Crapped Out In Las Vegas

I had the most amazing opportunity this last weekend.  And I couldn't enjoy it. 

The way it's supposed to work when you go to Las Vegas for a Jimmy Buffett concert is you get there, drink too much and THEN you get sick.  I got it all backwards.

My friend, Al invited Deb and I to accompany he and his wife to Las Vegas for the Jimmy Buffett show this weekend.  Room, well, "Sky Suite" comped.  Tickets to the show, and yes they WERE on the front row, thank you very much.  Limo ride to and from the show.  All of this should have been the most memorable experience of our lives.  Turns out, Deb had a great time.  Me?  Not so much.

By the time we got to the casino on Thursday afternoon, I didn't feel so good.  I thought I was just stressed out from the drive, the road construction, etc.  I would put my feet up, watch a little college football, have a drink, relax, and then we could go to dinner.  Didn't work out that way.  I just kept feeling worse.

Al and Francis took Deb and went to dinner.  I stayed in the room.  Should have been astute enough to realize I needed water.

I couldn't concentrate well enough to watch a college football game.  That alone, should have been enough to tell me that I was in trouble.  Then, I couldn't concentrate enough to go on Facebook, and read all the goofy political stuff I like.  So went to bed.

These are all the signs of being dehydrated.  Once I started to drink water, I felt better.  But I got no sleep.

I'm sitting in a beautiful suite, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, or at least part of it.  The lap of luxury, I'm not paying for any of this, and I'm miserable!  And I HAVEN'T been drinking.  In Las Vegas.  How weird is that.

The next morning, after a night of running to the bathroom, cause I'm forcing water, which leads to having to pee all the time, I thought I was feeling better.

We go to the restaurant and I had the most amazing breakfast.  Irish oatmeal, brown sugar, milk and a gorgeous bowl of fresh, beautiful, berries like nothing you have ever seen.  Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries.

I had that breakfast for about 15 minutes.  Then without warning, I threw it up all over the gift shop.  Probably the most embarrassing experience I have ever had.  I went to the room as soon as a I could and I was in pretty bad shape.

Francis, the nurse, and Deb, my smart wife, finally figured out I needed to rehydrate.  They brought me Poweraide, and since I needed food, a Powerbar while they went down to the casino to watch Al compete in a slot tournament.

So, I'm in one of the high end casino's on the Vegas Strip, with some of the best restaurant's in the world, and I'm eating like a backpacker.  How screwed up is that?

I did manage to go downstairs that night and eat a few bites of a steak and some salad.  But I was still in the room feeling awful while they were in the casino getting pampered.

That's OK, because I think, Deb had the time of her life.  She never had to pay for a drink, or a meal, and she and Francis had a great time watching, Al win money.

Saturday dawned with no sleep, and feeling miserable.  They went to breakfast, and brought me more Poweraid and let me watch football.  I was really hoping I didn't have to miss this one and only opportunity to catch, Jimmy Buffett from the front row.

I made it, but not by much.  Had we not had the limo?  I really don't think I could have walked across the street to see this.

And this brings up something else I have never experienced before.  When you pull right up to the front door, and get out of a limo?  People look at you funny.  This was my first limo ride, so I've never experienced this.  They kind of look at you like, "Who the fuck are THESE people?"  I don't think I'm anybody special.  But the folks in charge of the place sure treat you like you are.

Then you show the guys in charge your ticket?  And it's Section: FLRC, Row: A, Seat 1?  They treat you real well.  They also put a yellow arm band on you.  Only folks with the yellow arm band are allowed on the front row.  So, you can't, "rush the stage" at THIS show.

Some Asian woman behind me kept asking me, "How you get that!?  Why YOU have that?!  I really didn't know what to say.  But boy, if you don't have that yellow wrist band?  You will get your ass tossed if you try to get on the front row.

The show was awome.  I could look skinny assed, Tina Gulickson right in the eye.  From 100 rows away, she just looked like a skinny girl with a BUNCH of blond hair.  Looks pretty much the same close up!  Deb and Francis got on the, "Crowd Cam". 

And I know why Tina's so skinny.  She and Nadira Shakur do NOT quit dancing the whole show.  Between that workout and the lights?  Wow!  We were UNDER the lights, not IN FRONT of them, and when they turned them all on?  It got HOT in there!

No intermission last night.  Just a long, solid show.  The pretty young girl standing next to Deb caught Jimmy's sweat band at the end of the show.

