us all from going crazy in a world where the crowd at the RNC keeps shouting "DRILL DRILL DRILL" over and over. I mean seriously!

VAGINA GATE-- we need a thorough investigation!

Am I the only one scared by Palin? While yes, she seems perfectly likable and unlike any other Republican hopeful since Teddy Roosevelt, she can actually field dress a moose, I'm not sure that qualifies her to be the VP.

A previous poster cautioned that we should be focusing on electing a President not the VP. I couldn't disagree more. As often repeated, the fact remains that she is one heartbeat away from the Presidency. I'm sorry, but two years of public office does NOT qualify you in the event something were to happen to the President. There's been some interesting (and complimentary) comments made by Biden concerning Palin's speech last night. They are worth reading. As he points out, it's more about what she didn't say.

Having said the above, while admittedly I have my leanings,I should mention that I am still undecided. I consider myself a moderate, democrat who will and has voted across party lines if need be. I used to like McCain until he promised business as usual. No thanks. Been there, done that. I lost my job of almost 18 years to a poor economy- with my job went the family health insurance. Three months of $1000 each COBRA payments makes you realize the importance of employer subsidized insurance coverage. Fortunately, we were able to obtain coverage through my husband's job.

I am holding out final judgment until after all the presidential and VP debates. I need to see all the candidates answers when they are not reading a well crafted speech off a teleprompter.

Thanks for your insight, Heather!

Heather,

There are tens of thousands of us standing behind you. Standing next to you. Totally agreeing with you. Clearly you need to get the hell out of Utah... come up to Boston were we aren't so crazy!

We Love You!! Please don't let your head explode.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

I work in the public and really cannot get into political discussions with our customers, but today when one woman sighed and said she really wished it was Palin running for President instead of McCain, I had to just get up and walk away.
Oh, and my 19 yo nephew who is sending me McCain/Palin Flair for Facebook. AUGH!
Why can't they see?!! Someone turn on the light for them!

AMEN!!!

Amen!

Amen. Thank you for using your platform.

Keep preaching, Mama Bear! I too thought I was going to have an aneurysm from listening to Pallin's well-written, but untruthful tax hike scare tactics last night. And didn't you just love the raucous cheers to the concept of doing away with Miranda rights? Yay for our constitution and upholding liberty and justice FOR ALL. I am horrified and insulted by the possibility that the McCain-Pallin ticket even has a chance of winning. I wish more conservatives could recognize that it will benefit everyone in this country, including them, to take better care of our own citizens.
Love you,
Trying to be tolerant in Newport Beach, CA

I am afraid to read the comments because I too cannot take the...insanity? What is it called, cleaving to a party that out and out lies over and over and changes its position and ATTACKS FUCKING COMMUNITY ORGANIZING? WHAT IS WRONG WITH TRYING TO FIX THINGS AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL? THE GOVERNMENT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT DOING IT BECAUSE IT'S TOO BUSY TRYING TO KILL MY BROTHER AND HIS FRIENDS AND CLASSMATES! Arrrrrrrrrrrg.

She makes me so angry I cannot see straight, and when I started to read what you wrote the first thought in my mind was, "marry me." You, and John Stewart. Thank Butt that you two exist because I swear, I feel like I've fallen through dimension and entered Bizarro World and never noticed.

Speak it, sister! Like you, I come from a deeply religious family and we try to agree to disagree on these sorts of issues to preserve our relationships. It's not like I'm all that radical either: I'm a moderate Independent. The Palin pick was just the last effing straw; I snapped.

http://twistedphysics.typepad.com/cocktail_party_physics/2008/08/physics...

And for the first time in my life, I volunteered to help bring out the vote in the swing state of Nevada (driving distance from my home in LA). This is not just another election. This really will determine the future course of America for the next 20 years, at least.

I feel your pain about insurance. For 1 yr we paid upwards to $600 for his company insurance and our deductible was $3K for an individual. He then lost his job (fortunately) and we went on COBRA and paid $1K per month for 3 months. I had to have non-elective surgery during this time with my bills coming in at over $20K & I'm responsible for a big deductible. Thru it all I'm SMILING because I have been able to choose where I go and the Drs I want to see. Since I used to be a Cancer Patient - with a 20% chance of survival 7 yrs ago it's very important to be able to choose and go where the experts are & for that choice I choose to pay.

I've been paying Dr bills every month every year for the past 8 yrs and it's not going to stop anytime soon. Thinking the Govt. can come up with a better plan is crazy. Yeah - health ins. is whacked but putting more govt in the mix is not the answer.

Regardless of who the president is or has been for the past several years My family has prospered because we worked & worked our butts off. Never have we expected the govt to fix something for us.

The Universe will not crumble because of either candidate.

Just a question - why are people so upset over Palin if you/they are so confident that Obama is the one to change the course of the world? Are you saying it's over for Obama?

I would admit that Palin has little experience if you/someone could admit that neither does Obama....

Don't get so frazzled. I love reading your blog & this post won't scare me away and nasty comments won't either.

My partner and I took our kids to the anti-war march in Minneapolis on Monday and it was powerful to see thousands of people marching peacefully through the streets. The message was pretty simple...how can republicans justify spending billions of dollars on war when we have people here at home who are working their asses off and can't even afford a home or healthcare and can't even count on public education to deliver what their children need to make better lives for themselves. At the rally before the march, there was an ice sculpture that read "DEMOCRACY". My children stood before it and watched it melt. It's time to speak out and stop the real thing from doing the same.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I come from a conservative christian family... when I left the religious right and their politics behind... I was no longer able to talk about politics with family and friends who stayed. Always good to be reminded that I'm not alone in this issue.

I will. You're totally on it.

I would not vote for Obama no matter who were running against him. Now had they considered electing Hillary. I might would have considered voting Democrat. Obama, Never!

THANK YOU, HEATHER!! This is so correct!

While I was still deciding who I am going to vote for I have been having many discussions and doing research of my own on who I think will do a better job.

Has anyone ever heard the name George Soros? Well If you google Barack Obama and George Soros you will find a few articles about hom backing Obama. You will also com upon other articles of who else Mr. Soros back. Do we really want a president that is in debt to this man???

If you don't really want to look for the article where it mentions who else George Soros back here it is:
http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/08/09/larouche-denounces-obamas-god...

Heather - you're right - we who don't live in the States (I'm from the UK) cannot understand how anyone in their right mind would choose another 4 more years of the same. And I have exactly your view when it comes to taxes. Sure, it can hurt some when you open your pay slip and see how much goes on tax but then I always think about what exactly it is that my money that's going towards paying for and it's totally worth it. The reverence of the right's idea of the individual/market forces being allowed to take care of things utterly blows my mind. It.does.not.work.

When they started changing "drill baby drill" at the RNC last night I had to leave the room. I may have to leave the country.