Robert,
What you are referring to when you claim that the majority of Americans want the government to "keep their mitts off of everything" is called anarchy. This idea was pushed by a few of my classmates in high school, who really had no idea what they were talking about(you know the type; punk hairdos and nose-rings.) I suppose government was our problem during the Iran Contra hearings? "Darn government, trying to hold people accountable again!" Was government the problem when we shipped our entire manufacturing sector overseas? "Darn government is destroying the middle-class!" Was government the problem when we decided to depose a ruthless dictator, simply because he was a bad guy we could actually find? "Darn government going to war again!" Wait...that was a good thing, according to conservatives. Sorry.
If this "problem" of "too much government" ever gets "solved" our world might look a little different. Less government is nothing more than the consolidation of power on all levels. But when the GOP's golden boy (yes, the right will always own GWB) is referring to a dictatorship as "easier"...
...the American people have more to fear from Walmart than the federal government. All corporations have only one fear: The federal government. Is it any coincidence that the most powerful entities in the world control most of what we hear, read, watch and eat? Further, is it any coincidence that the middle class is slowly decaying? As power consolidates (and this is a direct result of deregulation) you will see the emergence of Feudalism.
FYI: A monarch is the smallest government you can get. I thought the entire reason for the revolutionary war was to break the control of a monarch.

beast250,

'Just wondering --- with over 6 billion people in the world, wouldn't there be a supply glut?

Maybe we need to imagine the world of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. Money and wars are a thing of the past in the "Federation."

So- we intervene when we transfer them from a democracy to a dictatorship, but not when changing from a dictatorship to a democracy hmmmm..........

Daschel, you wimp! Wait until the 27th of June Daschel-[the President's National Day of Service for Health Care Reform. See http://www.barackobama.com/

No, Steve Forbes, Jack Welch created poverty (in this country.)

An public education/health care analogy:

Public education is schooling offered to all children by the government and paid for by taxes. Americans invest in public education systems because a democratic society is stronger if people are capable of reading, writing, and doing basic mathematics.

Radical right-wingers argue that teaching these skills is best left to the private sector. However, a system in which people with more money have greater means to education and training is counter intuitive. People with more money will have a distinct advantage thus undermining real competition. So as a compromise, we use (what used to be a progressive) tax that allows everyone the right to at least some decided minimum level of education, while maintaining the right for wealthy people to purchase any additional education they please. Public education encourages growth and is always an investment in the long run.

Like education, public health plays an important role in a democratic society’s strength, well-being, wealth, and happiness. But again, the radical right makes similar arguments toward public health care that they make about public education. Leave it to the private sector, not even a public heath care coverage option should be permitted. Recent history proved this private system only a disaster.
The contrary is true, however, in many other countries that do offer a public option. All of these nations (without exception) spend less then the U.S.’s all private system, and the vast majority of these nations report better health and mortality statistics. The opposition harp on claims of long lines and rationed care, but these minority sentiments are really people defending a more progressive system (not banning public health altogether). Similar to the common U.S. sentiments about public schools using old books and having over-sized classrooms. We do not wish to eliminate public education, rather to fix it. The more we see the parallels between these two debates, the easier it is to see that health is a right not a privilege, and that health care is an investment not an expense.

At one point in his life, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat and spoke eloquently about the needs of the middle class. Was there a defining moment in his life that caused him to start to hate American ideals?

Question: What do Barack Obama and John Ensign have in common?

Answer: Problem with flies. Obama killed a fly on camera and Ensign couldn't keep his fly zipped.

mstaggerlee,

LOL

In honor of "anything goes" Friday, was it the Firesign Theatre who had a radio-show caller who said, "Hello. I'm not wearing any pants. I'll hang up and listen!"

That's so silly it always makes family members laugh.

A must see! check out this you tube of Tommy Douglas, leader of the Canadian Health Care System.."After I am gone-" speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf1YAznsnVA

Re: court denys DNA

The right seems to not realize is that among the most important things in a country is for the people to have faith in their judicial system. That is why it is more important to protect the innocent at the cost of letting some of the guilty go free.

The great crime that Bush committed was to erode our on faith in our judicial system. By denying rights to our worst enemies he sided with the lynch mobs, the vigilantes and the "throw the key away" crowd. It cheapens our court system and does great harm to our national psyche.