With apologies, no doubt, to Michael Bennett.
H/T: Commenter Josie
Stoutcat
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With apologies, no doubt, to Michael Bennett.
H/T: Commenter Josie
Stoutcat
This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under health care, Humor, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Grand Rants
Stoutcat:
Here is a link to a speech given by a liberal legislator from the people’s republic of Illinois (where I happen to live) giving a rare glimpse of the truth-that Obamacare does not want to preserve private healthcare and insurance; in fact, the aim is to destroy it.
http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafM2iz.html
Steve Spontak
She is up for re-election in 2010.
I do hope you will help her retire!
She is as likely to lose an election as Mayor Richard Daley is. Like most Democratically-controlled CD districts, an incumbent losing an election just “ain’t gonna happen” (unless it is some ideologically meaningless primary fight).
VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER. SORRY ITS SO TRUE. WE ARE A BUNCH OF BLIND AMERICANS’
Not all of us.
This woman is WAY OUT in left field. I bet if I asked her if she would immediately sign up for what is currently being discussed, her responce would be, “I’d have to think about it.” I will NEVER support any gov’t health plan that does not include changing ALL gov’t officials (i.e. Executive, Judicial, AND Legislative) to the same program that they are trying to ram down our throats!
Why don’t they give all of the government (senators,congressmen,governors,all of the presidents staff,secret service,anyone who is paid with tax dollars)this obamacare and see if it truely works? They would not be able to buy private insurance while on the progam which would last say 3 years. After the 3 years if they still think so much of it and the cost is below what is paid now then try it for all of America.If they are not willing to do this then they should end the idea and stop telling the American people how good it is.This would then free up thier time to try and get America back on the mend of this recession.
I love it!
The best suggestion! Ever!
That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a while. In fact, it’s a great idea. I love it!!
Loved this. Great Job!!!:)
This is so spot on. So why aren’t we taking to the streets in protest before, we’re all forced to bend over and take it in the rear!
If Obama is successful in passing his version of health care reform, he will have done more damage to America’s health, both physical & economic, than any American in history. In time smart Americans will find a way to rid themselves of Mr. Obama, but the stains and scars on our nation will remain. ‘You never know what you can do until you try to undo what you have done.’
As a smart republican, I personally always fly out of the country to Canada, Europe, Argentina to get quality care. The problem are the middle class. They deserve the system in the States whether or not dem. or repub. If you don’t have the money your stuck to a system in the states. Socialism, like the fire dept. road repair and police services. Especially the poor politicians that are all socialist as they get paid and get their insurance from the government. Work hard get rich and then your not a slave to any system. Its so easy to manipulate anyone using wedge issues as it keeps the middle class from focusing on money. Who would work for us then?? Vacationing in Vienna—
If you’re “smart” anything why on earth would you be trying to go to Canada, Europe or Argentina for Medical care? European and Canadian and Ausralian doctors can’t use any drugs “off label” and if their system is so broken that they are going bankrupt and can’t treat their own patients how long do YOU have to wait for an appointment??
“The problem are the middle class”?? (IS the middle class)… but I don’t agree with you there either. Having lived in Germany and England for a number of years I know what European health care is all about and I also know the Canadians come HERE for medical care!
Mangolynn, he is paying CASH for his healthcare when he leaves the country. He is hardly in the section of population of this country that is struggling with healthcare/insurance needs. If you have CASH you can buy anything. Just ask Canadians that buy ‘supplement policies”.
Canadians come HERE for care they are unable to access in Canada.
Even the Canadian phisicians are questioning our sanity in even considering a plan modeled after theirs. Thier system is imploding and they are looking to reform it.
Hopefully, they’ll model it after ours so we’ll have someplace to go when WE need it!
I didn’t know there was such a thing as a smart Republican. How very enlightening.
Lori,
Believe it or not, there are a few of us left out there.
So glad that you’re now enlightened.
Is this a sarcastic remark? If that is the case is was uncalled for. We Americans are in a lot of trouble and anybody with open eyes can see us losing all our freedoms. I for one fear for my home- The so called UNITED States. I love my country. I pray our american population is waking up to the total change of these United States. You won’t be a happy camper when it’s all said & done.
Lori Republicans are smart, Democrats mostly nerds!Your living proof. Did you go to school. Political Science 101 would have helped you fit into the general population.
Lori,
My Mother always said there are only two types of Republicans:
1) Rich
2) Stupid
Most of those posting on this site appear to be #2. I’m sure they all are devoted Fox News viewers where they get all the extreme right wing ‘facts’.
Like Jim White of KMOX Radio used to say “You Can’t Fix Stupid’!
Lori, there are such things as smart Republicans…why do you think there have been more republican presidents than democratic. Surely now we can all see why!
“D” is for Dumbass!
Andrew:
– You are not smart
– You are not a republican
– You are not a conservative
– You are not vacationing in Vienna
You are a troll. Next time sit down with a real conservative to create your straw-man before you expose any more ignorance.
Andrew, you may be a “smart republican,” but your knowledge of grammar isn’t shining through.
We learned in 3rd grade, the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
Andrew A Jordan,
Who taught you to spell? Your grammar is also questionable. You did not mention the “socialistic” school you must have attended.
Sarcasm, not easily identified these days anymore. Nice work Andrew. Horrible writing though….ouch…
i cannot believe that someone with your grammar sills (or lack thereof) actually has the money to travel internationally. you must be a trust fund baby. however, i do support the gist of your mail as a conservative republican.
Andrew, you are one of the biggest bumb asses I have ever witnessed in my entire life. I have seen big ones too. Nothing you said makes any sense. It’s like you took some facts from some where and mixed them up in a bucket and dumped every thing out and just let it fall where it would.
Get educated son before you start yammering about something you have absolutely no knowledge of.
Andrew-learn how to spell.
Andrew, learn how to spell.
I think you guys should really check your facts before spouting off things that have been exaggerated. Snopes.com is a well known unbiased website that has been around for 15+ years and has a great page on Barack Obama stating the truths and the fallacies on most of the important issues that have risen.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obama.asp
For your information Sam, Snoops. om is a Farce run by a married couple in the “San Fernando Valley in California~ So much for your arguement!
Mary, I find that Snopes is a good source for de-bunking all kinds of crap that floats around the internet. Do they skew left? Oh my, yes. But their information is usually impeccably sourced and always very well written. That the two people who write the site are married is immaterial, in my opinion. That they live in the San Fernando Valley, ditto.
That said, Steve Spontak’s comment about covers it: Snopes doesn’t mention this massive healthcare scam at that link, so why drag the Snopes site into it? Sam Pagan’s argument isn’t much of an argument at all.
Mary, you have GOT to be kidding me. I bet you believe the earth is flat and that Martians are green. Put the computer away and work on trying to tie your shoelaces again.
ary do you mean snopes?
Snopes is definitely pro Obama and the person who said it’s run by a husband and wife duo in California is correct. They are biased indeed, as much as they try to look otherwise.
If “Snopes” is “Unbiased” I’m a Trillionare.
Hey in that case can I borrow a few mill?
SNOPES IS YES a LIBERAL biased JOKE. Like Factcheck.org.
Wake up and smell the soon to be legislated cow farts, Ron.
Mr. Pagan, I looked snopes; it says nothing about health care reform, unless I missed it. I think most readers of Grand Rants are relatively well informed and do not rely on misinformation and hyperbole. The spelling could be better, however.
Steve, thanks for the compliment to our readers! I find Snopes to be a good source for de-bunking internet rumors, but as you say, they mention nothing about this healthcare boondoggle.
Those who have health care and are satisfied need to look to the government to control Insurance companies.
Those who are uninsured should receive basic health care passed by government with option to seek a specialist 1/2 paid by government and one half by patient on a time basis.
Centers for eye glasses and dental care must have doctors that are board certified. A small fee, up to 3% can be taken out of each employee to cover for some medical costs for the underpriviledged.
The government should and must not do it all.
Luxuries such as jewelry, perfumes, tabacco and alcohol can also provide a small surcharge which can be applied to the countries medical needs.
Finally, inspectors are needed to visit clinics, hospitals, to insure there is no fraud or abuse. These inspectors must be alternated every six months to avoid unethical tendencies on the part of both hospital administration and inspectors.
Carmella, Dear: are you aware that medicaid, medicare and social security will be totally OUT OF FUNDS in two or three years?
Personally, I don’t want to pay ANY more taxes for the idiots in Washington to use to fund their re-election efforts.
There was a ‘luxury tax’ passed in the 90’s on yachts, jewelery and furs……VERY EFECTIVE, indeed! The evil ‘RICH’ still purchased those items but purchased them in other countries. The ones penalized were the people who built and created those items in the US…….demand fell and with it, the livliehoods of the ‘workers’….such a great idea!
Also, there ARE inspections in hospitals and clinics.These are done by the J.C.A.H. [Joint Comission of American Hospitals]
However, the inspections are announced in advance, giving the institutions more than ample time to ‘prepare’.
The government can’t keep track of Medicare and Medicaid although they are aware that there is fraud. Rarely do they do much about it.
Actually Cathy, Joint Commission no longer scedules their on site visits to hospitals. They now come unannounces which is much more effective at rating facilities.
that is it after reading this post i now see it very clearly .
we are at war , and if we do not wake up and satrt taken action people like Carmela will be living in my home , eating my family’s food while i am at working paying for making the money so she can sit on her fat behind and collect !!!~
Splusman, let’s hope that the 2010 election cycle will bring some much needed change to Congress!
Carmela:
How about giving large tax breaks to those who buy their own insurance? When you make the gov. provide those types of services, you force someone else to pay for it. Why not incentivize individuals to take care of their own?
There will always be a small portion of people who cannot get private coverage; to those who truly need it, I am in favor of government paying.
Enough with the taxes! We need to incentivize people to take care of themselves with tax breaks!!
Controlling insurance companies (which I agree with to a limited extent) will not occur with the government health plan-insurance companies will be eliminated (and thus any choice in your healthcare)!!!
It’s so freaking simple – So there must be a Hidden Agenda. The Objective is SUPPOSED to be to cover those who DO NOT have Health care or CAN’T afford it. So THEY want to Overhaul The Entire Freaking System OVERNIGHT – Talk about “throwing out the baby with the ……….”
The Government currently picks up The Tab for THOSE People who DON’T have HealthCare, or CAN’T afford it – Ask any Major Hospital in any Metropolitan U.S. City, who are prohibited from turning away ANY Patient in Need of Medical Attention, without Good Reason.
If The Gov’t wants to bypass The Current Process, then they should appeal to those who DON’T have HealthCare or CAN’T afford it. The Gov’t should then provide The Care they need, or cover The Cost of That Care, and provide Assurance to those Hospitals that such Patient Costs will be reimbursed, once the necessary Paperwork and Verification has been presented.
What will stop those who CAN afford it, seek Medical Attention and claim “inability to pay.” – ? Exactly what happens now – Patients, rich of poor have to provide Personal Information before they can be treated, and a Credit Search is immediately performed, as is currently being done and has been done for decades. They then sign a document to the effect that “Any Billing from The Hospital for Medical Attention” will be paid in a timely manner, or The Hospital has The Right (per your signature) to proceed after you legally for such Payments, as is done NOW.
Instead of trying to cover TWO to THREE Hundred MILLION CITIZENS, The Gov’t should concentrate their efforts on the approximate 50 Million that DON’T Have HealthCare or CAN’T afford it. I can assure you that The Bill will not be anywhere near a Trillion Dollars, or Half a Billion Dollars. And The Tax Consequences will be Minimal – Just another Branch of The MediCare/MedicAid Health Protection Systems. And NOT costing a TRILLION Dollars. Yes – A Handful of Non-Residents (Illegals) may get help and fall through the cracks but that happens NOW anyway, and Nothing is going to stop that, until The Issue of Immigration Reform is dealt with, without the stigma of losing potential Votes.
What else should The Gov’t do.? – Cut out or Minimize Medical Waste and Fraud Costs which will save another FEW Billion Dollars. Make The Penalties stiffer and Make them STICK.!
Now THIS will be a Good Start, and not requiring a Surgical Transplant of Every Organ in The Patient’s Body, at The SAME Time.
Doc
As one who has worked in the health care industry doing billing, collection etc. You certainly have it right. Too bad our brainwashed Obama worshippers will not listen to experts.
I have been in the business side of healthcare for 30+ years. The facts are Healthcare cost went thru the roof when the Government first stepped in with cost containment for Medicare patients with their post perspective reviews. Does the general public know that hospitals get paid according to diagnosis for government programs, not cost. Example pneumonia $5500.00 if that patients billing is $100,000 oh well the hospital has to write it off. Well guess what in order for hospitals not to have to close their doors they increased the charges to commercial carriers and insurance premiums went up, up, up and away. Also a little known fact is private hospitals have to pay a 50% tax on any profit over 4%(#’s from several years ago)for an indigent care fund and although they are mandated to treat indigents who present in emergency situations those funds are not accessable to them just to county and not-for-profit entities. SO cost go up to those who pay to cover those who don’t! I am not a fan of insurance companies either, because they can show a pretax loss and still make an outrageous post tax profit and still want rate increases??? And one change could bring cost down and that’s called a mandatory 10 day pay. Which means they (ins. Cpny) get a clean claim they are mandated to pay in 10 days. ANy reviews are done on the backend. Why is this important, because hospitals and doctors have already paid their bills to treat the patient(utilities, payroll, goods ect)but insurance companies commonly hold up the money for 60, 90 and even 120+ days. The medical providers are having to pay interest on the money they have paid out, waiting for payment to come in. This one change could dramatically impact a hospitals overhead cost and thus lower cost to the public. So simple yet is it in the new bill (NO). Also as you have heard people shouting out where is the torte reform?????? Malpractice cost are astronomical, due to these huge sums being paid out on sympathetic cases. I had twice things happen to me medically where I could have sued, did I NO, why because I knew the doctors delivering the care had done the best to their ability, but I promise you if I had let them the ambulance chasers, would have taken it to court, won and taken a cruise and not given a rats a– about the ramifications to society as a whole. But it is not suprising that torte reform is not “one of the changes” as 80+% of our lawmakers are or have been attorneys. So may God protect and keep us safe from this president, pelosi and the other liberals out to destroy the greatest country and economic system in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for trying to inform the uninformed Obama worshippers how things really are in the healthcare industry. As one who worked for 30 years in healthcare billing, collections etc. I know you are entirely right on. I too had a possible medical lawsuit in my family, but like you, I know you don’t take advantage of your fellow man by suing.
THANK YOU, MILLIANN!
You need to share that beyond this site.
Write the same letter to the non-government controlled sock puppet media. Contact the conservative talkers with this information.
Write to News Max, Fox News and anywhere else sanity reigns.
God Bless!
Milliann, I am glad you took the time to explain everything how medical providers, the insurance companies, the hospital and the Government take care of the medical billings. Now I understand why my insurance premiums have doubled since 2004.(We were paying $500+ for my husband and myself through his employer who also subsidized about 50% of his portion on a PPO program through Blue Cross, now we are paying $1200 monthly for both on a PPO program)
As suggested by someone in response to your comment here, you really should write to the networks like CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX etc. about this. Let other people know the truth. You people who are working as health professionals and related fields really should let the general public as well as the politicians understand the issues behind it.
What we need is to put a stop on the hike of insurance costs on private insurance and limit the time that insurance companies reimburse to medical providers/hospitals. I just read that Humana is reaping 40+% profit in this year, a publicly trading company on the Wall Street. And for the politicians bragging about how Medicare/Medicaid held down the insurance costs is really a farce after reading what you wrote!!!
As to the uninsured Americans, the pre-existing conditions that limit individuals from participating in any insurance politices, or dumping cancer patients, THIS IS WHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT.
Since you do not like snopes try FactCheck.org. They debunk both sides of the hyperbole.
Great video! Snopes is a joke and they will actually split very fine hairs on an issue that they don’t find favor with to try and blow it out of the water. Use askherritage.org, or factcheck.org to verify true info.
Here’s a video that really ticked me off! If you’re military, past or present, or love someone who is, you’ll be ticked off too. This country is becoming way too much like Chavez’Venezuela or Castro’s Cuba. Fortunately, many people who voted for this socialist, are quickly learning that their health care is not the only thing that’s he’s destroying. We can only hope the rest of the voting public learns too.
Pass this one on….this is a bomb!
Amen to your comments regarding Obama’s socialist agenda. He’s out to destroy the middle class NOT help them. When we elect crooks & thieves from the Chicago mob, what can we expect but this???
FACT: Obama and administration have lied about many issues.. (Not like other presidents havent right?)
With that in mind, all opinions aside, why should I trust them on ANY issue?
Simple: I Dont…. They havent earned my trust.
Common sence will set you free!
Health/medical care is not a right under our Constitution. If are leaders would do this the legal way and propose an amendment to the constitution, all the States would have a voice along with our representatives in the House and Senate.
If passed all health/medical care is a tax credit (not a deduction-please look up meaning of tax credit before you say “what if you make no money?”) for all US taxfilers, thereby giving everyone who files a tax return an approximate 17% tax break. No more after tax dollars paying for it, no more Medicare/caid, no more insurance companies, no more too many billing clerks at your doctors office to deal with or for your doctor to have to pay, Social Security goes further since you won’t use it to pay for medical care, all care is between your provider and you, period, and finally no more government interference.
Yes, that would be great to eliminate Medicare & Medicaid & just let us obtain our health care in our own way. Let’s go back to the way it was in the 1950’s when we had a close personal relationship with our doctors. The docs had the time for us because their time was not taken up with all the paper work, rules & regulations of Medicaid & Medicare.
I think insurance is a great thing. I don’t believe we should have socialized health care. I have an injection done twice a month and it cost my insurance company 4200.00 an injection, I pay nothing. If I was on whatever the government offered I wouldn’t be able to receive this injection which is medically necessary.
Incentivize??? Now that’s a new one……
Not really, Martha.
Generally, if people are RESPONSIBLE for their care they will be more careful when they decide weather or not to seek medical attention.
Health INSURENCE should be used for catastrophic situations, surgeries, long term care and therapies etc.
Too many people who make use of Medicare and Medicaid use them for EVERYTHING. I cannot tell you how many use the emergency room as a walk in clinic for everything from stuffy noses to kids who have been screaming for DAYS with ear infections rather than taking them to their pediatritian or a walk in clinic or urgent care facility during normal hours.
Medical CARE in this country is ALWAYS accessable to everyone who needs it.
[…] H/T: Uncle Bill via Grand Rants […]
Here’s some more related information. Read the article called “Are you ready to die for your government” posted at http://www.cliffyworld.com
Hey folks: this whole thing about healthe care reform is all smoke and mirrors. Do you really think that Obama gives a flip about you and your health care? This whole thing is about power and buying votes. The government now owns 68% or more of GM, Chrysler, no telling how many banks, insurance companies and the list goes on. Don’t get me wrong, the republicans have been sitting on their ass taking special interest money while the Dems have been grabbing power right from under their noses, so much for their contract with America! So what do we do?, first of all stop this power grab, once this so-called health bill passes the United States as we know it will cease to exist. Those in power now will NEVER let loose, they will own you lock, stock and your great grandkids. It seems that EVERYONE has forgotten what stopped the last depression …. World War II not stimulus checks! You can’t spend your way to prosperity! If you are in a hole financially, STOP digging! Obama and his cronies would have you believe you can go to the deep end of the pool and get a bucket of water and pour it in the shallow end and everyone gets richer. Ask yourself… when was the last time a poor man gave you a job?
I am amazed that with the exception of Thomas Murray, little mention was made about how the power given in this health care bill will put our country in a Police State. So much power that has little to do with health care is written into the bill. They can enter your home or office without a search warrant. The right to make decisions about your own life will be in the hands of the government, you are giving up that right. The health care rules and regulations proposed are scary enough on their own, but the totality of the bill would mean the end of our country as we have known it.
It does us no good to rant like this unless we find a way to DO something about it. It is NOW time to say, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.” and mean it.
eherbert, many folks are doing more than just ranting. You’ve seen the press coverage of the town hall meetings, you’ve seen the derogatory and belittling way in which citizens, concerned, upset, angry, have been covered in most of the mainstream media. But more and more Congresspeople are beginning to take notice.
We can say to each other, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more,” but unless we say so in public and to our elected officials, nothing much is going to happen. Make sure your representatives know where you stand on this bill. Make sure they know that their jobs hang in the balance if they don’t do the will of their constituents. Make your voice heard, and not just by those who agree with you.
However, blogging has its place, as well. They also serve who only sit and rant, you know… 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
Thousands of voices will be heard on September 12, 2009 in a march on Washington DC.
Dick Armey [R-Texas] will lead his group, Americans for Prosperity and the 9-12 Project along with many more are planning to meet on the Mall in DC.
Please join us, check the 912 Project web site, Americans for Prosperity and many others.
They WILL listen!
As A follow-up, work to get ANY true conservative elected in 2010…..the ENTIRE House of Representatives is up for re-election next year [this includes Nutsy Pelosi, Barny Frank etc……..] help them into the unimployment lines.
1/3 of the Senate is up as well….! Get rid of those who have abandoned the Constitution.
Enough is enough! They need to be reminded exactly for WHOM they work!
to Milliann Johnson 08 26 09, at 2:53 p.m: Thank you for stating the position of many taxpayers so well. It is so convenient to use the “race card” to try to silence opposition when the message being expounded has very little merit, as does HR 3200 with its Public Option. What we need is a thorough, thoughtful, methodical analysis of all the problems with Medicare/aid, such as the tremendous fraud (see http://www.healthtransformation.net/cs/policies_issues/health_based_health_reform/fraud_in_the_news for over 50 articles reporting on this fraud and its cost to the U.S. taxpayer), including cost of enrolling the children of illegals on Medicaid, to which they ARE NOT entitled, securing our borders and removing the illegals, and then changing just a few aspects of the current systems(i.e.,insurance regulation to allow sales of policies across state lines, etc.) to stabilize them and at the point we are not borrowing money to pay for these existing systems, consider adding additional services. Only after lengthy analysis. NOT in 6 dys, 6 wks, 6 mos, as Obama is trying to do. God save us from the socialists in Congress and the Administration, who are magnanimous with OUR tax monies, not their own incomes.
Oh my goodness! This is such a serious issue for all of us who are not independently wealthy… I’m a little embarassed (ok, not really) to say that this made me laugh for a good minute.
I sure don’t have the answer but as I’ve read for days now, it’s clear that the “swords” have been sharpened to the extreme, no doubt to deliver the “Coup de Jarnac”. In any case, this is amusing!
Still smiling, Leesa
Leesa: Thanks for your comment, and thanks for bringing a new phrase to my vocabulary! Love the concept of “le coup de Jarnac“; I intend to use it as soon as possible so I’ll remember it.
[…] This post was Twitted by FoundersWeep […]
What we really need is COST CONTROL as we’re spending far too much money on Medicaid and Medicare…the two giant federal programs that are now in place to serve those that haven’t the means or desire to pay for their own healthcare. How about if we stop providing health care for illegal aliens? How about if we stop paying for abortions, Viagra, folks having babies that can’t afford them? How about if the FEDS clean up the VA Hospital System (they own that 100%) before forcing all of us into yet another federal debacle? How about tort reform??? How much money would that save the current medical system? There are so many alternatives to Nationalized Healthcare….most of them would serve the American people SO MUCH BETTER! Why is it that the LIBS refuse to even consider such possibilites? Couldn’t be that it’s more about power than providing Americans with quality healthcare, could it?
Exactly! You have it right. The Dems don’t have the American peoples best interests at heart. They are in it for the power & money.
The minorities have been fooled by the DEMS for years, promising had outs not hands up. They don’t want them to be equal they want their maids & garbage men to clean up their mess. Repubs say we love Capitalism and we believe that everyone can go get “it” equally! But alas this healthcare plan will break us all and we will be equally broke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They want to give Uncle Teddy his “Make a Wish”, before he dies and to hell with us that have to live or die with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
This great but is this really Obamacare? The Masters of Plantation America have their own elite program. It is us commoners who will be stuck with this communist plan and also have to pay for theirs.
That is what the common people did not understand when they voted for the messiah. He has a double agenda, making the common folk think he is one of them, but at the same time he will reap the benefits of the elitist!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh you are so right, Milliann! I just don’t understand why people cannot see his true face.
The thing is, he really gives good speeches that appeal to the general public, but if you dissect the contents, they are all flowery speeches. He understands mass psychology and that’s what puts him into this seat. Uncle Teddy saw in him as the carrier of his torch(to reform health care)and that’s why Teddy dumped Clinton in favor of him.
The “Masters of Plantation” is a very good term for these Dem politicians.(Not that I am a Republican, I am not!)
Single pay; don’t delay—- single pay for the uninsured is the only way to secure health care for the uninsured in a competative market.
Jerry Lynn, what country are YOU living in? In the USA our economics are based on Capitalism ie supply & demand. And before govnmnt stepped in, in the 70’s healthcare was workiung under this system and cost were under control it’s called competition! Let me tell you about my little 75 bed hospital in a small town in Northern Florida. A we were a private hospital in competition with the county hospital. Now of that 75 beds we never had over about 50 patients most times about 30. When the Gvrnmnt first started Cost Containment with a program called PRO, which was post perspective review. The hospital had to copy the entire charts of Medicare patients and send them down to Tampa where they were reviewed by a “committee”. This later helped the government come up with a DRG system,which means paid per diagnosis not cost. Anyway just the copy cost that first year was $75,000. Then their was a very experienced RN that had to be hired to review charts along the way to make sure that the doc’s and nurses were charting correctly and also when a “patient” needed to be discharged, not by the doc’s opinion but according to a black & white criteria, her pay at the time was about $40,000 (in the 70’s). After a year a second RN assitant had to be hired. Where do you think the $$$’s came from to cover the increased “cost” of cost containment? If you know any nurses they will tell you their job is no longer about patient care, they do paper work and monitor paper work CNA’s and aides now do what they were originally trained to do. Who is paying for that?? We don’t need more government in Healthcare we need less!!!!!
