This story makes me ill.  Inglewood has had numerous police shootings as of late. 1 a month or something.  Now I've no doubt that police have a tough job and odds are MOST police shootings happen for a reason.  Even in this case the suspect was a bit suspicious but... oh my this story is just sooo very wrong.  If you don't go read this story it goes like this:

A 56 year old homeless man pushing a shopping cart stuffed with plastic bags and as at least one story said "soiled clothing" has a toy gun in his waistband, cops are called and show up, they give him orders, he doesn't comply, they fire a beanbag at him, doesn't work, so they shoot at him on a busy intersection. 

Wait... no... I'm sorry, to say they shoot him is an understatement, they shoot, apparently, 40 some times -- grazing a man driving by in the head as well as shooting a nearby dog (which may have belonged to the suspect or possibly another homeless person), leaving a dozen or so bullet holes in nearby buildings.  They killed the suspect of course. 

Now even if we assume they were terrified of his toy gun and it really did look real we're still talking about an apparently busy intersection in front of a restaurant that was allegedly full of people.  There were cars driving by.  Clearly this was careless on the cops part no matter the circumstances.  I mean they grazed an innocent driver in the HEAD... WHILE HE WAS DRIVING.   Are other cities not having these kinds of threats?  Because I'm not hearing of other cities cops coming so dangerously close to blowing the brains out of the heads of innocent drivers over toy guns and leaving dozens of bullet holes in buildings on busy streets. 

I'd bet a homeless man with a toy gun that "looks real" either felt he needed protection or was ill as so many homeless people (either physically or mentally as they're often the ones who can't afford to live anywhere but on the streets),  I'd also bet that if my assumption is correct then it's highly unlikely the cops really know how to deal with such a situation and they should.  The answer isn't to put all of society in danger.  It seems, so far, unclear as to whether the man even went for the gun, threatened anyone, etc.

I'm glad that activists are demanding investigations.  Most cop shootings barely make me take note as too often people really could avoid them.  And maybe this man could have avoided his... But this case is so different because they clearly didn't even make a real effort to consider society as a whole.  It was just shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot   shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot   shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot     <--- 40... I'll give the the benefit of the doubt though reports say more than 40.

So we'll bail out Fannie and Freddie... But Eddie he died at home... on the streets.  Yes, working to help the community isn't important.  It's a good thing no one was ever organizing to help Eddie get off the streets, I mean he might be alive now and that person in the car might not have faced a bullet either and that dog too... Eddie, not the middle class, not Fannie nor Freddie should be who we hear about saving.

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Palin has hired an attorney for herself and her staff, in regards to Troopergate.  No one should take that as anything shocking, when accused of wrong doing you should have a lawyer.  Why do it today and make it a news story today?  The same day you announce your kid is pregnant?  I'm sorry are you just trying to make yourself into one big joke of a soap opera distraction on purpose?  This is so.... ugh.  Insulting somehow.  As governor troopergate wasn't an issue or what?  Today it is?  Today you need a lawyer and the press to know you hired a lawyer?  And if your daughter is FIVE months pregnant why today?  It seems like you're just trying to be a story.  Nothing more than a story.  Not issues.  I'm tired of it not being issues but a story.  Can you not discuss the issues... please.  I don't give a damn that you like mooseburgers, have five kids, have family issues, hunt, blah blah fricking blah.

Issues please.  What do you know about the economy?  Not the Alaskan economy btw, the federal one because I live in a city bigger than Alaska, Alaskan issues don't represent the country.  What do you know about foreign policy?  What do you know about health care?  You know about mooseburgers and shooting, that's nice.  I find guns revolting.  What else do you know about? 

Ohh Laura Bush is on tv.  She may not be with me on issues, but I can watch her speak without wanting to throw stuff at my tv.

*edit* Not turning the weather political -- Did someone just imply Republicans are doing going things for those in the path of the storm, just Republicans?   I'm not rewinding it, I might get mad...  I think that was implied...  Forget it I don't wanna know... I might throw things for real.  Republican, Dem, Independent, Green, whatever... everyone cares, thanks.

