The Conservative Republicans' Delusion

During the Clinton years I had to endure a constant harangue from my conservative Republican friends and family about "The Rapist" (i.e. Bill Clinton) and "The Bitch" (Hilary Clinton).  It got so bad that I hated to visit my Mother and my brother who lived with her because they would work themselves up into quite a lather after listening to Rush Limbaugh.  Hey, I wasn't too thrilled with Clinton either after he double-crossed the GLBT community by signing into the stupid "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and Defense of Marriage Act.  But that didn't make a difference to them, they felt they had to hold me personally responsible that "The Rapist" was president.  Never mind that the Clinton Years were some of the best for the economy of this country in a generation.  No, the GOP Hate Machine was in full force to delegitimize Clinton by impeaching him.  Of course Clinton was reelected for another four year term thus throwing the Republican Haters into a frenzy of self-delusion.  

After the Clinton eight years we got Bush. Need I say more?  I'm not even going there where that the Republicans probably stole both elections.  Look at the mess Bush Junior left us in,  but not to my conservative Republican friends and family. Soaked in their Fox News paranoia they think all the problem is the Democrats blaming Bush for everything that ever went wrong with this country.  Delusion.

So now we have Barack Obama reelected as president for a second term.  This after four years of the conservative Republicans trying to delegitimize President Obama as a Kenyan, Muslim, Socialist, Hitler, and homosexual.  Delusion.

Barack Obama, only the third president to be reelected with a 50% majority since Ronald Reagan,  the other presidents being Roosevelt and Eisenhower.  

So now I am being bombarded again by some of my conservative Republican friends with their paranoid conspiracy theories that President Obama is a Socialist Muslim Terrorist who stole the election and is hell bent to destroy this country.  The Mau Mau are coming!  

Friends, I have to be blunt here.  I'm 71 years old and frankly, I am tired of fighting these delusional people.  Friends, relatives notwithstanding, I am tired.  I can't imagine responding to their fantastical delusional conspiracy theories for the next four years.  I just can't.  

I've tried to figure out what makes these people tick.  Is it racism?  Maybe that's part of it.  I really don't know.  This is what I do know.  I heard a quote today form a columnist that I never heard of before that sums up my feelings best.  This is the quote:

The GOP’s Shrinking Tent

“If you believe in climate change, finding a path to citizenship for millions of hard-working and the right to marry the person you love, there is no place in the Republican Party for you.”

Timothy Egan – New York Times 11/30/2012

So friends and relatives, do not send me any more of your hateful e-mails, snide comments, and put-downs because I voted for Barack Obama.  I have better things to do with my time than respond to you and try to explain reality to you.  My suggestion for you is to arrange an appointment with your therapist to get to the root of your hate filled delusion.  

I'm running out of time folks and I am tired.  Take all that energy you're putting into hate and try to do something positive for this country that ALL OF US LIVE IN.  

Take a deep breath and connect with reality.  

And please folks, stop telling me what I can or cannot post on my Facebook page and blog.  As I have said many times before, if you don't like what I post on Facebook, unfriend me.  If you don't like what I post on my blog, then don't read it.  Last I heard this was a free country.  Check the U.S. Constitution that you're so fond of quoting to justify owning your automatic rifles, somewhere in that document is a mention of free speech.  It's called "The Bill of Rights".  Applies to gay men and women, black men and women, Hispanics, Asians, young people, women and yes, even white men. 

Romney Scares the Baby (and me)

The baby's not buying it either Mitt!

Hey, Romney scares me too!  Babies, like dogs know when somebody is BAD.

I have to admit I am enjoying the total collapse of the Romney campaign for president.  After the real Romney was revealed in the now infamous "47%" tape, almost all of the polls have turned in favor of President Obama and for good reason.  The hidden tape revealed what Mitt Romney really believes, he DOESN'T CARE about the "47%" nor does he care or understand about most of the rest of the country.  The only people he cares about are the "1%" of his fellow plutocrats who want to further plunder this country for their own benefit.