Unethical capitalists placed America in our situation. Creative stratigists continue to place political party priorities above America. Wake up sleepy heads; it’s all about political power. Next election is just around the corner, and political parties will do anything for control of the House & Senate…. And secure the White House. Do we want our next President identified by the Supreme Court. BTW not in out Constitution….. Wake up and place AMERICA first — Use your own voice to Exercise Freedom.
Jerry Lynn, thanks for your comments. Not sure why you think the Supreme Court isn’t in the Constitution, as it surely is (see Article III). It seems to me that many people recently have been using our voices to exercise freedom — think Tax Day Tea Parties, and the more current Town Hall meetings. Sadly, when we the people speak, our Democratic leaders label us swastika-carrying astroturfers, un-American, deranged, and the like. Not to worry though, our voices are getting stronger every day.
And yes, 2010 will be here sooner than you think.
AMEN to 2010
Affordable Insirance, why would one use ask.heritage to confirm talking points originated by thr Heritage Foundation? Fractional facts is still an
untruth, regardless of the package.
How quickly we forget the Prescription Drug Program approved by the Bush administration was not paid for as promised. Failure to pay as promised is one of the contributing factors to the recession bailouts.
Do your own research, people. It’s not too late to think for yourself.
God bless Americans;
Help us to use our gray matter, and step out out of this heap of crap.
Jerry Lynn you are the one that seems to be brainwashed by the “messiah” and the media. I worked the accounts receivable/collections of hospitals and doctors offices for many years 30+. The uninsured got treated when neccessary. There are county health departments for low or no income individuals that are way under utilized. Go to England or Canada and see how long you will wait for bypass sugery unless you have big bucks.That is why the Canucks get a supp called OHIP and come over here on vacation and go to the hospital to get their surgeries done. You may think socialization of medicine means help for all, but in the long run everyone except the rich will get marginal care. Medicare was not in any type of financial bind until a Democratic President (LBJ) stepped in and robbed in to pay for all of the Cival Rights programs. The government cannot do anyting cost effectively it has been shown time & time again. But in a competitive environment it is efficient in order to stay in the ball game. I am not an elitest I am a member of the working middle class and I don’t currently have any insurance, but I know if I needed care I could go and get it! But also know because I am a worker I DO NOT want to pay for alcoholics or drug addicts or non-workers or illegal aliens! If you want to then lets set up a chairitible fund, where you can give if you WANT, but do NOT take what I have earned and give it away to someone who wants to skate thru life with no cares, just to be a burden on the rest of us! Don’t believe all of those reality ck sites most of them could be classed as propaganda
Milliann, I love your idea of setting up a charitable fund for healthcare for the indigent, the substance abusers, the illegals, etc. I’d be far more likely to contribute to such an effort than to agree to have my tax dollars spent thus against my will.
It would remain to be seen, however, if any Liberals would contribute to your fund, as they are far less likely to donate to charities than Conservatives. In fact, they already have that option by voluntarily paying a higher rate of income tax, but do they? No sirree! At least no here in Massachusetts!
Milliann,
Have you ever considered running for office? You have more factual information in your little finger than all of Obamas ‘advisors’ combined.
You are just what this country needs….a leader with facts and figures as well as good, workable ideas to fix the problems.
Nicely said, Milliann!! The politicians always have their own agenda, be they Dems or Republicans! How many politicians really have the poor in mind?? May be President Jimmy Carter? But he was dismissed as a weak President who ruined the US. He went on to set up Habitat, and now it is Habitat International!
Gemma
Where DO you get your information, Jerry Lynn?
The latest on OBAMA Poliattacks! The finance & energy committees have sent letters to the health insurance industry requiring them to turn over information on salaries and bonuses and other business practices to them for oversight. The President had a conference call with Progressive, Liberal religious leaders asking them to put pressure on their congregations to side with the administration saying it was “a moral obligation”. Well if these things don’t smack of Mcarthism I don’t know what does. On top of that during the campaign when churches were expressing their opposition to Obama they were threatened to have their tax exempt status taken from them. People flood the streets, get on your phones, hit the emails and vote in 2010, because we are headed into very dangerous waters…it is even bigger than healthcare reform “this man” is after the soul of America, he will take us all down something that Obama Bin Laden couldn’t do, but the devil always does his best work from within. And for any of you out there who believe in G-ment run healthcare, check out the healthcare provided to the Native Americans. They were guaranteed healthcare as part of the treaties, but what happens is congress just does not fund it. So they have a saying don’t get sick after June. The reason, the money has run out!!!! All the natives they interviewed said the same thing “if the government can’t responsibly run our healthcare, what will they do with the millions of Americans that need coverage, what kind of care will they get?”
If you liked that one, you might like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSVyFJdaGAI
Robert, excellent video, although there’s really no comparison to the original — this singer can carry a tune far better than Dylan ever could!
If Obama was doing a bad job, there would not be such a push for negative flack. You don’t trip the horse at the back of the herd, you go for the one at the front, that’s actually winning the race.
America can no longer afford to be a debtor nation; When will political groups put AMERICA first, rather than their own political conference/comittee for power and gain??????!??! Party power is the primary objective. Wake up sheeple.
Jerry Lynn, let me see if I’ve got this right: If President Obama were doing a bad job, he wouldn’t be receiving such bad reviews. Therefore the fact that he’s getting such bad press, reviews, pushback on his policies, etc., is actually proof positive that he’s doing a good job… Well, in some universe that might be true, but not here.
However you are correct: American cannot afford to be in such debt. So let’s stop with all the spending that’s been enacted so far: the failed Cash for Clunkers and the failed Stimulus/Spending act, and return all the unspent money to the taxpayers, from whom it came in the first place. Furthermore, let’s also ditch the proposed disastrous legislation that will sink us even deeper: Cap & Tax and Universal Healthcare. Right? Then we can concentrate on really fixing the problems we face.
Jerry Lynn,
You must have read the article in ‘Pravda’ addressing Americans as “passive, Hapless Sheeple”
Obama is a Marxist, some of us actually looked into his background and his long standing relationships with the likes of Rev. Jeramiah Wright, Bill Ayres, et al.
He can read a teleprompter far better than most.
He is a puppe, we just need to identify the puppeteer.
I guess you rightwing nutcakes forget who won the election. And he didn’t need the Supreme Court to help.
To artfuldodger:
No all Obama needed to get elected was the ACORN Organization. They managed to get him elected with their under the table voters!
Well Acorn was the insurance, but Oprah was the vehicle that put him in striking distance. The media didn’t give her near the credit she deserved. Look at the numbers before she stepped on stage and then after. She “sold” an “as is” product and she had made it look all shiney & new. But a clunker is a clunker, is a clunker.
I agree. You have a great way with words, those are my sentiments exactly. She apparently didn’t want it known how much she supported him because she might lose some audience. She lost me then & I have not watched since.
Well, today in Obama’s radio town meeting, he was asked whether illegal immigrants would be getting free care. As usual, he talked out of both sides of his mouth. 1st he said (there is NOTHING in this bill about illegal immigrants, THEN he said we would continue to give free health care to an illegal child with possible TB going to an emergency room. He said that child would have to be treated so that the child would not go on to a playground & infect our children. WELL, how stupid does he think we are. If an illegal child gets free health care at the emergency room, you can bet his parents and every other relative will also be visiting the ER for THEIR free health care. If Obama wants to save money in the health care bill, he should make sure NO ILLEGALS get free care.
I do think that
Oprah distanced herself from him when she spoke at a college commencement this spring and said [something like] “Don’t EVER let ANYONE tell you that having your own airplane is wrong, it is NOT”.
Hey, Heartless, zero tolerance. Zero common sense Phyllis – ’tis better to expose Anmericans to a disease, than help an innocent child.
Yea Artful
Sheeple, please listen to something other than FOX. Include other sources and some intelligence, and integrity, to your day.
Jerry Lynn–News sources with integrity? Oh, you mean like MSNBC, which aired a completely false report of “white folks–racists!– carrying guns” to an Obama town hall meeting because clearly they can’t stand to see a black person in the White House? Only as it turns out, the only gun-totin’ guy they could find managed to be black, so they carefully edited out anything that might show skin color and ran with the “racist white guys” story? If that’s what you (and MSNBC) mean by “integrity, I do not think that word means what you think it means.
very cute. very nice voice. you can make a spoof of anything using ihe truth, or lies. before making fun of an idea, you should have something of greater value to suggest in place of what you are spoofing. there would need of any of this nonsence, if there were not a real problem with the system as it exists today
Doesn’t anyone here recall for a single moment that Obama, in less than eight months, has accomplished more than Bush did in eight years, other than lining the pockets of his cronies, shredding the Constitution and being the dumbest man to ever hold the office of President. OK, so the healthcare system needs refining but let’s look at the big picture here. Obama inherited a mess o’ crap left behind by W, Cheney, Rove, et al. Most of the above posts are immature and mean spirited – don’t forget Obama won the Presidency by the largest margin in American history. Have some faith, people.
Sorry Gale, President Obama’s six-month “new guy” status expired at the end of July. Can’t blame Bush any more for the problems Obama has created or exacerbated. Also, perhaps you’d like to share a reliable source for your assertion that Obama won the presidency by the largest margin in American history. Because of course, presidents Nixon, Johnson, Reagan, FDR, and Eisenhower all had greater margins of victory than Obama’s. Here’s my source; where’s yours?
Gale, dear: Please go back and check the mumbers.
Just because you WANT it to be the ” Largest margin in American History” does not make it so.
If you are just 18, it might refer to YOUR history but the country has been around alot longer than that.
It is not all about you, even if you are one of the ‘millenium babies’.
Kathi, nice point there. It’s so easy for “youngsters” to think that if they don’t remember it, it didn’t happen. Gale will eventually learn, or she’ll be doomed to be wrong all her life. Let’s hope that won’t be the case!
Gale,
Obama DID ‘inherit’ a poor economy and has done his level BEST to make it worse.
The swiftly crafted and passed ‘stimulous package’ has not and WILL not help the recovery of our economy as it taxes the producers to redistribute to the non producers……
Your reference to handouts for cronies might be laughable if you weren’t so completely misinformed.
Billions of ‘Stimulus’ dollars have been allocated to ACORN……..Obama has long been associated with that very group.
At a time when our government is trying to shove Cap and Trade down our throats, the president pledged $2 billion to Petrobras, a Brazillion oil company for off shore drilling off the coast of Rio de Jeneiro.
Pointing our the obvious hypocracy in paying for off shore drilling in South America but banning it here seems a waste of time. The dems abhore ‘BIG OIL’ and refuse to make use of the abundant resources in this country but will spend our tax $s for drilling in another country.
Where is the croney payback?
Enter billionaire George Soros, an enormous financial supporter for the left.Soros’ N.Y. based hedge fund firm “Soros Fund Management LLC”,sold 22 million U.S. listed common shares of Petrobras. Soros personally purchased 5.8 million shares of Petrobras just a few days prior to the loan gaurentees.
Let’s move on to David Axelrod,[senior advisor to the pres].
Big Pharma and others have put forward $150 million for ads promoting health care reform.
Axelrod’s former firm,A.K.R.D., has been awarded some $24 million in ad contracts. Another firm, G.M.M.B [run by Obama strategists] will produce more ads promoting Obamacare.
Among the other ‘groups’ spreading our wealth? [besides Big Pharma] are AARP, the AMA, and SEIU [service employee international union]
It is generally poor judgement to throw stones when living in a glass house. Obama and his far left cronies OWN everything that is happening.
You mentioned that Obama has done “more than Bush did in eight years”, you are correct. In addition to simply keeping many of the Bush admin’s policies,he has nationalized the financial industry, the auto industry and is working on health care.
HIS deficiet is the largest in the history of this country and his proposed spending surpasses that of ALL 43 presidents~~~~~COMBINED.
Also, I may have missed the end of the Iraq War but it would seem our troops are still engaged in the Mid East.
I don’t begrudge you the main stream media information but ask that you look a little deeper for your information and news rather than carrying water for the left.
Even the Wall Street Journal will give you more, indepth information than ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN.
Expand your horizons, Gale. The truth will set you free!
Great job on this song! Very funny and apropos.
Gale… BY THE LARGEST MARGIN IN AMERICAN HISTORY?
Stop chugging the Kool Aid.
Roger, I’d be interested to see what stats Gale is referring to. I think she’s mis-interpreting something…
Solve this finacial debacle that we are preently dealing with and how we are going to pay for it. Get people back to work before we reform health care. Then take some time, get input from the people that need it and the health care providers and do it right!
Heh! Stanley, I think that these days our Congress-critters are in fact getting all the input from the people that they can stand!
Jerry Lynn, Gale, Artful Dodger- totalitarians whose knees jerk at every complaint. Believers in tolerance? (We know better.) One response to your remarks: You need to learn that many of us acually do understand that if G.Bush was a boob, that does not constitute proof that whatever you as a democrat say, must therefore be true. Your arrogance is laughable Criticism and the coming revolt must feel uncomfortable for you. Obama and his apologists are pushing the age-old big government ideas of seizing the fruits of individuals’ labors and taking care of “the people” (for their own good, of course). THAT is the old, tried, failed, unworkable agenda of ages past. You are reactionaries.
Milliann, right on, See if you can get on Fox, they would love you. Gale, McCain had 53 Million Votes, Obama 67, if it weren’t for Acorn’s illegal registration, and the internet, he would never had made it. The uninformed youth of America who never voted before contributed greatly. He might have run a great campaign, however shady, but he isn’t running this Country, the money behind him is. Its all about the Power, and the Seniors of this fine country will not let it happen. I said from the beginning he is a “Wolf in Sheep’s clothing” a true Marxist, we let it happen, now we have to fix it.
If the Gov healthcare is so great, why don’t they offer the general public the same health care as Congress?? In fact, did any of the general public vote on their saleries, retirement, healthcare, etc???
Where is “for the people by the people” We are coning to complete government control when the President says “We are going to pass healthcare no matter what” With no regard for what the people want.
[…] Broadway-themed palette cleanser, of sorts, with apologies to Michael Bennett, as Grand Rants notes. Surprisingly, the classic song from A Chorus Line holds up pretty well as a paean to […]
One thing you are all overlooking is the HUGE increase in the cost of health care — such as MRI’s, PET scans, etc., etc. etc. that were not even available back in the 70’s when these programs were started.
We need health care reform. Nocitizen of the USA should be with out health care.
Jeff, ” coming revolt “? Intelligent Americans successfully revolted against the prior platform. Now that platform is attempting recover by filling the airways and Internet with incomplete information. Too much, Too late. Intelligent Americans will continue to succeed, and heal America.
Well, at least until next year, when the “intelligent” Americans you refer to, who are finally beginning to realize they bought a pig in a poke, start to take action, along with all the rest of us bitter, clingy hillbilly rednecks, and vote out the Senators and Reps (both Democrat and Republican) who are actively participating in sending this great country down the drain.
Today was the first time I have visited a site like this. Everyone has a right to express opinions, but please base them on facts. The post by Milliann Johnson at 4:30 on 8/19 says that Medicare had no problems until LBJ used the funds for Civil Rights programs. Do you know that LBJ is the one who started Medicare, signing it in to law on July 30, 1965?
Also, to those folks intent on blaming all current economic problems on President Obama, please check out this site, written by a conservative who helped Reagan with his supply-side economics philosophy: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-12/the-gops-misplaced-rage/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsR2
I am an Independent, but I have to wonder why the Republicans, who had 8 years (6 in control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency) did nothing about health care except enrich the drug companies.
Judy, Excuse me it was Social Security Funds he borrowed from…and it was never repaid. For a long time the funds were used interchangebly. The Cival Rights programs he started and funded were the reason for years a pic of LBJ was in every minorities home. I know that if a business person borrowed money from the company and never paid it back it would be a felony. Our lawmakers have got to quit playing games with “our” money! Constitutionally they (the Fed) are only to provide the people with a minimum, mostly doing with security and commerce, but they have been allowed to get by for so long they cannot seem to keep their hands to themselves. For those who think there is a “right” to healthcare, move to a country that provides that”right” and find out what kind of conditions you will be living under in order to obtain it. I was born in AMerica, which has been historically a capitalist economic system and we became the most powerful and envied country in the world, our healthcare worked fine prior to the government stepping in with their cost containment and the cost went thru the roof. If the healthcare system is left to the people the people will come up and provide solutions, just like they will for every problem this country encounters as long as the FED does not block their ability to do so!!!!!
Judy, you need to check your facts The republicans did not have both houses of congress all 8 year,they did have both for the first 4 but not the second.The democrats controlled both houses the last 4.
Wayne-
If the Democrats were in control of Congress the last 4 years, why was Bill Frist (R, Tenn) the Senate Majority Leader from 2005-2006, and why was Dennis Hastert (R, Ill) Speaker of the House during the same period?
Milliann, interesting, healthcare has not been at the forefront, until President Obama’s concerted effort to achieve reform and insure our uninsured Americans. Now, many voices echo talking points, but no resolution.
Jerry Lynn, I will ask you again, What country do you live in? I believe the tax payors paid out over a mill on the bill & hill debacle. Uncle Teddy & his liberal cronies have been trying to buy their way into heaven thru enacting universal healthcare since forever, but there were enough level heads in Washington that it never got to this point. Jerry Lynn, Bill, Nancy and Barney have all said, that they don’t care what the “people want” they’re going to do it any way! Is this what you want? What will be next?
You want resolutions 1.)Mandate insurance companies pay a clean claim in 10 days any reviews can be done post payment THAT WILL LOWER COST, 2.)For the uninsured, set up a fund, not funded by tax dollars, but voluntary contributions or a National Lottery, let participation be on the concience of each individual, 3) Torte reform, Torte reform THAT WILL LOWER HEALTHCARE COST 4)INdividuals across this Nation have come out with set-ups that they used to DRAMATICALLY lower their employees healthcare cost, one guy I believe in NEW York had each one covered for $850 a year.LET them listen to the people.5.)Non legal citizens should receive stabilizing care and flown home. Jerry Lynn, I myself don’t have all the answers and it is not that we don’t want healthcare reform (because I want the end of HMO’s because the entire premise is bogus and the GOVERNMENT made it to where they have no legal ramifications for what they medically decide for a patient), we don’t want what their offering, healthcare run by the FED. The Fed has been proven to be ineffient and cost heavy. Jerry Lynn, I was very worried a few weeks back, but now knowing the House of Reps are all up for reelection and 1/3 of the Senate I actually do sleep, why you ask….well if there is one thing I know for sure…polititians will even sell the devil out if it’s going to mean their seat…One thing in closure ” the powers of the federal government as a whole are limited by the Constitution, which, per the Tenth Amendment, states that all powers not expressly assigned to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people.” Thank you wikipedia!
“One thing in closure ” the powers of the federal government as a whole are limited by the Constitution, which, per the Tenth Amendment, states that all powers not expressly assigned to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people.” Thank you wikipedia!”
Amen, Amen.
We the people need to take back the government and restore the constitution. The liberals have taken to many liberties with the constitution. Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security were all set up under premise of helping the elderly, when they could no longer work. Not to give all the deadbeat an illegals a free ride. I have never taken the government for granted, I have never expected the government to give me anything. When I was working I made plans for my retirement. buying long term health care programs and investing small bits of saving but the recession of the ’80s and this last recession took most of what I had! Now I have to rely on medicare and S.S.I. I don’t want to, never did, never well,but the government economic policies leave me no choice. Now the government wants to cut 500 billion dollars from medicare to support 5 million deadbeat that have never contributed a damn thing to society.Am I Mad as Hell? You Think?
Come on, Jerry Lynn. Where were you? As recent as the Clinton years, when Bill Clinton first took office, Hilary Clinton tried to reform health care but got shot down by Republicans as well as their own top ranking Democrats. I am not even mentioning Uncle Teddy, because he really was the fore-runner for health care reform which went back to the 80’s? (after he lost his Democratic nomination for President, he changed course and took up legislation instead and health care was one of them)
Gemma
[…] […]
Source
Jerry Lunn, Collecivism doesn’t heal it destroys. You and your friends can have a group hug, but if you collectivize America, don’t expect results different from other collectives. Once again, you refer to “the prior platform”–meaning Bush, I must presume. If you don’t like Bush, it doesn’t mean you Obama, Bill Ayers, and you must be right. (I didn’t like Bush either.) There is a point of view other than W’s “platform” or your platform. You do not deny being a collectivist. That’s an honest start for YOU. I suspect you would defend individuals’ civil liberties (as enumerated in the Bill of Rights) –except the 2nd Amendment, of course. But why then do progressive people like you want to deny your fellow individual citizens’ right to spend the fruits of their own labor? If you want to join a collective voluntarily, go ahead. The rest of us might prefer to keep our economic liberties and live in the country that is distinguished from all others not by being old-world state-controlled. Rather, we are distinguished by private property and individual political AND economic liberty. (Yes you may read that free markets.) Prosperity has come to us not because we were just another state-controlled country. The coming revolt is the re-kindling of the ideas of the American Revolution. It is what you are so intent upon wishing away. You are a Tory. You would have spent your time and energy telling the colonists to relax and Let King George do his thing, that the London government knows best. That’s why I call you a reactionary. Indeed this country has been on a march toward the all-powerful state through many Dem and Rep administrations. Many of us don’t want either gang to be our masters.
[…] This post was Twitted by gingerds9 […]
William,
Very good call on “Andrew’s” post; I thought exactly the same when I read it noticed that he couldn’t distinquish between the contraction ‘it’s’ and the possessive “its,” not to mention Andrew’s failure to no the same difference between “your” and ‘you’re.’
In my opinion, Andrew is a complete phoney.
Many people don’t even know about the abortion part of this bill. It will FORCE Pro-Life doctors to preform abortions. It will FORCE private Pro-Life health care to provide abortion services. If a baby is found to have down sydrome and similar birth problems, the parents can be FORCED to abort the child due to the cost of the health care of that child. He said he was going to do some freedom of CHOICE act. It sounds more like FORCE. I still can’t believe that this country as supposedly smart it is voted for this idiot. And people whined and cried about Bush’s Patriot act. Did you know that emailing your friends, neighbors and the likes speaking against this healthcare debachary you could have been “flagged” by the goverment? How DARE someone speak up in a country with “free speech”. I wouldn’t doubt if that will soon be gone also. And Islamic law put into place. Yeah he’s a Christian. Works speak ALOT LOUDER than words. He will be the downfall of this country. All because a bunch of idiots voted for him because they thought he was black. What dumber than a sack of hammers idiots.
Oh yeah, ya can’t blame me for this, I didn’t vote for him. I know how to read and look at what candidates actually say and what they do. And when the 2 don’t match up and the candidate is as big a liar as Gore, then I don’t vote for the fool.
There are two of us Jeffs. The first and second posts are mine the most recent 2 prev posts are from my namesake, who seems to share my disdain for totalitarians. I’ll be Jeffrey. To all who love Obama – please defend the rush, rush tactics employed by this regime in stuffing the stimulus bill, “cap n trade”(sic), and now government-choice medical care onto the Congress, demanding passage before discussion, er excuse me before even reading the bills. The special interests who wrote this 1000-page legislation obviously did not write it overnight, why does this regime then demand instant passage? Reading the bill might beget discussion, which could beget objection, which could beget rejection. Remember us, the People? I know, I know if you drank the Obama kool-aid, you believe that YOU are the people. Even some of your people might want to read it, do your think? Anyway, explain how any rational person would not begin to think someone in Washington is pushy and object. Bush was criticized (I think correctly) for using scare tactics. Remember, raising the terror alert before the election and playing on our fears to get what he wanted from Congress(e.g. Patriot Act). Seriously, if you were concerned about Bush’s, can you defend Obama’s tactics? If you defend them, explain here.
[…] […]
Not sure an alternative was really offered here. What we have isn’t working so what is the preferred system?
what a shame so much time and talent was spent doing the wrong thing to our new president.I had hoped red neck bigotry and hatred was dead but its obviously still here.The dial is unfortunately tuned to fox news and the hate and bigotry group thats on there.please try msnbc for honest news and INFORMED OPINION.
Robert, It is our right to object to that which we feel is harmful to ourselves and our country. That does not make us rednecks or bigots or racist. #1 he is as much white as he is black and anyone claiming he is black to me is a racist. I personally don’t care what color he is, I wouldn’t even care if he wasn’t a Christian (which I am) what I care about is his seemingly single mindedness, that he has all the answers and that he does not NEED to listen to the people. The polls and the people are telling him that the PEOPLE have a problem with putting future generations in hock before their even born, with wrecking the greatess healthcare system in the world. It may not be perfect, but ask a foreigner and they will tell you what you obviously don’t know. But be ready Robert he should have moved much quieter because now the PEOPLE know who he is and what he is about and in 2010, they will vote and the ballgame will be changed.
Oh no!!Robert, I don’t think all these good people who voiced their thoughts and concerns are red neck bigots, NOR are they voicing hatred. As Milliann Johnson pointed out, our good president is half white, half black and for anyone who claimed he is a black President is already a racist(be he a black person!).
Robert, read all these Informed Opinions and you will find out how the public reacts about the Obamacare plan. It is neither a Democratic nor a Republican agenda for common people such as yourself or myself. It is about finding the truth. Our president never laid out the health care reform in simple terms to us common people. Instead, as seen in one of the town hall meetings, when one of the people in the town hall meeting asked this question, John McCain handed him a booklet of more than 500 pages of health care reform put out by the government. This explains how the government is not being transparent to the general public. And THIS IS WHY the general public is doubting the government!!