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My body:
I fell asleep at  2:something am.  I woke up at 7:30.  I thought wow, I slept a LOT.  I was sure it was 7:30 PM.  I mean I was battling pain alien when I fell asleep.  Brian is home, so he hogs the bed, pushes me to the edge of the bed so I get ohhhh.. to sleep on my side on the corner of the bed trying not to fall off...  We need to go back to twin beds so I can sleep I swear.   I'd say a huge bedroom when we eventually move, and a KING sized bed, but he'd find a way to make my sleep hell anyway ;)  Anyway,  I wake up, go to the bathroom, get coffee out of the fridge, turn on MSNBC, open laptop, notice time on laptop -- AM....

UGH.  Good morning world, I guess! heh.  5some hours sleep, fun fun.  MS exhaustion levels or pain alien should be real fun today but too awake to go back to sleep.  Too tired to do anything productive. For the record, pain alien is mostly beat I think.  I seriously couldn't function last night.  Remember I call my severe pain "pain alien" because it feels like the movie Alien is gonna rip through my body like that.... heh well yesterday I was pretty sure for real something was gonna tear through my skull and hand Brian my brains.  All I could do was stop every few seconds or minutes and just grab my head and think ok I'm about to die now.  At one point poor Brian just looked at me, after asking me a dozen times if he could do anything and being told no, and told me something like if my head was gonna explode and bleed all over the place to do it where it'd be easy to clean up or not all over him or something.  Yeah... I looked and felt THAT bad.  I seem more functional today...

Looters:
LOL at NO press conference.  The mayor repeating over and over to those who stay behind and may try looting -- you'll be sent straight to prison, not county jail... PRISON, not county.  PRISON, got that?  Ohh general population in prison.  And God help you there.  He's funny but I think he got his point across, they're taking EVERYTHING seriously. He even warned those who chose to stay, look you fools, those trailers ARE going to be like missiles, watch out.  I'm pretty sure their overall message was look this thing is gonna hit us.  It's gonna be bad but the city is doing all it can, we've told you the truth with all of the warning time we could.  Now it's on you.  And if anything goes wrong it's because you ignored us or will be on federal government again in the aftermath.  But the city, we did our part perfectly  this time.

RNC:
This just in Bush and Cheney skipping RNC due to Gustav.  Which is both wise but also convenient.  Them being at the RNC would have been bad for Republicans.

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My mom always find it either cute or disturbing when I'm ranting and mad heh, so mom umm you might want to skip this post ;)

Being a big news and politics junkie this election cycle is teaching me something.  Our country is even more screwed up than I thought.  I didn't think that was possible.   I already knew there were lots of racist, sexist, homophobic, idiotic, hateful people in our country.  But, I guess  that deep in my heart I truly believed we'd come a lot further than we have.  We did come very far in nominating, officially, a black man as a candidate to a major party's ticket last night.

BUT...

Since McCain announced Palin as his running mate it feels like being a woman has been turned into an insult of some sort.  For the first time in my life I do actually feel like a second class citizen.  A few of Hillary's supporters started this movement, but now, I just want to throw something.

Clearly Palin's main role is to energize the religious right.  And that's fine, she'll do that.    But that's not what today is about... The entire coverage today is, in a much smarter way than I am saying, claiming that women are stupid creatures, with no brains, who are not capable of thinking for themselves and who are only capable of voting for women because they're emotional idiots.  And SHE fed into that.  She used Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro's names and told women basically hey hi, I'm here now instead. 

I am a woman.   However, when I vote, I am not my gender.  I am my brain.  I am not my skin colour. I am not my nationality.  I am just my brain.  I am my opinions.  What I think about the war.  What I think about health care in this country.  What I think about social issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc.  I do have opinions on those things.  On who will most closely respect my stand on said issues.  I don't care if the person on the ballot has boobs or a penis or  both.  Shocked?  I'm not.  I'm shocked that so many people think I'd vote based simply  on the fact that someone is male or female.  White or black.  It's insulting.

