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I'm sorry about your husband's illness but

Posted By: gourdpainter on 2008-12-17
In Reply to: Yes, I will agree with you that.....sm - good grief

sky high health care is something that affects all of us.  My husband and I, retirees, for Medicare and medical supplement plus drug coverage pay right at $800 per month in premiums.  We know other retirees who pay more than that.  No one seems able to see that much of this health care cost is due to several things:   Used to be that doctors had private practive and hospitals were not for profit.  Is it any wonder that now that hospitals are for profit, they get greedier and greedier?


Everyone (and everyone doesn't necessasrily mean YOU) has their hand out for a handout.  People waiting for those Obama free money checks they think will feather their nest.  Well, I think they'd do well to keep their day job....or get one...because I don't think the free money is going to be forthcoming.


We need to go back to something called personal responsibility to start with.




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Your illness speaking for you again?

My take on your mental illness has nothing whatever to do with your political persuasion.  But you have illustrated that you are too ill to understand that.  You are annoying and I will not pay any more attention to your childish and sick comments.


I don't see acknowledgement of an illness

as bashing.  If she had cancer, which she did, is that also bashing?  They are both illnesses that resulted in consequences she could not control.


You are really grasping at straws for anything possible to ridicule.  Why do you do this?  You appear to be a miserable person inside.  Truly.


Oh, I'm sorry for your mental illness
May you find a competent doctor.
appears as though the mental illness issue....
is true - look how f*cked up his brothers are/were..............
I've been reading up on your illness. I apologize. I realize now how truly ill you all are. I wi

pray for your souls.  Seriously.  I'm not laughing, and I'm not joking because I truly feel sorry for you. I won't answer you any more because that seems to only make you sicker.


Religious Addiction: a mental illness with deadly social consequences.


by TrysDan Roberts


I do believe there is a Great Spirit responsible for the creation of the universe, but unfortunately, there have been those who have been the victims of the exploitation of this higher power.

When George W. Bush and the Christian Reich took control of the most powerful country in the world, The United States of America, a very dangerous virus began spreading throughout the country.

The virus: Christian Fascism.

This lethal threat to democracy is now infecting the world, ie...the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

To understand the Right Wing Zealots, it is important to acquire an understanding of what it means to be a religious addict. The following identifies important signs of religious addiction:

SYMPTOMS OF RELIGIOUS ADDICTION as written by Paschal Baute
Paschal Baute is a co-founder and facilitator of the Spiritual Growth Network of Kentucky. He is an organizational psychologist working with leadership and team development and personnel screening. His business web page will be found at
www.paschalbaute.com

• Inability to think, doubt, or question religious information and/or authority
• Black-and-white, good/bad, either/or simplistic thinking: one way or the other
• Shame-based belief that you aren't good enough or you aren't doing it right
• Magical thinking that God will fix you/ do it all, without serious work on your part
• Scrupulosity: rigid obsessive adherence to rules, codes of ethics, or guidelines
• Uncompromising judgmental attitudes: readiness to find fault or evil out there
• Compulsive or obsessive praying, going to church or crusades, quoting scripture
• Unrealistic financial contributions
• Believing that sex is dirty; believing our bodies or physical pleasures are evil
• Compulsive overeating and/or excessive fasting
• Conflict and argumentation with science, medicine, and education
• Progressive detachment from the real work, isolation and breakdown of relationships
• Psychosomatic illness: back pains, sleeplessness, headaches, hypertension
• Manipulating scripture or texts, feeling specially chosen, claiming to receive special messages from God
• Maintaining a religious high, trance-like state, keeping a happy face (or the belief that one should...) (1.) © Paschal Baute 1993

Condensed 'Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System.' Dr. Thomas Edgington is the principle author and contributed 90% of the following:

