worth the time to read

i've taken a pretty middle-of-the-road stance in politics in the last few years. i honestly don't trust either side of the aisle, and i believe that very few in washington have the best interests of the people entirely at heart. i didn't vote for obama, but when he won, as citizens should, i supported him and prayed for his ability to lead this country. i have tried as best as i could to try to see both sides of every argument, be it the financial crisis and bailouts, the war, and now healthcare. the healthcare debate has take so many ugly turns and has had so much wildly inaccurate information passed about it, it's been hard to see through the fog. i understand the need for reform, and i of course understand that there are those who need assistance. but in trying to be realistic about this task, there is very little i see in the democrats plan that seems to be very good.

this is an article by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods. in it he details his ideas on reform and what he's done with his employees (with great success). he has been lambasted by the democrats for this article, and there have been repeated attempts to boycott Whole Foods (which were unsuccessful). i've also read other articles which detail plans that seem better. the ideas were simple and direct, but no one seems to want to entertain any other ideas except what is being given us by our current government.

i ran across this article this morning, and i cannot ignore it. i would hate to think that this is being done on purpose, but i also cannot believe that our president would be this misinformed about his own healthcare plan.

my true hope is, in short, that the republican side would calm the hell down and make some rational arguments (if the truth is really on your side, there's no need to shout), and that the democrat side would realize that 'the right' is not dumb or ignorant (or racist), just passionate. and a little scared.

while i'm on my soap box, i will say one other thing. capitalism, in and of itself, is not evil. the greed behind it is. many people falsely claim that "money is the root of all evil," which is not right. in actuality, the truth is that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil, which is a different sentiment entirely. this is why Jesus said that "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." this country became great and prosperous because of the very system that is now being villified by many, including michael moore. and while i agree there are many greedy people in powerful positions hurting people, the system is not to blame. and if that system is torn down, it will bring this country to a grinding halt.

also, i'm a big proponent of the fair tax, and if you aren't, you should consider it.

/rant