I don't know about how everyone else was raised, but I was raised to think.  To have an opinion.  By a strong woman who may not always agree with me but always wants me to think for myself anyway.   By a woman who really did teach me that white or black, male or female, gay or straight, it doesn't matter, we're all equal.  I'm ashamed that so many supposedly strong women "leaders" are on my tv today telling me to vote for a woman who doesn't believe in what I do simply because she is a woman.  And yes, they are saying that flat out -- in pretty flowery words they think I'm too stupid to understand but I do understand them and I want to vomit.  This is what they think women are worth?  This is what being a strong woman leader is about?  This is what those "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" are for?  To tell women not to think, to give up everything they believe in, to vote for a woman even if they don't believe in what she does at all?  Just overlook all of that and say hey she's a girl too how cool!  I should vote for McCain he's got a chick on the ballot with him!  Soooo coool. OMG!  Look at her hair, so pretty.   Wonder where she gets her clothes.  Aww look a baby! She's a mom.  Issues?  What?  But ohh her shoes!  *gag*

Thanks for insulting me all over the news today.  Too many of you to name.  Mostly women.  :(

I guess that works for some, but not for me.  I honestly don't think I've been more insulted during this election season than I was today, and I've been pretty shocked and insulted and ranty this year.

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What was McCain thinking? 

I realize she'll make his party happy with him again.  But what was he thinking, really?

She does seem to have a rep for fighting good old boy networks.  Which is good... BUT...

Am I on crack or was her I am all for drilling for oil everywhere preceded by my hubby works in oil drilling?  *blinks*

Why mention your son signed up for the military this past 9/11?  Not, my son enlisted and I'm so proud of him, that's why he isn't here.  But instead -- we're such a patriotic family, my son signed up on 9/11 *hint hint* you all know how important that day is.  Neither McCain nor Biden made a big deal of their own sons being enlisted.  Something about that just struck me as wrong.  Someone wanted it played up that her son enlisted on 9/11.  And it makes me wanna gag I must say.  Not sure if it was her or a speech writer or who but bad bad choice.

Invoking Democratic women led the way -- Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton did it first but they're not here now, and I am so come join me, I'm a woman too.   That was the vibe I got from the end of the speech anyway.   Ugh.

She seems to have a decent enough personality.  She'll appeal to who she's supposed to.  On social issues she's too Republican for me, of course, so she doesn't affect my vote at all.  She's pro-life (code word for anti Roe v Wade), against gay marriage -- sorry my Uncle's LEGAL marriage means a lot to me thank you very much and anyone who wants to remove that from him can kiss my ass ;)  I don't think we'll drill our way out of the oil crisis and ruining Santa Barbara's coastline again isn't something I want.  Etc. 

My advice to the McCain camp?  Lock in her a room from now until whenever you guys schedule a VP debate, Biden is gonna beat  the crap out of her otherwise.  Nice personality won't win people over.  Cheney had more power than any VP in history.  That is fresh in people's minds.  McCain is older with a history of cancer.  She will have to prove she can be president.  She didn't do that with her introduction speech.

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Sleep:  So my body could take no more of the MS exhaustion + lack of sleep and I passed out -- not slept, just passed out at about 9:30 pm.  We know that means I was sick'ish.  I don't sleep at night.  I woke up at 5 am, when I'm usually falling asleep.  My body is quite confused but I slept, and I had a dream but all I remember is drunk midgets in a drug store offering people shots of whiskey.  Look I dunno... it was weird.

DNC night 1 = success.  TAKE THAT Republicans.   Ted Kennedy = WOW.  Michelle Obama, cliche here but Home Run is the only way to describe it.  

Misc Politics: Ohh goodie some white supremacy meth heads wanted to kill Obama.  Story here.   It wasn't a credible threat of course.  They were sort of wishy washy with their plans.  Yeah because they're using meth.  People on meth are friggin nuts, duh.  Have you ever experienced someone on meth?  They might have killed him, they might have gone to clean their houses from top to bottom at 4 am. 