• God is seen as impersonal and vindictive: members tend to have a grace- deficit theology. (Their religion and experience are based totally on fear, not on relief.)
• Emphasis on theological correctness to the neglect of relationships and of loving others.
• Demonstrates a spiritual arrogance [considers those from outside as less spiritual].
• You will hear comments like I pride myself on my humility.
• Majors on minor theological issues and ignores or minimizes major ones.
• Scripture is said to be of primary importance, but in reality it is the leader's interpretation of Scripture that has primary importance.
• Traditions often overrule Biblical truth.
• Scripture is often misquoted, used out of context, or is degraded to the level of trite, pat answers in order to prove a point or to exact obedience to a system.
• Intellectual development is limited to what fits the system; we think the way we do because we are right; the thoughts and opinions of others are not considered.
• Dogmatism is common: the point under discussion is often explained by the quotation of a Bible verse, again, usually out of context.
• Members attempt to impose their personal opinions upon outsiders or upon those still within the system but under suspicion.
• There is a lack of objective accountability: leadership is accountable to itself ONLY. [Often explains why the religious fear and despise psychology... fear of exposure by outsider]
• Leadership is viewed as infallible and beyond reproach.
• Undue/over-emphasis upon submission to authority.
• Expression of certain emotions, particularly anger, is seen as unspiritual.
• Low self image, hyperactive conscience, undue guilt, and an inability to forgive, either others or oneself is very common.
• Communication often centers around theological issues; personal issues are rarely discussed. When they are, two phenomena find expression: shredding people,setting up and knocking down straw men.
• Interpersonal intimacy is often lacking.
• Poor ability to relate to hurting people; offers pat answers instead of demonstrating loving care (2.)

Religious Addiction preys on the Weak and Vulnerable

After reading and processing the above characteristics of a religious addict, it is very to easy to find incidents of religious addictions since George W. Bush took power:

A while ago, I was watching the news stories about the Ten Commandments Monument being removed from a Government building in the United States. As I watched the protests, I thought how twisted right wing Christian zealots are; the way they whined and moaned lying on the ground reminded me of a religious addicted cult. There is so much hate and mental defects within the Christian Coalition. It is scary.

It is important for all countries to separate government from Organized Religion. Christian Right Wing Organized Religion is a very dangerous political institution. They have decided how people should live and those choosing a different way of life are viewed as deviant or enemies.

When looking at two men, George W. Bush and Mel Gibson, it is easy to see how dangerous Religious addiction can be to the rest of the population. Both these men are recovered drug addicts and drunks. What lead to their recovery was replacing their chemical addictions with Christian addiction. Like a cult, Christian Extremists target people when they are at their weakest; both men have weak minds which made them easy prey. They should not be respected, but looked at as very weak little creatures.

As President of the United States, the mentally feeble man, George W. Bush, has been given the power to flex his religious addicted muscles: supported challenging affirmative action, proposal to ban gay marriage, increase funding to religious groups that help alcoholics and drug addicts recover, invading and taking over Iraq, funding the promotion marriage (push women in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, eh Georgie?)

The Christian Right seeks to oppress those who don't conform to their way of life. In order for society to evolve, Right Wing Religion must be kept out of positions of political power.

Religious addicted Mel Gibson is now a right wing fundamentalist. He believes he knows God personally, and has a whole lot of money, giving him the power to push his beliefs on the rest of us. There is nothing more dangerous than a rich right wing fundamentalist. About Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, Movie Reviewers and News Commentators did not have the courage to give Mel Gibson's movie a real review. It is probably like during the invasion of Iraq; people who spoke against it were intimidated, and the media was very biased toward the bullies.

Religious addiction is a serious mental illness in our society. Religious addicts, when given power, have the ability to do some serious damage to the world and its species.

Religious Addiction: a mental illness with deadly social consequences.

Endnotes:

1. Paschal Baute, Symptons of Religious Addiction
http://www.lexpages.com/SGN/paschal/religious_addiction.html
2. Dr. Thomas Edgington, Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System. Nimbus.org
http://www.nimbus.org/Academics/ReligiousAddiction.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Symptons of Religious Addiction by Paschal Baute
http://www.lexpages.com/SGN/paschal/religious_addiction.html
Retrieved April, 1st 2004

Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System. Nimbus.org
http://www.nimbus.org/Academics/ReligiousAddiction.html
Retrieved April, 1st 2004

Copyright 2004 © TrysDan Roberts


 


Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness...see article/link

Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness




By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 10, 2005; Page A01



The 48-year-old man turned down a job because he feared that a co-worker would be gay. He was upset that gay culture was becoming mainstream and blamed most of his personal, professional and emotional problems on the gay and lesbian movement.