Did you all see Senator Jim Webb's speech a few days ago on this subject?  What really galls me about Romney is his total failure in understanding or supporting our veterans, who are in the "47%."  This is the same Romney who spent his Vietnam eligibility years in France on a beach sending a postcard to his future wife Ann.  See here. I don't blame Romney for avoiding the draft, I did too.  That's why I joined the Army (for three years) so I would have some say (not much as it turned out) over where I went in the Army.  Romney supported the Vietnam war.  He demonstrated for the support of the draft.  But oh, he wasn't about to be drafted.  Oh no, not Mitt Romney.  Romney was quite content to let someone else go in his place to the rice paddies of Vietnam and die or be injured in a senseless war.

Mitt Romney on a French beach 1968 making sand postcards to his future wife while some of his peers were dying in Vietnamese rice paddies

Then, when Romney returns safe and sound from la France after the Vietnam war, he marries Ann and they produce five sons.  Of course NONE of the sons saw fit to offer their service to this country either.  But Romney is quite content to make use of the freedoms of this country and it's capital markets to make a fortune for himself and his family.

Now he wants to complete his resume and be president of the United States of America.  I assume part of the reason he wants to be president is to avenge his father George Romney's aborted run for the presidency of the U.S. after his famous "brainwashed" statement after he returned from a fact finding mission in Vietnam.  The elder Romney claimed that the generals "brainwashed" him into believing the United States was winning the war in Vietnam.  I also think Romney wants to be president because he really believes it is HIS DUE.  After all, he was born with a silver foot spoon in his mouth and in his mind it is only right that he should be president.  After all, he LOOKS LIKE A PRESIDENT.  Qualification enough for someone like Mittsy.  The current version of the Republican Party is only too glad to support him because they see him as an vehicle that they can manipulate for their goals of further tax cuts, and eliminating all social safety net programs.  Yes folks, they do want to take us back to the 19th century.  That's why they are called conservatives.  If the 19th century (with child labor, low wages, seven day works weeks and the elderly living in chicken coops) was good enough for their ancestors, it's good enough for you!

Some of my best friends wear these - they're called "Republican glasses"

Here is what really scares me folks.  Yesterday I was talking to a longtime friend who I like and respect.  He is a conservative Republican and Romney supporter as most of those of my age group.  I casually asked him if he had seen the hidden video clip where Romney mentioned he didn't care about the 47%.  My friend's reaction?  It was the usual knee jerk reaction "Oh THAT!  That doesn't mean anything. That's just the news media taking things the wrong way." 

Friends, this is what really scares me....that so many people like my friend yesterday have these horse blinders on and can't see the obvious even when it is right in front of them.  They think the whole collapse of the Romney campaign is the result of a biased news media rather than the failure of the candidate.  Romney said in his "47%" video "I'll never have their support."  He was referring to the 47% of "victims" who think they are "entitled" to "health care, a job, and a home."  How about the other 47% like my friends who wear the horse blinders?  They my friends will ALWAYS vote for an empty vessel like Romney.

More images of my conservative friends - they're tuned in to "Faux News"

One thing is for sure though, that baby Romney was holding yesterday wasn't fooled.

At least George knew he was scaring the baby

Clint Blows......it

The ignoramus Clint Eastwood talks to an imaginary President Obama in an empty chair

Yep folks and all you Obama Haters, your favorite octogenarian celebrity, Clint "Make My Day" Eastwood blew Mitt Romney Romney's chance for a perfect introduction for his acceptance speech at the GOP convention.

Clint, the Mystery Guest, brought an empty chair out with him.  Oh gee, what is the genius Clint GOING TO DO NOW?  Oh my, a Hollywood Icon is to grace us with his artistry.  GO CLINT!  And as the all white Republican, brain-washed ("brainwashed" borrowed from the Republican nominee's father George as his most famous quote) audience clapped like seals, eagerly anticipated what THE HOLLYWOOD ICON WHO SUPPORTS OUR RICH WHITE FOLKS ONLY PARTY was going to surprise us with.

Mr. Eastwood, with his graying hair (what's left of it anyway), swirled up in one of those Hollywood Do's to let us all know that Hollywood celebrities are DIFFERENT than us mere mortals even though they get old and confused just like us, proceeded to talk to an empty chair.

