We have rationed health care now.

Health/medical care in the USA is rationed now. People that can afford medical care can get it. Those that can't often have to go without. Money buys the best of care. Lack of money often means premature death. Studies conducted by Harvard University show that 45,000 Americans die each year because they don't have the money to acquire necessary care. That's a form of rationing, isn't it? And what about the private insurers? They decide whether or not to pay for a treatment. In a sense, they operate death panels. They decide who lives or dies, who gets treatment and who doesn't. Often in an arbitrary manner. --Jim Broede

I'd put my trust in immigrants.

Let's give immigrants as many favors as we give to capitalist bankers. The bankers on Wall Street bilk the system daily. And we still bail 'em out. They give themselves obscene cash bonuses, too. For getting away with their obscene acts. In the USA, we reward obscenity. We reward manipulators of the system. And most of 'em are white males. And longtime citizens. I'll trust an illegal immigrant more than I'll trust a Wall Street banker. --Jim Broede

We're hypocritical.

I don't deny that racism exists all over the world. In one form or another. But that doesn't justify racism in America. It's just another way for Americans to get off the hook. By proclaiming we aren't the only racists in the world. We're hypocritical. We lecture China on human rights. Yet we've been among the chief violators of human rights. Ever since our founding. --Jim Broede

I could be a sneaky Swede

I don't know if I want to vacation in Arizona any more. I might get picked up for being an illegal immigrant. From Sweden. Maybe it's gonna get that bad some day. Produce your papers. On demand. Sounds like a police state to me. Some state senators in Arizona even want Barack Obama to display his birth certificate. They suggest he's foreign born. I guess because his skin color ain't pure white. Virtually everybody with a dark skin now comes under suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Maybe even an illegal president. My gawd. What has this nation come to? Guess I can't even feel safe any more. I'm blond/gray haired and blue-eyed. And I have socialist leanings. I could be a sneaky Swede. Here illegally. --Jim Broede

My adage: Talk to strangers.

I like to do things on the basis of impulse. In other words, just do things. Without thinking too much beforehand. Because if one ponders too long, one doesn't do it. I've learned to talk to strangers. Without hesitation. And I start talking about the damndest things. It often leads to interesting conversation. And I occasionally get a feeling that we've known each other for a long time. Because we sort of share intimacies. Right from the beginning. Yes, two strangers coming together. In a chance meeting. Because one of us decided to be a little daring. I wasn't always that way. When I was a youngster, I remember my mother cautioning me about talking to strangers. But now I think that's bad advice. I find it productive and stimulating to start up a conversation with a total stranger. How else does one become acquainted? --Jim Broede

I've learned to complain, happily.

I complain. But at the same time, I love life. Might seem like a contradiction. But it isn't. Because every day I embrace much of what I like. And at the same time I'm free to complain about what I don't like. Gives my life balance. Fact of the matter is there's far more that I like than I dislike. And I recognize I can't have a world exactly the way I want it. There has to be give and take. Room for compromise. Anyway, when desired change doesn't come, I don't necessarily get angry or frustrated. Because I recognize that some things can't be changed. And I learn acceptance. That's very satisfying. But hey, I can go on happily complaining anyway. --Jim Broede

Down with the plutocrats.

I'm hearing it more and more. From my fellow human beings. A dislike for big corporations. The behemoths. Because they are too controlling. They have taken over our lives. Manipulating us. Using us as pawns. And their executives are plutocrats. Government officials have become their puppets. They pull the strings. Do as they please. Wreck the environment. Just so they can make money. Now I'm really feeling the hostility, Even outright hatred. Not so much from me. I'm more a pacifist. But I feel the animosity bubbling up around me. Reaching a boiling pitch. A sentiment. That enough is enough. Government really isn't the problem. Rather, it's lack of government that serves the common good. Instead, the problem is government that serves the big corporations. The Global BPs of the world. The Wall Street bankers. Now it's time for open rebellion. Time to take back our lives. Time to bring down the rich. To rid ourselves of our nemesis. The cursed plutocrats. --Jim Broede