These fixations preoccupied him every day. Articles in magazines about gays made him agitated. He confessed that his fears had left him socially isolated and unemployed for years: A recovering alcoholic, the man even avoided 12-step meetings out of fear he might encounter a gay person.







src=http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/largerPhoto/images/enlarge_tab.gif
Darrel
Darrel A. Regier of the American Psychiatric Association favors research but says it is not clear that establishing a diagnosis would be useful. (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)









He had a fixed delusion about the world, said Sondra E. Solomon, a psychologist at the University of Vermont who treated the man for two years. He felt under attack, he felt threatened.


Mental health practitioners say they regularly confront extreme forms of racism, homophobia and other prejudice in the course of therapy, and that some patients are disabled by these beliefs. As doctors increasingly weigh the effects of race and culture on mental illness, some are asking whether pathological bias ought to be an official psychiatric diagnosis.


My husband too in VN....
we were married after he came home, but he could not adjust.  He slipped into alcoholism, and died in a one car crash with a blood alcohol of 0.28 at age 31.   (thank God he did not kill someone else too.)  But he never talked about Vietnam, don't think he could....just never was really happy and drank, drank, drank. He told me one time that in Viet Nam you either smoked dope or drank, and he drank.  I would bet that a lot of Viet Nam vets turned to alcohol afterwards. 
If my husband
called me a c unt....I'd reply by calling him a d1ckhead.  That is just another word to me and I don't take a huge offense by it whether or not my mother does.  So like I said before, who makes the rules about words and which ones are offensive.  For all you know, his wife could be like me and not be hugely offended by that at all.  He11, he could have just meant she was a nice piece of @ss.....but think what you will and spat whatever you want.
Her husband is not just anybody. nm
nm
her husband

works for BP. Oil, you know.


 


My husband and I both
think that Michelle Obama is arrogant.
My husband and I went to go see this
just tonight. It was absolutely hilarious! I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!!!
So what? My husband does very well
Because he has WORKED HIS BUTT OFF!! Now, there's a concept you would do well to remember. No one has given him anything, which is a great motivation to work hard, get up every day and not be lazy, and work to better your life.

I don't hear Obama saying anything encouraging to young people except let the government pay your way, pay your education, and do what the government says you should do and we'll give you a tiny tiny fraction of your college tuition. You might be able to buy toilet paper with it. Big whoop! Just let "me" take care of you...you dumb easily led sheep to the slaughter. I'll give you money.....you don't have to do a darn thing.

My husband and I give in our community and that way we know where the money is going, who is administering it, and it is going to the very people who need it most......NOT THE GOVERNMENT!

Maybe you would like to explain to me why YOU think your government is better qualified than you to know what is best for your hard earned money? You need the government to do your thinking for you? That's not the American way but unfortunately so many have forgotten where they live.


Your husband...
Could he possibly be "Joe the Plumber?" HaHaHaHa
Your husband should tell Dad . .
to give him a raise. Minimum wage is $8 an hour in my state. Teenagers make that flipping burgers.
My husband and I were both
cracking up.  Especially when he told her that she should be joyful since her name is Joy.  LMAO! 
My husband and I have been saying
for a long time that we were heading for a recession long before the media even hinted at there being a problem.  I have no doubt in my mind that we are currently in one right now whether or not the government admits to it or not.  So don't use the petty spout about republicans not admitting to a recession because that just isn't so....at least it isn't for this republican. At least I'm not naive enough to believe a man who is lying and has no experience.  At least McCain has experience.
BTW.....and if any of my husband's

employees would have said what was said to you, he would have fired them.....period. 


Especially with times right now, these salesmen need to wise up.  It isn't like it used to be.  Salesmen used to be able to sit at their desk and wait for the customers to come to them.  Now they actually have to work hard to get people in, get them interested in a vehicle, etc.  This economy is definitely going to weed out the bad salesmen because they won't be able to survive.


My husband saw one too.
I would definitely call payroll and see what the deal is. Maybe you make too much money to get the tax "cut".
There might not have been 9/11 widows if her husband was doing his job. NM

Don't you mean Laura's husband
should have been doing his job?? Lots of intel on the attacks, but nothing was done.