Have you seen the ad with the chick saying I am a Hillary Clinton supporter and I'm for McCain, blah blah blah.  It's ok Democrats you can vote for McCain?    Well here you go:

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC's DNC Coverage 8/25/08

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My sleep is really screwed up.  Nothing news as you know, the MS sleep issues blah blah.  Usually I'm asleep by say 8 am and up in mid afternoon.  But this is one of those can't sleep, instead pass out rather than fall asleep last in afternoon, wake up at 8 pm.  Well I passed out with CNN on (MSNBC has Olympic coverage so I've been falling back on my local Fox station's morning show early then switching to CNN).  Now I like CNN 2nd best after MSNBC, I can't watch FOX News.  Yes I did just say I watch my LOCAL Fox station's morning show - two different networks / things.  But CNN is weird.  They have some really good stories and coverage of some things.  On others, well... WTF?  They were showing a lot of stories they'd shown yesterday, same interviews, etc not even really touching them up to be new.  I don't tend to see that on MSNBC.  And all day it was "Any moment we should be learning who Obama's running mate is".  "We're waiting to hear who Obama has chosen, word should come... any moment now"  So much so they practically neglected all else.  Geeez.  I'm sure MSNBC would have to an extent too but it was overkill at least MSNBC would have had tons of debate about it, CNN was mostly shots of houses they were stalking of potential VP picks.

The networks are reporting that Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine have been told they're not it.  CNN is claiming on their site that Clinton has also been told it's not her.  That leaves us with Biden, Kathleen Sebelius, Bill Richardson. Chet Edwards as the most realistic options left.

Ok Sebelius won't be it -- choosing a woman VP and not choosing Hillary after how close the primary was -- how close she came to being the Dem candidate would be political suicide for Obama.  Millions of die hard Hillary supporters would go after him, probably with guns.  And I'd understand their anger.

Edwards won't be it -- Pelosi pushed for him so he had that going for him, but he's too new in the mix, he's not been seen pushing for Obama in mainstream national press yet, and as stupid as this is he's got an unfortunate  last name right now.  And Obama - Edwards bumper sticker would confuse the idiots.

Bill Richardson -- Good guy, been out there working his ass off for Obama.  But it's not him.  The clues Obama dropped about him not wanting a yes man, wanting someone who would challenge him in the white house, etc.  That's not Richardson.  He's too nice to fit that kind of profile I think.

I said it in my last post this morning, I'm saying it again, It's Biden.  Now Biden's *cough* feisty.  He's got a big mouth at times, and he's not afraid to use it.  He's even made statements about Obama he's had to apologize for.  And I guarantee you McCain and his we only know how to fight nasty because we don't have good policies camp already have anti-Biden commercials ready to go because Biden's been around forever so there will be lots of material to work with.  BUT, he's also been uncharacteristically quiet lately.  Once he gets the nomination and goes back to being himself, you'll always know what Biden thinks about things.  Oh and he'll attack McCain in ways Obama has been too nice to.  This is a man who lost a wife and daughter in a car accident, has survived two brain aneurysms, has been in politics and attacked plenty already.  I'm sure he's had a tough life and can handle McCain's attacks.

*EDIT*  9:45 Pacific time CNN is claiming that Democratic sources have confirmed to them that even though the text message won't go out until tomorrow Biden HAS been chosen and has accepted. 

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Which side of your family do you resemble more?

I'll give you one clue -- My mommy's family is white - Russian, German, and something else I always forget.  My Dad was a nice brown shade - Spanish and Chumash Indian...

Who do you think I look most like? :P   Yeah those white people genes are strong!  To be honest, since my dad died so young and the few pictures of him were so bad compared to our high tech mega pixel pics of today... I'm not sure I got any  of his features... I don't see it really.  I got more of his personality, shyness, etc and my mom's physical traits. 

News: Ooh and before I go zzz -- THIS JUST IN BREAKING NEWS --- OBAMA MIGHT MAYBE TELL US SOMEDAY WHO HIS VP PICK IS!!!  Geez the news is exciting today, seriously they're treating the we could find out "soon" as BREAKING NEWS.  WTF?  A plane hit a house and killed some people in Vegas... yeah rush that story because BREAKING NEWS.... OBAMA WILL TELL US SOMEDAY!  Ok when he tells us then it's breaking news you idiots.   BTW - my guess is it will be Biden.

