Cobb, Actually you'd be surprised at the compensation...

I have to hand it to you Cobb, after starving in Blog wilderness for going on a year now, the topics you put up are truly like a 4 course meal at a fine restaurant. I'm not sure what's at issue for you here. Are you saying that there's the possibility of receiving less or inadequate care once it's known that someone is a potential organ donor? Like Craig suggests above: Dead is Dead. But the timing of organ retrieval is important. Once the heart stops beating (and unless one uses extracorporeal support to perfuse the abdominal organs) the surgeon has less than 60 minutes to get the organs before they are unusable...but even more importantly before even going to the OR Donor Services needs to have the organs placed. This is can be a 12-18 hour affair once it's determined a person isn't going to make it. Waiting for family members to think lucidly enough during a time of high stress to make a rational decision is difficult enough. Sometimes organ donation helps sooth a bit of the pain of suddenly losing someone. Presumed consent is a step in the right direction. Spain seems to be leading the way on this.

Yeah, forgot it IS kind of a screwed up book. Having to release angels to kill a third of mankind means your god is fallable...and therefore neither omniscient nor omnipotent. So what else is contradictory in your bible?

Not sure about that. When I was in the Corps, there was a very socially conservative Officer corps, but otherwise the enlisted men were all over the board. And when you say religious, I wouldn't say these guys were actually "practicing" if liberty stops in Australia, Thailand, and Japan were any indication. Just keeping it real. But back to the subject. Religious markings on official military gear has NO place in our forces. We are not Israel, or Iran. We are a secular nation. Your god, or anyone elses has no business on my rifle. Be religious if you want, but don't push your religion onto me...there is freedom OF and FROM religion in this country. Why can't you guys understand that?

The problem is that this country has NO official religion. Our military is NOT religious, and we've spent the last few years trying to convince people we are trying to rally to our side that the wars in which we are engaged are not crusades. The other thing I find disgusting is that he's putting Bible verses on instruments of war and death. Kind of a mixed message don't you think?

I'm trying to leave the "deal with the devil" remark alone, since I KNOW they are referring to Haitian Voodoo (actually Voudon mixed with elements of Catholocism). I'm not sure I'll succeed. About Haiti's debt to France and it being abhorrent, etc, etc. Are you going to bring up the United States' contribution to the demise of Haiti? Maybe sprinkle in something about the real racial politics in that country? I know France is a favorite whipping boy of the right (I won't get in the way of your enjoyment), but let's have some context here, and tell the whole story.

It was a gorgeous place when I visited as a kid. But the beauty is contrasted with the desperate poverty. You can't feel good about it when you see the people. Other than minerals...there's not much there, and the deforestation has been a disaster...not to mention poorly planned projects like dams.

I think we can have a wonderful conversation about healthcare reform when people stop using the boogeyman of "socialism" (as though the very word conjures pure evil). I'm interested in your views on healthcare delivery Ken. What I've seen so far (and to be on record I am not enthusiastic about how this bill was compromised), is watered down health insurance reform, and cries about how the poor insurance company will compete...and out of the other side of mouths talk of how competition is good. I want to get back to this subject later tonight when I'm off. I happen to think Brown's election may be a good thing for healthcare (I still think Massachusetts chose the wrong guy...but that's another story), because maybe they'll go back to the drawing board and actually listen to some of the people delivering healthcare and not just insurance companies and administrators of for profit hospitals (oh wait...supreme court again).

Since you haven't had comments on for awhile (and since I've been hanging out on the blog of an insane man for the last few months), I haven't had the opportunity to ask: What is your opposition to Healthcare Reform? (other than the usual "it's socialism" stuff that everybody is crying about. Spell it out for me). About the one man wrecking ball...why should power be so concentrated into the hands of one man (that brings me to yesterday's Supreme Court decision...but I'll assume you already have something prepared for that).