My husband is a vet so has VA coverage....
but he also works for the government and is a federal employee. I don't claim to know all there is to know either, but I believe the federal employee insurance depends on the best deal the government can get with a private insurance company. His happens to be Blue Cross/Blue Shield of the state we reside in. Maybe it is BC/BS across the board. But, at any rate, it is a private insurance company, not an entity for all federal employees in the United States administered from a central location. As to whether or not a person working at a VA hospital is a federal employee, my first inclination would be yes, because the government administers the VA hospitals. But, I do not know that to be a fact. The supplemental programs you talk about are state administered and vary state to state. Even Medicaid is to some degree controlled by individual states. What people are talking about when they talk about socialized medicine is like in Canada, in France, in Cuba...and other countries, where it is all centralized in the federal government. The federal government decides on the coverage, it administers the whole thing, from one place. Everyone gets the same plan, regardless. To some people, it looks good that the "rich" and the "poor" have the same plan and even if you have money you cannot jump "the line." "The line" being the waiting list for anything nonemergent. That is why Canadians come across the border in droves for procedures, etc. Recently two high risk pregnancies had to come to Seattle because there was no room for them in Canadian hospitals. I saw France's President on TV talking about how their health care plan is becoming nonsustainable and talking about having to cut benefits, raise taxes, or something soon. He talked about free market health care...so while some people might view socialized medicine as a cure-all, it isn't, and it is not sustainable, because it doesn't attack the core issue, and that is finding a way to bring costs DOWN. Historically, the free market system where there is competition brings costs down. The great minds of this country need to sit down and talk about that, reason it out, and not trot out the mother of all entitlement programs. People complain about HMOs making their health care decisions, yet are thrilled to let the government make their health care decisions for them in return for not having to pay a premium. That just makes no sense to me.

Insurance companies, health care providers, and a set of arbitrators need to sit down and work something out that will truly make health care more affordable for everyone in the country without handing it over to the government hook line and sinker. They should be able to do that. It would not happen overnight, but it could happen. I would like to see any candidate talk about that.
This is a nonissue. Whether it was she or her husband or both...
it was several years ago. Obama has been consorting with known anarchists (people who espouse the violent overthrow of the government and have bombed government buildings) still today and took money from them to run for office.

PALES in comparison. If you condemn one, you must condemn the other.
My husband is union....
He works for a trucking firm and told me this morning the union was talking about them taking a 10% cut in pay. The difference between him (or maybe his company?) is that he thinks no problem- his pay is good as it is and if it keeps the company going, why not? I think the car industry might think the same. Did they not say no cuts in pay??
Does your husband understand the
xx
So, you think your husband will be employed again
With his taxes imposed on businesses, they definitely will NOT be hiring anyone, including your husband because they won't be able to afford him, even at minimum wage.


GP was talking about McC, not your husband.
political candidate who exploits his military experience to gain political traction. Some of us who think he does that would not think of insulting any soldier currently deployed to Iraq.
I taped it for my husband
he was laughing his head off, especially when Bill made that face imitating Joy's face when McCain was on
My husband is in Iraq right now.
He says that there are many in Iraq who do want us there. They have been an opressed people and we have fought for their rights. The media does not air such things, but keep in mind that the people we are fighting are insurgents--not the majority. While I am sure that they do not like living in a war torn country, we are doing good things over there. We have built schools and given food to the needy--a cause I would expect the democrats to support. While you might not agree with the reasons we are there, lets not deny that good things are coming from it. I, too, want my husband home safe, but am a little offended that someone would call what he is risking his life for "pointless." I respectfully disagree.
My husband is in Iraq and...
he e-mails me every day on---wait for it---guess what? The INTERNET. My first-hand knowledge is that he does have access to mainstream media and the internet and really doesn't have a lot to do otherwise, so he has remained very informed. Perhaps it is not this way for everyone, but you assume a lot when you assume that you know more about the war than all of the people participating in it.
My husband said the same thing (sm)
He told me not to expect to see the mainstream (left) media cover this story at all. It will most likely happen when no one is looking, much the same way the 401K takeover that they'd like to do, if they do it. By the time it's done, it'll be done, and non one will be able to dispute it at all.

