Yes, actually, I still have friends who live inside the Matrix.

Not many, and they tend to be Republicans who are not religious nut cases.

Be that as it may, I recently received an e-mail from one of them. It is interesting not so much for what it says, but for what it implies regarding his news sources and world view:


"Well they passed some health plan, I hope it is like you said.

What I hear is not even close.

Also how stupid is to have an army post that soldiers are not allowed to wear their weapon...? Thank god that a police woman had a gun.

To stop a loving brother soldier..."

Here is my reply:




Hello (name withheld),

You would be surprised at how many progressives are furious with this bill and how little it accomplishes. And yet, as little as it provides, it is still an improvement over what we have today. Yet the Republicans are still fighting it tooth and nail.

It is not over; the Senate has not passed this legislation, and with Joe Lieberman's help, they plan to filibuster the bill so that it never comes to a vote. It may still fail in the Senate.

The one part of the bill the Republicans object to is the Public option. They have no problem with the part of the bill that forces people to buy health insurance so long as people have to buy that insurance from private insurance companies and not the government. That should tell you who they serve.

For what is worth, here is a breakdown of the benefits this bill will provide, congressional district by congressional district. I don't know which congressional district you live in, so you will have to pick the right one for yourself:

http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?...



As for the events on Fort Hood, the decision on whether soldiers should bear weapons on base or not is strictly a military matter, not subject to civilian laws. My understanding is that MPs are the ones allowed to carry weapons on military installations, but not regular soldiers.

One more thing:

"Sgt. Kimberly D. Munley has been applauded as a hero across the nation for shooting down Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan during the bloody rampage at Fort Hood last week. The account of heroism, given by the authorities, attracted the attention of newspapers, the networks and television talk shows.

But the initial story of how she and the accused gunman went down in an exchange of gunfire now appears to be inaccurate.

Another officer, Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, 42, said in an interview Thursday that he fired the shots that brought down the gunman after Sergeant Munley was seriously wounded. A witness confirmed Sergeant Todd’s account."

Senior Sgt. Mark Todd just happens to be black...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13hoo...