Clint Eastwood, doesn't look a day over 102

It didn't take too long until we all figured out that THE HOLLYWOOD ICON was making believe that the person in the empty chair was President Obama.  Oh, real funny.  How original.  So ARTISTIC.  What a genius THE HOLLYWOOD ICON Clint "Methuselah" Eastwood was!

The whole bit was not only embarrassing to watch but highly insulting to the President of the United States.  At one point Clint insinuated that President Obama told Mitt Romney to fuck himself.  Nice Clint.  Real nice.  How about this Clint:  GO FUCK YOURSELF.

Note:  Apologies to my regular readers who don't like language like this but sometimes it is called for, especially when such a disrespectful display of hate is put on the national stage.

Actually, Clint Eastwood, by his arrogant and ignorant act of disrespect to the President of the United States fucked himself.  He will never have the same level of respect that he once had.  So Clint, yes, you "can do that to yourself."  You just did.

Clint Eastwood, former Hollywood Icon
Stick a fork in him, he's done

Wilmington VAMC Visit

The Wilmington VAMC December 19, 2011

Yesterday morning I visited the Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  I had a lot on my plate to accomplish during my morning visit.  I had to coordinate the following:

• Blood work
• Dermatology
• Sign up for MyHealthevet
• Swollen leg and ankle issues

I get the best care I've ever had in my life through the VA system.  The only problem is that the main medical facility is 82 miles away from me.  The American Legion Post 28 out of Millsboro, Delaware provides a van to ferry us old vets to the Wilmington VA Mondays through Thursday.  The only catch is that we have to finish all of our appointments by 11 am so all us Old Vets can catch the van back to Sussex County, at the very end of Delaware.  Wilmington is at the top of Delaware.  Delaware as you all know is a peninsula.  We're a little like Korea, just a jut of land sticking out in the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay.

My trip from Point A to point B yesterday 

I was dreading this trip because I didn't think I could coordinate everything and see everyone.  I especially wanted to see my doctor (I finally have a doctor who CARES about me) to address the problem of my swollen lower legs and ankles.  When I called earlier int he week the earliest I could make an appointment with him was 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and that would have been too late.  He suggested I do a "Walk In" and take my chances.

So that was the challenge I was faced with yesterday.  Without going into the boring logistics I will tell you that I was successful!  To do the "Walk-In" I had to go to the Emergency Room.  They saw me immediately.  The nurse practitioner looked at my legs and ankles and filled out the required Sheet of Paper that I was to take to Team B.  The Sheet of Paper is required to gain entry.  

Waiting for the doctor to check my ankles, that my records on the computer 

While I was waiting my turn for give blood for my blood work I took the elevator to the sixth floor and the Dermatology unit and was taken care of in a timely manner again.  The Wilmington VA has residents and doctors from Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia to make the daily trip from Philadelphia to Wilmington to take care of us Old Vets.  Coincidentally when I was first diagnosed with a pre skin cancer condition twenty-five years ago it was from a doctor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.  At that time I worked at a bank just up the street.  Yesterday the resident found five spots on my face and he burned them off.  Didn't feel good but at least I'm keeping the skin cancer at bay.

I would rather be shopping

Then back down to the first floor to have my blood drawn.  Then to wait for another doctor to look at my legs.  He determined that I should wear special support socks to keep my lower legs from swelling when I stand a lot, which is what I do when I work at the hotel like I am all these week.  He also increased the size of my "water pill" prescription.  

I arrived at the VA at 7:30 am.  I was done with all my business at 10 am and coincidentally the van driver was ready to go.  Perfect timing!

Bill picked me up at the Rt. 1 and 5 pickup point for the VA van and while he was driving me home my doctor called me and discussed my situation, including my upcoming biopsy for prostate cancer.  While I am not looking forward to this biopsy (I'm looking for any excuse to get out of it), I did feel more comfortable talking to a medical professional he seems to care about ME.

It's ironic but my whole life I've never felt I had a doctor who cared about ME.  Never.  In fact I had a doctor who almost caused my death by his negligence and other doctors who seems only interested in Turnover.  What I like at the VA medical system is that the people who work there are not in it for the money.  Most of them seem to work there because they truly care about us Old Vets.  At the VA they don't put you in a cubicle to wait for them because they're trying to get as much turnover as possible to make as much money as they can.  There is a difference.  

