Dear Washington, Again.

Dear Washington:

I am somewhat surprised at your antics the last week or so, it seems as if you have forgotten something important. You see, there are a few things you are not supposed to do.

The President is not allowed to tell American citizens to shut up. As a matter of fact you, Mr. Obama, should shut up a while and listen to the American people. I have told you before that there is more to the job you have than standing around with your chin tilted just so. You seem to have trouble believing that. I might remind you, sir, of what happened to the last guy who tried that system of governance. His name was Benito Mussolini. As I recall, things did not end so well for him.

The Speaker of the House is not allowed to call ordinary Americans Nazis. And if an ordinary American shows up at a rally with the word no written over a swastika then that American is probably not advocating marching back into the Rhineland nor starting the Panzers rolling into the Soviet Union. Instead that American Citizen is worried about you, Madame Pelosi, overstepping the constraints of your office.

The Senate Majority Leader is supposed to represent all of the citizens of Nevada, not just the ones invited to participate in "telephone town halls". Mr. Reid, in your idea, you get to choose who should speak and who may request answers. I know it's tough, sir but that's not the way our system works.

Representative Carnahan, do you really think it is a good idea to have union thugs beating and kicking an unemployed citizen for selling "don't tread on me" flags? Especially if that citizen happens to be black? That citizen may well be a staunch Democrat who just saw a way to make a few bucks. I don't know that, you don't know and those SEIU goons don't know. What I can tell you, sir, is that if he was a Democrat, he isn't one now. Representative Carnahan, having your goons beat and kick American citizens is not the way we win friends and influence people. I suggest you start talking to those lobbying firms, I doubt you will have an office in the government building in DC after January, 2011. We forgive a lot, we Americans, beating our citizenry is going too far.

The rest of you Democrats that are bleating about the folks who are happy with their present health care being astroturfed and paid by the insurance companies, I invite you to look at that video that is going around where that AARP got all snippy with, and then stormed out of that meeting in Dallas. AARP is an insurance company, dear Congress. Those folks didn't seem to have been paid enough, did they?

Or me, for instance. I am quite happy with the way my private insurance pays for what my Medicare does not. What, dear Congress, will happen to my private insurance once you make those huge cuts in Medicare to pay for the rest of your scheme? Why they will raise my premiums sky high, won't they? And then, being beggared by the Federal Government, they'll go out of business.

Congress, if you, and your little brothers in the state governments, would only do something about those tort lawyers stalking about looking for the latest jackpot, medical insurance would drop immediately. And then, if you and your state legislative jackals would simply allow patients some choices in what insurance coverage they need, medical insurance prices would drop again. My wife and I do not need coverage for birth control and pregnancy. We are old. And our kids, who need such coverage, do not need coverage for the conditions caused by the ravages of age. You legislators do not need to, nor are you supposed to, tell us what coverage we must have.

Years ago Linda Lou and I had the perfect coverage. We paid like five dollars a doctor visit and two dollars per prescription, after we hit this fairly low deductible. The next thing we knew a bunch of shyster lawyers descending on them like hyenas on a wounded wildebeest. The next thing we knew, that company had to leave Texas because they started to lose money with every patient. It's been most of twenty years since then, we haven't been as happy as we were with our Kaiser Permenente. Thanks, shysters. Thanks legislators.

We know, Congress, what is costing so much that medical care is so unaffordable. Some large percentage of medical costs is the tests for every possible thing to protect the doctor from a lawsuit. Too bad we can't sue John Edwards. So, so many more mothers are getting cut open instead of delivering naturally and there isn't even a tiny change in the number of autistic children. It isn't possible that this lawyer and legislator lied, is it? Why yes, yes it is.

The President wants those who borked the system to shut up. Actually, that's a good idea. All legislators, lawyers and such should sit down and shut up. Then they should listen to their constituents. Don't shout, don't call names. If you want to make sure that the constituent isn't an astroturfed type, demand identification.

Next, while you are shutting up, sit down with real doctors from your districts. If you are concerned with astroturfing, fine. have a staffer make a list of all the doctors in the district, cut the list up and pick names out at random for a series of dinners. You clowns waste so much of our money we'll be glad to pay for maybe ten of these dinners each. Let each Doc talk for a few minutes and present his or her recommendations. After those dinners, do some more with someone else who might know something about medical insurance. Not lawyers, insurance people. You might not like to believe this, Washington, but far more Americans trust their insurance companies more than we do you.

The President had some good advice. Trouble is, he was telling the wrong people. He, and the rest of Washington should listen. Washington, the medical insurance companies have a 72% approval rating. Congress has a 24% approval rating. Washington, it may not be a great idea to demonize a bunch of outfits three times more popular than you. Just sayin'.

Love, Peter

PS, You are also blathering, Washington, about us disrupting your meetings and that is why we, your constituents, actually your bosses, aren't welcome in your meetings. Here is a strange idea: if you will shut up long enough to listen, perhaps we would not have to shout. Understand, Washington, we will be heard, whether you like it or not. The more you refuse to listen, the more painful it will be when we are heard. Listen now. You might save your cushy jobs. Listen in November '10, on your way to find a new line of work. Or, keep cheating on these elections and face the angry mobs.