I wish there is a simpler way to explain how this reform can benefit us commoners and not just another BIG AGENDA for any politician so that he will go down in US history as the “GREAT REFORMER IN HEALTH CARE”!
Gemma
I read the Whole Foods Market Ceo’s Blog, if you remember he was receiving alot of flack the other day, but for both sides that are clamoring for real answers, he offers some great ideas and insights especially when he talks about his Canadian employees and their #1 request for a company paid benefit, read the entire blog post here,http://www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jmackey/
MSNBC!?!?!?!
Where Chris Matthews gushes about “feeling a tingle up my leg when Obama speaks” ?!?!?!
Where Matthews and Oberman call American Citizens voicing their opinions to their elected officials radicals and rednecks?!?!
YIKES!
Kathi, you might as well give it up. You’re not going to convince them that there is a huge leftward skew in most of the media. But then again, we’re talking about people who think that they are well-informed on current events because they watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Go figure.
Hey, Stoutcat, there actually IS a Jon Stewart video on YouTube in which he addresses the current ‘ACORN’ scandals.
It is really funny as he shows videos collected by Andrew Breitbart’s ‘undercover reporters’, the hooker and the pimp getting advise from ACORN offices in Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, San Bernedino, Ca and San Deigo.
They were given advise on how to ‘name’ their business, how the deal with the 13 under-age girls from San Salvador [“you can call them dependants cuz’ they’re living in your house”] and the guy in San Diego who said he has “contacts in Tiajuana” who could get the girls into the US.
Stewarts assides to the main stream media is quite funny!
Sorry this is so long after your post but I had to share!
Auto investing by government
bank investing by government
health care plan by government
this all happened before by Adolf Hitler!
THINK AMERICA
Chris Link, the singer, composer, is a medical doctor in Omaha, NE. He performed this song and others at a Recess Rally in Omaha on Sat. Aug. 22nd.
What a reception the crowd gave him!
Anita, thanks for that info. It must have been a terrific rally, and I hope Dr. Chris turns out many more little ditties like this.
Very gay and of course composed by a FOX news junkie.
Please note, I am not sure whether you are using the “gay” term in this instance as a positive or a negative, but do be informed that your liberal cohorts find the usuage of this term in a derogatory manner as “politically incorrect”!!!!!
Does that comment mean that you are a ‘HOMO-PHOBE’?????????????????????????????
I just don’t want to be THAT “Single Payer”
Neither do I Zoomer that is why I am saying a “Single Prayer” LORD BE WITH US
Encore! Encore! Bravo! Bravo!
Quit complaining about the people “VOTED” in and do something to solve the problem! B—–ing about it all the time and doing nothing to correct is makes for a lot of talk and no action. We are quick to point out the faults but slow to resolve them.
Lotta, I’m thinking that come 2010, we will be resolving a lot of problems by voting out many of the problem-causers. The rest of them can be voted out in 2012.
Do your own research people, and do not rely solely on Fox, Hannity, etc.. Think for yourself, and uncover the partial information broadcast by “friendly” Fox. The fox format and lack of facts disappointed Rupert Murdoch to the extent that he has detached himself from Fox. Quite a testamony for the Fox founding father.
Please put AMERICA first, and not the power play exhibited by political party. Do not continue to fall for the tactics placing party over America!
Reply to Lori Barwick:
My comment to you was made 2 spaces under your remark. So I’m done here.
[…] So doesn’t it just thrill you to know that our money is being used to work against us. https://grandrants.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/obamacare-the-musical/ We also need to keep in mind, That AKORN and SEIU are not new Unions, they’ve been around for […]
Hey, Uncle Teddy is really gone. Does anyone know if the funeral procession passed over any bridges? Hum…
We don’t need paradies from the Republicans. They need to come up with solid ideas to accomplish a good health plan of their on.
It appears their aim is to tear down, not contribute.
Perhaps a good plan would lift them out of the slump they have have slipped into.
Gerhard, just because the mainstream media doesn’t cover it, doesn’t mean that the Republicans in Congress haven’t come up with good alternate proposals. That’s the trouble. The media is in Obama’s pocket, singing his praises, and everything else goes by the way. If you want to findout all the news, you have to search it out for yourself. Here’s a few articles to get you started.
Hope you’ll do some more research on your own and find out more of the good ideas Republicans are proposing.
.
Stoutcat,
If you want socialist or communist healthcare move to a country that already has it. Canada is a short trip. Oh, never mind many of them travel here to get the healthcare they need.
Drew, not sure why you presume that I want that kind of health care in this country. I was expecting that readers could tell (by my comments throughout this thread, and by my many other posts pointing the myriad problems with the Congressional bills that nobody reads) that I think it would be an unmitigated disaster for America, and yet another step down the slippery slope toward socialism. Which is not what America’s all about, and not what we’re about here at Grand Rants. Hope you’ll stick around and read some of the other posts!
OOPS! A slip of the fingers on the keys turned “own” into “on”
Sorry.
Stoutcat, good job on the article dated 6/17; positive talking points have been included in Obama’s news briefs and meetings. However, the negative on eliminating private insurance is untrue, as well as comments at the end of the article.
Jerry Lynn: Thanks. Would you care to cite a source on that the fact that the elimination of private insurance is untrue? Oh, it’s surely not be an actual part of the bill, but the consequence of enacting such a bill guarantees that such would be the outcome.
Face it, if private insurance companies (which have to show a profit to stay in business) have to compete against the government (which can just raise taxes or print more money when they need it), there will be no competition, and hence little or no profit will be made, and presto! Insurance companies fold.
The other side of that coin is that companies (such as mine) currently pay a pretty penny to have coverage for their employees. If this bill passes, those companies will look to save a few bucks by ceasing to offer (and pay for) what the government will offer for free. There goes MY excellent coverage, and my family will now be suck with that dreaded “public option”. DO NOT WANT! 🙂
As a self-employed individual, I look at the health care/insurance issue from a slightly different angle than many of my friends. Since I don’t belong to a “group”, my options for insurance coverage are more limited. In addition, I have a condition which, since childhood, has made it difficult to even find a carrier who will cover me.
In the current climate of “changes” that are being proposed for the U.S. health care system, I have these key questions in mind to help me decide on the issue of whether a national plan should be adopted:
• Is the coverage portable, both from one employer to the next, as well as from one state to another?
• Are self-employed workers allowed the same benefits as those under group plans?
• Is everyone assessed the same premiums under plans that would supposedly cover all individuals?
• Is there any provision in any of the plans proposed to enact tort reform?
• Is the coverage being proposed as good as that offered to (federal) government employees?
• Will there be enough good doctors left to adequately serve all people?
• Are on-demand abortions covered under the proposed federal plan?
• What rights to privacy and personal information will we give up if enrollment in a government program is mandatory.
My own observations on some of these items:
Obviously, the question of premiums takes us back to the issue of ability to pay, and provisions would need to be made to provide assistance to those that truly need it.
Sorry, if it makes abortion available at my expense, it’s a non-starter. ..plain and simple.
If there is no provision for tort reform, costs of any health plan, no matter who offers it, will never be brought under control. If tort reform were enacted, I have seen estimates that show that medical costs could be reduced by as much as 25%. I don’t want to go through a lot of unnecessary testing, just so a physician doesn’t have to consult their attorney before they give me a diagnosis. Also, if this testing is limited under a government-run program, then you’re probably screwed anyway when it is really necessary.
Look at this page: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/planinfo/2009/states/fl.asp
Tell me that coverage we would get under a national plan would match what employees of the federal government would get…i.e…are we being brought up to their level, or are they being brought down to the same level as the folks who pay for their coverage. Are they prepared to, and required to, get rid of this list of plans and carriers available to them, and replace it with “Government Insurance, Inc.”?
The right to privacy issue is, to me, one that people don’t realize will be so important if this entire federal plan happens. If you think the government is prying into your “business” now, just wait until a government health plan, and it’s associated bureaucracy and paperwork, is enacted. I don’t want the government to have my financial account information and access to all of my business information. With that prospect in mind, I have no plans to hire any people. It’s hard enough to keep my own affairs in order…again…plain and simple.
I don’t want to be left to rely on any doctor that may be “assigned” to my case. I want to have a choice in finding the best doctor I can.
I’m sure there are those out there who will want to shoot holes in these assessments. All I can say is that my experience has been that the government is only good at a few things, and I don’t believe health care is, or will be, one of them.
Talk to your representatives and senators. If you don’t like what they’re telling you, organize and vote them out of office…plain and simple.
Baristaguy–very nicely put, and from a perspecitve we haven’t yet seen in this comments thread. Thanks. Sounds like there are lots of people who are already intent on taking your final piece of advice! 🙂
Baristaguy, finally some great Rant. Most of your concerns have been addressed by the proposal; unfortunately, they have been eclipsed by massive misinformation and repeatative sound bites. Torte reform has been accomplished…. Max medical liability in Texas is $250K, regardless of error. Abortion should be personal choice, and personal pay.
Jerry Lynn, you keep making unsubstantiated claims, and you’ve just made a few more. Could you please back up your claim that “Torte [sic] reform has been accomplished…” with some factual evidence that this is the case?
Something that counters Howard Dean’s assertion that “tort reform is not in the bill…” It’s easy to put in a link to your source, see? I just did–a link to a reliable source–in this case, video of Howard Dean saying exactly that. Not taken out of context, but a specific comment on tort reform. Your guy, Dean. No tort reform in bill.
You can link to sources too, and you just might gain some credibility here if you did.
Stoutcat- tort reform is state by state… Tort reform would not be in the bill, since the single payer would be federal to cover under insured or non insured. See reference to $250k max.
Texas Tort Law Profile
May 1, 2006 .. Texas law also provides: .. The American Tort Reform Association designed the Rio Grande Valley and ..
http://www.legalreforminthenews.com/to... – Options
Funny, that’s not the reason Howard Dean gave when he said tort reform was not in the bill. And if, in fact, tort reform is a state-by-state thing, shouldn’t health care legislation be state by state as well?
Also, thanks for trying to provide a link, but when I click it, I get a “page not found” message. Please try re-posting it as I’ll be interested in reading it.
stoutcat,
When you want to the page that said page not found did you see This?
Open the http://www.legalreforminthenews.com “home page”, and then look for links to the information you want. try it you will find what jerry lynn was babbling. Texas does have tort reform but only within the past couple years I believe. If insurance company were allowed to cross state line,I would think there would be a need for tort reform to be able to cross those same state lines. Beside I am not sure why there shouldn’t be national tort reform. I think right now the only reason there is not tort reform in the health bill, is the lawyer have to be a lobbing group in washington and after all most of the legislative body is made up of lawyer.
PAID BY THE MAFIA, Disgusting, bad taste open your eyes.
Ignorants!!
Don’t you know that every single one of the industrialized nations with the exception of the USA have Universal Health care??? And they are far from communism, they are not even socialist!!! Plus they are healthier and live longer!!
Ask the English, ask the French, the Italians, The Spanish, The Canadians even the Costa Ricans. You’ll find out that they are very happy with their health care system. The don’t have the crooked Pharmaceutical &Insurance Companies stealing their money over charging them triple the price of the services and making them pay Obscene amounts of money for tests that are not needed. They don’t have the Insurance companies telling them what doctors they can see, or what services they can have or not have, like they do here.
Health care as it is now, we pay thousands of dollars a year for insurance coverage and still can’t not afford to go to the doctor for check ups, get glasses, least of all go to the dentist, because the co -payments and deductibles are an arm robbery!!!
OBAMA’S HEALTH CARE REFORM IS THE BEST thing that could ever happen to this country!!! He is giving us more health care options than the ones we already have. It’s like having Medicare for everyone, plus the option to keep your actual Health Insurance and your own doctor. Or you’re so stupid to believe that your doctors and all the pharmacies are moving to the moon?
STOP making fun of our President and support him.
HEALTH REFORM IS DESPERATE NEEDED. DON’T BE NAIVE, OPEN YOUR EYES, RESEARCH AND STOP BELIEVING THE PHARMACEUTICAL MAFIA LIES. I’ll be willing to bet that they paid for this FAKE ,DISGUSTING OBAMA CARE MUSICAL.
PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK, FIND THE TRUTH DON’T GO BY THE LIES TOLD BY SPECIAL INTERESTS AND C.E.O. THAT PUT HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS.
I think it’s interesting that many of the liberal comments left on this thread generally have a bunch of name-calling rather than reasoned arguments. So far we’ve been called racist, ignorant, rightwing nutcakes, sheeple, heartless, red-necked haters, bigots, and right-wing fanatics, Plus, the previous President was called “dumbest man to ever hold the office”. When you’re trying to persuade someone to change their mind, calling them names doesn’t usually do the trick.
Sometimes I think liberals are their own worst enemies.
Soph,
What plant have you been living on?
The U.K., France, Spain,Italy, especially canada all have socialized healthcare,and every statistic on the books shows, that all of these systems are broken,both financially and physically. People are having to wait month, some times years to get treatment. The canadians are crossing our boarders in droves to get treatment. if you think the europeans have such good health care, may I suggest you go there. that way I would not have to pay for your health care out of my tax dollars.
Don’t believe the myths – created by special interest groups and right-wing fanatics that hate Obama.
Please check the Facts:
http://pol.moveon.org/truth/lies2.html?rc=ads.adwords.ad12
And this one debunks the myths:
http://aarp.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Myths_vs_Facts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-kohn/dose-of-truth-five-facts_b_263705.html
Soph:
Oh, where to start.
Our system does have problems, and they need to be addressed. However, Obamacare is not the answer.
I agree that insurance companies have too much control over care given by physicians by how they control what they pay for. However, do not fool yourself into thinking that we will have a land of “mild and honey” under Obamacare. We can get a bit of an idea what Obamacare will be like. Look at Medicare and Medicaid. Both government run healthcare. Both programs (Medicare federally and Medicaid, at least in Illinois) are financially close to bankrupt. Further, once one deals with Medicare or Medicaid, there is no negotiations, no bargining; you get what they say and there is little room for compromise. No choice for physicians caring for patients, worse care for patients.
Please do not be condescending. I and most of others like me who oppose Obamacare have “done our homework;” I am a physician who has looked into Obama’s plan-it will lead to universal health care (as you stated); eventually private insurance will not be around as it will not be able to compete-this gives NO choice. You seem to think that big Pharma and Insurance are driving this movement-do you really believe universal healthcare under the control of the government will be free of corruption and exactly what you accuse Big Pharma and Insurance of? Remember, the administration basically uses Chicago style politics. Perhaps it is YOU who should open your eyes and do your homework.
Steve,
Great, Great job, very well put!
I have medicare and I have been under the V.A. system,The V.A. system was so bad I opted out so I could at least choose a DR. that I could somewhat trust with my health.I am really not thrilled with
Medicare, but I am retired and can not afford Private Insurance, besides I have paid F.I.C.A Tax and Social Security Tax for over 50 years, I might as will get something out of the system. I really would have like to have had my own choices in Retirement programs and Health care insurance. The money I had to give to the government took that choice from me.i could not afford both.
I once had to wait in triages at the V.A. for over 4 hours on a weekend when there was absolutely no one in the E.R. or the Triages room except me.I was In a lot of pain. The nurse practitioner never did give me an examination just told me to take some aspirin and see my primary on monday. That was when I opted out of the V.A.
Steve: Very nicely put. Thanks.
I’m new here, but read all the previous comments. Most of you are intelligent and articulate. Some of you are, in my opinion, paid by some government organization like ACORN to come here and make idiotic remarks. I’ll just ask them to disregard my comments. For the rest of the serious-minded, worried, disillusioned and had-it-up-to-here people…
In this great country of freedom, we have the opportunity to enjoy many things. This opportunity is not a guarantee. In this country’s infancy, it was basically a reward and punishment system. If you earned it, you got it. If you didn’t earn it, you didn’t get it. Some got rich. Some became poor. Most were somewhere in the middle. It was simple. If you had no food, your church helped you. Maybe your neighbor helped you. Maybe your community helped you. If you were a deadbeat, no one helped you. It was your choice whether or not you contributed to your community. Somewhere in the last few decades, someone who wasn’t picked for dodgeball decided it wasn’t fair. Someone who’s child was killed by a drunk driver decided it wasn’t fair. Someone who doesn’t like the smell of cigarette smoke decided it wasn’t fair. Everyone should be first-pick for the dodgeball team. No one should be allowed to pollute the air with natural tobacco (though carbon monoxide from vehicles and factories are fine). No one should be allowed to have a drink and drive a car because there might be an accident. Newsflash; one drink makes me blow over the now-legal limit, but I am not “drunk”. The idiots with a 2.0+ blood alcohol level are still out there driving, law or not.
Someone decided that every woman should be able to have 6 kids by 6 different fathers and someone else should have to pay for her expenses because she’s “entitled” to have children. Someone decided that everyone should have a college degree whether they can afford it or not, whether they made decent grades or not, and no one should have to dig ditches or pick up trash. Someone decided that I (and you)no longer have the capability to make my own decisions and choices and I don’t have the capability to be responsible for my actions. I read somewhere that no democracy has lasted more than 200 years because the gov’t becomes corrupt (sorry, I can’t cite a source)- and my government sure looks that way to me. Health care for everyone would be wonderful. No drunk drivers would be wonderful. A perfect world of all healthy people would be wonderful. It’s not gonna happen. We’re individuals with individual desires and individual choices. I want my chocolate, darn it, and now they’re talking about a sugar tax on top of the tobacco tax and the liquor tax and the sales tax and the property tax and the personal property tax and the income tax and the cost for my fishing license and so much more! All we’re doing is protesting the government taxing us to death (and they claim it’s for our own good)- protesting the people taking our freedoms away from us. The protesting isn’t going to do a thing except raise our blood pressures. We have to stop supporting the problem. If Obama can come up with trillions of dollars out of his “hat”…what the he** are we still paying taxes for? If we don’t want to “support” his plan/plans we have to stop playing at protesting and actually stop “supporting” him and his “employees” financially. We have to stop paying taxes. The taxes I pay went to GM CEO’s, bankers, and politicians; not to anything I want or need.
Congressmen, senators, all of them! should be paid the average salary of the working class of their respective state and not be allowed to vote themselves raises. Our government should only be responsible for the protection of our country as a whole from foreign and domestic threats to our safety and flat-out leave the rest to us and our respective cities and counties. It’s easier to control the spending and corruption in our own city than it is to control the spending and corruption in Washington. The majority of our taxes should be going to our hometowns where we live, not to some fat-cats in Washington. Let our communities take care of their own. We need to be allowed to take care of ourselves – we need to be rewarded and punished for our choices and actions. If our community is “rich” we will get richer. I would help someone in my community who needed help – IF they were willing to do the same. I think most people would. It’s time for the people to take back their country. Let the deadbeats living off welfare and the illegals go somewhere else for their handouts. Let a congressman who wants to live on $34K a year run for office; he might have some integrity. Protesting isn’t going to do it; no more tax money is the only thing that will change our country. Health care is not the issue; our freedom is.
Solana,
You have done your homework and you have written a very intelligent comment regarding the situation our country is now in. I hope this comment gets sent around the country because the majority of us feel the same way you do. I think we have God on our side and we are now being tested. He will be the judge of those who are taking advantage of our country. God Bless you for writing what’s in your heart.
Solana, very well put! Thanks for commenting, and I hope you’ll become a regular reader and commenter.
Wow, Solana, you’re comments really lays it all out…this is the key. Personal responsibility…that’s the only thing we have left to keep the government from totally taking over our lives. We need to change the system. Find those candidates who are willing to challenge the entrenched miscreants who either don’t know how their decisions affect our lives, or don’t care…find the ones who are willing to accept the type of salary that is commensurate with the rest of the middle-class. Vote for term limits.
Thanks
News item:
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sky News – UK
Overcrowding at U.K. hospitals has women giving birth in some very peculiar places.
Births outside maternity units soared to nearly 4,000 last year, sparking increased fears about the already troubled U.K. health care system.
Some infants were delivered in hospital corridors, elevators, bathrooms and even hospital parking lots.
The number of mothers having babies outside maternity wards shot up 15 percent from 3,420 in 2007 to 3,948 in 2008.
It follows revelations that maternity units in England, which have seen beds cut by nearly a quarter since 1997, were forced to close their doors to women in labor 553 times last year because they were full.
My comments:
The UK is a much smaller country. If they can’t avoid overcrowding in the system, what will happen if we adopt a new government-administered system. There are already many overcrowded and understaffed ER’s in this country, and some that have closed. What are we to expect if the feds move in to run it.
The other half of this is the funding. I know two doctors who’s experience with government funded care gives you some idea of what might be coming. One has a practice that serves a large number of medicare-funded patients. The other serves a wider group of the population. The latter has essentially stopped accepting medicare patients because the government is so slow in payments and the paperwork is enormous. The former has chosen to run the government “gauntlet” to serve his patients.
If you look at what the administrative nightmare of dealing with the government is like now, can anyone say to me that this will improve when we get a mass influx of people into the system under a new federal plan? If I were a doctor, I would take a hard look whether it makes sense to maintain their practice, or move into something else like research. The net effect, I believe, is that we are going to end up with a lot of “good” doctors leaving their practice, and we end up being served by the others left. Since the government will be setting prices on treatments too, this is going to add to the reasons why the good doctors may find other, “greener” pastures.
The funny and frightening point about that last item is that the doctors left to serve the general population will have to do so without the protection of some type of tort reform. That means an explosion in malpractice cases.
There has to be some way to balance, reform, and subsidize parts of the current system, so that health care is available to anyone. People can get treatment at an ER now if they need it…no one is refused care. We just need to get everyone on the same page as far as contributing something to the system to improve it. I know we’re talking taxes here, but I’d rather pay higher taxes, if it meant keeping the government out of administering the system. Thanks
I totally disagree with all of your ranting.
Hi Mary Jo, thanks for commenting. Would you like to explain what you disagree with and why?
Mary Jo,
I’m not sure what you disagree with.
Approximately 12 years ago, my niece was diagnosed with leukemia. My brother had good health insurance through his employer, but it covered nowhere near the cost of her treatment (over $300,000 – his deductibles and co-pays were over $20,000). Out of nowhere, the (of all things) Ronald McDonald House contacted my brother at the hospital. They were wonderful; donated money, hotel rooms, and meals throughout her treatments….Make A Wish also contacted my brother; my niece got to swim with the dolphins when she was better (she is well and healthy today). My point is, there are organizations, foundations, and even hospitals (Shriner’s? St. Jude’s? Children’s Mercy?), emergency walk-in clinics that charge a fraction of an emergency room charge (doctors donate time one day a week at many and deserve our thanks), not run by the government, throughout this country, that help those who are truly in need.
Then we have the government.
The health care bill implies that their panel of experts will decide who is more likely to lead a productive life and receive necessary treatments; I assume this means they will continue to provide death row inmates with fillings and root canals, insulin, blood pressure medication and regular routine check-ups…..
I don’t go to the doctor routinely. Maybe I’m stupid. I believe that someday I’m actually going to die. If I eat my fruits and veggies, get off my butt, and drink my water in between my glass of wine, Brach’s Chocolate Stars, and cigarette, I’ll be very happy and for the most part healthy. I’m 47 and look like I’m 30-something. It’s called genetics and moderation and luck of the draw. Everyone’s heard about the health nuts that get regular check-ups, aerobically exercise religiously, are healthy-healthy-healthy and suddenly keel over dead of an unexpected heart attack. It happens. I want my chocolate. My cousin’s a brilliant doctor (surgeon, researcher, and lecturer) who once told me that doctors can only help 5% of the people who come in for treatment. Most of them have a virus that medication can’t help and just needs to run its course; the other “most” of them are hypochondriacs; the other “most” of them want ‘something’ for every little ache and pain that simply comes with living.
Why is it necessary to provide the entire population of the United States with a health care plan? The resources for emergency care are already here. Why is it necessary for 15% of the people to enjoy free well-check-ups at others’ expense? I’m not trying to be cruel; I truly don’t understand this issue and I hope someone can explain to me why, since anyone and everyone can at the present time receive emergency care in this country, that this, or any new plan is necessary.
The health care plan seems to me (in my limited way of thinking) like just another socialistic double-standard.
Our government is full of these socialistic double-standards that do absolutely nothing but punish the working class.
I have a mortgage. I’m required to have insurance for my mortgage. I’ve chosen to purchase, for a little extra money, full-replacement coverage.
I own a car. I’m required to have liability insurance. I’ve chosen to purchase full-coverage.
When I was young and rented apartments during college, (though it was not required) I chose to purchase renter’s insurance.
I do feel sorry for people who lose everything in a natural disaster (Hurrican Katrina, for example). It’s why I have the insurance I have; in case of a disaster.
When Katrina hit, why (why, why, why) did people who rented apartments and chose to have no insurance get money from our government to replace their stuff? Why do people get rewarded for making bad choices with my tax dollars? Why am I paying out my a** for insurance coverage and someone else gets compensation for free? I don’t understand. I raised 3 children by myself (divorced their father when my baby was 4 because he was sexually abusing them; he never saw them again. Thanks to our justice system he was also unpunished; I won’t go into that). If I had lost everything, I would have been thrilled and so appreciative to have someone provide us with a bowl of soup, a bologna sandwich, and a blanket until I could get back to work. These Katrina victims were shown on the news bitching about not getting hot, full-course dinners in the shelters, not having their own rooms in the shelters. This sense of entitlement – I just don’t understand it.