Quite frankly, I'm hoping the poster above who says it's a red herring, is correct.


But I'll check back later too. It may come to pass, right under our noses.
My husband just came into my office...sm
He was just watching Bill O'Reilly, and my husband said the most interesting things.

Ann Coulter is a humorist, not a politician. She says outrageous things, and sometimes they're funny (sometimes not, I guess). It's how she sells her books.

And I guess Bill and Ann don't like each other much.

The things she says offends those that are center right, and she really offended Bill O'Reilly. Bill thinks she gives conservatives a bad name, and part of that seems to be true.

But I have to agree with him. She can be very offensive in the way she talks and writes. Even though a lot of what she writes about may be true, she's not very nice about it.


No wonder she offends people.




We should all strive to be like your husband
he will outlive all of us with this bickering back and forth. People who take life as it comes live longer.

I am opinionated so I am talking about me too. However, I do practice be more objective or maybe the word is more diplomatic and just hope practice makes perfect before I give myself a stroke with all of my strong opinions.

My husband and I have had the same 401K, of which 1/2 is.....sm
General Dynamic stock, the company he has worked for for 27 years. Well, our stash there is now about half what it was, our retirement, essentially. We are hoping and praying that by staying into the market that we will be able to recoup some of this as the market rebounds..GOD WILLING!!! I am sooooo sorry for all the folk who have gotten hurt in the banking collapse and the crash, so not fair to hard-working Americans. We need stricter laws, I think, stricter regulations once again on banking and corporations. JMHO
I just found out too from my husband.
I guess there is so much news to report that Barbara Bush was not important. So sad. Hope she is fine and has a speedy recovery.
I agree. No he is not hot! My husband
I can't stand to even watch him on the news or listen to his speeches, blah, blah, blah.
It doesn't bother my husband. sm
Does the fact that Clinton dodged the draft and wrote that he loathed the military bother you?
Your hero Hillary's husband had ONLY...
executive experience when he went into the white house. Are you saying he did not function well as president?? As long as you watch the regular media McCain is going to be absent because they are card carrying members of the vote Democrat or die party before everything say whatever youhave to say even if that changes daily crowd.

And if you don't know the Clintons by now your head is further in the sand that mine ever thought about being, and all this yada yada democratic party line mantra....

and as far as her calling hillary a whiner...let me search the internet. I don't think she is the first. Let me also search the internet for what an MSNBC commentator called her during the primaries...didn't see you posting his name here.

Yep, we do agree....sweeetttttt. I am still excited. And will be until its over, and all this hard line party mantra mumbo jumbo is not going to dampen it. And if the ticket loses, I STILL SAY that Hillary Clinton can't carry Sarah Palin's water. Palin has more integrity in her little finger than the Clintons have in their whole bodies. I don't think she has ever committed felony perjury. Wanna talk about travelgate, whitewater...?

Geez. lol. sweeettttt.
Perhaps she has a supportive husband and other family
Not all children with Down syndrome are created equal and some are quite functional. I would never think of that child as a burden, either. Many children have disabilities of varying natures but that doesn't mean it's any more of a burden. Perhaps you should educate yourself before you make such harsh judgments. As an MT, I would think you'd know this, but apparently not all MTs are created equal, either.

Personally, I think these facts make Palin that much stronger and more capable of handling whatever might be thrown her way. She's proven that she faces her difficulties in life without running away from them or escaping into alcoholism or drugs or whatever, which is more than I can say for many mothers these days. It amazes me that any working mother could say that another working mother is somehow not capable of doing either job well. Tsk, tsk.
I am hearing on the radio that it was her husband, not she...
who was the member and it was several years ago. The jury is out on that one.

Obama went to the dailykos convention and spoke to them. Does that mean he approves of the smarm on that website?

Wright said God dam* America. Obama was in his pews for 20 years. Are we to attribute that comment to Obama?

You can't have it both ways.
Does your husband work for a company
or is he independent? Do you live in a rural area, small town or city?
My husband said....Put all the people in a room....sm
that have known Obama for years and years and can vouch for his character and things he has truly done and been influenced by....put them in a room, these people from the last 25 years ago, from his college days until he ran for public office.

Where are these people?

Who are they? Where are they hiding?