Al had caught a limo back earlier to see how he did in the slot tournament.  I pulled a muscle in my side trying to yell that information to Francis and Deb while the show was still going on.  And after the show, we went out, and caught another, Aria limo back to the room.

Now it gets weird.  Francis and Deb went down to the casino (since Al plays the high limit slots, all the drinks and food are taken care of, even if they were not playing) so their having the time of their lives, watching the play, eating the food, drinking, and drinking, and drinking the, "boat drinks".

I'm up in the suite, me and my Poweraide, trying to have a glass or two of whiskey, and trying to catch a score for the Utah game on the late, Sportscenter, when my cell phone rings.

Deb says, Al just hit a jackpot for $35K, and I should come down and see this payout.  Yeah.  Yeah, I probably should.  I'd be very happy for him.

But instead, I'm in a Sky Suite, at The Aria, trying to hold one eye open long enough to see if my crappy little football pool picks worked out today.  Cause at he end of the season?  This could bring me in as much as, oh, $300!

I'm really not living life the right way.  But for one brief, and shinning moment?  I got so see what it looks like when you do.

Et Tu, Bill Maher?

Bill Maher is a comedian.  And a very successful, very good one.  One of my favorites.  But he sure stepped on is dick with a post that showed up on Facebook this afternoon.

And I hope he never plays another college campus, as much bad stuff as he said about Campus Police Officers.

I would have thought he was joking, until I read the comments.  So, either most of the other folks who pay attention to his stuff don't get it or I don't. But either way, I can't let him treat an officer involved shooting like Faux News.  By leaving a whole bunch of questions unanswered.  So here goes.

Last week, a Campus Police Officer at The University of South Alabama shot and killed an unarmed, naked freshman, at 01:28 hours in the morning after the young man was banging on (trying to break into?  Maher doesn't say) the police station windows.

According to the police report, the officer encountered a muscular, nude, man, acting erratically.

Being so stoned, or drunk that your think it's a good idea to bang on the windows of, oh, I don't know?  Let's try THE CAMPUS POLICE STATION!  There's a good idea.  I'd call that, "erratic" all right.

He, "repeatedly rushed the officer" according to the report.  Maher's question is, "With what?  His hard on?"  My answer would be, well, maybe that TOO!  But that's not the dangerous part of him.  It's his hands and feet.  He can't hurt you with his dick, unless you're a cherry pie.

According to Maher's post, this lead the Cop to shoot him.  For no good reason.  Accept, as the comedian assumes, the Cop felt, "vaguely threatened."

And this is where the unanswered questions just scream out for answers.  And least to THIS retired, LEO.

First off, just HOW muscular was this kid?  Was he on the schools football team?  A physical specimen that would have been a threat to even more than ONE Cop?

This is the situation where the guy tells all his new friends in jail, "It took six Cops to take me down!"  No, it didn't.  One is all it takes.  We usually used six so we didn't HAVE to shoot you.

The next question that needs to be answered is what is being left out of the part of the report that just says,  "He repeatedly rushed the officer"?

He's my guess, and I'll tell you why I think this.  Every Police Academy in the country teaches, The Force Continuum.  The first level is you presence as a Police Officer.  Secondly is voice commands.  Third is known as, "The laying on of hands".  Where you may have to grab a hold of someone to get them to comply with your commands.  This can involve a hold, a wrist lock, any number of things.  Something as simple as putting your hand on their elbow and guiding them into a chair is part of this.

Now, it gets interesting.  If the bad guy doesn't comply with your efforts, you can move to, "less lethal weapons."  Anything from pepper spray, to a baton, to a bean bag gun.  They are known as, "less lethal" because if you get hit in the head with a bean bag fired from a .12 shotgun?  Might kill you.

No where does any department allow it's officers to go right from feeling threatened by a naked guy, to shooting him.

So, Bill?  You're a great comedian.  But as a journalist?  You suck.

And as for your statement that the guy was probably just some drunk or stoned college student that thought it would be a good idea to and fuck with the Police?  In what world can that POSSIBLY work out for the best?

Yes, Officer, I DO Have A Gun In The Car...

I'm going to get pulled over in Utah County this weekend.  Either on Thursday going South, or on Sunday coming North.

My friend (and yours, Murray folks) Al has invited my wife and I to go with him and his wife to Las Vegas this weekend to see Jimmy Buffett.  He's done quite well over the last few years gambling at the MGM casinos.  And they keep offering him perks to get him to come back, so they can try to win their money back.  They never do.  He's really lucky.