I don’t understand minimum wage. I don’t understand why a 16-year-old starting his first job is entitled to earn the same hourly wage as a 20-year-old who’s been working for 4 years and switches jobs.
I don’t understand welfare. I don’t understand why I budgeted and scrimped raising my 3 (straight-A, graduated high school with honors) kids and did without steak (hamburger has so many uses) yet the person in line in front of me at the grocery store can purchase Kansas City Strips on her food stamps and then miraculously come up with cash for Coca-Cola, beer, and cigarettes.
I live in beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. I’ve owned and operated and sold-and-financed 2 restaurants here.
Many employees are wonderful. Most, however, get a job for 6 weeks then quit with no notice to live on unemployment benefits for the next 6 months that the business owner must provide – does this make sense?
The little girl abducted at age 11 and just found at age 29 being held prisoner in a neighborhood by a sexual offender; this one blows my mind. Police were notified there were children on the property and no one investigated past the front door including his parole officer. Social services??? Where were they?
Our government at work.
Our government has changed our constitution. It guarantees us “freedom of religion”. That constitutional right has been changed to “freedom from religion”. Soon, the rest of you are going to have to hide to practice your faith like I have to “hide” to have a cigarette (which, by the way, benefits all of you because some of the increased taxes I pay on the cigarettes I buy that are supposed to be for health care actually go to road repairs – that little thing was slipped in on that bill).
I don’t understand.
The health care plan, welfare, minimum wage, unemployment, social services….is there ANY government plan currently in effect that runs as smoothly as a successful small business-owner’s business? Which, by the way, is being squashed by the government in the form of payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, workman’s comp insurance, “commercial” property taxes, the wonderful new health care plan proposal – did you know that electric companies charge more for “commercial” amps than residential amps (I thought an amp was an amp; shows how ignorant I really am)?
ALL government programs need to be stopped. Today. It’s like losing your house to a fire; you have to start over from scratch, with nothing but your drive and intelligence and your neighbors. We have become an extreme nation of liberalism. We have given half the population of this country a sense of entitlement rather than a sense of pride. The only way to fix this is to go the other extreme and start all over.
It worked in 1776. It was still working in 1876. It’s not working today. Obama’s right about one thing; we need change. Just not his kind of change.
What do you disagree with?
Please make me understand.
Wow, great rant! Hey Solana, have you met Millianne and Baristaguy yet? 🙂
Solana, It has given me great pleasure to read your posts…we have very simular outlooks and some habits (cig’s & choc)
Mary Jo,
Please be a little more forthcoming with your evaluation…what don’t you agree with?
Sorry, Stoutcat, I haven’t met anyone; just stumbled onto this site yesterday. I apologize to everyone for my ranting and thank you all for letting me vent a little.
And I am being truly genuine when I ask those who disagree to explain to me how I’m uninformed/misinformed and/or wrong. I’m one of those people who ‘know a little bit about a lot of things’. This issue (almost all issues) make no sense to me.
Solana, no need to apologize, I was being facetious–your excellent comments are as well-written and well-reasoned as theirs are–and most of the rest of our commenters.
Sadly, it always seems to be a challenge to get those who disagree to explain why they do, and to cite examples from reputable sources to back up their arguments. We haven’t actually seen any of our more liberal commenters here do that yet, but we keep hoping and asking.
Glad you found us, and I hope you’ll stick around!
Stoutcat,
Thanks.
I firmly believe that the ‘disagree-ers’ will not debate issues and simply respond with comments like, “you’re racist because you don’t like Obama”, “you’re rich, how would you know how we feel?”, and “it’s all Bush’s fault” because they are paid to do so by liberal organizations.
The government is very powerful. Somewhere I read (sorry, again I can’t cite a source) that almost 50% of our population is either employed by the government or supported by the government. My kids went to a fantastic school, one of the top 5% of Missouri academically and one of the top 15% nationally. The teachers, however, being government employees, taught that “democrats are the ones who help little old ladies cross the street”. Yes, I raised he**.
ACORN has such a big a following and so much support because there are so many who would have to go to work if people like us were in charge, and the government wants to keep them dependent so the current policies and politicians stay in place where they can reap the rewards and benefits. If you had free housing, free food, free medical benefits, free college, and got additional money for living expenses would you want to have to go to work and give all that up?
You would if you had pride and a conscience.
The government is keeping racism alive and well.
This is not pre-1960’s.
Anyone of any color can do anything today.
The government, allowing additional benefits to (did you know minority is no longer an acceptable word?) traditionally underrepresented groups, keeps the racism active and at the forefront.
I am white. My oldest goddaughter is married to an incredible black doctor. We joke about why he picked her. One of my nephews is married to a woman of French/Nicaraguan descent; she’s gorgeous and I think the head brewmaster at Budweiser. My oldest daughter (25) is head-over-heels for an attorney of 100% Nicaraguan parents; I have a problem with the attorney part, but I’m working on it. My point is, these “minority” people are doctors, attorneys, and corporate big-wigs……racism is only alive today because the government makes sure it stays so in order to attempt to maintain their control.
In school, my children had no problem with celebrating Martin Luther King Day. They did, however, have a problem with “black American history month”, a now-required curriculum in schools. My kids were in the gifted program (their IQ’s are very high and they questioned things that don’t make sense…hmmmm, wonder where they got that gene? LOL)
The problem they had was, why isn’t there also a “Native American history month”, a “German American history month”, an “Irish American history month”, an “Asian American history month”, etc.?
The government is terrified of people like us; people who simply work hard, take care of their families, go to bed with a clean conscience at the end of the day, …and question things that don’t make sense. The government is scared to death that someone (possibly like Palin) will have the ability to organize our “now-minority” of working class citizens. Why do you think they’re trying so desperately to pass the new, unbelievable gun laws???
Maybe I’m a conspiracy-theorist, but I think the gov’t has organizations that send people to sites all over the internet to monitor and try to sway people with accusations like “racist” if you attempt be a dissenter.
You should have seen the crap on the Fox News forums during the election process; it was unbelievable.
The bailouts, the health care plan, the “notify the White House if you see something fishy”, it’s just about at the last straw.
Something’s gonna give – and those of us who have been “giving” are just about broke.
Milliann,
I’m liking it more and more here!
I believe in Obama! He is doing the best for all of you! You need to STOP criticise your president! Sham of you!
” S H A M O F YOU” ???????????????
SHEESH! Learn to speak and write the language. You are obviously the product of ‘public education’….stand up and be proud!
Then we have the issue of the sentence before…..
” STOP criticize your president” you poor thing!
Nancy,
Exactly what has Obama done or said that makes you believe in him?
Exactly what has he actually done that is “the best” for the average taxpaying citizen?
The people of this country are entitled to freedom of speech; why would you tell us not to criticize our president?
You need to back up your statements with reasons.
Solana,
You are by far, much kinder than I.
I pray you will be able to ‘reach’ the devoted followers of this president.
I have always been repelled by stupidity and have no patience for this blind adoration.
Kathi,
Thanks, but it’s not that I’m being kind.
I’ve just learned that yelling does no good; reasoning and speaking like you’re talking to a two-year-old child actually causes the idiot to be more frustrated and thus, act more like a two-year-old child.
I admit I get a sorta perverse pleasure from that…
Nancy If you looked at obama qualifications and resume you would see that he is a one time senator and a one time community organizer. and a sometime lawyer,all under the tutelage of the chicago political machine and the union mob. What in the world make you think he might be even closely qualified to run this great country?You might be right closely correct that Bush didn’t do a very good job, but remember,his hands were tied by Pelosi and the democratic party if you know anything about politics you will remember bush tried to get freddy and fanny uder control but the dems wouldn’t have anything to do with it.By the way george bush inherited the mess that started all of this from clinton when clinton sign into law the the housing reform act and the sub prime debacle. So before you shot your mouth off again get your fact straight. People like you put this country in the mess that it is in.
Nancy you drank to much of the tea,quick spit it out it will rotten your BRAIN oh shit it’s to late..
Forecasters who have been on the money in previous years say the Republican’s will take back up to 40% of the seats that will be up in 2010. Of course that won’t make a difference unless they are conservative and won’t sell out!!!But there is hope!!!! One more note Mccain and two other senators met with a group of healthcare providers today in a townhall meeting, when asked why teh general public was not invited they responded they had gotten the message from the people, that the people did not want ObamaCare and they were looking for answers from the people who are and will be working in the healthcare system. That makes whole lot more sense than “a bunch of advisors”, probably the same bunch that assisted Hillary!!!
You people make me sick!!!!!
LMAO @ your ignorance
Cool! We have Nancy Pelosi commenting. Sadly, this Nancy says her email address is Pelosi@whitehouse.gov. Even the real Speaker of the House isn’t that dumb.
REALLY???? Honest to PETE????? You are the REAL NAZI PELOSI [OOPS, Nancy]
Fortunately for you, my dear, Obama care will make you all better! OH, SORRY, YOU won’t have to participate in Obama care as you and your fellow congressional buddies have a REALLY SPECIAL plan just because you are all so special!
It makes my heart go pitta-pat to know that I make you sick. I would be happy to help you with your ‘end of life’ issues……..
Does Obama Care provide Botox?
Also, the above ‘slip’ of the keyboard was referencing your mention of ‘people wearing swasticas to the townhall meetings’.
You, Madam Speaker, have obviously forgotten your place. I pray that you will be outsourced after next November.
I, too, am Catholic but unlike you, accept the Church’s position on abortion. I find it stunning that your bishop, cardinal or parish priest continue to allow you to recieve the sacrements.
You will have to explain yourself only to God.
So here I am, wide awake at 4 in the morning, pondering the mess that we, the people, have allowed our country to fall into. I’ve been reading with earnest, some more of the comments by Solana and others, and I realize that we are at a point in time where the “regular” people in this country have to stand up and defend our rights in a more strident way. I’m hearing today about a a U.S. Senate bill proposed by Senator Jay Rockefeller, giving the White House the power, in an “emergency”, to disconnect or control private-sector computer network systems that essentially run the Internet. People who run the systems that currently administer the flow of information that we now have would need to be “certified” by the government. I’m thinking: what, if any, kind of emergency would ever require that the government shut down the internet? It is, in itself, the flow of information that can avert an emergency. During the recent civilian unrest, due to the rigged election, in Iran, the so-called government of the Mullahs tried to shut down the internet, in hopes of preventing the news of the uprising from spreading. They wanted to prevent it from being spread to other parts of the country, as well as the rest of the world. They already had control have of TV and radio, and the internet was the last vestige of hope the people had for getting the news of the oppression out. I love this country so much, and cherish it’s heritage, in the face of so many challenges to its survival through the last 233 years. Warts and all, we Americans have managed to muddle through time with a mission, laid out through the enactment of our constitution. That mission guiding us has been, by our deeds and inspiration, to spread the freedom that we are so blessed with. We, as American citizens, and those from other countries that we have welcomed into this country through legal channels, don’t all have to be lock-step in this mission. Indeed, it is the freedom to practice and express this diversity that makes this country the great magnetic influence that draws so many people to our shores. In large part, people in this country “get it”. They see that our system of government, our ability to succeed if we are willing and able to work at it, and our love of freedom, is why we have survived through the last 2 centuries. There are not, by any real means “yet”, restrictions placed, by our government, on our ability to live our lives as we see fit. We can communicate with each other individually, from one group to another, or at any organizational level, without fearing reprisal or interference from the government. Think about it…if a provision like this were adopted, and if a so-called “emergency” occurred, that in the eyes of the government, warranted triggering it, it would totally co-opt that ability. Our whole social and economic structure would essentially collapse like a house of cards. The radicals of the 60’s and 70’s, some of whom have taken their long-wished-for place in the current regime in Washington, would have accomplished their mission. If this sounds like an incredible, and unlikely scenario, you need to read about some of the people that have now moved, by legal means, into our government. Call me a fear-monger. Call me an alarmist, but I would gladly endure the scorn of those that are allowed by our constitutional rights, to disagree. We now have people in the government who have, at least until recently, espoused values and ambitions of socialism/communism. Our new “green” czar, for instance, is a self-proclaimed communist, as well as an ex-con. The mere thought of someone with that type of resume being in any role in our government sends chills up and down my spine. Then we have the recently-appointed climate czar, Carol M. Browner. Our “global warming czar” was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group’s Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for “global governance” and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change. The groups’ website, which we are still free to read, listed her in this role until one day after the appointment was made. I could go on with enumerating other cases of questionable individuals, one of which has advocated, in print and other media, the institution of various extreme means of controlling population growth in this country. I don’t want to totally bore everyone, especially those who don’t really care about the well-being of this country. The very fact that we are, quite suddenly, forced to confront a decision of whether to replace a whole system of health care with another major segment of government bureaucracy, leads me,as well as a couple other people out there, to believe that there is a fundamental change in the balance of both power and influence in Washington. I fear that it is not going to be a “change” that many are hoping for. All I can say is: Wake up people! Listen carefully to what is going on around you…and talk to your neighbors(I know…it’s so hard these days, but give it a try). I know this is a long-winded evaluation of the situation…comes from drinking a lot of coffee too early in the morning. Maybe I should see a doctor about that condition…. Thanks for reading, and have a good, productive day.
Baristaguy,
I like the way you talk!
I’d like the opportunity to explore possible answers to your question, “What kind of “emergency” would ever require the government to shut down the internet?”
Let’s look at potential emergency situations:
1. Terrorist Attack
Is it possible that terrorists have developed a bomb or biological weapon that can run through computer lines?
Ummmmmm, I don’t think so.
2. Natural Disaster
California wildfire spreading through the lines?
Tornado blowing through the lines?
Hurricane dowsing through the lines?
Volcano ash? Earthquake?
Ummmmmm, I don’t think so.
3. Independance Day Syndrome
Such a good movie, aliens using our satellites against us. Is Rockefeller subtly telling us we are about to be invaded by mind-controlling aliens????
Ummmmmm, I don’t think so. Besides, after watching the movie, the aliens will all learn Morse Code, so we’d be screwed anyway.
What other “emergencies” are there?
Is there possibly an “emergency” threat to our government itself? But why would our government be “afraid”? What would our government consider an emergency threat to itself? War? We’re already at war. Swine Flu? No, that would fall under #1. What threat would mandate a provision about the internet? Since the internet is used for research and communication then, logically, the threat would be research and/or communication. Why would the government want to place an emergency stop on research and communication?
Because of us. I said it before:
The government is terrified of people like us.
The government is terrified of losing its power.
If the government could “stop the internet”, I wouldn’t be able to write this:
If government welfare recipients were charged the regular taxable amount of their handouts and required to remit their tax payments monthly to the IRS they wouldn’t be so quick to tout Obama.
For example, the average never-married mother of 3 who claims to not know the identity of her childrens’ fathers currently receives approximately:
Monthly housing benefit: $ 800
Monthly food stamps: $1200
Monthly medical/dental benefits: $1200
Monthly tuition benefits: $2000
Monthly utility assistance: $ 500
Monthly child care assistance: $1200
Her MONTHLY tax bill, based on the above “income” of $6900 per month would be approximately 30% or $2300.
Could you imagine what shi* would hit the fan if all these people on welfare suddenly started receiving a bill for these “taxes”?
Better yet, what if she were suddenly told that there’s no more money for her and she has to go to work to support her kids and has to quit going to college unless she can pay for it herself? She’d raise holy hell. She may even have a revelation as to what the rest of us who do pay taxes are feeling.
Better yet, if our government was suddenly retaining $6900 per month times millions of these recipients as well as receiving taxes from their now-required-earned-incomes…we may actually be able to pay back some of our deficit!
But that would be too easy; it would be people working together for the betterment of their country…where would the government have its control over the people then?
The flat tax has been proposed several times and swept under the rug several times.
I thought that we were all supposed to be treated equally under our constitution; why is it that the rich must pay a higher percentage in taxes than the poor? Now, the poor will say that since the rich are rich, they should pay more. The part I don’t understand is that currently, the poor wage-earners pay 10% (and get it all back because of head-of-household and earned income tax credits for children) and the rich pay approximately 50% (and get to deduct a teeny-tiny bit off their bill).
Under the flat tax:
If someone earns $20,000, they pay 10%: $2000
If someone earns $2,000,000, they pay 10%: $200,000.
Maybe I’m totally stupid, but it appears that with a flat tax, a rich person pays $198,000 more than a poor person (or for the learning impaired, the rich pay more than the poor).
Currently, the government and the poor and the unemployed-by-choice and the welfare recipients think that the rich should pay 50%, or, to explain it to the simpletons:
If someone earns $20,000, they pay $2000.
If someone earns $2,000,000, they pay $1,000,000.
So much for equality. Robbin’ Hood equality.
Socialistic equality.
By the way, I’m not “rich”, but one of my brothers is “rich”. I believe in equality, not screwing my brother just because he chose to go into computer programming. I was allowed to make my own choices.
Our government wants us to begrudge those who make better choices than others; I thought this was supposed to be the land of opportunity.
I just received the following email from my father-in-law; I haven’t checked it yet, but he usually does before he sends things like this to me.
He’s retired military; my husband was in the navy and has a bronze star from Viet Nam. Both are very conservative, patriotic, very proud to be traditionally American, and believe strongly in the right to bear arms.
Subject: 2009 1040 federal tax form –
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/blairholt.asp
Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that we have or own.
This bill was introduced on Feb. 24. This bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law. This is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance
Committee can pass this without the Senate voting on it at all.
Basically this would make it illegal to own a firearm -any rifle with a clip or ANY pistol- unless:
-It is registered
-You are fingerprinted
-You supply a current Driver’s License
-You supply your Social Security #
-You will submit to a physical & mental evaluation at
any time of their choosing
-Each update (change of ownership through private or
public sale) must be reported and costs $25
-Failure to do so and you automatically lose the
right to own a firearm and are subject to up to a
year in jail.
-There is a child provision clause on page 16 section
305 stating a child-access provision. Gun must be
locked and inaccessible to any child under 18.
-They would have the right to enter and search
(without a warrant or just cause)and inspect every
space in your home under the guise of seeing if
you are storing your gun safely away from
accessibility to children and the fine is
punishable for up to 5 years in prison (along with
anything else they might see in your home they
don’t like).
It has started.
This is just a “termite” approach to complete confiscation of guns and disarming of our society to the point we have no defense – chip away a little here and there until the goal is accomplished before anyone realizes it.
You know who to call; I strongly suggest you do. Please send a copy of this to every patriot you know.
The full text of the proposed amendment is on the U.S. Senate homepage, http://www.senate.gov/
You can find the bill by doing a search by the bill number, SB-2099.
http://www.opencongress..org/bill/111-h45/text
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdbzvw:@@@J|/bss/111search.html
Congress is now starting on the firearms confiscation bill. If it passes, gun owners will become criminals if you don’t fully comply.
H.R.45 : To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 2/9/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
To find out about this – go to any government website and type in HR 45 or Google HR 45 Blair Holt Firearm Licensing & Record of Sales Act of 2009.
You will get all the information.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.45:
http://www.opencongress..org/bill/111-h45/show
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45
Solana, when the NRA starts to worry about this, I will too. Currently, while they are clearly keeping an eye on it, they don’t seem terribly concerned.
Please thank your husband and father-in-law for their service to America.
Stoutcat,
Thanks!
I checked your links, and some did not open for me. The snopes link, when opened and read, says that HR 45 is not going anywhere. The Senate bill is very old, from 2000, I think.
This is from Soldier of Fortune Magazine who I think you would have to conclude is pro gun:
In the last few weeks, we have received hundreds of e-mails warning us
about “SB-2099,” a bill that would supposedly require you to report
all your guns on your income tax return every April 15.
“SB-2099″ IS A HOAX AND DOES NOT EXIST!
Like many rumors, there’s just a grain of truth to this one. Someone’s recycling an old alert, which wasn’t even very accurate when it was new.
In 2000, there actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that
would have taxed handguns. It was introduced by anti-gun Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under the National Firearms Act’s tax and registration scheme. This has nothing to do
with anyone’s Form 1040, of course.
Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate,back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every week on
our website: http://www.nraila.org
I realize this is off of the health topic, but it was something I had researched last month for my cousin and thought I would pass it on.
As I stated in a previous post, I am an Independent and am studying both sides of this issue, seeing good points on each side. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. What distresses me is when people repeat rumors without checking them out. Some of you comment from your own experience, which is good and healthy; but those who pass on “facts” without sources to back them up are somewhat irresponsible.
Solana, where did you get your figures for the welfare
payments you posted on 9/1?
Also, Barista guy, on your 8/31 post, why are you willing to pay higher taxes if the government doesn’t administer the program? What would the taxes be for?
Judy,
Thanks for checking out the gun bill; as I had stated, I hadn’t checked it yet. I’m sorry you felt I was “passing on facts”. I appreciate you and Stoutcat letting me know the facts.
The welfare figures I posted were the average of the state of Missouri that I received from the Camden County Clerk’s office in Camden County, Missouri. I run a drive every fall/winter for toys, household goods, and donations for local families that have either lost everything in tornadoes/fires and are starting over and for battered women/abused children; they are given to families on a list I receive directly from the Clerk’s office. Over the past 10 or so years, I have gotten to know (very well) many of the people who work there. According to them, we are actually one of the “poorer” states in the nation; the figures I quoted would more than likely be below the national average (but I haven’t checked into that).
I’m actually confused as to why you questioned the figures; didn’t you hear about Obama’s aunt, who was an illegal resident, receiving free housing benefits during the time of his campaigning and election? Her housing benefits alone, if I remember correctly, were higher than my figure quoted for a family of 4; I had chalked that up to favoritism/nepotism/bribery/scamming/etc.
Hi, Solana-
I have never known anyone on welfare (except possibly some students, but that info is private) and had no idea what the benefit rates were. I questioned your figures because the amounts you quoted were much more than anything I earned in 25 years of teaching.
I admire you for the amazing things you have accomplished, and for raising such outstanding children. Your extended family sounds very interesting!
Judy,
Welcome to the wonderful world of government social services.
There was a documentary I watched on one of those channels like History, can’t remember which, where it was stated and shown how it costs the taxpayers approximately $50,000 dollars per year PER PRISONER in our federal prisons. These charges included the “normal” things like utilities and insurance, as well as on-site doctors and dentists, the medical treatments and dental treatments (including regular 6 month cleanings and xrays, fillings, root canals, etc.), the costs of regular meals as well as “special meal plans” for those who were entitled to practice vegetarianism and, based on the recommendation of the physician, “low-fat meal plans” which included fresh seafood, and finally, (and the most expensive) the costs of the public defenders/prosecutors/courts who conduct the numerous annual appeals and special/frivolous lawsuits on behalf of the prisoners. One lawsuit I remember included the violation of a prisoner’s right of freedom of religion because he had to work in the laundry facility and based on his religious beliefs that was a woman’s duty. This, like welfare, is primarily unknown to the general public because it’s an intangible. It just gets “paid”. Yes, the annual monies “provided” on the behalf of these individuals and welfare individuals is more than you and I will probably ever earn.
As for the medical portion of the welfare benefits provided to the “poor” residents of the state of Missouri: It’s called Missouri Care. They also receive Medicaid. These benefits include the monthly premium they would have to pay to have the insurance, and there are NO deductibles and NO co-pays on treatments and prescriptions. They must find a doctor who accepts the coverage (because the doctor gets crap for reimbursement and many and many more general/family practitioners each year are no longer providing routine care for this service which is why the “poor” go to emergency rooms for treatment of the common cold/flu) and in my area, only 2 “near-by” facilities offer their completely free dental programs; one is in Jefferson City, the other in St. Louis (they are 2-3 hours away for a resident in my tri-county area and the waiting list for a routine cleaning is 9 months long. If you are found to need a filling for a cavity during your check-up, there is a 6 month waiting list for that). This is what the Obama Health Care plan is offering you.
My insurance costs me $400 per month and I have a $10,000 annual deductible per occurance to keep my rates down. I have it in case I get something like Parkinson’s disease. I no longer insure my kids; they’re adults and now responsible for themselves. When my kids were younger, I had doctor visits for them almost monthly because of the stuff they’d pick up at school and pass around to each other (strep throat, bronchitis, as well as sports physicals, immunizations). My “now low” premiums would be astronomical if I had coverage with no deductible and no co-pays. Think about your own health coverage; is your’s through an employer? If so, good for you; your rates are “low”. Get a break on your deductibles? Co-pays? Get an independant quote for full-coverage with no deductibles and no co-pays and see what it would cost for just you. That’s what these recipients are receiving for themselves AND each of their children. For those of us who choose to own our own business, we’re screwed (but by choice; and Obama’s plan now wants small-business owners to provide coverage for their employees. Why do you think I sold my restaurant right after he got elected?).
This is why I don’t want Obama’s Health Care Plan. This is why I want all government programs stopped. This is why I don’t want to give the government any more tax money. It’s frivolous. It’s wasteful. It’s ridiculous. It punishes us. It violates my constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
What a great concept. Just want to offer a small change. The single payer should be the individual consummer. NO INSURANCE ALLOWED. Each person pays for their own medical care. It is silly to include the overhead of the entire healthcare insurance industry in the bottom line cost of our health care. The cost of healthcare would drop by 48% if we did not support the health insurance companies as a part of our health care cost.
When is the American public going to wake up to the fact that ALL of the liberal entitlement program have been and will continue to be complete failures.Socialism may be at work in europe and other countries,but is it really working? The answer is Hell No. Just ask any immigrant that comes to this country why they came. They came and continue to come, to take part in the freedoms of this country and the capitalist ideal that this country provides.
The liberals and the socialist continue to assault the constitution
and the very foundation which this country was founded, That assault is, the intervention of government into private life. Someone, Please show in the constitution where it says that the government has the right to set up entitlement programs to compete with private enterprise.
