This is Mark From Newark!!!

I am not sure what the exact test is for determining if you are a political junkie but I think I have come close as you can get to determining if you are one.

I often leave my radio on all night so if I wake up during the night I have something to listen to. So Sunday night I happened to wake up to Ray Taliaferro on KGO radio at 1:30 in the morning.

Ray, a far-left host (who says there are no liberal stations on the radio?) was talking about the economy. Now, let it be known, 99% of what Ray says I disagree with. But, he actually said something with which I agreed.

He talked about the devaluation of the dollar, and how Bush is spending us into oblivion. He is right. But he also blamed the problems with the economy on the subprime debacle, and Iraq.

So, I called at 1:30 in the morning. I had to wait a half an hour before I was able to get on the radio. Ray introduced me as "Mark from Newark." I told Ray I did not believe Bush was a conservative, and he was spending us into oblivion, but it had nothing to do with Iraq.

As usual, liberals understand little about economics or how the world works.

Wars are measured in terms of the Gross Domestic Product, (GDP). In terms of GDP, Iraq is a drop in the bucket. Iraq is only 2% of GDP compared with the Gulf War (3% of GDP), the Vietnam war (13% of GDP), and World War 2 (130% of GDP). The problem is Bush doesn't use his veto power.

I also stated the subprime debacle is just a phase that is a part of capitalism. If individuals want to take out too much credit, then it shouldn't be my responsiblity to bail them out, and in the same vein, if financial institutions want to lend to individuals who can't afford to pay the loan back, then why should we bail out those companies.

Ray, a proponent of Hillary's health care plan, asked my opinion on her health care plan, and I said I thought it would compound the problem. We need to bring competition into the health care system.

Europe has socialized health care, and it is killing them. Once a country finds itself in a huge social net, that social net becomes a crutch, and workers become complacent and expect it.

Ray, of course, disagreed with me but he let me say my piece. He did not hang up on me like most liberal hosts would do.

Of course, the interesting part was what followed. I created a firestorm For the entire hour afteward, the calls went like this, "That Mark from Newark doesn't know what he is talking about....." It was entertaining to say the least.

The following day, my daughter 17 years old told my wife, "Dad, was up last night yelling at someone on the phone for a long time."

I didn't sleep much that night.

Maybe I need to join PA - Politics Anonymous for political addicts - Does such a thing exist? or as my liberal friend Julie would say, "Get a life!!!"