Health: And in other ohh so urgent breaking news, my sinuses and ears have been acting funky for a few days.  So for about 1/2 a second I had the most horrific pain just now.  SOMEWHERE In my head.  First I thought my jaw popped.  Then I thought maybe it was my ear.  Then I thought maybe something in my sinuses.  Hell could have been my skull shattering for all I know.  I just know it was a quick moment of HELL and I still dunno what it was or what part of my head it was in.  But now... my ear and sinuses feel a little better so whatever the hell it was must have been necessary and I can hear fine and smell ok so I don't think it was earth shattering damage :P  Weird. 

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McCain's Houses:
The man they tried to paint as an elitist, who just paid off his student loans in the last few years, he knows how many houses he owns - ONE.  I know how many houses I own - ZERO.  John McCain?  His people will get back to you.  Since he owns so many that he lost track maybe he'd like to give one to this very poor "Latte Liberal" :P  And why do they all say "Latte liberal"  What's wrong with Lattes?  I don't like straight coffee, I Like it flooded with milk, what's wrong with lattes?  Assholes.  See the thing is McCain wants us to believe he's in touch with the average joe and Obama is "elite".  Now, I won't tell you what Brian makes, *I* make zero due to my health issues.  Brian who works in ohhh so elite Hollywood, for big names, makes an ok living -- and you know what, we can barely cut it.  McCain knows nada  about the real world.  Obama has made it, sure, and sure he probably doesn't know personally right NOW what it's like to be ME, but I bet he "gets it" a lot better than McCain does.  Anyone who was rasied by a not so rich single mommy gets it a lot better than Mister no clue how many houses I own ever could.  I'm sorry, if someone dropped 50 billion in my lap tomorrow I'd STILL know how many houses I owned, why?  Because I wouldn't go around buying more than I'd use or could keep track of.  That's stupid and wasteful and there's better uses of money.

Bigfoot Hoax:
I wonder if the Bigfoot hoax was worth it.  They didn't make much money.  The cop guy lost his job.  And they stuff the suit with roadkill?  Really? WTF?  That's some serious mental defect right there!  They filled a gorilla suit with ROAD KILL.  They handled ROAD KILL for a picture where no one could make anything out anyway?  WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM?  YUCK.  *insert my sick stomach here*  who plays with dead animals for no flipping reason?  Sickos, that's who.

RIP:
RIP Stephanie Tubbs Jones.  The first African American woman elected to Congress from Ohio.  One of the, if not thee, feistiest women I've ever watched on tv.  She was interesting to watch.  When she supported Hillary she did so with an amount of loyalty that I think is truly rare in politics and I always thought that even though I didn't necessarily agree with all she said, she was clearly the type who'd stand up and say exactly what she believed and defend her words with a firey spirit that so few show.  RIP to her :(  A true loss to the Democratic party.   

MySpace:
I'm mainly on MySpace because to see PUBLIC pics you have to sign in, how stupid is that?  My sister is there, it's easiest to keep up with her and Keegan there.  Now, I prefer LiveJournal and Vox.   BUT, MySpace delivered  an AmberAlert for my area and asked hey do you want to see this complete with pics of the kids, etc = VERY good.  Thanks MySpace, I take back most of the evil things I've said, you're not so bad after all.  A good portion of your users are still idiots who abuse apps, glitter graphics, etc.  Including some of my friends, sadly.  Luckily they only send me one now and then so I can forgive them.  But seriously who needs so many of those things that even on comps that Brian uses to make MOVIE graphics and fast connections you can slow to a crawl?  ABUSE of MySpace or Facebook apps and silly glitter graphics should be a crime.  One or two you really like is fine, overuse is an addiction and one of the sadder ones at that.  It's the sniffing glue of internet addiction... no... It's paint sniffing... yeah and you left your paint all over my page, thanks!  It's why I won't accept random friends.  I don't mind if random people want 82984389829384098839280 friends.  I'd say yes and humour them.  EXCEPT I know they're gonna spam my comments with that crap so I DENY DENY DENY when strangers wanna be my friends. 

