I'm worried about Yogi Bear.

I've been wondering about it for years and I'm still bewildered..

You could send a pick-a-nick basket to Jellystone Park . . . or, better yet, just send me a money order, and i'll take care of it for you!

I'm glad someone else thinks the same, but you're Irish (yes?) so it's assumed that you had compassion for your fellow man drummed into you at home and school when you were a kid. Most of the rest of Europe's kids are raised the same way. As is the case in Oz, NZ, Canada, etc.

What happened in the USA, I wonder?

The thing that makes me smile is that it seems the "pro" affordable med camp are the reasonable anti gun, not obsessed about religion, live and let live part of the population,....... yet the far right "anti" care set appear to be from the bible belt on the whole.
If anyone should be wanting to look after the poor it should be the bible people, no?

I love a bit of irony.

I've just sent the picnic basket to Yellowstone, addressed to Officer Dibble.

Hold on.....he was Top Cat's whatjamacallit, wasn't he?

Many issues going on, including that I remember reading that some (not all) judeo christian tradition holds wealth as a reward (for virtue); many people in our country strongly feel that a work hard to get ahead ethic is a moral imperative with various rewards, and that people who don't get far financially have moral flaws; some human tendencies to arrogance once we ourselves are successes monitarily; probably some level of fear that all these people in big trouble will ruin the country with their grasping needs like hunger and shelter; and the obvious, money for wars and the military industrial complex, for power and more wealth, mixed with smaller regard for the health and welfare of the people including medical access and the infrastructure of the land.

Well, that's a start, I still need my second cup of coffee.

Yay! My government is forcing me to spend my money on a product I do not want or need! Best part, I can refuse, but I still have to pay them money. Oh boy! Thank you everyone who voted for this schmuck!

Would you be good enough to expand on that post, jswiggy/gunga/oral/bill or whoever you are?

The bastards emigrated here from your countries, or the forefathers did. I blame Europe.

Like this?...

I've just read that Yogi Bear has been classified as "essential" by the Homeland Suppression and Injustice Department. Washington Times' commentators feed him voluntarily.

Is that an ordinary essential or is he considered one of the bear essentials?

I suppose they will be calling it Obamabearcare next.

In all seriousness Walter, one non American to another, can you understand top politicians acting in such a manner? Do you think they are just after the selfish vote, or do they honestly think that way?

Chances are, these are the same guys who casually sanctioned the moron Bush and his costly ventures, with no more than a bat of an eyelid.
A conservative estimate of the cost of all that is now put between 2 and 3 trillion dollars, never mind the dead and injured.

Another way of putting it is 300 million people all paying $10,000 each, to get several hundred planeloads of coffins and injured returned home.

Now, if there's a reason to play hardball with a government, surely it would have been THAT, and not because of someone trying to bring affordable medcare to the masses.

No?

My only "excuse" is that most Americans seem to have gotten used to it (17 times?).

We (and you) have a different political system here.
But even in France (with the same system) such would be the political death of numerous politicians (seems, they do it the USA to stay on their posts) ... and the start of weeklong strikes.

Good video. Thanks.

It seems to me that you're being too narrow in your ursine concerns. What about Smokey? He works his furry ass off trying to prevent forest fires, and you show more concern for some bear named Yogi.

I'm very disappointed in you.

Since we abolished the draft, very few people find it necessary to serve their country. What has happened, especially noticeable since 9/11, our Military service men and women are volunteers. Some enlist to serve others to escape crushing poverty and absence of opportunity. That is still a great way to improve your circumstances, but these sacrifices are not shared. The are not shared because many are happy to pass this work on to someone else.

These loud voices you hear from the lunatic fringe do not represent the entire population. They just won't stop talking, and frankly they don't have a clue what it takes to run a country. If taxes were voluntary, those assholes wouldn't pay a dime and then would be outraged if the interstates were in poor repair. Think of it this way, these people are freeloaders with independent ample funds available to them, and will not willingly spend a dime to keep grand mothers heat on during frigid weather. They figure granny should have planned better, or should have died before costing them anything in health care.

Personally, I'm disgusted with these idiots trying to blackmail the President because they didn't want him to win. The crazy bastards think because Bush was selected by Supreme Court decision, they can continue to be entirely in charge. It really doesn't matter what the majority needs,or what the majority votes for. It's only about them, their pro war, anti-choice, sucking up to the most extremely religious ( and they ARE because they tell you they ARE). It's nuts, the whole world knows its nuts and extremely embarrassing to our nation.

For his Lordy ship and Walter. My remarks were not intended as a reprimand to either of you. I'm so fed up with my countrymen, I could burst. I don't know how we allowed so many zealots to take seats in the House. Hopefully in 2014 we can toss those buggers our.

Don't worry gb, the electorate of every country gets shafted in one way or another, come election time.
Just look at the UK. We took the bait hook line and sinker with the creature Blair......AND he conned us all long enough to get re-elected. He lied, cheated and smarmed his way through what has turned out to be the most incompetent (and in my opinion corrupt) government the UK has had to endure in years.
You know the recent rebuff to our PM regarding action against Syria? That all stemmed from the sexed up dossier instigated and approved by the creature Blair and his spin machine. It not only fooled the British Parliament, it went a hell of a long way towards convincing your Senate.
Years later, billions of dollars and pounds down the drain and many many dead on each side of the pond, the MP's weren't going to get fooled again.
Of course, they WILL be fooled again one day, as memories are short in politics and patriotism can be manipulated so easily, but for now we seem to have no stomach for Blair tactics or anything that resembles such a con.

So there but for the grace of god in some respects, but it must be said that you have some real and sinister weirdos in your corridors of power at this moment in time.

I sincerely feel for all (the vast majority probably) of you who are shouting at the TV screens but seemingly unable to do anything about it.

The lunatics have taken over the asylum, it would seem.

This "insane tactic", the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung says, is a "mystery", and "the Republicans will pay a price for this miscalculation. It is a godsend for the Democrats in the run-up to the next Congressional elections in 13 months," the paper concludes.