I posted here a short while ago contrasting how two end-of-life geezers were spending their finals days.  One was Senator Ted Kennedy (R-MA).  The other, my Grandpa Ray.  Well, Ray has passed away at the frisky age of 91.  There wasn't any government interference or fuss.  It was just an old man who had had enough of the treatments and attention.  Ray just wanted to be left alone to live his final days unencumbered by bothersome doctors, nurses, and tests.  Ray only received pain medication in his final couple weeks.  This is what President Obama wants for our elderly.  Pain medication, not procedures and treatments.  The choices Ray had in his final days will be denied future Smithsonian candidates.  Your care will not be your choice.  It will be controlled by government.  I think there is a much larger lesson here about what is wrong with too much government in our lives.  I must first talk about the values that made Ray a great man.  A man who had retired at age 62, but just couldn't sit still, and took other odd jobs until his 80's.  A man who felt passionately about bringing home a pay check, not a government check.  A man who mostly didn't have the option of food stamps, welfare, etc, but scorned such things ever after they were available.  Now the government advertises for new food stamp recipients!  Ray is the original traditional American.  Hard work, gumption, sacrifice, pride, etc...  Ray comes from the generation that gave birth to the "greatest" generation.  Don't you think there is much to learn about a generation responsible for the "gold standard" of generations?  The Baby Boomers are now slowly being replaced by Gen X, Y and Z.  Generations exposed to larger levels of intrusive government than at any other time in our nation's history.  How do Conservatives unravel this messy web of incompetent career bureaucrats and waste?  The answer is simple...  One issue at a time.  Defeat Health Care next month.  Then tackle Cap and Trade.  Next make the case for lower taxes and more freedom.  President George Bush used to talk about the "ownership" society.  I say own your own health insurance, retirement accounts, educational choices, etc...  Eliminate government from those areas not explicitly dictated in the Constitution.  Get us back to Ray's golden years when the welfare state didn't exist.  It was all about hard work and dedication.