So we're going down there this week, and we have a suite at, The Aria.  Tickets to Jimmy Buffett.  Meals comped, limo ride to the concert.  This is going to be a HUGE experience for me and my wife.  We've never been treated like this before.  So, I told, Al I'd drive.  I don't mind.  Long trips are why I bought the Audi.

But, it's a political season.  And I have, "U of U" license plates on my car.  So most of the time I drive south, I get pushed into the, "boarder patrol" stop in Lehi.  I have to prove I don't have any alcohol or books in the car.  Show them that I AM carrying a handgun.  It gets old.

But this year?  It's going to be a BUNCH of stops.  I have the plates from THE University in Utah.  The one picked for the PAC 12, which rubs those guys down there so raw, they keep chanting, "1984!  1984!..."  Like it will help.

And I have this magnet bumper sticker I bought at the, "Margaritaville Store" in Las Vegas years ago, that I put on the car every year we drive down there.  It's a big margarita glass with the drink spilling out, and it says, in bright red letters, "IT'S MY OWN DAMN FAULT".

But this year?  I have another one on the back of the car.  It's brown, and has a picture of a Black Lab on it.  It says, "DOGS AGAINST ROMNEY: I RIDE INSIDE".

Oh, that's going to piss them off.  Especially since after tonight?  My Labrador would prove to be a better debater than Mitt.

So, I expect that it will take us a LONG time to get south of Utah County on Thursday.  Might be late at night before we get to the casino.

But I have a plan.  I'm going to smuggle a bottle of whiskey INTO Nevada from Utah.  So I don't have to worry if Costco and Trader Joe's are already closed.  Don't tell the Utah County Nazi's.  I'm hiding it in my suitcase.  Right under the extra ammo for the handgun.

Oh, this could be an epic weekend.  I hope to watch, Al hit a, "bigassed" jackpot just to say I've seen it happen one time.

Me?  I've got some cash money American and might take a few chances.  Or not.  I'll let you all know when I'm down there.

Here's Why We Need A National Health Care Plan

I'm sure I'm not the only person my age who has recently become acquainted with a CPAP machine.  For those who don't know, it keeps old, fat guys like me breathing through the night so Sleep Apnea doesn't kill us.  Chances are, if you snore, and you're spouse complains about it, you have Sleep Apnea, too.

And to defend old, fat guys?  I have a friend who runs triathlons, is much younger than me and found himself falling asleep in his car at stop lights during the day.  He's got a CPAP machine now, too.

They have a machine that forces air into your lungs all night and you either have a thing that goes over your nose, or as I do, one that covers your face like a fighter pilot's face mask.  And they have parts, and the parts wear out, and need to be replaced.

But the whole thing is a scam.  Not that Apnea is a scam, it's real.  But the way the home health industry treats you when you have it?  Total scam.

When I was told I needed one of these machines about a year and a half ago, I went to IHC Home Health Care to get one.  I had checked with PEHP, and they said that, yes it was covered, and that they would pay for me to buy one.

But IHC HHC would only RENT me one.  They said that since most people only used it for a few months and then turned it in, the chose to rent them for a YEAR at $80 month, and then if you wanted to keep it?  They would sell it to you.

Nice idea.  You have just made about a thousand dollars extra off a machine that costs about $3K and you haven't even SOLD it yet!  And at the end of the year, you get to sell a USED machine, for full price!  Brilliant!  And insurance companies are OK with this?

I told the guy at IHC that, no, I figured I'd need this thing the rest of my life, and I just wanted to buy it right now, because my PEHP insurance was about to run out, and I wouldn't be able to buy it in a year without buying it all on my own.

He became very flustered.  People in the health care industry, when actually asked qesestions, especially by people who HAVE insurance, who NEVER ask qestions, tend to get fucked up by it.

"No one has ever asked to do this before.  I'll have to go ask my boss about this.  I'll be right back."

No he wouldn't.  After 45 minutes I got up and walked out.  I told the receptionist that she shouldn't keep my appointment open, my salesman now had an, "opening" and I didn't like their customer service.  Time to find a new provider.

Your doctor, when you have a sleep disorder, won't just give you a copy of your diagnosis, and a copy of your prescription for the machine, and the way it should be set up.  You have to go back to his office and have him fax it to who you want to do business with.  Like it's top secret.

