If Ryan didn't do it, you would call him heartless. Hippocrate!

Did Biden ever read a book?

Hippocrate -
A container used in the transport of the large animal known as a hippopotamus (not to be confused with an elephant). These hippos are prone to anger and violence, most likely due to their confinement, so the hippocrate must be very sturdy and secure. A variation of the hippocrate appears in the documentary Jurassic Park, but is used to convey velociraptors.

Huh? If Joe Biden, as a member of Congress, was seeking assistance via a federal program for a constituent in his district, he'd be doing precisely what he was elected to do. Represent the constituents in his district. As was Ryan. If anything, this situation demonstrates that he has the ability to put his personal beliefs aside long enough to properly carry out the duties of his elected position.

But Bob, Ayn Rand was an adulteress.

Ah yes, Greg, very true. And don't forget - Magical Secretions.

@Bren -

I should hope so - Biden is no longer a Senator. He's the Vice President of the United States, in case you didn't get the memo.

But I can understand your confusion here, as Biden certainly doesn't act like a Vice President, does he?

Don't worry, we'll change that this November!

Bren is wrong about a few other things.
"Atlas Shrugged is the "second most influential book for Americans today" after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club"

If Joe Biden would of done this it wouldn't of made patch.com or probably many other "news" sources.

Gear, I do consider Ryan "heartless." With Ayn Rand as his inspiration, no wonder. One may reasonably assume stepping in was part of the pursuit of "rational self interest."

Greg, Biden has read and written several books. Whenever I think of hippos I remember this scene from The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SE1AEd2NqM ; )

Yes, Ayn Rand was a proud adulteress. But she was also proudly pro-choice. She would have had a few words for Todd Akin.

Mr. Hoffa, thought it was clear I was referring to Biden's earlier days as a U.S. Senator. Sorry! Concerning Biden's performance, I certainly prefer a return to VP as supporting role compared to the near-presidential overstepping of his predecessor. I found Cheney's actions unacceptable and causal factors for the unfunded war on Iraq, etc.

Greg, I understood that "Atlas Shrugged" was one of the most influential on "bookish 14 year olds," the other being the one with orcs. Ayn's writing was controversial and shocking at the time because prevailing thought was on "we" not "me." And it still should be, in my opinion. We're all on this planet together, let's make it work for everyone.

@Bren -

You are constantly rambling about the "unfunded war[s]" that Bush got us into.

Traditionally, our funding of wars has been with debt.

Do you blame Democrats Woodrow Wilson or FDR for selling war bonds and getting us involved in the unfunded wars of WWI and WWII, respectively? Or how about Democrats JFK and LBJ for getting us involved in the largely unfunded war of Vietnam?

Just curious how you can now stand by the Democratic brand after ripping on Bush as harshly as you do.

BTW - Nice clip from TGMBC!

Mr. Hoffa, all wars are based in opportunism, I am convinced. WWI and WWII required action/intervention as longtime European allies and American interest/security were threatened. The road to Vietnam was based on the U.S.'s alliance with WWII ally France; the evolving Cold War and the emergence of Soviet influence/communism in northern Vietnam. What started as American advisers in that country denigrated into military action as the situation deteriorated. Remember too that technological advances made long-range missile strikes on the contiguous United States possible, that provided a rationale for working to diminish Soviet influence (e.g. Korea). The road to Iraq was paved with lies, debunked prior to the invasion. There's the difference.

TGMBC is an amazing film!

A blast from the past. The liar was Clinton.

Clinton Iraq has abused its last chance
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
December 16, 1998

WASHINGTON CNN From the Oval Office, President Clinton told the nation Wednesday evening why he ordered new military strikes against Iraq.

The president said Iraqs refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors presented a threat to the entire world.

Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons, Clinton said.

http://articles.cnn.com/1998-12-16/us/9812_16_clinton.iraq.speech_1_weapons-inspectors-united-nations-special-commission-biological-weapons?_s=PM:US

@Bren -

Even if you believe that Iraq was all about oil, does the US not have a vested interest in assuring the free flow of oil from the Middle East? Remember how disruptive the OPEC embargo of the '70's was on our economy? So isn't the interest in oil alone more than enough to justify our involvement in Iraq?

Or does your non-union built Toyota Camry run on rainbows and sunshine?

In the style of Joe Biden, I can answer your questions with one 3 letter word "DESPERATE".

@Greg -

Nice!

Desperate is when the hippopotamus escapes from the hippocrate.

@Jay -

Touche!