I don't have a whole lot longer to go in this world but I do feel comfortable knowing that where I go they do care about me.  That is as long as this government keeps the Republicans out of power.  Once they're in, they will try and do away with the VA medical system and privatize it.  If that happens, then I am a goner.  If anyone ever wanted to know why this lifelong conservative Republican is a liberal Democrat, one need to look no further than when George W. Bush and Company attempted to do away with medical care for veterans like me by charging an annual $2,500 FEE for us to use the VA.  Pardon me while I get on my political stump again but I seem to remember so clearly when I joined the Army, one of the reasons given to me to join by the Army recruiter was that I could have a FREE college education (which I took advantage of) and Lifetime Medical Care IF I NEEDED IT. 

 Well, there came a time in my life when I was without a job (2000) and had to have TWO MAJOR SURGERIES.  The VA performed those surgeries and saved me.  Bill had a ruptured gall bladder.  They took him by ambulance to Philadelphia in the driving snow and SAVED HIS LIFE.  Bill was in Intensive Care for FOUR DAYS.  They didn't think he would make it.  He did and I attribute that to the excellent non-profit motive driven care that he received from the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center.  My former dentist's wife had a similar situation where the VA saved her life.  

So when anyone asks me "How can you be ONE OF THOSE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS?" all I can answer is that the VA benefits that I EARNED (just like Social Security that I PAID INTO) saved my life  as well as saving Bill's life when he gall bladder burst during a snowstorm.  If the Republicans were in power and had their way both Bill and I would probably be dead or if we did survive we would be so deep in debt life wouldn't be worth living.  

So there my Republican Friends, chew on that reality.  And by the way, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The beautiful 2 ft by 3 ft watercolor (original) in the VA emergency waiting room
I WANT IT!

Obama Caves

I don't know where to start with my response to Obama's cave in last night to extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich.


Even though I knew he would give in to the Republican demands for tax cuts, I felt sick to my stomach when he made the announcement last night.  My feeling was one of betrayal.  


Remember what he ran on?  NO TAX CUTS FOR THOSE WHO MAKE OVER $250,000.


Another campaign promise broken.


Here is a partial list of campaign promises that Obama has not kept:

• End of tax cuts for families making over $250,000 a year - Obama said he will support an extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans for two years
• No taxes for seniors who make less than $50,000 a year - since Obama was elected president there has been no mention of this campaign promise
• Withdrawal from Iraq - we're still there
• End of DADT - Obama's Justice Department appeals court rulings that attempt to stop expulsion of gay service members until if and when Congress repeals the DADT law 
• Withdrawal from Guantanamo Bay - we're still there
• End of wireless wiretapping of American citizens - we're still doing it
• End of torture - we're still doing torturing

Obama and his administration touts their "accomplishment" the health care bill.  This is the same health care bill in which they didn't even fight for the public option which would keep costs down by competition.  Obama promised in his campaign that all negations would be conducted in public over C-SPAN.  Didn't happen.  Negotiations with the drug and insurance companies were done behind closed doors.  A deal was worked out where the insurance companies would get 43 million new customers with the mandatory provision of the health care bill but without the public option.  Again, Obama supported a bill that made it look like something was "being done" but in effect it is a lousy bill because the insurance companies will only raise their rates to cover the provisions of the bill that requires insurance companies not to cap their maximum payout and turn down people because or prior medical conditions.  

It is obvious now that Obama the president is not the same Obama the candidate. 

"Change that you can believe in?"  

No, Obama has proven by his performance the past two years that he takes the course of least resistance. 

Bill Clinton was right, Obama gives a good speech. 

Mark this date on your calendar.  Obama will be a one term president.  After last night's action, in which he didn't even fight for his campaign promise not to give tax cuts for those who make over $250,000, he has lost his base.  

The terrorists Republicans have won.

The Good, Bad and Ugly

President Obama signed into law the new health care bill yesterday. As Joe Biden so famously said yesterday “This is a big f—cking deal!” Here is the good, bad and ugly of the whole health care debate.