Next stop, Apria Health Care that used to be over by Fashion Place Mall.  They were very helpful.  Assured me that they would indeed be happy to NOT rent me the machine and bill my insurance company for the cost to BUY the machine.  They set everything up, gave me the paperwork, sent me on my way and almost immediately, my wife said I was not keeping her up all night with my snoring.  Mission Accomplished.

And then, Apria Health Care sent me a monthly rental bill for eight months.

These bastards will lie through their teeth, and hope you don't notice, and will just pay it.  They have no scruples.

I finally, after numerous calls to PEHP, who swore they were billed for rentals, not a buy had to get ugly with a woman in the Apria office.  I MADE them take me to their billing person.  Took my little note pad and pen, took down her name off of her desk and told her, and you who know me, know what kind of language I used, so I'll spare you here, that if she didn't re-bill this debacle, and get it straight before the next bill came, I would first call, "Get Gephardt" (this was when THAT still meant something) and personally embarrass her and her company, but now that I was going to include her on the lawsuit, she would be liable because it was obvious that she, "knew, or should have known" that there was a problem.

Cleared that shit up right away.

Fast forward to this morning.  I wake up, and the rubber, "gasket" that goes between the hard plastic face mask, and my ACTUAL face, has a hole in it.  It keeps a tight fit on your face, so the air and vaporized water being forced into your lungs ends up there, instead of all over your pillow.  Can't be more than a $5 piece of soft rubber.  So I'll drive over to Apria, and get another one.  Should take about a minute.

Oh, was I wrong.  It appears I don't learn well from my own experience.

First off, the surly receptionist informs me that they can ORDER that part and I will have it in about three days.  Great.  Guess I'll just spent the next three days at Starbucks?  Cause sleep is out of the questions.  I asked her, "What am I supposed to do for three days?  You don't stock these parts in your warehouse?"

She goes into the company spiel, "To stock every little part we would need a huge warehouse (Yeah?  So what?  DO go on!), there are thousands of masks.  Let me see if your eligible for a new mask."

I don't WANT or NEED a new mask!  I need a new, little piece of soft rubber that was made to fit MY mask!  And how do you have available, any size of WHOLE mask, but not the parts to fix ONE that needs some attention?

And she says, "It's going to take an hour to confirm your insurance.  But you are eligible for a new mask."

I asked her, "Then I can take my mask and you'll bill me?"

What was I thinking?  Nope.  I have to make my co-pay before I get a new mask.

Then it hits me.  They don't make much profit on a $5 replacement part.  But if they can bill my insurance for a WHOLE new mask?  Ka-Ching!

You wonder why we have the 37th, "best" health care in the world, and we pay MORE for it than anyone else?  Here's why.  Pay attention.

I went into this place in need of a piece of rubber that couldn't have cost $5.  But because of the way we do business in this country, I walked out of there with a new mask,  just so I could sleep tonight and Apria Health Care had billed my insurance company, $155.30 and gotten a, $38.83 co-pay out of ME!

No problem, Mr. Stickley, we have your credit card on file.  Would you like us to bill it?

THIS IS SOME BULLSHIT!

You think I was better served?  You think I SAVED money?  You think I'm healthier?  You think the replacement part was the problem, and that's really WHY they don't stock them?  Then you think stupid.

This is the equivalent of buying a new SUV because you had a flat tire, or the windshield wipers wore out!

Where have I heard this before?  Oh, yeah.  The Iraq War, where, Halliburton would buy new SUV's for THEIR people for exactly THOSE reasons, because they had a, "Cost Plus" contract.  Meaning they got X amount of money for their services, PLUS the cost of providing them.  No matter how many new, GM SUV's they went through.

And that, boys and girls, it why we don't have a national health care plan in this country.  It would cost rich people too much money!

And Then? The Wheels Came Off...

Mia Love was looking pretty good recently.  One poll actually had her ahead.  She's an attractive, articulate woman.  And her negative ads were just as nasty and hard hitting as Jim Matheson's.

Then?  The wheels came off.

If you are the right wing, Republican, MORMON candidate?  A teabagger to boot.  With a shot at being the first BLACK, MORMON, WOMAN elected to national office from Utah, which would be a total public relations BCS Bowl Game win for the Mormon church (lets face it, their college football team is never, ever going to get one).  And the Mormon's own newspaper's political columnist comes out and calls you a liar?

Someone get that fork out of Mrs. Loves butt cheek.  She's done.