It just might be an empty room. That's another scary thing to me.

You might have either have Rev. Wright, Ayers, and a bunch of socialists.....but he dumped them under the bus and says they never influenced him...so really...empty room?

Where are they? Obama doesn't want us to know who they are maybe?

So....No one in the room at all.



My husband is a real Steelers fan! Can he run
for president too?  All he needs is a uniform, wow. 
Actually, in talking with my husband about this today...sm
He agrees, and says that Colin Powell has taken a sharp turn left since leaving the Bush administration.


I hear ya on that. My husband's mother

moved a trailer onto our property to get away from property taxes. We decided to rent her trailer. Bad mistake. A minister from our area called us and said this family just moved to the area but really had no place to go and nothing but a few suitcases. Would we rent our trailer to them? Mind you, 2 adults and 4 toddlers trying to squeeze into a 2 bedroom trailer.


We were hesitant, but cut the rent since the pastor vouched for them. I even went to all my friends and wrestled money, food, or cleaning items from them so this family could get a good start.


Three months later, the trailer looked like a dump. The hardwood floors were all full of dirty diapers, feces, etc....and the people did not even own an animal! The toilet backed up (kid stuffed a stuffed animal down it and they never told us). We tried to get them out the lawful way but it didn't work (winter coming, can't evict during the months of September  through April).


Finally, had it and my husband put a note on the trailer with a butcher knife and told them if they didn't get going, he would bring a backhoe in and push the trailer over.  They were gone the next day and it took us 3 months and 6 tri-axle dump trucks worth of garbage to get the place cleaned up.


Needless to say, after that, I called the pastor and told him what had happened and he was heartsick. He said he found out that the husband, through this pastor's kindness, had job offers like crazy to help this man, and he refused every job that came along!  The pastor apologized to us but it really wasn't his fault. It was this man and wife who snookered everybody in the area. They left the area owing thousands of dollars through the generosity of others (I'll pay you back when I get a job.)


We sold the property a few months later to our best friends who also wanted to buy a property but couldn't pass the credit lines at that time. They could afford to pay our mortage, so we made an agreement with the bank and every month, they paid the mortage payment on our property and the property taxes on their property. They're still living on that property and they have no mortgage. It's free and clear. They even built up enough credit with our bank that they could build a house on it and get rid of the gosh-awful trailer.


My husband told me he heard that the other day

I say drill now too.  Be truly energy independent.  Explore and develop other energies, wind, solar, clean coal, etc.  Why are all the oil sheiks so rich?  Our hard-earned dollars are pocket change for them.  I dont have $5,000 to heat my house this winter, and today it's snowing already. 


I would rather support American businesses than foreign.  Drill here, drill now!


I met my husband in Katterbach - all these towns are
my stomping grounds. When I worked for the Grafenwoehr Education Center (the second time I lived in Germany), I was in charge of the high school program with the Bamberg Education Center. Wow...what a small world. I met my husband in Katterbach (we were in the same unit) and 2 weeks later we took a train to Denmark and got married. We were just 15 minutes from Ansbach. What a beautiful area that was. I'm so homesick for it.
My late husband is buried
next to a plot where unborn fetuses (is that the plural????) are born.  Very sad.  Those parents keep flowers on the little graves.  Obviously those were unborn children who were wanted by their parents. 
I'm very familiar with UFCW. My husband
works in retail and the store where he worked was closed.  The union did him no good whatsoever.  He ended up with no job while workers with less seniority were transferred to other stores. 
I just asked my husband today what we were going to do -
I am married to a black man and it worries me come next week how we are going to be treated.

The racist whites are going to be mad if Obama is elected and the black people are going to be upset if Obama is not elected. I think it will be made worse by the fact that it has seemed that Obama was so far ahead so that if he does not win people will actually say the election was manipulated in some way to keep a black man from winning.

I live in a very small town that already has problems with us and I am afraid it is going to be worse. For the first time in the years we have been together, I am kind of scared about it.
My husband used to have a bumper sticker
that said, "NO NAFTA...the job you save WILL be your own.  Danged if it wasn't right.  Remember when Wal-Mart used to say "Buy American"?  Now they say
"bring it home to America."  Yep, bring it home and sell it to Americans without any jobs.