For over 50 years the silent majority has been to silent, and has let the liberals and socialist run this country into the ground.
It is time for the voice of the silent majority to sing out and be heard, loud and clear. GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE.
Wayne and Judy,
You both need to check your facts. Please, can either of you make a useful contribution to fixing the current problems? Complaining is easy, maybe it has become the American way. Nothing will be accomplished unless the America voter is in control and not the special interest groups and lobbyist. See Co-o America.
Ron-I do not understand your criticism about checking facts. I gave the web site link to the gun control comment I made.
The point of my post was that people are throwing “facts” around but not giving any sources. None of us know each other and can make any allegation we want. I taught my students to check out sources and to research questions and not just take it for granted that everything they read was true, especially if it came from a politician. For instance, where did you learn that we could save 48% of health care costs with no insurance. It may be true, but I would like to know where this fact can be found.
I am no fan of the insurance companies. I agree they have really added to our current problem. You might be interested in the testimony of Wendell Carter, a former executive of Cigna until his conscience bothered him too much because of all the nasty practices of the health insurance industry. The testimony is about 7 pages long, but easy to read and will really open your eyes–and it is “straight from the horse’s mouth”. Potter testimony
(In case this link doesn’t transfer, here it is to copy and paste:)
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Testimony&Hearing_ID=6f02dcc8-ad5b-445c-81ca-36c9b06ebdd5&Witness_ID=420bda51-f2b3-4c89-95d3-bccfdfbffe2d
Ron I put my vote where my where I said it was, I did not, I repeat did not vote for that south chicago Left Wing Thug. Yes I have made contact with my legislative representative and made my views known. I have even email Mr Obama with my concerns.
Here is the letter I did send to Mr Obama.
Dear Mr. Obama
Excuse me, for not addressing you as Mister President, I have all the respect in the world for the office of President, however I have no respect for the man now holding the office.
You do not have what it takes to be President, You are a one time community organizer in the Chicago political machine, a one time state representative, a one time U.S. Senator, Now President of the United States of America, all under the guidance and tutelage of the Chicago political machine. What in the world do you think gives you the qualifications or the wisdom to be president of this great nation. I guess the Chicago political machine is stronger than America believes it is. I have seen the Chicago machine up close and personal when I lived in Chicago and John Daily was “The Boss.” I move away from Chicago because the political machine, and the labor unions had that city in a dead grip.
For over 50 years I have stood on the political sidelines, I do not have any political ties or any memberships to any organizations of any kind. I am not an activist of any kind. When I have voted, I have voted for the person that I thought was the best candidate, be they republican or democrat, always believing the person elected would represent me and do things in my best interest, how very naive i was. This is the first letter I have ever written to a politician. I just feel now is the time for me to get off the fence and voice what is in my heart, and let that voice be heard.
Sir, your election to the highest office in this democracy, and your systematics destruction of the Constitution, your obsessive spending of the tax payers money on bailouts. and your preoccupation with jamming health care reform down the throats of the american people, has given me much pause and worry about the future of this great nation, and the future of my grand children.
Your immigration reform policy, what I known of it, is not a good Idea what so ever. Illegal immigrants are by definition here illegally they have no right, because of the very fact they are illegal. Therefore, they need to get the hell out of my country, Period. If they want to come to this country and apply for citizenship, pay there taxes and live by our laws, and become productive citizens, I welcome them with open arms.
Mr Obama, if you want true healthcare reform, you need to think about eliminating the corruption and mismanagement, that already exist in the medicare system, the health industry also needs tort reform, not a reduction in medicare benefits by 500 million dollars to pay for the heath care you are proposing. The large majority of americans are happy with their heath care, Why is it that you are dead site on destroying the economy for the sake of a minority of the people. There are reports that I have heard and read that say the majority of the 47 million people you want to insure, do not want heath insurance for one reason or another, but they could afford it if they want it. So I ask the question again, Why are you trying to ram down the throats of the american public a reform bill that the majority of the people do not want?
Lastly I would like the say I do not feel you are acting in a manor that the President of the United States of America should, but more like a thug from the south side of Chicago. Taking the Company limousine out for Hamburgers, is what a Chicago thug would do, not the president. Taking the company jet for a joy ride over New York city, scaring most of Manhattan out of there skin, at the tune of several hundred thousands dollars
So what the hell Have you done except set there behind you Freaking computer and criticize me, for speaking my mind about the injustices that are being perpetuated on the american people by the left wing of the government.
Just 3 things.
1) The govt. DOES not make money,it ALL comes from tax payers.
2) 545 people approve the spending of our tax dollars and cause deficits.
3) “We live in the greatest nation in the world.Please join me in changing that!” What’s wrong with this statement?
It was Richard Daily not John sorry about that John was the golfer
Solana – currently & last year the Top 400 earners paid 17%. Tax, While 10 to 12 years ago they paid 27, 29 %. Yes, the tax system is currently not equitable. We experienced an Economic pearl harbor during. Sept 2008.
Bottomline : Extreme leverage resulting in that Economic pearl harbor is wrong; And our tax system is wrong. ((Warren. Buffett on CNNC. 07/26/09)). Warren buffet pays a Smaller percent rate of taxes, thAn his secretary. The Bush tax cuts must be addressed, and. Original, or near original, rates restored. The top earners should not be paying. 10%. Smaller tax rate than John/Joan middle American.
I paid $50k to IRS in April, And I am not wealthy; and, yes I do have a personal accountant/CPA.
Jerry Lynn,
I agree with you 100% about the “tax cuts”.
I didn’t say that everyone actually pays what they’re supposed to; I stated that there are tax brackets and that, to me, that is unfair since we are supposed to be equal.
I have no reason to doubt that the Top 400 (as well as millions more “rich”) paid only 17%. This is why I’m in favor of flat tax for EVERYONE (rich and poor).
No more deductions period. No more deductions for charitable contributions, dependants, interest, martini lunches, acreage you own that has never been farmed that you agree to never farm so we don’t have an unnecessary surplus of fresh produce and meat (????? my brother’s father-in-law, a statistics professor, gets this along with many politicians and wealthy land-owners), etc.etc.
No more filing a tax return; 10% comes right off the top, deducted from your paycheck like it is now (only you don’t fill out a W4 listing the number of your dependants – it would no longer apply).
In addition, flat tax is flat tax.
No more additional taxes; no more medicare tax (in the hole), social security tax (in the hole), no more property tax, personal property tax, capitol gains tax, sales tax, gas tax, tobacco tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, etc.etc.
No more tax “rebates”; the “poor” taxpayers in this country get hundreds to thousands more back than they paid in for head-of-household-earned-income-tax credit for children; that’s just as “unequal” as your Top 400.
If the federal government only had to provide national defence and would leave the daily living to us I don’t think we’d be up the creek like we are now.
If 100% of the (flat) taxes from each individual were sent directly each pay period or quarterly to the city/township/village of the individual’s residence
AND then
the city kept 40% for it’s own residents’ needs(schools, law enforcement, social services, roads, etc)
AND then
the city sent the remaining 10% to its county, 10% to its state, and 40% to Washington, D.C., ….
how much worse could we be than we are now?
Opps! CNBC
Why I am now an independent.
Dear All 535 voting members of the US Congress.
The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 – you have had 234 years to get it right; it is broke.
Social Security was established in 1935 – you have had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938 – you have had 71 years to get it right; it is broke..
War on Poverty started in 1964 – you have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to “the poor”; it hasn’t worked.
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 – you’ve had 44 years to get it right; they’re broke
Freddie Mac was established in 1970 – you have had 39 years to get it right; it is broke
Trillions of dollars in the massive political payoff called the TARP bill of 2009 shows NO sign of working.
And finally to set a new record:
“Cash for Clunkers” was established in 2009 and
went broke in 2009! It took good dependable cars (that were the best some people could afford ) replaced them with high priced ( people who couldn’t afford to are now making payments ) mostly Japanese models so a good percentage of the profits, from the sales, went out of the country. And lastly, the American taxpayers are now going to be dinged with paying for yet 3 billion more dollars of our governments experiments to make our wallets even thinner.
So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that “services” you shove down our throats
are failing faster and faster, you want Americans to believe you can be trusted with a government-run health care system? 15% of our economy? Are you crazy?
Truly, the inmates are running the asylum! And what
does this say about voters who put such pond scum in
office? Maybe we need to let others in on this
brilliant record before 2010 and just vote against
incumbents.
I CAN’T TAKE CREDIT FOR THE ABOVE IT WAS SENT TO ME BY A FRIEND, BUT IT IS THE SENTIMENT OF SO MANY. I WILL STILL MAINTAIN MY AFFILIATION WITH THE REPUBLICAN’S UNTIL A PARTY COMES ALONG THAT IS TRUELY ABOUT THE PEOPLE, BUT THEIR ARE ROTTEN APPLES EVERYWHERE AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ONE ROTTEN APPLE IN THE BARREL. AND THE APPLE IN THE TOP OF THE BARREL IS STINKIN THE WHOLE PLACE UP LOL
Milliann,
Well put!
CLEVER STUFF! But OH, if ONLY it wasn’t so TRUE!
WAKE UP AMERICA – time is running out so take back our country and retain our rights as citizens in this constitutional democracy. It’s up to each of us to do our part.
Stand up and BE STRONG!
I am so tired of everyone’s whining. Has anyone read what is in the health care reform or is everyone doing the “sky is falling”. Where Obama’s administration is falling down is lack of clarity in the provisions. Anyone who doesnt like what is being proposed should get in and offer alternatives. Everyone agrees there needs to be a method of providing affordable health care for all Americans, particularly blue collar americans that have been left out. Why dont we quit the BS and get involved with solutions!
s
J. Adams,
First, you just did what you’ve accused everyone else of doing: whining and not offering a solution.
Second, everyone does not agree that there needs to be a method of providing affordable health care for all Americans.
Third, “everyone” is not just whining.
I offered a solution.
My solution is no more government programs.
Pay for your own healthcare.
Pay your own way; I’ll pay mine.
Take care of yourself and stop expecting someone else to take care of you.
What’s your proposal? Me pay more taxes for your doctor visits so you can take a vacation?
No where in the constitution does it state the government is to provide health care. The government is acting like if the uninsured don’t have health insurance they will not survive. The government also talks about how people who don’t have health insurance can’t get basic needs taken care of. My husband and I are living proof that this is not so. My husband and I have been married for almost 7 years. We have insurance now but we have only had it for 3 months. My husband and I have both had surgeries. We have probably about $15,000 or so of medical debt which we are paying off. The hospitals that we have been to have seen us even when they knew that we didn’t have the ability to pay at the time. Also there are programs that will help you get your medical bills paid. I really hope that this health care bill doesn’t pass. As far as underprivileged getting health insurance they do it’s called Medicaid! When the government gets involved it means trouble and they just mess things up. Look at what they have done to Social Security. Also Medicaid is a government plan and a lot of places won’t except it because the don’t pay what they should. Also people say tax luxuries such as alcohol, tobacco, and jewelry. Trust me if that starts happen people will quit buying. People don’t have to have jewelry and most people that drink and smoke on a regular basis want to quit any way! It’s time for America to wake up and fight for what we feel is right. Government works for us not the other way around. It’s not the Governments place to take care of us!
Sherri,
You hit the nail on the head.
YOU are paying the balance owed for your surgeries.
The very small percentage of citizens in this country who can’t afford insurance who DON’T WANT TO PAY ANYTHING (they are merely looking for yet another free ride) are the only ones this health care plan will “help” (at everyone else’s expense).
We need to put a halt to this health care plan and to every government program currently in effect.
Once upon a time the political parties would argue, but come together in time of emergencies.Every since the Bushie boys rioted at the recounting stations in Florida and stole the election the Republican’ts have continued down the low road.Bush was the most hated president in history all over the world and Chaney is a cowardly draft dodging liar (much like Karl Rove a.k.a. Turd Blossom). Go ahead and stir the flames of prejudice and hatred in the name of the Lord.Keep spreading lies and censoring the truth whenever possible. God isn’t asleep and he knows who you are. Bush nearly destroyed this country just a year or so ago, yet you true believers continue to do your rich white masters dirty work for them.America woke up Sherri and guess what…They kicked most of the lying ,stealing republicans out of Washington.I pray enough intelligent people will do the right thing and send the rest of your heroes packing next year. Republicans have never given a hoot about anyone but their oil,medical,alcohol,and banking lobbyist.They keep the party rich and in power where the education levels are lowest.We might just as well discuss health care for the poorest and sickest with Iran.At least Iran acknowledges their hatred.The Neo-cons lie about theirs from behind the pulpits of their phony Christian churches.
What a selective memory you have.
The only rioting I remember in Florida was ACORN.
The draft-dodger most prevalent in my memory was Clinton.
Bush may have screwed up in many areas, but Obama’s given more money in 8 months than he did in 8 years to the “bankers” (can you say trillions?).
As for censoring the truth…I didn’t appreciate Clinton imposing upon my children that oral sex is not sex. I didn’t appreciate Clinton lying and stealing (can you say Whitewater-gate?) and not being able to comprehend the English language during his time in the most powerful position in this country (what is the definition of ‘is’?).
Hillary tried to teach my kids that it’s more important to ignore your husband’s affairs and broken marital vows than to lose your power, status, and political position.
In this country, the poorest and sickest already receive medical care. Most for free, some, like Sherri, get some help and pay back the rest that they owe. Our constitution entitles us to live free, not FOR free. Obviously you are a deadbeat. Grow up and get a job.
You’re right, “God isn’t asleep”. He’s just been silenced by your liberal agendas.
Government programs at work:
A first-hand point of view.
About 9 minutes long, but well worth watching.
whoops!
wouldn’t let me paste the website;
go to youtube and do a search for:
“Lloyd Marcus black conservative”
wonderful video!
I am shocked that so many otherwise good Americans are duped by rumor, half-truths and innuendo, and therefore ignorqant of the truth. Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system.
It would seem ignorance through untruths repeated often enough, becomes truth in the eye of the uninformed.
For starters, Obamacare does not propose the one payer system whatsoever. This is a lie cooked up by some hater to mislead. Obamacare specifically states his propsal is not a one payer system, that their will be government paid insurance plans, but also insurance plans paid by empoyers and insurance companies and individuals. This is not a one=payer system.
While one out of three people under age 65 does not have any health insurance, they don’t have to worry about wait times for hip or knee replacement or cancer surgery — they can’t get care. The median household income is $37,186 — not quite enough for the $97,000 to millions bill at the Mayo Clinic. So most of the uninsured will be given aid through government sponsored systems like Medicare.
Medicare and the VA helth system are one-payer alright, government endowed and doing fine thank you, with millions served … but still, most Americans under 65 do have some form of private insurance, either through their employer, or purchased directly.
Therefore, the Obamacare plan is not a single-payer system, but multi-payer, health insurance flowing from many places.
And Obamacare is not patterned after the Canadian or Bristish plans whatsoever. There are many differences because, well, Canada and Britain have a one-payer system. Yet it seems that no matter how often the administration painstakingly explains the Obamacare system is not a one-payer system, and not patterned after Canada or england, the uninformed keep saying it is.
Read the presidents own words, not some loony fringe article or talkshow that doesn’t give you the truth about the bill .. where Obama does guarantee choice:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/
GAry if Obama does not want the single payor stem how come his press secretary announced today 090909 that it was still on the table. YOU need to pay attention, your being sold a barrel of apples and the top ones look good, but the rest of the barrle is stinkin!!!
Mr. Jacobson:
How does the Kool-Aid taste? You seem to be accusing those who oppose Obamacare of the same maladies that you seem to suffer from.
First, Obamacare will eventually lead to a one provider system. Not initially, but with the government not having to make a profit, able to offer lower premiums than private insurers, and having the ability to tap into the US government to make up for shortfalls or “stimulus funds,” it is not hard to see how private insurance companies will not be able to compete with the government plan. In my response (July 27, first response) to this Grand Rants post I provided a link to a liberal congresswoman from Illinois saying that this is the goal (elimination of private health insurance companies). Many have seen the links of Obama saying that this is his goal. Not what Obama says? Look at the Grand Rants from today (Sept. 7), and see how many promises Obama has kept; essentially none!!
Medicare doing OK? What flavor is that Kool Aid? Each year there is an eleventh hour plan to “save Medicare” so that patients will not lose their doctors. Medicare is predicted to be bankrupt within several years. As a physician, I know the red tape and waste that occurs in Medicare. Medicare is NOT the blueprint that you want to model any national plan on.
Other government plans? Medicaid (at least in Illinois) is horrible; always out of money, few doctors accept patients with medicaid (pays about 12 cents on the dollar for most Emergency visits-unfortunately I don’t have a choice to accept or not accept Medicaid!), patients have a difficult time getting care. Another government success story?
Yes, one can “read the president’s own words” as you say; but to believe them one needs to take a huge gulp of that Kool-Aid that you have been sipping!! Wake up and think for yourself, and stop blindly following your “Obama Talking Points!”
Solana- “power, status, and political position.”. To quote you. Yes, that is also the mantra of Republicans. What happened to vows of “better, or Worse…. Till death do we part”? Yes, three small letters have been long removed from the republican agenda.
Independant, critical thinking Americans long remember, treasure, and respect our vows to our spouse snd to our country.
I have no idea what you’re talking about;
what 3 small letters are you talking about?
I cited specific marital actions and inactions of the Clintons that had a direct impact on the morality I was trying to instill in my children; what specific marital action of the republicans are you “quoting”?
Are you saying only republican presidents disrespect their marital vows?
I’m thinking of Clinton w/Monica,
Kennedy w/Marilyn,
Carter w/his fireside Playboy chats….
which republican presidents had publicly addressed extra-marital affairs while in office that they tried to deny and then tried to excuse?
Don’t forget the part about lying under oath and then being impeached. Great role model there!
Well, Nixon did that;
You’d think Clinton would’ve learned something from Watergate. Actually, I guess he did; he learned how to circumvent the process by pretending not to understand English!
Now, Obama learned something important from Clinton; he quit smoking (so he wouldn’t be caught with a cigar in his hand?).
Check out Www.Recessrally.com, and focus on the Sponsors listed at the bottom of the home page. These are not average middle class Americans concerned about health care, but are Actually experts at bussing people around our country to interrupt our meetings, to shout down discussions. They are Experts at creating false grass root movements to actually promote information mandated by special interest groups listed at the bottom of the web site. Bottomline. – they are a Profesional corporate funded, corporate staffed Public Relations group. Wake up “conservatives” And realize you are being duped by talented corporate sponsors to fit their bottomlines. Yes, we need capitalism, And market share. However, we need a strong, healed AMERICA first snd foremost. Stop following the far right wing conservative talking heads and do your own thinking. Place America first, for a change, rather than the far right wing movement.
We need health care reform now, not fear mongering distortions that tell all kinds of politically motivated fables.
Even in my small town of less than 2,000, Malad, Idaho, I personally know two families who suddenly have out-of-sight multi-hundred thousand dollars medical debt that they are unable to pay, short of going into bankruptcy. And these are not welfare people, but normal, hardworking Americans. One is a farm family, and the other family’s husband is our deputy sheriff. A third person in my town has a life threatening condition, but the hospitals won’t touch the procedure because he doesn’t have health insurance … and the community is doing fund raisers to try and help, but that won’t be near sufficient.
The President has consistently argued that health care reform must, and this is a quote: “reduce costs, guarantee choice — including the choice of a strong public insurance option — and ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care. These principles are the key to keeping our country healthy — and protecting our families, businesses, and economy from costs that are spiraling out of control. It’s the change the American people voted for and so desperately need.” Read the presidents own words, not some loony fringe article that doesn’t give you the truth about the bill .. where Obama does guarantee choice:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/
I wonder, do you also call the VA socialized Medicine, or Medicaid socialized Medicine, or Medicare socialized Medicine?
Because this health plan is socialized only in that it insures all people in the society can be covered against catastrophic health concerns, and costs will go down … but all people do not have to use the VA, of Medicare, or Medicaid, but are free to go wherever and do whatever procedure they want … and there are plenty of choices.
People use the word socialized medicine as a scare tactic … it makes them think of communism … this health bill has a lot of opportunities for freedom, and obtaining your own doctor. And brother, believe you me, do we need it. I receive my care from the VA, as a disabled combat vet from Vietnam. I don’t know what I could do but shrivel up and die if the VA wasn’t there.
Too many of the rants against this health care bill (like this video) are spurred by hatred of anything Obama, and not honestly looking at the facts as Obama proposes them. You can’t learn what he proposes by going to talk radio, or the anti sites, because there are gross distortions of fact in almost all of the anti articles, and even downright Un-American smears-with-fears that are far afield from the truth (that’s a polite way of saying bald-faced lies told on purpose to mislead and deceive).
That is what bothers me no end, the outright deceit from so-called experts and talking heads, and ditto heads that fool so many, and corrupt the will of America…
But so=called special interest PACS, health industry lobbyists, and even Republican leaders are so concerned with scoring points and scourging anything Obama that they seem to think health care reform is a political game.
They are literally playing politics with our lives and livelihood, and misleading deceptively a well meaning future. They distort Obama’s words, and post false facts that have Obama saying what he did not say, and have him proposing what he does not propose, and it has to stop.
Steve spontak- private insurance companies will not want to compete with the single-payer plan. For profit private ind companies will continue to select “healthy” individuals approved by their underwriters, Or aproved by their underwriters with exclusion clauses. The portion of the American population to be covered by the single payer plan are our citizens curently uninsured, and making more than the Medicare provisional requirements. Profits and markets will continue to thrive in the private INS cos. “scare” hype certainly did not eclipse the approval of HMO structure beget by Senator Lot (Republican) and his father during Republican reign. And we all have HMO horror stories; and we are not indentured servants because of the HMO structure.
No plan is perfect, ..,,,, we should offer a form of coverage for our uninsured American population. Private plans will continue to thrive, And the sky will
not fall; And we will not be Socialists.
Opps! That was Senator FISK. (R – Tennessee). And father
Jerry Lynn………….
The person you have incorrectly identified TWICE is ‘Senator Bill FRIST’ [R-Ten]
Please let some of the air out of your head prior to submitting comments on this site.
Steve, I do not like Kool Aid nor delusion. I like the truth, not some watered down accusation from some people who try to force feed off-the-wall accusastions to ridicule someone who sees things differently. Do you see what I mean about distortions and accusations of flung mud and flotasam, just to ridicule. Kool aid … that argument is so, so, beneath any civilized discussion.
But by the way, even though I don’t like Kool Aid, I much prefer kool aid precepts to the hard liquor used like some of these “truther” blogs, stating as fact what is not fact, They do it why, out of ignorance, to distort realities and misrepresnt facts.
Ignorance and unfouded on fact rumor promotes a jauniced view of what might be in the far off future, maybe … and you admit it. You admit Obama’s health care reform plan is not a single=payer system, but add the pseudo-caveat that maybe, some day, in a galaxy far far away, Obama might prefer this one-payer plan, that he does not now propose. Poppycock!
If this is so, why do rants such as this video, and the majority of these misinformed commentors state that Obamacare proposes a one=paye health care plan, when clearly he DOES NOT!
Gary, You are misinformed about Obama and the single payor system, today 090909 his press secretary Gibbs in a press interview stated the single payor option is STILL on the table. He WANTS a single payor system, but polls have shown the majority of the people do not, so he is personally waffling back and forth in order to fool the people that don’t pay attention, like those who voted for him!
Jerry lynn, you are talking in riddles. Obama’s plan IS NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM a one-payer system if there is competition, as you claim correctly, from third party payers and insurance companies, AND OTHER PROVIDERS. So why do you keep calling it a one=payer system?
Do you do it because you have heard this falsehood over and over on so called “truther blogs” and on talk radio from ditto-heads?
Gary, Will you please let me know WHERE I can find the ‘Obama Plan’ you refer to?
There is the emormous House Bill which actually does lead to a single payer system. Obama stated that he prefers a single payer system and Barney
Frank said-in an interview- that this bill would ‘lead us to a single payer system.’
There is a Senate Bill being discussed as well.
There have been SEVERAL ATTEMPTS by Republicans to present something more palatable to the majority of the American people but they have largely been ignored in the Dems never ending desire for bipartisanship.
In 8 short months this president and his willing accomplices in the House and Senate have strayed far afield of the Constitution they all took an oath to uphold.
Obama has been on television more than the ShamWow guy and the late Billy Mays, combined. The ‘speech’ is the same one just as the ‘speech’ during the campaign was repeated over and over and over and over and…. Obama seems to still be RUNNING for the presidency rather than BEING the president.
His foreign policies are a nightmare and he has spent time and our money traveling around the world aplogising for any percieved affronts by the US………NOT his job. He has insulted long time allies and bowed to the Saudi King. He has cozied up with despots like Hugo Chavez.
His spending as well as his proposed spending is greater than the total spent by his predessors….COMBINED!
He has nationalized the banking industry, some insurence companies and GM and Chrysler and has 17% of our economy in his sights.
While ‘Cap and Trade’ is being debated [yet ANOTHER enormous burden on the citizens of this country] he does a ‘fly over’ photo-op that terrified New York City. That little joy ride cost the tax payers $300,000 not to mention the giant ‘carbon footprint’ of the jet fuel he burned, just to get a new photo of Air Force One and the Statue of Liberty.
Recently,ACORN [he was their attorney and they were instrumental in getting him elected] has been exposed as an organization that gives tax advise to a couple of reporters posing as a prostitute and a pimp. [five tapes from 5 cities]
They are [and have been] investigated for rampant vote fraud as well as shaking down banks and business under the guise of ‘helping poor folks’.
He has appointed radical friends for ‘czar’ positions in his administration, removing the role of ‘advise and consent’ from the congress.