If you think for even a minute, the publishing of Lee Benson's article was not run through the highest channels of Mormonism before it ever saw print?  You don't live in Utah.  Or you're smoking crack.

This was a very carefully timed and calculated move by, The Mormon Church Inc. to keep, Jim Matheson in office.  They might not like everything that he does, but let's face it.  He votes for their interests most of the time.  Which is why I, and every other Democrat in Utah has to hold their nose and vote for him.  We don't have any other choice.

In a year where they have a shot to actually have a Mormon win the White House (won't happen, but they still think it's a possibility), they don't need this distraction, so it's time to put an end to Mia Love's campaign.

A friend of mine said he had looked her up on the Internet and she had run a gym and worked for a call center, but other than that, there was not a lot of information about her.  Well, there is even less now, cause my brief Internet search turned up even less information than that.

She worked as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines after earning a degree from The University of Hartford, according to her campaign site.  But other than that?  Looks like she worked in government in the little, Mormon bunker that is, Saratoga Springs in the west desert, while raising her family.

There is no information about what her husband does, or what other jobs she's had.

Now, having said that?  It could change tomorrow.

But to have, of all people, Lee Benson put the fork in you?  Man, that's got to be tough to take.  It means your own church doesn't want you to distract from the Romney shot at the Presidency.  And it has to hurt that they think you're a distraction from the real goal.  Getting the rich, white, Mormon, Man, and Priesthood holder, elected.

Mia probably doesn't LOVE this.

I went to the link to the article in, Mother Jones and the hate was crazy.  Mormons and Republicans were hating on this venerable news source like you wouldn't believe.  "No one ever heard of that rag until they released the Romney video!"

No, those of us who went to REAL universities started reading it about the time we all were reading, The National Lampoon.  And if I have to tell you about either one of those?  You're really young, or you went to school in Provo.  Hell, even in Murray, The National Lampoon was kept UNDER THE COUNTER at the 7-11.  And you had to go to, Cosmic Airplane or the University Book Store to buy, Mother Jones.

So, good bye, Mia, it's been good to know ya.  But your church decided to sacrifice you, to try to save Romney.

It's not going to work.  But you're still going to be a member.  So they don't really care about you.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

This time of year is tough.  I LOVE the fall.  But this afternoon?  Sitting on the patio with, "The Usual Suspects", smoking cigars, listening to satellite radio and having some adult beverages?  It got COLD!  If you weren't sitting in the sun?  You better have a sweatshirt on.

It's COLD out there!

I'm pretty sure I can turn off the sprinkler system this week.  I have a feeling that the air conditioner will NOT go back on this year.  The leaves in the mountains are turning and falling, but not down here yet.  Should start soon.

And this year?  It seemed to come on so fast!  EJ said it best today, "Three weeks ago we were moving from the shade to the shade on the patio and today?  We're moving into the sun!"  So true.

I need more bird feed tomorrow.  They have been loading up for the long flight south.  Or the long fight this winter when they stay here.  I don't know which.

The snakes have moved in.  I had two in the front yard the other night, and one in the back.  They like to nest for the winter under my front porch that's made of dark colored Trex, and really holds the heat.  And in the back yard, they like to live in the wood pile for the winter.

That's OK, I like having them here.  They eat slugs and snails, and they are harmless, Garter Snakes.  But when you walk out onto your patio, and it seems to be, "moving"?  All I can think of is, Samuel L. Jackson's voice, and it's yelling, "These M*****F******, SNAKES, on this, M*****F****** PATIO!

My daughter won't go out on the patio anymore.  She hates snakes like I hate spiders.

But fall in Utah is changing.  It's not as gradual.  And it's not as soon.  The stuff happening this week, the first week in October?  Used to happen in September when I was a kid.  I remember the earliest snowstorm in the Salt Lake Valley happening on September 17th.  It was back in the 70's, when I was a kid.  I don't remember the exact year.  But I remember it because it happened on my mom's birthday.

Is it global warming?  YES.  Yes it is.  And if we don't do something about it, we're all screwed.

I think what I'll do about it is vote for Democrats, shut off my sprinkler system this week, send my money to politicians who are smarter than anyone running for office in Utah, and only burn my fireplace when...   Oh fuck it.  I'm not giving up the fireplace OR the Camaro.

But I'll keep recycling.  Is that enough?

Keep warm out there.  I shut the fireplace tonight, only to reopen it next weekend while watching college football. 

The times might not be changing?  But the weather is.