The Good:



The reform bill has two phases. First, here are some things that Americans will see change in the first 6 months the bill is in effect:

• Senior citizens will be eligible for up to $250 in prescription drug rebates to close the "doughnut hole," the costly gap for prescription pills. In 2011, a 50 percent discount on prescription drugs will be enacted.

• Lifetime caps on insurance coverage will be removed.

• Insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage if you get sick or cancel coverage already issued except in the case of fraud.

• Prohibits coverage denial or rate adjustment for children who have pre-existing conditions.

• High risk pools will be created for adults with pre-existing conditions to buy into until 2014 when they will also not be denied or have rates adjusted for pre-existing conditions.

• Tax credits for small businesses when purchasing coverage.

• Consumers will have protections against insurance company abuses through the Patients' Bill Of Rights.

• Children will be able to stay under parents' plan until they are 26 years old.

• Consumers will have guaranteed choice of doctors and plans.

• Free preventative care for all.

• All insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.



The second phase of the bill is set to be complete in four years time, by 2014. Here's what the bill will do then:

• All adults will not be denied coverage or have their rates adjusted if they have a pre-existing condition.

• Tax credits will be offered to families to help offset the cost of health care premiums.

• Individuals who get insurance through their employer will be able to purchase a state-run option of health insurance instead when their current premiums are more than 9.5 percent of their income or when their current plan doesn't cover 60 percent of the cost of their benefits. Certain middle-income families who pay more than 8 percent but less than 9.5 percent will be eligible for vouchers from their employers to purchase insurance from where the employer normally would have.

• All Americans must carry health insurance or face a fine, but there are special exceptions for economic hardship, religious beliefs and other special cases. These exceptions include if a couple makes less than $19,000, they are not required to carry health insurance.

• Medium-sized and large-sized companies will be fined if they do not provide coverage for their employees or if they do not meet a minimum standard of coverage.

• States set up insurance pools to help small companies come together to pay for insurance coverage of their employees and offer tax credits if they participate. They must insure their employees and meet a minimum standard of coverage or pay a fine.

• Flexible spending accounts used for health care costs will have a cap at $2,500 starting in 2013. There currently is no cap by law, but employers generally impose a cap around $4,000.

• Those who itemize their tax returns will have their deductible medical expenses shrink. The new bill only allows you to deduct medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of your adjusted gross income, the current law has it at 7.5 percent.

• 32 million Americans who were not covered before the bill was passed, will now be covered through subsidies averaging $6,000 per person to help pay premiums and other medical charges. This will also happen through the extension of Medicaid.



So now that you know how your coverages might change, how much will your payments change?

• If you get your insurance through your company, your premiums will not change.

• If you get insurance privately and you make under $88K, your premiums are likely to go down with the assistance of subsidies.

• If you get insurance privately and you make over $88K, your premiums are likely to go up to help cover the cost of the expanded coverage and subsidies.

The Bad:

Simply put the total, 100% Republican opposition to the health care bill that will vastly improve the lives of millions of our fellow American citizens. John Boehner, the Minority Leader is especially upset.  Probably because he now has to pay an additional tax on his tanning salon visits.



The Republicans were out to destroy the presidency of Barrack Obama. Senator Jim Demint of South Carolina said the the health care bill would be Obama's "Waterloo."  The Republicans failed.



The Republicans think they’re going to sweep back into power in the 2010 mid term elections by repealing the new enacted health care bill. They are so blinded by their hatred of president Obama and his supporters they can’t even see straight. Former presidential speech writer David Frum is correct in his current assessment that the Republicans are going down the wrong road. They are the ones going down to the road of defeat. The current version of the Republican Party (as opposed to the one I used to belong to when it was the Goldwater conservative Republican Party) is rapidly becoming irrelevant.

The Republicans are proving that they care nothing about the average American who is struggling with health care costs. They care only for their corporate masters, the drug and health care industry.



The Ugly:

The Teabaggers (their name originally until they were made aware of the “other” meaning of “teabagging.”)



This past Sunday the Teabaggers showed their true face when some of them shouted racial and homophobic taunts at some of our legislatures who were entering the Capital building for the final vote on the new health care legislation.

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.

