I agree, but they still need to be able to have their say. Whether they get anything or not is up to the powers that be- not me or you. Stifling their opportunity to be heard would be even worse.
I don't want every special interest group to get whatever it is they want, no. I do however want a country where they can express their opinions. (ie. KKK) In my world they wouldn't exist, I don't think they get shit from the gov't other than the right to express their (totally fucked up) views.

The one serious difference between thee and me, DanaC, is that I have no faith in socialism and never have. The rest is just education.

Socialism? Whats that?

Then I bow to your superior education.

Don't do that Dana. he'll start thinking he's smarter than you. lol ;)

But he is Ali. Clearly.

UG thinks he's smarter than everyone. That doesn't mean he actually is. ;)

(don't tell UG I said that though. Let him keep his illusion for a bit longer)

UG is clearly a high intellect and a political heavyweight.

My education is clearly not sufficient to enable me to compete with him in a debate.

$8billion to airlines. $billions to Halliburton. $25billion to GM. $85billion to AIG. Untold billions to Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, etc so that $6billion in bonuses could be awarded to key employees. $billions to drug companies by protecting their 40% higher drug prices. $700billion to all other favored rich companies. This is not socialism? No, this is the 'new contract with America' democracy version 2 complete with a 2% reduction in the average American's income while the rich have income increases on the order of 100 times. Sounds like the perfect society: free market tyranny. Why would anyone want income redistribution when the above government solution is even better than socialism.

Now if we could only fix Social Security by privatizing it.

That sounds so defeatist. lol I'd much prefer to see you go at it hammer and tongs. :)

Dana is too smart to waste her time on him. ;)

Last week on This Week with George Stephano..stephana...steph...that guy, even George Will said that the "socialism" slant is stupid. He said that redistributing the money is what the government does!

Here's the quote:

"95% of what the government does is redistribute the wealth. It operates on the principal of concentrated benefits & dispersed costs. Case in point, we have sugar subsidies. costs the american people billions of dollars but they don't notice it, it is in such small increments. But the sugar growers get very rich on this. Now we have socialism for the strong, that is the well represented & organized in Washington, like sugar growers, but it is socialism none the less, and it is not new."

So what? Everyone knows that, we just don't want them to take MORE.

How bout instead of them taking more, they just take it from a different place and give it to the little guy instead of big business?

If that was the plan I might agree with it, but his definition of big business is not one I subscribe to. Multi-million dollar corps, go ahead. But then don't be surprised when they pull up root and move to Dubai.