What are your thoughts on stabilizing that country? Not with just the usual puppet (ie. absentee President Preval). I've always thought the US lost a great opportunity with Haiti. I'd always hoped development would be supported in Haiti (benefiting not just the usual, light skinned elite, but the lowest earning Haitian) and true democracy were allowed to flourish on that half of the island. Instead the U.S. funneled money to the Duvaliers, Cedras, and now Preval, with very little to show for it. This "aid" probably did more damage than 50+ years of embargo did to Cuba.

Welcome back. After being in the wilderness, I've missed your relatively sane posts. Hope all is well with you.

Are you opening comments only for this topic, or have you decided that you are lonely without us crazy bunch of commenters? This is a really interesting topic, and I want to have time to do it justice. So know that I'll come back and visit this topic after I've gotten some sleep tomorrow morning. I know an ICU nurse a few years ago who almost collapsed at the end of her shift and was refusing to go to the emergency department because she couldn't afford the healthcare that she gave out on a daily basis. Food for thought. Don't fear single payer Cobb, it's about time. Glad to see you back (and I hope for good). I have to say I've missed the level of discourse here.

I wonder if those Trabbies get better gas mileage than the current GM products...

Just popped in to read a bit, but it seems the comments are still up for now (only in reverse order..??), so I'll indulge myself a little. Rude, as far as ethnicity Cobb and Steele are outliers. The average GOPer is white. It seems 90% white. And 2% Black...so you see, I'm not making this up. Do you have any statistics that says otherwise? I will say one thing for the GOP, for having such a low percentage of black folks, they sure do like to hire alot of us....to showcase. Finding black Republicans is almost like hitting the lotto, another reason I'm sad to see Cobb bow out, but there's always Ron Christie, who I might be able to catch at a high school reunion. Although, Palo Alto isn't exactly friendly territory for Ron these days.

I have to draw the line at Twitter. I just don't see the utility of it, but that's just me. Although, I did find a new start-up called Blerp, which is a utility that allows you to comment on ANY site, whether comments are allowed or not between the users, without ever bothering the site in question. Will I bother using it? I won't have the time after the end of June, but the option is there. I don't agree with you quitting, but this is your house, and you have to respect the host when he says it's time to go. The interactions have been interesting, sometimes enlightening. You did a job that took alot of extra time and I thank you for letting me peak into the mind of a conservative for awhile. I still don't understand how your mind works, but I do know that you aren't all evil caricatures, but just regular people who view the world through a different lens. Maybe I'll show up at one of your get-togethers and see how long it takes you to figure out who I am.

Interesting little tidbit I found here. Apparently some guy shot at a recruiting station and killed a young soldiers on 2-week recruiter duty after boot camp. Anyhow, it seems he was charged with terrorism because of this: "The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building." I wonder if the Tiller murderer will get something similar. Another example of domestic terrorism, and the fact that we have too many freely available weapons.

Hey, are you going away or not. Don't make me get all teary eyed and nostalgic prematurely... 10k sounds nice too. I don't think my attention span will last that long. It's been nice getting back in the thick of things during this year away. It's nice you'll ease out, rather than end abruptly.

I don't think Cobb thinks in terms of "trolls". Cobb doesn't fear me or cnulan or whomever. I've seen him ban only one person from his site, and I think it was because the person was seriously mentally ill (no joke), and was dragging the threads to strange places. I can't speak for Cobb, but he doesn't strike me as a person who surrounds himself only with people with whom he agrees. Take a look back at some of the most popular debates here, that had the most comments. They were fierce and reasoned. I mean nobody is going to get out of bed at 3am to write a "fuck you" to someone in a flame war. Sure it's a shame E.C. doesn't come around, I enjoyed debating with him and I told him as much. We didn't agree but he had some interesting points which were presented very well. Am I correct in saying that you wouldn't mind the disagreements if they were presented in a more civil and intellectually stimulating manner? Quite a few of the tangents have spawned new threads with you saying "I'll take this to the top". If the spark that started this whole thing is gone, then so be it. I'm sorry to see you go. I can also understand your frustration over the declining level of discourse.

