Never underestimate the depravity of the Republican Party or the stupidity of its base. "Make America Great Again." In Sarah Palin-speak, "So how's that workin' out for ya?"

Since we are now the laughing stock of the world, instead of red baseball caps, Trump's fools should be wearing the court jester's motley "cap' n 'bells."

Republican members of Congress in the House and the Senate are packaging a wolf in sheep's clothing. They are doing this to confuse and lie to their constituents. They know exactly what they are doing and do not care because they are morally bankrupt. They also know that their strongest supporters prefer to accept "alternative facts" to the truth. Their constituents are tuned to Fox News and believe everything they see and hear on that cable source; worse they do not trust the mainstream media because they were taught not to trust anyone not on Fox News. This faux fight about the ACA is the biggest case in point. The basic idea and structure of the ACA is a Republican idea. Republican think tanks came up with the idea and tried it out with Mitt Romney in Mass. It worked and Romney used it as his signature achievement. President Obama adopted the Republican idea because he could not imagine that Republicans would fight against their own ideas. Obama offered it as an olive branch. Repubicans would have none of this "nasty" bill now that Democrats were supporting it. The old time Republicans went against themselves to defeat the ACA because they were afraid it would suceed and then would make Obama look like a good guy. Their worst fears came true. The ACA works and helped millions of Americans purchase health insurance. My wife was one of those people. I bet everyone can point to a friend of family member who benefitted. This drove the Republicans crazy mad. They hate Barack Obama more than they love the people of this great nation. These two ideas from the House and the Senate are disgusting. The only thing they have to do with health care is to destroy pieces of the system that are working well. These two bills are not about providing health care they are about taking health care away. At the same time they take away health care for the poor and elderly they give huge tax breaks to the richest Americans. This should be called a tax cut bill not a better care bill. Sick. Sad.

I hope they ram it through. Then all of those sactimonious mid-western and southern Red Staters will get a taste of the fruit of their own poison tree. And it might be just the thing to FINALLY wake this country up from whatever fairytale fog it insist on living in. When their own GOP leaders are refusing to sign on to it (Nevada), you know we are on the right track. For decades we have tried to talk to people, show them the facts, try and get them to pay attention, but no, the people of this country had all the answers; and look what that got us. Now, maybe a good crack upside the head will get them to pay attention and wake up! Global warming is NO JOKE. A decade ago, 2500 scientists from around the world agreed that global warming was happening and it was the result of human behavior. At that time, glacier scientists told us about an underwater ice bridge between Antarctica and South America. They said it was beginning to melt. They said when it melts through, it will trigger the next Ice Age; an era that will only take a few years to fully set in... and then we all are toast. The rich fools are looking to try and move to Mars. They've got NASA and other scientists working overtime to see if Mars can be made viable so they can move out and leave all of us here to die the death of ten thousand screams that THEY created. Meanwhile, all the climate deniers are arrogantly telling us we are wearing tin foil hats, but this doesn't account for all the Polar bears that are drowning! Filthy bastards! No, I hope they ram this health care bill right down our throats. THEN maybe this bloody country will finally wake the Hades up and DO SOMEHING constructive with itself. And it isn't just the GOP that has harmed us. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have done more to harm this country than all of the Rethuglicons put together could achieve. No, it's the whole filthy lot of them; both red and blue. We need to clean house and vote the whole lot of them out on their kiesters. And then go after the SCOTUS and end appointments and put in elected terms; either they pass muster and make good law, or we get rid of them, too!

Yea, yea! From the heart! Keep it real!

The underlying evil is money in politics -- from Russia to the United States and everywhere in between -- and the first-line "evildoers" are the sociopaths and psychopaths, who are incomprehensible to normal people of conscience:

Legend, 2950-10k, stecoop01, ErinRose, Outback, Radical, chuckle8, k. allen (Where are you?) Hephaestus (where are you?), stopgap (where are you?), ikeberltersen (where are you?), johnbest, PhilipHenderson, Riverplunge, Johnnie Dorman, Professor Edward J. Dodson, Bollivar, Ronin, Uncle Draggi, Uncle Ralph, ScottFromOz, historywriter, wmleidy, OldGent, changeX, jibaro01, humanitys team, ChristopehrCurrie, Howard Laverne, Arrgy, Scotty11, twelter001, gloriapower, goducks, randolphgarriso..., tomcalwriter1, commchf, droberson, Willie W, General Detergent, Tonisongbird, mwalkerco, elinor roosevelt, sschniepp ...

... and so many other sincere liberal and/or progressive commenters who have graced these pages.

In the vein of our Founders, each in their own way, they are fighting to break through the thick wall of the modern-day "landed gentry" and the minions of bootlickers, who vociferously despise a true People's democracy.

I would direct "critical thinkers" to ErinRose's June 23 comment #10, which succinctly and elegantly, as in the above post, zeroed in on the crux of the matter.

Although I couldn't find the exact link to the YT video referenced at the end of that June 23 comment, I did pull up this one, which, along the same lines, seems fitting apropos of the dialog between Diane and me (and sschniepp), in response to 2950-10K's posts on the tail-end of yesterday's comment thread (TrumpCare Is Monstrous!"), and which seems indicative of the larger argument and challenge facing progressives in general, as they try to introduce fundamental realities on the internet beyond partisan spin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaNS0jTq32k

To all: Sláinte mhaith!

The more we fail to resist, the more insanity and immorality become normalized: It is the longest war in memory ...and tax cuts for the wealthy elite at the expense of the working poor -- who helped contribute to the fortunes of the privileged few by the sweat of their brow --are right and proper, just the way it should be.

BTW, this may be the YouTube video that ErinRose referenced in that June 23 comment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsWE_8ZIPQg

Here's another one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JVVhKP9XP4

Or, just listen to Trump speak for one minute on any given topic at any given moment (if you can stand it).

Interesting listening to the end of your show today when you were being challenged by a listener asking very critical questions about Medicare and Medicaid. He was spot on and his questions are the very ones perplexing the medical field. You did a nice job deflecting his question about the doctors, nurses, and others in the medical field being willing to work more hours for less pay though.

If you had your back surgery while you were covered by Medicare, your delays and attempts by doctors to put off surgery had nothing to do with the physicians in DC, it was the plain fact they have to follow Medicare guidelines before they resort to surgery. There are government mandated tests and an attempt to rehabilitate before surgeons are able to be covered for a procedure under Medicare. You did have the option to dig into your wallet and bypass all that but apparently you opted to wait and save the money.

If you are on Medicare or Medicaid and have a complaint with the US medical system, don't blame the doctors or hospitals, blame the regulations and thank obamacare.