Each of these people are far left idiologs who believe that our constitution is an inconvenient obstacle to their Marxist agenda.
Will you also, please, explain the practice of belittling anyone who disagrees with the left? Why do those on the left resort to name calling and nastiness when challenged by another point of view from their own?
Last I heard, this is still the United States of America. We ALL are free to speak what is in our minds and hearts. We CAN agree to disagree without ugliness.
In addition to the RIGHT of FREE SPEECH, we are also free to travel. If this country is such a terrible place to live, those who hate it are more than free to leave and find a place that better suits their ideals.
Steve Spontak, how do you feel about a private payer system. NO INSURANCE, private or government. Everyone would be responsible for their on medical expenses…
As a physician, you could charge whatever the traffic would pay. But you might see reduced traffic. Would such a system work for you?
Mr. Jacobson:
Believe what you will. As far as my reply to your post, I accuse you of believing delusions, as you accuse many of the readers of this blog of believing delusions. I am interested in the truth. I work in medicine, and I have seen how government has screwed up essentially everything it tries to control and lead, especially in medicine. I am not some observer, I live it day to day as a physician. I see how government is NOT the answer. I do not take Obama at his word that this will not lead to a single payer system. You can believe what you will-poppycock and all. There is convincing evidence that this is what Obama and his team wants if one is able to open their eyes.
I too like truth, and when I see people following the government (in this case Obama) basically on his word, especially when that goes very much against my experience, it strikes a nerve. Government control will not be better if we just give it one more try. Government solutions are almost never the best. Government usually screws things up when it tries to run something.
This is not to mean that I blindly support insurance companies-I agree that reform is needed. I do not support reform in the current proposed form, as it will lead to exactly what you claim it will not.
Hmmm…
I just can’t help wondering how we managed, as pilgrims to a new country, to start with absolutely nothing and build ‘something’ without having Obama’s health care plan.
To, as united colonies, revolt against the ridiculously high taxes we were being charged by our-then-king and band together to fight to obtain our own constitution without having Obama’s health care plan.
To, as a country, thrive for around 150 years and become the most powerful nation in the world with no government-mandated programs like ‘corporate bail-outs, food stamps, and free medical care for all’; and without having Obama’s health care plan.
How, as a country, in the last 70-ish years, we have become trillions in debt when, all we did was: allow political agendas to give trillions away to “poor Americans” like corporate CEO’s, feed and give money and medical benefits and college tuitions to the US citizens who don’t want to work and illegal aliens, become politically correct in our now-mandated-new-freedom-of-speech, and make it “illegal” to say “God” in public.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Gary Jacobson- thanks for citing the White House web site.
Even non-supporters of President Obama may find the site interesting,
Since, “w ” shreaded portions of our Constitution with his “executive priviledges” –
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/
Mr Christian:
I think one of the best ideas are Medical Savings Accounts. In this, one purchases high deductible insurance and funds the Medical Saving Account (MSA) with cash in an interest-bearing account. The cost of insurance is much lower, so it is possible to fund this account. Payment for the deductible comes from this account (MSA)-this make the patient a consumer, as any money left in the account stays there.
For instance, if one has a $3000 deductible, and one uses $1000 in a year, there is still $2000 left. Thus, one could fund with $1000 to bring the amount up to the deductible, or with $3000 to bring the amount to $5000. In this way one could actually build up an account with funds that can be used for future medical expenses.
It also makes the patient a consumer. The doctor says you need a blood test; the patient now has incentive to find the best value, and providers will have to compete for that business, keeping costs down.
I do think there needs to be some form of insurance coverage. I am not even opposed to some government involvement in limited forms of catastrophic coverage, especially for those with very limited means. Healthcare is expensive, and it is worth it. If one becomes very ill, some of the most advanced treatments are very expensive and, without some sort of insurance, would be out of the reach of most but the most wealthy.
I do think the concept of “divorcing” healthcare from employers is a good concept-I am not sure of the details of how that would be done.
Single payer health insurance is a system by which the health care expenditures of an entire population are paid for through one source – the Federal government or a subcontracting entity – using tax revenue from individuals and employers.
Distinctly different from socialized medicine, whereby the government owns and operates health care facilities, a “single payer system” is simply a financing mechanism. The government collects and allocates money for health care but has little to no involvement in the actual delivery of services. Care is provided privately at hospitals and clinics but paid for publicly.
Individuals are allowed to choose their providers, and physicians are either compensated on a fee-for-service basis or paid salaries by hospitals that receive an annual global budget or by nonprofit health maintenance organizations.
All medically necessary services are covered by the insurance, including primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, long term care, mental health, substance abuse treatment, dental services, and vision care.
Services are delivered based on need rather than on ability to pay. Coverage is uninterrupted and equal for everyone, thus ending the dependency of health care access upon employment status.
Single payer health insurance would save money by vastly reducing administration and paperwork and by giving the Federal government bargaining power to procure medications in bulk. Even more significant than the savings that a single payer system achieves are the universal coverage and comprehensive benefits it provides, thereby realizing the right of every person to quality health care.
Single payer health insurance has proven itself to be successful in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Taiwan, and the model exists here in the United States as well in the Medicare program – which holds administrative overhead to 3-4%.
– google. – single payer insurance
geez, are you blind and deaf???
Medicare, with your quoted 3-4% is why people like me have to pay a small fortune for our own healthcare!
When I go to the doctor, I pay full (increased) price because Medicare doesn’t reimburse the same price I pay to the doctors for their recipients. That’s why Medicare’s costs are “low” and my healthcare is “high”.
Think of your car insurance.
It’s the law you must have insurance to drive.
Why, then, do we all have to pay for uninsured and underinsured motorists???? People who don’t pay for their own auto insurance makes “our” rates higher.
Duuuuh.
Allocates is the key word Jerry Lynn, Ask the Native Americans and the allocation of funds! They were promised healthcare under their treaties, but the healthcare system that serves them are simply not allocated the funds to provide decent healthcare. I would be willing to wager if the tribes were given this money that they could contract with private insurers, to cover their members and receive a much higher quality healthcare. Contact the RoseBud reservation and let them tell you what kind of care you are wanting for your children and grandchildren.
One more point we are living in the real world and the care will not EVER be equal. The wealthy will have the GOOD, private physicians and everyone else will be left with what ever and who ever is ALLOCATED to them.
This video, and most ranting commenters on this thread are based on untruths, for the truth of the matter is clearly that Obama DOES NOT propose a one=payer system period! Such an accusation is ludicrous!
But will you hear the truth? http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/
Obama’s health care reform plan rejoices in competition, and choice to choose whatever you like, and freedom to be here or there. There is nothing mandated, other than your health will be first and foremost of importance.
Now before some of you talking heads call me a liberal, I state emphatically that I am a moderate Republican, though Republican or Democrat, I do believe with all my heart in truth. For indeed, it is the American way!
I find it distressing that so many in my party, the PACs, the healthcare lobbyists, and just plain old haters, choose the low road, content to argue with their main tools lies, distortions, fabrications and fears that pervert the truth.
And why? Perhaps because they would do anything to see that the other side fails, in the jaded hope that when it falls, their side can again regain power. That is why you can carry several lobsters in a basket and they won’t get out, because every time one starts to make a break for it, and do something, another one pulls him down.
Or maybe some are upset and telling falsehoods to mislead, angered because their side did not think of it first … or did not think enough of the American people to do something about attrocious health conditions when they headed this ship of state.
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked people to share their personal stories about how the health care crisis has affected them and the ones they love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country.
Read this from the Health Care Action Center, and then tell me we don’t need health care reform: http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare
Dear Gary, You seem to be a caring man, but somewhat naive. I am sure there are many tear jerking stories on the site you directed us to, because we live in this life which is not Neverland or Eutopia. If I requested small business loss stories, they would pour in by the thousands,many where families invested everything and lost it all…do you therefore support a system that will refund the monies lost?? Restore these families to there economic status prior to the business???? I was in medicine, the business side for 30+ years and I could tell you stories that would make your hair curl. I was the collector and I can tell you about Seniors who ate rice all month, or beans or even catfood in order to afford their meds. I know alot of people are Bush Haters, but the Perscription Part D program was sorely needed because a patient does not get better, by walking in an out of a Dr.’s office the meds are what do it!!! I do not mind giving to take care of those who CANNOT take care of themselves, but NOT for those who WON’t take care of themselves!
Steve Spontak – Review our history; we, The people, our govrnment, has stepped In when the powers of the private sector have massively screwed-up. Amendments were added to our Constitution to protect “we the people” because the private sector would not.
Amendments, specific laws -federal, state, and municipal – were established because the private sector severly migrated out of “reasonable” action and failed to achieve resolution, or recovery on their own.
And, once laws are established, some portion of the private sector will continue to screw-up. Regardless of the Market, there will be screw-ups; This does not mean we are not to continue with private sector, Capitalism, and market share; It just means we are to be better informed consumers and citizens.
Bogus filings by companies to achieve Medicare,Medicaid, and yes, even private
insurance funds.
Jerry Lynn,
What private sector massive screw-ups that required constitutional amendments are you talking about? This is a new one for me; please be specific.
No matter what is passed by Obama, Pelosi, Reid and
Frank once implemented it will change.
This is a no win situation with so many Liberals
thinking about our welfare.
Just remember only a few more tax dollars.
Steve, I am not saying there are not problems in Medicare, Medicaid, or with the Insurance companies, or with the way employers arbitrarily assign you to one plan or the other … there are! But that is mostly due to human error, and with the way PEOPLE make mistakes and arbitrary decisions. Yes, I know there are beaucoup scare stories, with doctors, with Medicare, with the VA, with insurance providers
Just like with doctors, some are good and conscientious providers of medicine who give the best they can in compassionate health care … but there are also quacks who see only the dollar signs, and give you care according to what is convenient for them. Some are rude, and not at all people persons. But when I get one of these, I vote with my feet. I don’t go back.
I am not saying this health care plan will be without problems… as there will be with whatever system we have, because people will be people, and people make mistakes. For bureaucrats will be bureaucrats, some good, some bad, some caring for we the people, some caring only for themselves, and some who see only the dollar signs and fancy cars that their patients are the means to an end to provide the hedonist lifestyle.
I am saying I have experience good and bad in the so called socialized VA health care system … and it has saved my life!!!! I received miraculous care from doctors in a traumatic brain injury, though I wasn’t aware enough to know, because I was in a coma for three weeks. Then during fourteen months in the hospital, and through years of therapy, I found both good and bad. But when I met someone with my life in their hands that was bad, I circumvented them and moved on. Now I’m not saying there weren’t inept or bad people working a good system … but you quickly learn the rotten apples from the good apples, just as you learn good and bad doctors, or learn good or bad Medicare providers, and move on to choose the good.
Most all VA care providers were very skilled and very compassionate, and I learned somewhat to get what I needed for life. And I could not have done it without them. So it is with this health care proposal … there are literally millions who need to get it … dying to get it.
The high costs of health care are due to various factors, among them the unwillingness of individuals to take care of their own health, genetic causes, refusal to prioritize getting health care instead of buying a new car, the fact that insurance should have a variable deductible the same as auto insurance, and people could get lower premiums if they don’t smoke, if they exercise, if they are not in a high-risk job, etc. Then there’s the shortage of physicians. We need 3 times as many, but that Mother of ALL Labor Unions, the AMA, keeps the supply down. We should allow private or state funds to build more medical schools so that people in rural areas could have doctors. But more doctors means less income for doctors and more hours worked. There should also be tort reform, since doctor are being bled to death by the high costs of medical insurance by people who do stupid things and then want someone else to pay for them. This raises the premiums for the rest of us. Check out the “Stella Awards” via Google. People make fortunes suing insurance companies, and the lawyers get more than the client. What corruption!
There has been alot of trashing by the Obamaiacs & the leftsided commentors on this site, about how dare the rest of us question or doubt our new president and the legislative branch. Well unlike the top dogs Obama & Pelosi, I certainly think you have the RIGHT to follow blindly, but I will continue to try to enlighten you and explain why I can’t trust Obama & feel that their has been NO change in the way things are run except now we’re being told we don’t have the Right to disagree with those all knowing sages well hear is a synopsis of them DEms & Repubs….
36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71,repeat 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits,
and
84 have been arrested for drunk driving
in the last year ……and then you ask me to trust this the Obama/Michelle Team……
On the top right hand corner of Page 17 of the New York Post of January 24th, 2009 , was a short column entitled “Replacing Michelle” in the National Review “The Week” column. I found this interesting, so here it is, word for word, as it appeared:
“Some employees are simply irreplaceable. Take Michelle Obama: The University of Chicago Medical center hired her in 2002 to run “programs for community relations, neighborhood outreach, volunteer recruitment, staff diversity and minority contracting”. In 2005 the hospital raised her salary from $120,000 to $317,000 – nearly twice what her husband made as a Senator. Oh did we mention that her husband had just become a US Senator? He sure
had. Requested a $1 million earmark for the UC Medical Center, in fact. Way to network Michelle!
But now that Mrs. Obama has resigned, the hospital says her position will remain unfilled. How can that be, if the work she did was vital enough to be
worth $317,000? Let me add that Michelle’s position was a part time, 20 hour a week job. And
to think they were critical of Blagoyovich’ s wife for taking $100,000 in fuzzy real estate commission.
My thoughts: How did this bit of quid pro quo corruption escape the sharp reporters that dug through Sarah Palin’s garbage and kindergarten files?
Unbelievable!
These are not my originals but shared with me by another source. Feel free to pull the article from the NEW York Times, feel free to call the Medical Center, feel free to Justify it to yourself, because that it was the USA a is about Freedoms not free healthcare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. And now he is trying to tell corporations what they can pay their top people?????????????
Milliann,
You are absolutely right and are quoting legitimate sources.
Those here who are ranting “pro-Obama” will skim your comments and facts and reply with something like “you’re racist”, “you’re cruel”, “we want change”, “Americans need health care”, and “Bush was bad”. They can’t say anything else because there’s nothing else they can say.
I’ve been called racist because I proudly admit I voted against the democratic party. I have to vote republican. What the citizens voting “independent” don’t seem to understand is: The independent party doesn’t have enough of a following to win a presidential election. Every vote cast for the “independent” is just one more vote taken away from the republican party and thus not off-setting the democrat vote.
Since I didn’t vote for the black nominee, I’m now considered a racist.
If a black or green or purple person would have run on the republican ticket, I’d still have voted republican.
Most of the people I’ve spoken with, who voted for Obama, voted for him because he is black and we need to stop being a racist country. I find that statement alone 100% racist. Obama stated that this is the greatest nation in the world and he wants to change it. I find that statement racist and socialistic and egotistical. Obama wants everyone who already pays for health care to pay more so we give all the poor people free health care. Next, it’ll be a free place to live (wait, they already get that), free food (wait, they already get that), free college (wait, they already get that); I guess we’re up to free cars and boats and summer vacation homes. Since I’m able to throw a wine tasting party tonight, everyone should be entitled to do that; guess I’ll soon be supplying free bottles of wine to the poor so they can have parties, too.
When I had to scrimp, the luxuries had to go; no Happy Meals, no cable/satellite TV, no daily newspaper delivery, no going out w/the girls, no shaving my legs with the shower running….
Our country is in massive debt. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of government programs. They don’t work. They all show a loss. They are luxuries in an over-extended “household”. They don’t need another one at this time. Call me cruel. I’m not trying to help a few people; I’m trying to help our entire nation. Every single one of these programs need to be stopped today. The government needs to start scrimping. If that means I have to scrimp again, so be it. If that means you have to scrimp, so be it. If I’d done what the government is doing, spending more than I have and adding more and more debt to my existing debt, I’d have lost everything and I’d be living for free off of you right now. If I’d run out of money and printed more so I could buy more stuff, I’d be in prison. If I cancelled my healthcare and went to my next-door neighbor (who happens to be the Mayor) and said, “gimme me some money for the doctor,” he’d laugh at me.
I’m absolutely convinced the the high majority of the Pro-Obamination-ites are already on welfare and have absolutely no desire to scrimp. They want their hand-outs. They want their free stuff. They have absolutely no concern whatsoever for the working class raising their own families, spending their own money, cutting their own corners. They want more. And they want it at someone else’s expense.
Again I call all independent thinkers to shout out. Hey grey matters, not foiled by talking heads. America needs to come first and foremost above any party, and must be healed.
To the far left conservatives, read on — following article confirms results of your time in office ….,,
«Top News
U.S. poverty rate hits 11-year high as recession bites
12:29 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. poverty rate hit its highest level in 11 years in 2008 as the worst recession since the Great Depression threw millions of Americans out of work, a government report showed on Thursday.
The Census Bureau said the poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent in 2008, the highest level since 1997, from 12.5 percent in 2007. About 39.8 million Americans were living in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007.
The government defines poverty as an annual income of $22,025 for a family of four, $17,163 for a family of three and $14,051 for a family of two.
Real median household income fell 3.6 percent, the biggest annual drop since 1991, to $50,303 in 2008.
“This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007,” said David Johnson, head of Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.
The longest and deepest recession in 70 years has been marked by rising unemployment as companies aggressively cut payrolls to cope with slumping demand.
As of August, the unemployment rate was at 9.7 percent, the highest in 26 years, and almost 7 million people had lost their jobs since the start of the recession.
Analysts said the poverty and income figures underscored the depth of the strain on households.
“This recession is whacking almost everyone,” said Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
The Census Bureau also said 46.3 million Americans were without health insurance last year compared to 45.7 million in 2007. The numbers could feature in arguments over President Barack Obama’s plans to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and dramatically expand medical insurance coverage.
The family poverty rate rose to 10.3 percent last year and 8.1 million families were in poverty, the Bureau said. This compares to 9.8 percent and 7.6 million respectively in 2007.
Poverty was higher among blacks and Hispanics, the report showed. About 14.1 million children under the age of 18 lived in poverty last year, up from 13.3 million in 2007.
“We project that with the continuing deterioration in the labor market, by 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty,” said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Email Article
Jerry Lynn, How about a vacation? a lets see what poverty looks like….start in Kenya the birthplace of your president, then proceed on to India, Sierra Leone and take a week in Somalia, then PLEASE go visit Iraq and then tell me about poverty in this country. I know there are people hurting financially, my family is one, my significant other is supporting
7 people on his $11/hr job and we live in the Florida with one of the highest unemployment rates and in the county with the 2nd highest rate in the state. But life is full of choices and we are fortunate that we have family and friends that help each other when there is a need, but if the government would stop the pork and get out of areas constitutionally they are not suppose to be in, then we would thrive again. There will always be those that have less than others, but I thank God that I am in a country where I have choices, where there are churches and private charities that help the needy, with donations by ALL THOSE NASTY RICH PEOPLE. Those other countries I mention what little help their needy (the whole damn country) do get is from those same NASTY RICH AMERICANS. You Liberals want a eutopia where everyone
has aplenty, well you are living in fairyland. Wake up grow up and smell the roses, because before long that will be taxed TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Milliann,
Kudos to you and yours!
You’re struggling so hard and yet you praise your country and the freedoms given to you!
My family helped me as well; my mom ran my kids to elementary-school-basketball practice when I was working; I can’t tell you the number of times per week she & my dad (knowing I would never ask) invited us to dinner and stuffed my kids full of junk-food I couldn’t justify buying; one year I was so broke that I shopped in their ‘closet’ for Christmas presents for my kids (though my folks are very well-off, my mom loves garage sales and shops continuously for stocking stuffers for her grandkids & great-grandkids). My then 5, 7, and 9-year-olds had 10 gifts each to open, all for under $1 each…they had a wonderful Christmas morning at my home – thanks to the help of my family.
Today, kids of welfare moms have home computers, Xboxes, IPods, cell phones (geez, I don’t even have a cell phone, I don’t need one – I do have an answering machine and caller ID)….
In the ‘olden days’, before food stamps, the majority of the people in this country regularly attended church and tithed weekly to their churches. The churches had daily soup kitchens; people who were too poor to provide food for their families could have hot soup and sandwiches, milk, and fruit, etc., (at no charge) at their church. These meals didn’t miraculously appear, the food cost money. The money was provided by the tithes; the cooks and helpers donated their time. Community helped their community. If your husband became ill or died, women from your neighborhood provided your family with meals daily until you could get back on your feet. Men from the neighborhood helped with household upkeep until you could get back on your feet; they did this because they knew you would do the same for them if tragedy befell.
Today, with all the taxes we’re charged, the “luxuries” have had to go; one luxury is the amount we’re able to donate. Our “donations” go, instead of the church, to support the numerous, “necessary” government programs in the guises of income tax, property tax, personal property tax, sales tax, etc.
It’s the nice, subtle way the government was able to ‘encourage’ our nation away from the church.
It’s the nice, subtle way the government was able to ‘enable’ dependency and laziness; the “poor” no longer have to get off their butts and walk their families to the church for their meals (they have no car, it’s cruel to make them walk all that way). Now it’s home-delivered in the form of “food credits” that they can somehow manage to drive to the grocery store to redeem.
The government, with all its wonderful, “necessary” programs has enabled and encouraged the “poor” to rebel against work, self-achievement, church, God, and sense of community.
I salute you for not being taken in.
I salute you for being a true, patriotic, and constitutional United States Citizen.
Solana, thank you for your kind words. I am fortunate that along w/my parents I had 4 sets of really great grandparents to give me an example of what a good citizen and a good person was. My maternal grandmother married late (28), because she stayed home to care for her sick parents. She married and had 5 children and was widowed when the baby was 2 and the oldest was 9. She had no formal training and only a limited education. But she received no government benefits to speak of. SHe worked in the school cafateria, took in ironing, cleaned and babysat for neighbors. She was a great seamstress and could remake a dress over & over again and make it look totally different. All of her children turned out to be exceptional citizens and people. The oldest became a nurse the other 4 had no formal education, but were hardworking and able to retire comfortably. She so impressed her grandson (my oldest brother) that he created a non-profit to help widows w/children http://sylvias-love.org/?AAMT, Jerry Lynn may want to read and see how regular people are donating, many of them struggling themselves. She stated that in these days of Mega Churches they do not give to the needy, well I am Catholic as mega a church organization as you can get and in my small town we support a soup kitchen, a food pantry, a Sr Center and meals to shut-ins all at no cost to them, there is also an interfaith organization that has a food pantry, a woman’s shelter and a clothing center. The Salvation Army serves three squares a day and from a friend who did community service hours there the food is darn good. And the town where I live is considerably under a $100,000 with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. But those who have are giving to those in need, even as more of their money is being demanded for increase tag fees,gasoline taxes, cigarette tax, property taxes and the list grows bigger every day.We are Americans our hearts are overflowing with abundance and we have always given, even to countries who have turned their backs on us and stabbed us in the back over & over again.
Obama recently gave 5 Billion dollars to Brazil to help finance off shore drilling (our money, our taxes)we know why because one of his buddies is a 22% shareholder, but anyway in reading an article about a recent South American Film festival where the liberal film maker Oliver Stone was hugging up with Chavez, it stated that Brazils economy was booming and they were going to have a 250 million dollar surplus. Is that crazy or criminal?
The trade policies of our country have really put a hurting on our economy, this is how easy it is to fix. All of these countries that can produce goods for less than us, because they get paid pennies and don’t have big powerful Unions, their goods should be taxed to make their value the same as what Americans can produce with their higher wages and benefits ect. That money would go into a fund and then when Congress & the President (no matter what side of the aisle he/she is on)are feeling like Santa and want to give some money away they can take it from the fund. The other countries shouldn’t object to paying the TAX, because their going to get it back through our generous giving, then “our” taxes can be lowered, we have more money in our pockets that we have earned and we will spend it/donate it whatever but we will be benefiting from our work not others. Our economy would be recovering a whole lot faster than it is. I can not understand why everyone is so crazed over the collapse of the housing market, I predicted it two years before it happened. It was simple they were building at a crazy rate and all of them $500,000 & up. I could not figure out “who” was buying these homes, people around here don’t make that kind of money, well now we know, people who with the help of the brokers lied and fixed the paper work so people making $30,000 & up a year were moving into mansions. The property values had risen so high that our local property appraisor said he did not believe the values would be this high in his life time, the lifetime of his children & grandchildren. The collapse was a natural market correction and a lesson in the “people reap what they sow” bible. SO Solana we are not the only ones out there that feel like we do, we have just be silent for to long. Obama may have been the best thing 4 us if it makes us get up and take action.mj
Jerry Lynn,
Your mouth runneth over yet you fail to respond at all, let alone with any facts or details, to my direct questions regarding your statements and “quotes”.
Ramble on. I won’t read your comments any more.
Jerry Lynn: what part of “‘This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007,’ said David Johnson, head of Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division” did you not understand?
Typical rhetoric. M & S. – please take time to actually read our constitution and learn our American history, and hopefully, lighten your heart. Today, our mega churches do not offer assistance to the needy. And, thanks to the far left, our American middle class has greatly diminished, whereby, everyone is streatched financially.
BTW, the three letter word is “VOW”. As in wedding vow; “for better or worse”. Once again we have a moralist conservative in the news today, regarding sexist, mistress, miscounduct…. ’tis quite easy for the far right to point A finger at Clinton, and waste A million tax dollars to confirm impeachment based on “is”… Yet, fail to point the remaining fingers back to their own party. How quickly the Far right party forsakes their vow to their spouse, (seems more comservatives infidelity has been caught in the public eye during the last 9 years). Remember your allegiance to our flag snd country, and stop putting the far right party over America!