Noone WINS A Presidential Debate

Romney did well tonight.  He won the talking points.  He got away with saying we have the best health care system in the world.  He got away with not explaining his REAL tax plan.  He didn't get called on his flip flopping.  And he threw up such a bullshit smokescreen on his REAL plans for Medicare and Medicaid, which the President didn't call him on?  I guess you'd have to say he won THIS debate.

But winning is a hard term to pin down in these things.  And always has been.  Neither candidate really answers the questions.  And they don't punch the other guy in the face when he lies, either.

You think I'm just being a partisan, Obama supporter?  OK, riddle me this?  The whole world KNOWS that Kennedy WON the first televised debate over Nixon because Nixon looked sweaty, and, nervous, and could have used a closer shave.

Name ONE question either guy answered during that debate.  Can't do it?  Not surprised, neither can I.  History remembers the story, but not always the substance.

Gerald Ford flubbed a question about the Soviet Union's influence in Eastern Europe in the 77 election (flubbed it?  Oh, he totally BLEW it) but what did he say that GAVE, Carter the election?  Do you remember?  Bet you don't.

He said there was no Soviet influence in Poland.  I'm pretty sure he meant to say there WAS, but he misspoke.  Remember anything else from that debate?  No?  Figured as much.

The only thing anyone remembers from the Bush/Clinton debate was Bush looking at his watch.  I'd be really surprised if anyone remembers the question being asked when he did that.  I sure as hell don't.

Watching the film, it kind of looks like he did it during the introductions.  I don't remember.

So this whole Presidential debate thing is highly overrated.  Romney did well tonight in that he didn't step on his dick, as he is prone to do.  But as, Steven Colbert said, "Facts tend to have a Liberal bias" and he kept avoiding them.

Until the Republicans quit saying that we have the best health care plan in the world, cause it's such a ridiculous, and horrible lie, they won't really win any debates.  At least not any that there were really judges, scoring them, like in high school debate.

But they can win in a world where more than 47% of the population thinks Faux News is actually, news.  And those dumb asses vote.  And that is the only winning that matters.

And it's a shame.

The Real Reason Mitt Romney Should NOT Be President.

It's not because he's a Republican and I'm a Democrat.  It's not because he's a Mormon.  Every President we've ever had claimed membership in SOME religion.  And from where I stand?  Everyone of them is just as bullshit goofy as the rest of them.

It's because he was a business man, and government cannot be successfully run like a, "business".  If you try it, you get lousy government services.

Romney the businessman thinks in terms of marketing (he's admitted that 47% of the population isn't going to buy what he's selling).  And government isn't about marketing.  It's about providing services to people who sometimes don't want the service, so you help everyone.  Think about prisons and jails as just one example.

MOST of the population in this country will never need to be locked up in a jail or prison.  So, should we, "downsize" this industry?  You could save a lot of money by letting all those murderers and rapists go lose.  After all, then you don't have to feed them, clothe them and treat their medical problems.  That would save TONS of money every year.

Well, we can't do that, so I guess we should look at private prisons.  Ask folks in the south how well THAT has worked out.  The answer is, it hasn't worked out very well.

As a society, we want a safe, effective system of keeping people who would willingly hurt the rest of us, behind bars in a human and responsible manner.  And that cannot be done in the cheapest manner possible, while still being safe and humane.

If you run government the way Romney would have it, the Fire Department would only be open durring the summer, and would be greatly downsized.  After all, in a free market place, if you didn't call in YOUR fire first, too bad.  We're taking care of other customers right now, and your call will be answered in the order it was received.

In Romney world, every citizen would be responsible for taking care of the sidewalk and road in front of his own home.  To have a centralized government do that runs contrary to capitalism.

Look, I want a guy who can run an efficent government that doesn't take all my money in taxes as much as the next guy.  But the truth is, we have a government to do for us what we can't do for ourselves (do you want to have to buy your OWN garbage truck?  Didn't think so).  And this costs money.  It is not free.

Dispite what the NRA wants you to believe, if the Chinese decided they want our land, not just all our money and attack us, you and your friends are not going to keep them from doing it without a strong, centralized, well armed military.  I don't care how good you are with your .22 Long Rifle.

So, lets let the professionals run the government, and Mitt go back to what he does best.  Accuireing companys with other peoples money, loading them with debt, borrowing tons of money on their resources then bankrupting them so he doesn't have to pay back the loans and walking off with a ton of money while putting other people out of work.