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Dear all news organizations:
This "New technology" that  you want to use to show off your reporters driving in cars for 30 seconds at a time SUCKS ASS!  I don't care.  I prefer your old technology thanks.  You know, the technology that gave us the live shots of them standing in one place where we could see and hear them instead of them in a car that sounds like a cell phone call made from a tunnel under a jet with video from a web cam made in the dark.  UGH UGH UGH.  Take your new technology and shove it.  And then you have to get your money worth from this new technology, so do you give us viewers a break and acknowledge it sucks and cut away to a different story?  Of course not, you take every third word that you can make out and try to roll with it.  You're idiots.  Move on the technology isn't working out.  STOP USING IT!  Cut your loses and save my sanity, k, thanks!  Whoever sold these cameras to the major networks should be shamed of themselves!  Whoever bought them should be fired! grrr!

Saddleback:
Now then, thanks to the miracle of better technology, aka YouTube, I was able to watch the Saddleback thing that I missed this weekend while busy.  Now, I'd heard Obama "lost" so bad I expected him to be some bumbling Bush impersonator.  Really?  He didn't seem that bad to me?  Perhaps to the target audience he failed.  But things like the Embryonic stem cell question for example, he gave answers that made me happy.  Answers that had to make said target audience cry but they don't get it.  The basic gist - YES there are other forms of stem cell research, but like when Bush ordered existing embryonic cells destroyed?  WHY?  If they exist why not use them?  That no one want to say hey go out and CREATE new lines for the fun of it but if they exist and could be DESTROYED then allow them to be USED so we can benefit from them instead of treating them like TRASH.  Etc.  I don't understand why you can't be a good "Christian" and yet "liberal" and give answers like Obama did -- be a "loser".  Ohh he's "Pro choice".  Etc. 

Was it his best "performance" probably not, but I didn't think it was a performance either, I thought he answered pretty honestly.  I didn't get the same vibes from McCain, I thought HE did seem like he was performing pre-planned thought out, monologues.  He was allowed a lot more freedom to ramble to tell stories completely off track.   He was repeating his campaign "stump" speeches nearly word for word over and over which was "banned".  And numerous times was doing the can I tell a story thing -- unnecessary ones.  He did also say something about can we get back to the Supreme Court Justice issue...  How can you get back to something you haven't been TO?  That issue WAS covered when Obama was on stage, not when McCain was.  So either he's psychic, he's wasn't in that "Cone of silence", he was prepared, or it was an odd coincidence?  He joked when he got on stage he'd been trying to listen in.  The whole thing seemed like bad acting all of the way through him being on stage.  He played up the war hero thing too much.  The minister was asking him questions he couldn't ask Obama due to no time before asking McCain every question he'd asking Obama.  He was feeding him more questions that play up McCain's perceived strengths.  I could see why people think McCain won.  But it seemed fake to me.   You know all of those 80s movies where the jocks try to set up the geeks to look bad and in the end the geeks look ok?  It kind of felt that way to me.  Like they tried to set up McCain to be Godlike and Obama to fall on his face.  He didn't and McCain didn't look Godlike.   It was more of a draw, unless you vote on the issue of abortion then I guess McCain won.

Oh also, McCain = not so funny.  He tried to joke while talking about taxing the rich.  You know how they always talk about raising taxed on the "rich" the ones who make the most money should pay the most as truth is they have all of the accountants and tax breaks.  He even said his answer about what "rich" is would be twisted.  I know he was trying to be funny when he put a dollar amount on what makes you rich.  He decided $5 million.  The thing is, despite his other, fairly smart comments on how Government abuses its money spending powers etc, and how we should limit spending first (good luck mister we should stay in war and go into others)  that comment is what stuck in my head.  And it's not funny because I think he believes it.  To him you have to be making millions  and millions and millions to be "rich".    Otherwise you're just some poor poor sap who is being picked on and who really doesn't have any money to be taxed.  You're just a common run of the mill citizen like me.  Suuuuure.  That's probably why I can afford medical care on my own too, I'm the same as someone who makes $4 million a year with my $0 a year. Tee hee.  Sorry, I'm twisting his words, of course.

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