Senator John Mccain confirmed today the far right tactics against the health care reform were wrong..,,,,
Health Insurance Reform: GOP Delays Real Progress
August 5, 2009 —Senators Jay Rockefeller, Sherrod Brown and Sheldon Whitehouse held a press conference today to call on Republican leadership to offer a real plan for reforming health care. While Democrats have been working tirelessly to reform our health insurance system in a thoughtful and meaningful way, Republican leadership has spent much of the last two months sabotaging bipartisan efforts to find agreement on key issues. The status quo is unacceptable and Republican stalling on health insurance reform only serves to obstruct, deny and delay for the millions of Americans who are waiting for Congress to act.
Click here to watch the video.
Hello, ACORN!
Yet another “necessary” government program enacted and then paid for by our tax dollars for the betterment of our nation.
ACORN now publicly promotes prostitution, tax evasion, and the abuse of minor children. And they’re stating that reporters are “bad” because they “tricked them” into being caught doing what they do daily.
I just used my last straw; my camel’s back is broken.
I don’t care, anymore, about the supposed benefits of the proposed health care plan.
I don’t care, anymore, if congress can find a way to “word” the bill to appeal to the entire government.
I don’t care, anymore, if congress can find a way to “word” the bill to appeal to the non Obama-supporters.
ALL of the government’s programs are bad.
Period.
NONE of the government’s programs work for the good of our entire nation.
Period.
NONE of the government’s programs are cost-efficient.
Period.
These are the facts. Period. End of discussion.
Our country is in deep trouble. In turmoil. Our people are against each other.
The only sensible, intelligent thing to do is to start over; to be “forced” to come together.
NO MORE government programs; Today is September 11; The government should give the nation notice today:
As of December 31, 2009, all government programs should cease. This gives the welfare recipients and all of Obama’s Czars time to find work (I know, there’s no jobs; unemployment is at a high; why, then, is my little, local newspaper full of help wanted ads? People too good to wash dishes? People too good to do housekeeping at the hotels? People too good to be a receptionist? People too good to scrub boat-bottoms? People would have to start over? People might lose their homes? People might lose their insurance? Welcome to the real world.).
2010 should be the dawning of a new nation.
The nation we inherited from our forefathers.
The nation that thrived and became the most powerful nation in the world.
The nation that all trodden and persecuted people in the world wanted to immigrate to; to become a citizen of. A nation where they wanted to adopt OUR ways; not force us to adopt THEIRS! A nation where people came with nothing and worked hard to build something. A nation where nothing was guaranteed except your right to PURSUE your dreams of life, liberty and happiness through hard work and cooperation. A nation where the law was the law and you followed the law. A nation where the public defender’s job was to make sure you got a fair trial, NOT off the hook for the crime you committed because of a technicality. A nation where, if you were a detriment to society and a threat to the virginity of 11-year-old children, you weren’t slapped on the wrist and given aid and counseling and other chances to do it again- you were run out of town BY THE PEOPLE; or worse.
A democracy is based on the majority vote. The laws were enacted by the majority. The law was the law. You had to follow the law or lose your liberties; not have some sheister revise the law to mandate public tolerance of questionable, non-conformist, non-majority behavior. Period. I’ve heard senators, governors, say, “I was elected by the people”….did those politicians specifically state during their campaigns that they would vote against the majority for laws to suit their personal agendas? Who out there actually voted for their congressman to give himself/herself another raise?
The government, as a whole, is corrupt. Republican/Democrat/Independent….their agendas help themselves, not our nation. They line their pockets, not ours. They pay their friends by placing them in powerful positions to help their main cause; themselves. They institute government programs to buy votes – from corporations as well as dependent-citizens – so they can continue to line their pockets, suck us dry, and keep us un-united.
NO MORE of our tax dollars to fund the government’s destruction of our nation.
Period.
They should protect us from invasion; from terrorism; from war on our soil. They should uphold our constitution rights, not push them aside under the guise of government programs to protect us from ourselves.
Close the borders to illegal aliens.
Use our tax dollars to pay our military patrol our borders.
Use our tax dollars to pay our military to bus them back across our borders; not to support THEIR lifestyles here in OUR country.
Use our tax dollars to support our armed forces.
In our country, there will always be compassionate people who give charitable contributions and assistance to help those less fortunate. It’s not up to the government to mandate us to “give” to those we do not feel are deserving. Let them “control” our military; let us “control” ourselves.
Let us unite. Let us open our hearts to our neighbors. Let our neighbors be forced to work as hard as we do.
If parents were forced to support their own pregnant daughters, they might teach them not to open their legs to so many different men, to use protection, to be responsible. My aunt had polio as an infant and subsequently couldn’t walk without canes and braces; she worked most of her life in a bank, sitting down, typing, instead of collecting the disability she was “entitled to”. People find a way. It’s how we became a great nation. Intelligence and drive. Reward and punishment.
2010; our future; our nation’s future.
Do we add another government program?
Or do we take back our nation?
You and Milliann’s comments reflect my thoughts exactly. Too bad more liberals were not raised with moral values like you both. I hope we don’t lose the faith considering what we have to put up with now. I can’t do a lot to change things myself, but I am boycotting NBC ABC CNBC CBS because they will not tell the American public the truth.I have quit going to ANY movies because of the Hollywood crowd. I am also encouraging all my friends to do the same. I am also boycotting all food products companies owned & managed by liberal left wing owners & CEO’s. (Pepsi, Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay-Gatorade. I read all labels at the grocery & do not buy the products of the left wing organizations. Next election, I will not vote for ANY Democrat due to them cozying up to Obama & his gang. This is all I can do in my small world, but if enough of us boycotted, it will have some effect on these companies who fund the liberals. Keep up the good work. You are encouraging to us who read your blogs.
Phyllis,
Thank you.
You are trying to make a change. You are one of the minority still holding on to your morals and values.
However, boycotting companies isn’t going to “hurt” the government. They will remain in power; if one of “their pets” gets hurt enough by people like you, we’ll just see another corporate bailout. Your tax dollars will be used to “buy” the next company going under, just like GM. Your tax dollars will be used to support the very things you despise. The government will remain in control. Next election, new politicians will campaign with the same, sorry promises and lies. They will be elected and the cycle will continue. And they will, again, vote themselves raises and better health plans and benefits and put their own people who support their agendas in high, powerful positions. It’s not just Obama; it’s not just the democrats. I had really hoped that McCain was “old enough and Maverick enough” and that Palin was “down-to-earth and idealistic enough” not to care about “going up against the big boys”. We’ll never know.
The only thing that will make a true difference is if we cut off their funding; just like we did to England. No tax dollars coming in = none of our money to spend frivolously.
No tax dollars coming in = no income to the politicians.
No tax dollars coming in = no more “big government”.
We can start over. Like we did in 1776. It worked then. We’re as smart as they were. The problem we have is not just our “king”, but all his loyal subjects, our neighbors, not wanting us to take their freebies away. Civil War is a scary thing. None of my ancestors on either side had slaves. The black race thought the Civil War was a great cause in the 1800’s; half of this nation fought for their freedom. Do you think they’d unite against Obama and all the current congress to fight for freedom for us all? Do you think Lloyd Marcus’ cousin, the one with 18 kids by different fathers, the one living in the housing project on government money…and all the others like her, will unite against Obama and all of congress to fight for the freedom of us all? The nation would be divided, like it was in 1860; like it was in 1760…it’s scary. It’s dangerous. It’s now necessary.
If no one in this country filed a tax return in 2010; if every working citizen in this country filled out a new W2 tomorrow at work and listed 10 dependants and 0 withholdings and had no money taken out of their checks for the next 2 quarters; if every taxpayer in this country said, “Enough”….if every taxpayer united and said, “Stop all government programs, grants, loans, stupid incentive programs; lower all congress’ salaries to the average salary of the working class of their individual state; stop all congress’ benefits (health care, travel, meals, etc); take away their full-retirement benefits unless they’ve served for at least 30 years (like you have to do in a real job); maybe then they’d actually listen to We The People.
This guy is out of control. He does not understand fundamental economics. If he achieves his goal, the middle classwill be the burrows of indenture to those who contribute nothing (grasshopper) on the backs of those who do (ants).
Absolutely out of control. Our middle class is in dire straights; and basic rants continue to diminsh the middle class.
Jerry Lynn, which rants have diminished the middle class? Oh, and it’s dire “straits” not “straights” fyi.
Stoutcat,
Is Jerry Lynn also REMY?
Enough with the rants. Please, can some one show me where in the Constitution or Bill Of Rights it states every citizen is entitled to health care?
Thank you, Willie.
And:
Where does it state every citizen is entitled to:
Food Stamps
Free and/or reduced housing
Any government daily-living assistance
Free, multiple conviction appeals
Never be offended and live politically correct
Be punished for the crimes of the few
(“drunk” driving laws, etc)
Force their ancestors’ languages upon us
(take a look at your box of laundry soap –
mine were German & Irish; how come those
languages aren’t on my Mayo jar, just Spanish
which, luckily I studied so I know it’s Mayo)
Live next to illegal aliens who are allegiant
to their own countries
and:
Where does it state every taxed citizen pays for:
Tax dollar “gifts” to non-government favorite
corporations in the form of bailouts
First-class air fare (or any travel) for congress
Health care plans to government employees
Full-salary retirement benefits to congress
Government grants to the few
Government loans to the few
ACORN
etc. etc. etc.?????
Stoutcat – interesting ; Seems you are Big Brother / and a conservative to boot. H
hum….. OK Ranters how safe are we?? Seems Big Brother Stoutcat identified me, as Remy, although my address is not listed in this rant format. Talk about freedom of speech, and thought; exchange of ideas.
Stoutcat- BTW, I wad not chanting the musical group– it is “straights”
read below…
Tourism sector facing dire straights says McNeil
Wednesday, 09 September 2009
LMAO! “Big Brother Stoutcat”? LOL
IF you’d bothered to check out the site you’re ranting on, like, at the top of this page clicking on the “Home”, “About Us”, and “Comments Policy” buttons..you’d see that Stoutcat and Gerry Ashley run this site you’re so avidly supporting. You’d also find this in the “Comments Policy” section: (you waived your “right to privacy” when you started posting)
You’re an idiot and a troublemaker. “Big Brother” LOL
Comments Policy
The writers at Grand Rants welcome and encourage your comments. Our comments are unmoderated, which means that any comment you add is automatically published. Please be civil in your comments and try to stay on topic. Obscenity will not be tolerated, and will result in the comment being deleted and the commenter being banned.
Commenters should expect no right to privacy. Grand Rants reserves the right to use any part or all of your comment as a topic for future blog posts. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason. We also reserve the right to criticize, admonish, and mock our commenters with or without reason.
The views of our commenters do not necessarily reflect the views of the writers of Grand Rants.
Stoutcat,
Hope I didn’t offend you by copying your policy…
Solana, not at all. Clearly Jerry Lynn/REMY didn’t bother to read it.
Anyone is free to comment here, but it’s always best to know the comments policy of a blog before you comment. We’ve been blogging for just over a year now, and have only felt constrained to delete one comment, and that was for using an offensive racist term. We’ve never edited anyone’s comment. But we do enjoy robust debate in the comments, as this thread so clearly indicates, and for the most part, I think the commentary here has been civil and informative.
And I’ll just say here that it’s great to see repeat commenters who express their opinions and defend their positions (however well or poorly). You all might try branching out to some more current posts to comment on as well. (Just a little hint there…)
And actually, it would be “Big Sister” anyway… 🙂 Plus, you forgot that it’s Stoutcat, Gerry Ashley, and Alan Speakman–mustn’t leave out Alan, he’s the driving force!
Thank you, and my apology to Alan Speakman.
Hi Solana2012,
Alan Speakman here… No prob… I don’t write as much as Gerry and Stoutcat… Quite frankly, we’ve had a remarkable viewership of late, and I’ve been sitting on my thumbs trying to figure out the best path forward.
Thanks again for your readership and kind words…
Alan
Jerry Lynn, I, as an administrator of this blog, can see information that is not available to regular users. So yes, I can see that you’re using the same email address to pretend to be two different commenters. In the blogosphere, that’s called sock puppetry, and it is frowned upon. Also please notice that I haven’t edited or deleted what you wrote, so you’re free to make a fool of yourself here and elsewhere. I simply identified you so that everyone else would realize the game you’re playing.
And regardless of the lack of education of whoever it was that wrote your McNeil quote, the proper spelling is “straits”, not “straights”. You can easily look it up yourself, but if you’re not up to that, click here for an explanation.
From dictionary.com:
Main Entry: dire straits
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: disastrous predicament
Synonyms: desperate straits, difficulties, hardship, hock, straits
The more I think about this, the more pi**ed I am.
And the more naive I realize I am.
I’m trying to open people’s eyes as to what’s happening around them; the health care plan, as well as its predecessors. The stifling and removal of our freedoms. The expansion of the “government, inc.”.
Though I’m sure (? not sure of anything any more)there are individuals who are quoting the whitehouse web site and actually believe it to be forthright, informative, and correct (would you have believed Hitler if he’d told you he was a “good guy”? Gotta go outside the source, folks!), there are other individuals who blindly follow their leader and try to convince others to do so in the name of non-racism and free-healthcare-for-all, and still others that are paid to convert and/or silence Obama “non-believers”.
It never even dawned on me that Obama-ites would stoop so low as to invent fictitious people to tout his agenda on a public ranting forum.
I guess if you can’t legitimately get someone to agree with you, you simply create someone to agree with you. How many other aliases does Jerry Lynn/REMY have? How many other aliases do ALL the pro-Obama voices have? Are there really so few Obama supporters that more have to be fictitiously created to “spread his word”? Are they THAT afraid? It’s another ACORN tactic – “invent” voters. I look at the posts here and it appears there are many who approve of the health care plan, many who approve of socialism, many who approve of Obama’s Czars…..but, apparently not. Maybe there’s only ONE person here who disagrees with the rest of us.
Maybe this is how Obama actually won the election.
Maybe the VAST majority of the people don’t like what’s happenning to our country.
Maybe EVERYONE except Jerry Lynn.
Apparently, he has his own, dishonest agenda.
What I know for sure is, thanks to Jerry Lynn, I can’t possibly be expected to believe that anyone on this site is pro-Obama’s-health-care-plan. I have to believe all of the “pro’s” are, in fact, Jerry Lynn using another one of his aliases.
If I’m wrong, don’t be mad at me, be mad at him.
He did it.
Wow. What a Sunday morning eye-opener.
Thank you, Stoutcat.
Solana, as far as I can tell, Jerry Lynn/REMY is the only sock puppet we have here at Grand Rants; seemingly everyone else is who they purport to be. But you raise an interesting question: are ObamaCare supporters that afraid that they have to mis-represent themselves in order to spread their message of socialism? If that is indeed the case (and as you point out, ACORN is a sterling example of this), then if only we can get rid of the corruption, we should be in pretty good shape.
Of course I read policies. Policy reads “privacy”….
Privacy, yes. Idenity, not.
Any number of Americans have multiple addresses, and sites. Suitable for the many facets of our daily lives….. You display A Typical hysterical rant, attempting to tie subversion to comments, opinions, rants.
BTW. Dire Straight and strait have both been published; There are always two sides to every coin… Although some conservatives believe both sides to be the same.
– 30 –
Keep trying to get that foot out of your mouth…
No one told us your real name or your location; sounds like you’ve maintained your “privacy”..
I do b’lieve you done been mocked (as the comments policy reads).
And, as to your “two sides to every coin” conservative-bashing remark, it is now “published” that “babymomma” and “babydaddy” are acceptable English words because some people couldn’t quite conform to say, “baby’s mother” and “baby’s father”. Buy your custom-made, politically correct, all-spelling-errors-forgiven dictionary; I’ll stick to the one I had to learn from in school.
Attagirl!
Jerry Lynn, our policy is titled “COMMENTS POLICY” and does not guarantee any privacy at all. In fact, it explicitly states, “Commenters should expect no right to privacy…” Regardless of that, I have not published your email address or any other personal information about you, nor will I about you or any other commenter.
And yes, many people have more than one email address. However, on this blog at least, our commenters are self-identified by user name, rather than by email address. There is nothing preventing you from using your Jerry Lynn user name with your two separate email addresses. (Just tested that, just to make sure); conversely, you can simply always use the same email address when posting comments here.
Not sure where hysteria and subversion come into play here, but, whatever.
Also: you wrote: “BTW. Dire Straight and strait have both been published…” Yes, and one is correct and the other is incorrect. It’s not a question of sides of a coin, it’s a question of right and wrong.
[…] ObamaCare – The Musical, Grand Rants […]
PEOPLE WERE WARNED..OBAMA IS INEXPERIENCED AND .. THAT INEXPERIENCE IS RUNNING OUR GREAT COUNTRY INTO THE GROUND. IS THIS THE “CHANGE” YOU “PROGRESSIVES” VOTED FOR? lIBERALS PREFER TO BE CALLED “PROGRESSIVES” NOW, JUST AS ACORN (WHAT A JOKE IF IT WASN’T SUCH A BLANTANT “IN THE TANK” GROUP FOR OBAMA) CHANGED IT’S NAME TO SOMETHING INTERNATIONAL, OBAMA APPOINTED AN AVOWED COMMUNIST TO BE HIS “GREEN CZAR.” SHOULDN’T THIS TELL YOU PEOPLE SOMETHING? DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON “OBAMACARE.” WAKE UP PEOPLE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!!!!
Alan,
Thank you. Again, I’m sorry for not including you.
Perhaps you could use your thumbs to answer an semi-off-health-care-topic question I have?
Wilson interrupted the president during his speech last Wednesday with his now infamous 2 words and, though he was correct, it was “rude”. He apologized (not for what he said, but for the incorrect timing), as he should have.
Is it true that the Democrats and Obama supporters at that same meeting interrupted the president’s speech 102 times with applause/wild cheering and/or standing ovations?
If so, am I to understand that being disrespectful and interrupting the president once because you “disagree” is rude, but being disrespectful and interrupting the president 102 times because you agree is okie-dokie?
I see a lot of bulls–t on this site but facts are facts. People who cannot afford health insurance seem to be able to afford cell phones for each member of the family, wide screen televisions, computers, cadillacs, lincolns, jordan sneakers for the kids and cable or dish network t v. Maybe some of them just need to get their priorties corrected. There are some who just don’t want to pay for insurance and I think that is okay also. Let them pay the doctor or hospital when they have to go. People that are actually unable to pay for their insurance or work because they are disabled could fall under something like medicare or medicaid administered by private insurers. When illegals need healthcare they should be stabilized. if needed, and returned to their country of origin. also our southern border needs to be closed and our northern border more closely monitored.
Also, how can it be rude to call Obama a liar, if his mouth is working, he’s lying, it’s just fact. I keep seeing him referred to as a socialist. I disagree. He said in so many words that he was marxist. He also said in one speech that he was not a liberal, in another speech he stated he was not a socialist. I have never heard him say he was not a communist. I contend that he is, therefore, a communist and is trying to drag this country in that direction.
Face it fellows, you can’t stand the fact that you lost. You can’t stand the fact that the white majority stranglehold on this country is ending and that we are becoming a racially and culturally diverse country. The conservatives and republicans ought to be embracing that diversity and trying to figure out how to harness the change and turn it to their advantage. But – Instead of debating on facts, you resort to mud slinging, name calling and personal attacks. The Republicans and conservatives just gave you eight years of a national and financial disaster. To think that the solution the Republicans came up with was Sarah Palin. Good luck……
Hi Ed, thanks for commenting. Actually, this was a parody, intended to make people laugh (and think). And it’s far less damaging, far more original, and far kinder to the President than all the “Bush=Hitler” nonsense that was coming out of the Left for the last eight years. If you don’t learn to at least laugh at the good funny creative stuff, you’re going to be in for a looong four years.
As far as diversity goes, this country has always been seen as a melting pot, that’s one of the main attributes that has made America so successful over the past two centuries (that, and the Constitution). So let’s drop the “can’t stand the fact that the white majority stranglehold on this country is ending and that we are becoming a racially and culturally diverse country” canard and get down to what’s really bothering many conservatives: the fact that the President has taken over banks, the auto industries, insurance companies, and is attempting to take over the health care industry. Many of us feel that these actions are radically transforming the country into something the Founding Fathers never intended it to be. We don’t like the fact that President Obama has over 30 czars in positions of real power who bypass the Senate’s “advixe and consent” mandate. Heck, if you just read through the comments on this thread, you’ll get a real good glimpse about what’s bothering many of us.
And just because this is a humorous piece doesn’t mean we’re not dealing in fact. Check out our other posts. Ohter than a few opinion piceds posted here, we give sources for the facts we state, many of which are major news sources like the Washington Post, the New York Times, the LA Times, Fox News, etc. So we do deal in facts here, just as many/most of the other reputable blogs on the Right (and there are lots of them).
The fact that our President is black (or half black, or half white, or bi-racial, or whatever the term du jour is) just doesn’t matter to most of us. I’d have voted for Condi Rice or Colin Powell in an instant, regardless of party affiliation, as I think either one of them would make an absolutely stellar president. I didn’t vote for Obama because he’s inexperienced, dangerously naive, has lots of friends and associates that I don’t like, and is far too left-leaning for my taste. Race had nothing to do with it.
Oh, and by the way, as so many on the Left seem to forget, Gov. Palin was not running for President…
Hope you’ll stick around and read more of our posts.
Gee, Ed, I’ve always believed that there shouldn’t be ‘loosers’ when the election cycle is over.
Obama was elected PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA and of ALL of her citizens.
I wish he would actually DO the JOB he worked so hard to land.
It would appear that he is in so far over his head that he’ll just continue to campaign.
I also seem to remember lots of talk about Obama being a ‘post racial’ president. There have been more cries of ‘RACISM’ in the past 8 months than I’ve heard in a long time.
Oh, your side needs to stop bashing Bush. Obama did inherit a recession but he now OWNS this economy.
I cannot beleive how everyone is falling for the negative ad campaigns like pull the plug on grandma. Not long ago two thirds of people were in favor, now that many are against it. The scare tactics on television and in the papers are working. It works well in other countries. It comes down to people who can afford to pay for their own, not caring about the other 50 million who can’t. We are becoming a very selfish nation, as long as i’m ok, then who cares about you.
Did you ever stop to think that 2/3s of the population are now against it because they’re learning what’s in the bill and they don’t like it?
Also: 50 million? I don’t think so. Try 6-10 million, tops. Most people are unwilling to spend $1 trillion and jeopardize their childrens’ and grandchildrens’ futures to insure less than 3% of the population. There are other ways to realize healthcare savings and get at least catastrophic coverage to those who need it, want it, and can’t afford it, but Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are so locked into their agenda, they can’t see past it.
And as far as being a selfish nation, I really can’t imagine where you pick that up from, unless it is your own attitude. Americans donate to a vast number of causes that fund charities both within the country and outside it. Doubt that? Check this chart, and see what Arthur C. Brooks, Director of the NonProfit Studies Program at Syracuse University, has to say about it:
Selfish doesn’t even begin to apply to America as a nation, or to her people.
Which ‘television shows and newspapers’ are you referring to? The Sock Puppet, main stream media are still gushing and getting tingles up their legs when Obama speaks!
You speak about the ‘poor’. Yes, there ARE poor people in this country but unlike the ‘poor’ of other countries Americans have not only more ‘stuff’ but the opportunities to lift them- selves OUT of poverty.
To claim that America is ‘selfish’ is ridiculous. In every disaster around the planet, Americans are always there to do whatever it takes to give assistance. The American people are the most generous on earth.
The reason people are not supporting the health care bill is that they are beginning to understand what it will do to our medical system (which ain’t perfect, but it’s still the best in the world!, our deficit, and the fact that adding 15 million or so people to the system will overburden doctors and hospitals.
And as for it paying for itself, name a federal program that ever cost less than initially projected…. There aren’t any.
Kudos to Stoutcat for both your 9/18 and 9/21 comments. As the saying goes “charity begins at home”. I know people who are really struggling to get by, who never think twice about contributing to a good cause, and helping out a neighbor. Folks in this country just have an attitude that I don’t think is matched by many places abroad. That 70 percent figure I have seen quoted elsewhere, and it really reflects well on our society, being the big melting pot that we are. And, by the way, it is because we have the freedom to do what we want, and succeed, or fail and try again, that makes our charitable urges that much stronger. It’s not just the attitude of “every man(person)for themselves”
As for the comments about the current regime, and Obama’s penchant for taking over everything, I can think of no better quote than this:
“Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force! And like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
For those that don’t know, that is a quote from our first President, George Washington. To hear him express in one line, such a powerful message, is very inspiring. It reflects well on just why we ended up with the system of government we now enjoy. Those 54 people had suffered at the hands of an oppresive regime, and felt the need and opportunity to rid themselves and their countrymen of that.
I am a Republican (Ok…I voted for Ross Perot)and I see many so-called Republicans who don’t have a clue as to what the party should stand for. I think that group does as much damage to our liberty and prosperity as any Democrat could.
If we want to make our health care system work, we have to get rid of the ones in Washington that don’t care what happens to the people. They only care about seizing and holding onto power. We have to elect those that share our ideas of self-determination, and reject all the ways that our government is turning this country into a nanny-state.
Health care administered by a government isn’t a right we have earned. It isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. We don’t have to accept it at face-value, and acceed to the wild notion that government knows what is “best” for us.
We all have to be aware and responsive to what the government does, or, in the current venue, is trying to do. This proposed system will ultimately kill many of the rights we now have. It is the first “big” step that Obama and his inner circle has as their mission, to bring about the transformation to an ideology that has polluted his mind through his radical upbringing.
You can call this an improbability, but I would say that he would even go so far as to give up the idea of serving a second term, if it was a losing proposition, as long as he can accomplish his main goal of bringing us all under the thumb of the government.
Health care is the one thing that, if he were to succeed, would enable the government to know everything about each of us.
