11.1.09 @ 3:32PM Jerry, you wrote: &gt;&gt;We've HAD "socialized" medicine here for years. Medicare, Medicaid, remember? We also have a lot of other SCARY "socialized" programs... like Fire Departments, Schools, Police, the Highway Department, SOCIAL Services. Have any of these programs denied you from exercising any of your "freedoms" ... BP | 11.2.09 @ 9:37PM Jerry, Frankly speaking, we are a Republic....Not a Democracy..Look it up Big Guy with the Big Words, the Big Answers, and all the where with all about everything! We learned what we are as a nation in H.S. government... Jeanne | 11.3.09 @ 10:59AM Hey Jerry, I care very much what this well-educated and thoughtful man has to say. So he works in the entertainment industry too. That means he has personal experience in business, which is more than most lawyers and politicians can say. What are your credentials? And if you don't care what Ben has to say, why are you reading his articles. Oh, I know. Because the spinmeisters on the far left are deathly afraid of intelligent conversation and debate on important issues. They foster a culture of dependency, not independence, because it is from that stupor of non-thinking reliance on the "government" that people like Pelosi, Reid, and Obama get their power. They are sucking the brains, heart, and soul from Americans. The health care system is in need of reform, but before the Lefties in Washington shove this bureaucratic boondoggle down our throats, let's try some of the simple fixes