You jest, but you do realize there are those who may actually take this as gospel. As a rational person, it's hard to believe. But I need only turn to a particular partisan blog, to read the writings of the truly nutty. The point here Cobb, is that through this thing we call the internet, ANY piece of garbage can be placed in print. We are so conditioned to believe anything written, that journalism and research are placed side by side with with trivial nonsense. It's digested as being equivalent, and even "factual". The result is an even more misinformed society.

Cobb, go out and soak up the Sun and get away from the computer screen. How can you say nobody comments on what you've written? There have been plenty of really good debates here. Of course there have been alot of flame wars (is that the correct bloggy term?) of which all of us have participated in some form. If you want to turn off the comments, what's the point of blogging? Do you think we all come here to sit at your knee for our daily intellectual mana? Of course not. We come here to challenge or agree with what you have written. Unfortunately, the fewest comments are those that have stayed strictly on topic. Yes, there seems to be less intellectually mass lately, but you've allowed it. I think you need a moderator, not so much to delete or censor, but to gently coax us back on point. Do you have time for that? Probably not. Should we self moderate? Absolutely. I've actually put alot of effort into staying on topic lately. But I must say that you too have been guilty of instigating some of this. I have to say this is way the discourse in general has gone lately, not just your blog. Ignorance and weak arguments are celebrated...sometimes even by you. What are you going to do? Stop communicating? Take your toys and run home? Censure the voices with whom you don't agree? I understand your frustration, but take a look at the alternatives.

"West Point knows him. The NY Times knows him. The JTTF knows him. He wrote the english manifesto for As-Sahab." The only thing I recognize in the above is the New York Times. What you forget Rude, is I'm not a blog junkie like you. I come here and once in awhile maybe your site or cnulan's. But the real point is that you took it upon yourself to go over to his house. Right? How does he or with whomever he was living know that you are there for tea and chatting? How do you know the guy wasn't on psych meds and has a closet full of loaded automatic weapons? How do you know the guy isn't a practitioner of Systema and wanted someone on whom to practice? Hey, it's your life, if you want to spend/end it playing on the internet, that's your choice. From where I stand, there are too many crazy folks around to expose yourself and family like that. But, whatever.

...and Freeman and assassination for political reasons of a physician is mutually exclusive why?

...actually I was talking about your story of going to some Muslim kids house. And from what I gathered from your site, you didn't go over there for tea and an intelligent discussion. Your words, and why would you think I had any concern for either of you? But you get my point. Why would you go over somebodies house? Internet tough and real life tough may be completely different things. And if the guy really had been Al-Qaeda, you probably wouldn't be typing right now. And about me, I'd advise anyone entering my doorway should be pleasant with their hands in view. I'm sure you get my meaning. Actually, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. I hope you aren't still offering to meet people for confrontations over the internet. That sort of thing seems kind of stupid, since you have a family and all. Rude, I'm sure you believe people actually read alot of your site, but do you really think I follow your writing close enough to know who Samir Khan is? As far as I'm concerned you are both a couple of idiots with too much time and bandwidth on your hands. Anyway, enjoy your tangential arguing.

Not to disturb your running battle with cnulan...but aren't you the same guy who trespassed on some guys doorstep offering a physical violence? Stop being a hypocrite Rude and quit with all of this physical confrontation crap before someone takes you up on it and we read "Conservative Blogger Bludgeoned to death on his own doorstep". That's the point, people are taking this online arguing and being whipped up by nutters on TV to do things like murder someone on a Sunday morning in church. And by the way, you live in the South, do you really think racism is only "imaginary"? But now that DJ Rush Rush, Tancredo, and Gingrich are pulling the "race card" so to speak, you don't have a problem with it? Even if the charge requires the mental limberness of an underage Chinese gymnast to understand how they have the gall to make a charge of racism? And Dr. Tiller's killing does fit the description of an assassination. Unless you can fill us in on why he did it in broad daylight in a church on Sunday and killed or injured nobody else?

Get control of your mob. Right now it's in control of irresponsible voices urging on the unstable, racist, and stupid to violent action. Or if you just want to say not my fault, please don't comment when a war is launched against these domestic terrorists. And the right does organize on a racial basis. You are an outlier. You and MC Steeleo know this.