Finishing this article that gave the same old bleeding heart liberal arguments of republicans wanting to “assault women’s rights,” while simultaneously stating that Democrats should be “commended” for their efforts of staying the course, I felt obligated to respond to such ludicrous accusations. If we, as a nation, cannot begin having serious conversations about the budget without resorting to the stale arguments of slandering our political opposition with things along the lines of the “want to kill old people” by cutting Medicare spending, then there is no hope for the United States of America. The desperate needs for our nation are to have major banking reforms, and to rid ourselves of the Federal Reserve System.  In 9th grade World Geography I remember learning about the contradiction of the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor was it an Empire. This is comparable to our Federal Reserve System, which is neither a Federal body, nor is it based off of any substance of intrinsic value that backs our paper money i.e. gold or silver, nor is it a system as it is merely a centralized bank that has a monopoly on our currency. As long as we allow the Federal Reserve and major corporations like Goldman Sachs to cause financial crises, and then subsequently bail themselves out hurting millions in the process, there is absolutely no hope for our Republic. So for your final line which stated, “This is American Democracy at work,” there can be no democracy when the very culprits of our current situation are able to bail themselves out without being regulated. Avoiding the real problems plaguing our nation is both convenient and harmful. Then again, when Goldman Sachs is the biggest campaign contributor to our current President as well as many GOP members, is it really even that shocking that there have been no criminal charges taken against them? There is your democracy. Frisco Baugh

junior in mathematics