@MrsPeel -

Given the way that Biden acts while on the job, it's probably best that we don't know about his behavior during leisure activities!

And Cheney is not running for office, in case you didn't realize that! Why are you so obsessed with the past? Is that because Obama/Biden's vision of our future isn't much to talk about?

Oh, I had forgotten about that. Britain has an annual current events game show titled, "Big Fat Quiz Show of [Year]." That year, the shooting, and the subsequent and bizarre victim's apology, was one of the questions. That wasn't embarrassing to watch. At all.

Patch is owned by the Huffington Post, a bunch of left wing burn outs who want to sell advertising.

And yet last week, we were accused of being pro-Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Sarah beat me to the punch, but I echo her comment - last week I heard from readers complaining we were leaning too far to the right. The sites and editors like us are committed to being neutral politically in the content we provide.

Patch is not owned by the Huffington Post. AOL owns the Huffington Post and Patch. We're separate entities and I can assure you that our editorial decisions are separate. However, some of our content is posted on HuffPo. If you'd like to pony up some story ideas, we'd be happy to consider them. I'm actually the one that makes the editorial decisions on what goes on this site and I'm listening. I know the AFP commonly likes to bill Patch as that evil liberal organization, but I can assure you we have strong relationships with people on all sides of the political spectrum and we make an effort to cover a variety of angles. I welcome and accept constructive criticism about our coverage. I also want you to know and understand that I care deeply about the community I serve because I live here.

You might also want to explain how "Local Voices" and local choices about what articles are featured on a given day can contribute to a perception of political leanings in one direction or the other.

Is Ryan planning on using a repellent with DEET in it to repel Obamacare? Because I hear that stuff is toxic.

Don't worry, Denise. Any story that give both sides of an argument is going to be labled liberal bias. Aparently, journalistic integrity is now considered liberal bias. It shouldb't be a surprise as the most inaccurate reporting that is debunked on such a regular basis is considered "Fair and Balanced."

Facts never mean much to Conservatives anyway.

Keep up the good work, Patch. This community needs articles from all sides of the argument.

Where was this Sarah?

Never forget about this poll Sarah posted, question anything she writes after submitting this bias piece of work.

http://menomoneefalls.patch.com/articles/poll-how-do-you-feel-about-gov-walker-suspending-oct-deer-gun-hunting

Didn't I recently read that there would be focus on Paul Ryan because he's from Wisconsin? That's reasonable, I don't believe it infers bias.

Samantha, the Affordable Care Act (what some rude people refer to as "Obamacare") is working very well for me and several relatives. I've received an overcharge refund from my healthcare provider, a relative who had to self-insure with a pre-existing condition rider (and additional cost) may now get insurance for their entire body at a more reasonable price, and a relative with a new college grad can keep the kid on their own insurance policy (at no cost to the government). What's not to like about that?

I also like the fact that savings were found in Medicare which directs more funds toward services (and the government needs to be allowed to negotiate bulk rates with Big Pharma, etc.). Another plus is for women in the states where insurance companies discriminated against them with higher (and sometimes double) rates than men of the same age. I also like the idea of consortium-type insurance plans for smaller businesses--that should help keep rates down. As we know, rates become more competitive when there are more people on the policy.

From where I'm standing, ACA is pretty good, but more work is needed. Ideally we need a national health care plan, which gets rid of the middleman insurance companies.

Don't thank Hoffa - thank the objective FACTS and the unbiased TRUTH!

@Ed -

"Bush's program expired in 2008, with final funding provided in Fiscal Year 2009. The Health Centers Program was then folded into the ACA in 2010."

You needed to continue reading to discover all the facts. Ryan's letter was written in 2010.

But the whole tie to Obamacare is irrelevant to the point of Ryan's letter - see Hoffa's summation of the facts above, and their implications, making this whole controversy in essence a non-story.

You should probably eat a raw green pepper anyway. They're good for you.

I can eat them cooked in salsa or soup, but can't even stand the smell of them when I am cutting them up. If I leave them on the plant to turn red then I can eat them.

Off topic. Were you at Mocha Lisa this morning? My husband does not like green beans either until I took fresh green beans from the garden, left them long but snipped the end, and put them over the top of a beef roast during the last 20 minutes of cooking time. I make my roasts on the gas grill in a blue specked roasting pan with the cover on along with potatoes. All I season with is grape seed oil and salt. The beans picked up the flavor from all the sizzling in the roaster.

Canned green beans are awesome
Fresh green beans are butt nasty....

Except when served with asparagus! ;-)