This past summer Teabaggers packed local town hall meetings of congressmen and tried to shout down and intimidate anyone, including the congressman or congresswoman who was holding the town hall meeting, who didn’t agree with their narrow minded views.



There is an ugliness pervading the public square that we haven’t seen since the bad old civil rights days of the Fifties when Bull Conner and his men beat civil rights activities demanding equal rights.



I fear for this country not from terrorists overseas but from the terrorists within our midst. This is our real danger, not someone who can get health care who couldn’t get it before this health care bill was signed into law.



I’m not a religious person but I am a spiritual person. I thank God (or whoever) that we have the right person leading this country at this time of our turmoil. Barrack Obama is the right man and the right time for our country. I pray for his safety.

The Massachusetts Election

Scott Brown, the Republican candidate, won the senatorial election last night to replace Senator Ted Kennedy.




A Republican winning this election is a major upset in the heavily Democratic state of Massachusetts.



Now all the talking heads in media and the know-it-alls inside the Washington Beltway are saying Obama’s agenda is threatened. My question is what agenda?



President Obama was elected a year ago with the promise of “change we can believe in.” Where is that change?



All I see is the same old, same old. I see a president and a Congress of both political parties that are still dancing to the tune of their corporate masters.



The only thing positive that I can say about the presidency of Barack Obama is that he has improved our moral standing in the world by his less bellicose attitude towards the rest of the world. With that one exception I can see no change between Obama’s administration and the previous, disastrous Bush administration.



Bill Clinton was right on his assessment of Obama’s during the presidential campaign: “This is all a fairy tale.”



It is folks. Don’t believe anything any of them have to say. It’s all a lie.



That said, God help us if the Republicans get back in power.



The Democrats have no backbone but at least they’re not working on trashing the system and leaving us all to our own devices.



Every day I thank my lucky stars (I don’t believe in God) that I’m not just starting out in this life.



It won’t be too long now before I’m eating dirt pies. In the meantime I’ll try to hang on to what I have before the Republicans get back in power. Because make no mistake about it, as bad as the Democrats are at least they’re not out to screw the middle and lower class in this country like the Republicans.

Barry Goldwater is Rolling Over in his Grave

Want to know why I'm not a registered Republican anymore? The picture on this blog will tell you why. It is of a straight, white man from the South. It is of Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina. Last night during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress, Representative Wilson broke all decorum by shouting "You lie!" in response to President Obama's speech that his health care proposal would not cover illegal immigrants. While no one disagrees with Representative Wilson's right to disagree with President Obama, few will agree that his manner of expressing his opinion was way out of line. Few that is except Fox News but that is another whole world that I won't go into now.




For most of my adult life I was a registered conservative Republican. The first president I voted for was Barry Goldwater. He espoused my views on government and our society. I started to lose it with the Republican Party during the 1992 Republican Party Convention during the Pat Buchanan culture wars keynote speech in which he railed against gays and lesbians. Watching the all white, clean cut, conventioneers rise to their feet and give enthusiastic cheers a chill went down my spine. I realized at that time this was not the political party in which I as a gay man was welcomed. The cheering conventioneers reminded me of the "good Germans" who cheered Hitler.



In the year 2001 I officially changed my registration to Democrat. Not so much because I subscribe to all the Democratic ideals but because I could no longer remain in the Republican Party after George W. Bush and his cronies took over this country. First they get us into a war of choice in which we have wasted billions of dollars and needlessly sacrificed the lives of our best and brightest. Then the Bush administration pushed through tax cuts for the rich only (I didn't see any tax cuts) and relaxed federal regulations that ran our country into a ditch. Where I really lost it with the Bush Republicans is when they tried to take away my VA medical care from me just because I wasn't a disabled veteran. That did it for me because then I would have no health care because I was out of a job. I only had the VA healthcare because that was what was promised to me if and when I ever needed it when I joined the Army in 1960 and put my life in their hands. No they're going to go back on that promise? No, that's when I decided to get out of this party which was no longer recognizable as the Republican Party to which I once belonged.



Last night's incredibly rude outburst by Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina now shows what the Republican Party has become. It is a party of straight, white, southern men who lie, intimidate, bully and threaten. It is not my party any more. Surely, Barry Goldwater must be rolling over in his grave.