You rely on your doctor to keep your records confidential…think that’s going to be the case when the Feds have access to them?…NOT! This can affect you in every way imaginable: employment, your finances(oh yeah, the premiums we’re destined to pay, or the penalties for not doing that…they leave that up to the IRS…you’d have better chances dealing with the Mob). They could gain access to these things as political weapons…think they won’t do it…HA!
As I’ve said, wake up and pay attention to what they’re saying…if you don’t like it, change it!…and, by the way, have a great day!
I read a lot of responses to this very funny sadly true video. i was a Democrat until I was almost 40. Then Carter was nominated for President by the Democratic party. I voted Republican for the first time and have never changed back. We all know Carter’s record and silly mousy racism excuse. go back to making homes for those who wrecked their last home.
The smartest comment made was the one that agreed with a Government run Health program on a trial basis. The people on the system would be all government employees and Politicians. After 3 years of testing then we will see how the system worked. Most likely those who did not make an appointment within the first few days would still be waiting for their first consultation. In fact there will be shanty towns outside every hospital for those waiting in line. The rest of us will be able to bypass the government system and get immediate care. If we were thrown in with the government program it might infect the test data.
Now the upcoming elections for governor is showing that if you are a Democrat, you most likely will lose.
2010 may see a landslide of Republican wins. Of course there will be some Democratic victories in predominantly life long unemployed areas. There will also be some Dems who will win because they will abandon Obama just like the Repubs abandoned Bush. It is what is called “yellow bellies”.
I do restaurant consulting, mostly for small-business owners. Unfortunately, they won’t “bite the bullet” and call me in until they’re at the point of shutting the doors. They’re desperate; they’ve invested 1-5 years of their lives and all their money into a business they dreamed of owning, have lost everything, and are drowning in debt. They have listened to and followed the advice and recommendations of their families, friends, and “good, regular nightly customers”. These “advisors” don’t know about food cost/liquor cost/scheduling employees/health inspectors and county health laws/payroll and payroll taxes/property and liability insurance/unemployment insurance/workman’s comp insurance/paying sales tax/accounting fees/direct operating expenses/utilities; they think that at the end of the day, all the money in the till is “free money” to spend on whatever, or to pocket. The restaurant owner raises the prices on their menu (yes, they raise their prices when they’re hurting in a desperate attempt to get more money coming in…they don’t understand that if they make a “less fancy menu” and charge less and give great food and great service they’ll get more and repeat customers thus increasing their sales.)and ultimately chase off the few remaining repeat customers they had. When I’m finally called, the owner thinks I can magically fix everything in a week (which is usually their last attempt to come up with some money to renew their expiring annual liquor license).
When I, an unbiased voice of reason and knowledge, explain that it will take me up to 30 days to show them what to implement and why, and that it will take them up to 6 months to turn things around, and that it’s not “free”, they become angry, hostile, and supremely more knowledgeable than me stating that they’ve been “doing things this way for years and it’s been working fine for them”.
This, in a nutshell, is our government.
The families and friends (congress) get “free meals”.
The “good customers” (czars/corporate pets) get discounted meals and free drinks.
The “owner” (president) impresses them all with the massive amount of till money he puts into his pocket (treasury) every night to spend on himself, them, and keeping up his image.
The “customers off the street” (us) who come in to pay for a meal get tainted food and poor service for an inflated price.
Eventually, in a failing restaurant all the customers are gone except the “good ones” who are there nightly getting their free stuff, and they keep getting their freebies as long as they commisserate with the owner and tell him that he’s doing everything right and all the other people on the street are a**holes and stupid.
One day, the owner shuts the doors, bankrupt, and in debt to his creditors and to the IRS.
He’ll say it’s the fault of the residents who didn’t support his business. He’ll say it’s the fault of the lawsuit he got for food poisoning. He’ll say it’s the fault of the restaurant consultant he hired for 7 days. It doesn’t matter. Ultimately, his employees are out of a job, his creditors are out of their money, the bank he borrowed from is out of it’s money and the town residents don’t have anywhere to go out to eat.
The government wants to, again, raise the prices on what you’re already getting and now add health care to its already failing menu.
Time to shut the doors and stop supporting a failing business where the “owner” just wants to keep pocketing your money and doesn’t give a crap about serving you bad food and giving you bad service.
Wow, Solana! GREAT analogy!
Thanks, Stoutcat,
I just spent a week with another owner; his place has incredible potential and great employees….he, like the gov’t, wants to keep things like they are and thinks more money will magically appear to support his dream.
It’s frustrating when I know I could turn his place around, but I know his doors will be shut before Thanksgiving.
Most aren’t as well-off as this guy; in most restaurants (as in our gov’t today), every employee needs to be fired because they’re lazy, stealing, and/or refuse to follow policies and listen to authority, and the owner has to start from scratch. This guy already has half the battle won if he’d listen.
There’s really only one argument that needs to be addressed about socialized medicine. If it is such a great and wondrous thing, then why has the congress and the “Anointed One” refused to accept the same health care? If they don’t want it, why the hell should we?
Irishguy,
It’s not about health care.
That’s only what the gov’t is calling it.
The words “health care program” should not be used.
It’s about yet another gov’t program. Period.
They just needed to call it something, and health care won.
It’s about another way for the gov’t to ‘legally’ appropriate funds to spend on themselves and their pets under yet another guise of “for the good of the people”.
Some of their “programs” fall under corporate bail-outs (did any of that money personally help you?), some fall under “compensation” (did you hear that congress just raised their petty cash allowance to $93,000 each?), and so many more fall under the category of “gotcha sucker” such as:
$700,000 to study Southeast Asia tobacco control
$77,000 to study toenails and hair to see the levels of nicotine in the atmosphere
$189,000 to coach parents how to deal with their inadequate-feeling children
$612,000 to study if the threat of terrorism causes people to drink
$693,000 to study if yoga is dangerous to senior citizens
$77,000 to study why “bad” bosses berate employees
$89,500 to study if bicycle helmets help reduce injuries
$1,600,000 to study if drinking habits of friends and neighbors cause more teen auto accidents
$246,000 for a media campaign to help cocaine addicts control their impulsive sexual behavior
$365,000 for reading help for Zambian kids (while many of our own high school seniors are graduating illiterate)
millions to study the habits of the brown tree snake
millions to study if blueberries are good for you
I could go on and on.
(and before anyone asks, they’ve been running a segment on Fox News; all figures are from them).
Health care is just the new kid on the block;
The new “gotcha sucker” program.
I see all the same remarks about God save us. God help us. Why is it always God’s problem when you screw up.
The problem in a nutshell , you did not do your homework, you voted for the party and not the person, you voted for a promise to make your own life as you believe it should be. You cared only about your own agenda, not looking at what the outcome would be for the country and the good of mankind.
You believe the lies of the lawyers that have taken over the government. ( why you would vote for a lawyer is beyond me, they know how to phrase things so you don’t understand them ) )
You believe that these people are Gods and will make everything a paradise for you.
Get real folks ! If you want something done hit them in their pockets ! Don’t pay your taxes, don’t spend any money, keep your cash in the mattress
( they could confiscate your bank accounts, now that they they own some banks ) Use your money to buy gold and stash it.
Forget about all those meetings with senators and congressmen. All you are doing is creating stress for yourself because they don’t really care. All they are trying to do is calm the masses, so they can continue on in their own causes.
They have lied about everything and if you believe they have your best interst at heart, better look again. Better pay attention.
Their only interests are for power and money and if we keep giving it to them we will be down and out. They are poor administrators and bad financial advisors. The fat that is in bills for their own agendas could pay for tons of medical costs for everyone.
Do you ever read what the amendments and inclusions are in the voting booths ? Or the literature that comes to your address for review. Do you see the fine print ( put there, in lawyereese, to confuse the issues and get you to ignore it and vote as they want you to do.
The average American is kept very busy trying to earn a decent living and keep up with his taxes. There is tons of money brought into the government via everything that is taxed. This is money that we have earned and they keep spending. If your child spends his allowance foolishly he is spending his allowance but if he steals from your wallet do you let him keep doing it ?
I think this country of hard working Americans needs to step up to the plate and pull the plug !
Stop buying taxed items, stop paying taxes and see what the idiots in the whitehouse do with no money in their pockets. We have the power to cripple and since they lied to us about what they will do for change( in the wrong direction) let them figure out what to do with no money coming in. Let’s call this a government lay off. see how they like it !
I don’t care what party bouts are going on. It’s terribly selfish of all these elected people to think first of their party and last of the citizens who put them there and the constitution that gave us our rights.
The elected officials always find the funds for their own needs and hire more and more government employees for invented agencies that accomplish nothing but more paperwork. They cover their butts while they chew at yours.
Enough of this nonsense, lets get them where it means something and not continue to be ignored and pacified. They have devulged nothing that means anything to anyone but another coverup to protect their agendas. We need and deserve to see everything that pertains to what we pay for and what will be done with our money. Yes, it’s our money, not theirs !
Thank you!
I agree 100%.
Taxes are necessary for the government to protect us, not from ourselves, but from threats foreign and domestic.
If our country was based on democracy and religious freedom, and if our constitution guarantees us the right to freedom of religion, and we are recognized by the government as “one nation under God”……and God only “requires” 10% of our earnings, why is the government demanding to be put ‘above’ God in their requirement that we pay more to them than God?
Isn’t that a violation of my constitutional freedom of religion? The 10 commandments, which all Christians believe in, states ‘thou shalt have no other God before me’…..This nation is predominately Christian, yet we’re being forced to place the gov’t above God.
Flat tax.
10%. Period (no more sales tax, prop tax, etc).
And it goes to our city, not Washington.
Our own cities send a percentage to county/state/Washington.
The rest is used by us. For us.
If none of us file a tax return in April; if none of us allow any more deductions from our paychecks until after April 2010 and until after it’s revamped for “the good of the people” …
Washington – dems and reps and indeps – will be forced to fix this mess they’ve gotten themselves into.
Solana,
You are absolutely correct. The flat tax is the only way to go, as far as getting the money (rightfully)from everyone. There can’t be any loopholes to it, nor any VAT-type add-ons.
That said, unless we can get everyone out of Washington that has discovered every imaginable way to spend our money, it won’t do any good. I would love to hear any ideas out there for doing the impossible: Cleaning up Washington.
We all know people who are on the dole and being supported, in one way or another, by the government. In this case, I leave the elderly out of the equation. They, for the most part, have earned their keep.
I’m sure most people can think of at least one pet project, grant or other government-funded program that they deem to be worthwhile. Think about it: as long as there is one voter or lobbyist out there who thinks that “something should be done” about one thing or another, then there is another chance for some politician to make hay about it so that we can all contribute to a so-called solution. Disgusting!
I am even more frustrated in the fact that I am involved in a venture that could have a mostly positive and potentially some negative impact on most people’s lives. I can’t give any details yet, but suffice it to say that if Obama and his thugs from Chicago, and the congress, can’t get their money from us one way, they’ll find another. It’s not just about health care. That’s just a convenient “vehicle” to get everyone under their thumbs. We’re in deep s__t here folks, and we’ve got to find a way to dig ourselves out.
Baristaguy,
You can’t “clean up Washington”.
What you can do is put them in time out and let them know the new rules.
We have to cut them off. We have to unite, as one nation, and give them no more money. Period. That is their time out. The new rules are: 10% flat tax, no more gov’t grants for anything, no more gov’t funding for anything other than defense. Congress gets paid the average salary of the working class of their respective states. No other benefits. The gov’t is not a private corporation that can offer incentive benefits for hiring purposes (such as travel, petty cash, insurance, retirement). Congress/politicians are public servants who volunteer to serve for their country; not to live off it for the remainder of their lives.
It’s that simple.
But everyone has to do it. Everyone has to refuse to pay one more cent to these rip-off artists. Everyone has to unite for this sensible, common cause.
Will everyone do it? People, including me, are terrified of the retaliation by the IRS…well, the IRS can’t put everyone in jail…if we unite, it IS do-able.
Hi Solana2012,
I’m pretty much right beside you… I’d put the flat tax at about 13%, provide gov support for children, the military, and the mentally challenged… There’s other stuff… But let’s get the basics down and stop the nanny state…
Alan
Hi, Alan,
I agree with you but I don’t.
I’m all for children and the mentally challenged and the ill. But, we have to remove the federal government from all programs except defense.
Our own cities should retain the majority of our taxes and our own communities should provide our own programs for those who need them. Our federal crap department doles out dollars to Acorn and social services to “provide assistance” for those who need it. I have no idea who’s pockets it goes into; I just know that there are obese people getting food stamps from the federal gov’t; there are 90-year-olds getting new kidneys; some of the mentally challenged receive gov’t income that goes into their caregivers’ pockets…it’s too spread out; it’s not overseeable. It’s like school. The bigger the school (the more kids enrolled), the higher the crime rate and lower the grades. In small schools, there’s more one-on-one and the students do better all-around.
It’s easier to oversee, control, and promote our own little pieces of America rather than having someone in D.C. try to do it. People aren’t stupid…well, let me rephrase that. On “my” flat tax plan, if you live in a city that provides no assistance for your particular necessity, you’ll move to another city that does and give them your tax dollars. The city you moved from will either sh** or get off the pot and get their act together to bring in more residents/revenue.
I truly believe that the majority of people are “nice”. If my productive or aged neighbor needed help, I would help. If my neighbor was a deadbeat, I’d ignore him. I think, in the politically correct world, that makes me cruel. In my world, it makes me realistic. Or, I could go Christian: “God helps those who help themselves.” Leaving these programs up to the federal gov’t is why we’re in this mess. Women who have a child “accidentally” I’d assist. I’ll give anyone a mistake. Women who repeat the same mistake need to have their children placed with someone who can take care of them, not be given more money to crank out more kids to get more money. If we “cut them off”, how many kids do you think they’d keep having? If you’re hungry, mow my lawn and you can join us for dinner. If you’re still hungry, clean the church pews and you can have soup and sandwiches. If you’re still hungry, pick up trash along the highway and the city can pay you in grocery store gift certificates for your food. If you’re still hungry, my newspaper is full of help-wanted ads; are you too good to work at McDonalds? Wash dishes? Assisting laziness promotes laziness. If you want it, earn it. But we need to keep the feds out of it.
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You are all on target here. It’s all about the money, money that is not theirs. If we don’t give it to them, it will cripple them. We can unite and call a date for this moratoreum and hold fast until they come to their senses. The more I watch TV the sicker I get. I cannot believe these fools that we have elected think we are the bigger fools and they will be able to slip all this crap by us. And now they want a value added Tax on top of, not instead of, all the taxes we are already paying. Mind boggling, just plain mind boggling.
I really feel these people think by taxing us to the max they will come up out of the hole they have dug. I wonder if there will be any businesses left that can sustain these expenses. If anyone has ever run a business of any kind they know you cannot incur more than 10% for expenses in total. That happens to be the success number that any good accountant will tell you. All these elected people had no trouble giving themselves raises while so many people are already out of a job. Where is their concience ? The end result here is we have people running our country who have no idea how to run a business let alone everyone elses. I have never been against big business but I am against big business making deals with government. Big pharma should do what it does for a fair price and not ask for favors. Research and developement for the good of all is worth the costs but overpaid salaries and huge bonuses while they go overseas to produce inferior drugs is deplorable. The experiments on unsuspecting individuals who do not understand the outcome is also a criminal act.
Insurance companie are another group of greedy criminals. They can’t be hurting as they collect from everyone for one kind of insurance or another and seem to be able to pay huge sums of money on advertisements and on buildings and employees.
workin’,
You’re right.
Gov’t should not make deals w/anyone other than peace treaties that involve no trading, only alliance.
Americans should be allowed to ‘do their own thing’.
Private corporations should be responsible for all the costs and headaches of their own importing/exporting; the gov’t shouldn’t give or get kick-backs on this. They should only get their portion of the 10% flat-tax from the corporation, itself.
If some pharmaceutical co’s charge too much, people will buy from less inexpensive ones; it’s called business.
If some ins. co’s charge too much, people will buy from less expensive ones; it’s called business.
The gov’t should get nothing but it’s portion of the 10% flat-tax from these corporations.
Successful small business owners understand ‘business’; they compete with their competitors to draw in more customers and treat them well to retain their business. This pisses off the gov’t so they slap small business owners with insurance requirements/workman’s comp requirements/unemployment ins. requirements/matching payroll tax requirements to punish and quash them. Labor laws are a favorite of mine, especially child labor laws. A 15-year-old highschool student cannot work past 7:30 pm during the school year (even Fri & Sat nights)and cannot work past 9pm during the summer, but can hang out at the mall, getting into trouble, all night long. ??? This “law” is to protect children from big, bad bosses like me. Send ’em to the drug dealers instead!
The gov’t has absolutely no business getting involved in any American enterprise (banks/gm/etc.). The gov’t needs to protect our soil and our constitution from threats and leave the business of everyday living to us.
So many useless programs; so many idiotic laws.
If ignorance of the law is no excuse in court, why is ignorance, itself, rewardable? (frivolous lawsuits for microwaving your cat, spilling hot coffee on yourself, injuring yourself while committing a crime and then successfully suing the owner of the place you were trying to steal from for injuries you sustained…)
I do think you are incorrect about one thing.
Though much of the population is ‘ignorant’, the gov’t knows we all aren’t.
That’s why we are called trouble-makers and radicals. That’s why they are taxing us to death; stifling our traditions and values and morals; brainwashing and corrupting our children. They are trying to wear us down until we’re too tired to complain or protest or act. Day to day living is becoming hard enough without trying to fight the injustice of what’s being done to us.
It’s part of their plan; wear us down under the guise of ‘helping us’.
They need to be cut off.
We need to re-establish our constitution. The gov’t needs to work for the people; not for their pockets.
My home, even when paid in full, is not mine if I don’t continue to pay property taxes for the rest of my life. My car, even when paid in full, is not mine if I don’t continue to pay personal property taxes for the rest of my life.
How constitutional is it that I can pay $100,000 + interest for a home and a small piece of land that’s “mine” and then, if I fall behind 3 years in taxes (a total of $1800), my $100,000+ becomes the property of my county?I’m “threatened” every day with losing the home I purchased and maintain while those “less fortunate” get free assisted housing. Equality? Not in my back yard.
We, the people, are supposed to be in control – and we are being threatened by our “Government, Inc.”; they are taking away our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
They are the threat to our constitution.
We have no democracy; we are being told to live the way they want us to live – that they know what’s best for us.
Our military should be protecting us from them.
Solana,
Wow!…that’s a mouthful. Totally true. If we continue on the track we’re currently on, there will be no middle or other classes of people left. We’ll all be just working for the government, and earning what they want us to earn. In that light, I’d call your attention to one of the little-advertised take-overs that Barack has sanctioned: the still-on-the- table move to take over the student-loan program. It is yet another way that the “government eagle” is digging its claws into our neck. Look for changes to come that would allow the government to “steer” people to courses of study, to serve what they deem the un-met needs of the people. It’s a collective mindset that permeates not just the White House, but the larger part of our government.
As for those currently working for the government, and specifically, the Congress, I truly believe that there are some good people, with good intentions, serving there. Granted, it’s a small percentage. Of the rest, most, in the House in particular, need to take on the role of a (very fat) lemming and go off the cliff on this insane legislation, to maintain “party unity”. I can see no solution to this aspect of so-called lawmaking. As you so rightfully point out, unless there are serious restrictions put on what government is mandated to do, there will never again be a government that will be working for the people.
On the plus side, given that these are 2-year terms in the House, it makes it a little easier, if people unite, get some of these idiots out…Alan Grayson, from Florida (my state, but not my district) being high on the list. What a jerk!
With all the people out there that are, rightfully, in an uproar about what the government is trying to force on them, I’m struck by your last comment…”Our military should be protecting us from them.” I was intrigued, interested, and also baffled about a comment made by our future “fearless leader” in Colorado Springs in July’08’. He wanted to double the size of the Peace Corps and quadruple the size of AmeriCorps, then he made this rather shocking remark: “We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security
objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” So my question: Just what would this force be used for? We already have the National Guard, many of whom are very highly trained due to service in Iraq and Afghanistan. What would ever be needed beyond that? He states it’s a civilian force…trained by who? Is this his own personal army of followers to keep everyone in line?
This regime has so many new ideas about how things need to be changed, it’s making everyone’s head spin trying to figure out what’s what. I go back to my earlier point about getting everyone on this so-called health-care plan. Once they have us all cataloged and under the thumb of a government plan that goes to the very basic facet of life, there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, preventing them from modifying it, bit by bit, to disrupt every freedom that the people of this country have enjoyed. Freedoms that have allowed us to build this country up the way we want, not what the government wants.
Hi, Baristaguy,
What you said.
I heard the end of a clip on Fox News about the gov’t trying to pass something that says if they have “reason” to think you may have swine flu, they can come into your home and forcefully remove you to a quarantine area somewhere….
Sounds like a ‘good excuse’ to be able to remove us tea-party-radicals from the loop….
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If a writer to this site gets paid by the word, Solano is the winner. If a writer gets paid to “BE IN THE KNOW” Solano trails by many points. I can see why this person claims to be a consultant. In my experiences, in the food industry especially, a consultant is a person that wasn’t hired by a major company therefore hangs the title consultant on the business card. This person wouldn’t have time to consult. Takes 8 hours a day to just read her/his ramblings..
Hi, Mike,
I appreciate being the winner; do I now get the Nobel Peace Prize?
btw; it’s Solana (with an “a”; means “sunshine”).
I don’t know what food industry jobs you’ve had, but I’m semi-retired. I’ve owned 2 restaurants, managed several (including corporate), and now that I’m ‘old’, I work when I feel like it.
I’ll go out on a limb and say you’re an Obama fan.
I appreciate this site giving me the opportunity to rant. If my rantings bore you, just skip over them – or you might try a speed-reading course; it could help you.
Solana. It is getting rather difficult to follow these comments. I’ve admired yours from the moment you logged on to this site!
There is another site that I’ve found to be of interest………it is called “As a Mom.org”
It is a Mommy patriot group and worth a look.
It began on Oct. 1st,2009, and a week later had thousands of new members the last I looked there were almost 5.200 Mommy Patriot Members and growing.
Branching off from that, there are states’ groups of ‘As A Mom’, Military Moms etc.
It is difficult to follow the comments on this site. No cohisiveness.
I actually think that if enough of us “MOMMY PATRIOTS” get together, we can drive this bus in any direction we wish!
Your comments are far too valuable to be seen on only this site.
Your life experiences need to be shared with more of us.
God’s blessings and Love, keb
Solana, I also believe with all of my heart that “if Mama aint happy, Aint NOBODY happy”.
I’ve read much of this list of comments, and have to note a few things.
First, I wonder if anyone has noticed that insurance itself is a socialist/communist concept? Everybody in a community contributes, and payment goes out to those in need. The only difference between socialized medicine/burial/auto repair and insurance is that in the insurance model, large amounts of the contribution are distributed to stockholders, high-level corporate officials, lobbyists and advertisers. Why not just eliminate insurance, and let people pay their own bills?
Second, I found with interest that one person kept referring to “torte” reform. This is something that can be done in one’s own kitchen, without referring to the government. A torte is a multi-layered cake, with filling between the layers. A tort is a legal issue, based on harm done to an individual. Medical torts have included the ripping of a child from its head during a botched delivery, or injection of formaldehyde instead of spinal anesthetic. Some of those medical torts involve great financial expense to the harmed individual, through no fault of his/her own. People who wouldn’t mind suing someone who crashed into their automobiles are currently calling for elimination of responsibility for the medical personnel who cause physical and mental anguish through negligence. I have lost two family members, and both my late husband and I encountered life-threatening illnesses because of medical malpractice, but no lawsuits were filed. These are among the thousands of unreported cases, and deaths due to “medical error” number 100,000 per year. Maybe it’s a good idea to keep some of these guys on their toes. BTW, my state has very strict malpractice tort reform, and malpractice insurance rates (which count for 1% of health costs) are no lower here than anywhere else.
Third, Solana suggests elimination of all government programs. Good idea. Airports, interstate highways and national parks aren’t in the Constitution, nor is space exploration. How much do we spend maintaining documents like the Constitution and copies of the Declaration of Independence, and objects such as the USS Constitution, in Boston Harbor? Wouldn’t the “free market” be able to operate much better if we closed the Patent Office? And the prison system is the most expensive and least effective social program in America; why bother with it? And how about the SSI that supports Wayne and other disabled persons? Why shouldn’t they just be left to fend for themselves? Then there’s public education: why should state, local or national government be expected to provide education? There were no public schools when this country was first colonized; and what about all those universities and medical schools, and the federal grants and loans to maintain their attendees? Why do we need them?
Wouldn’t we all be better off if everyone just took care of himself, digging our own wells and building our own privy-houses, paying for driving our cars over one another’s property, growing our own food, educating our own children, and letting them learn medicine, engineering and architecture by watching the experts?
Fourth, ask yourself how much better George Bush had done as president when he had been in office as long as Obama has. He failed to protect the country from an attack by one of his own old family friends, then plunged it into a war with a nation that posed no threat, killing off more Americans than were killed by the original attack.
Fifth, it’s probably time to quit raving about Clinton. Those who are worried about his conduct as a role model for their children need to look at how old their children were at the time, and how old they are now. If they were old enough to have any concept of what the whole uproar was about, they are adults by now. Besides, it’s pretty obvious that, even though he was at fault for succumbing to the plot, the prostitute was planted in his office with a specific responsibility tpo seduce and disgrace him. She has been paid well for it, at one time ending up on the payroll of a Republican think-tank. Hiring prostitutes for political espionage and sabotage has been a Republican trick for years, mentioned by John Dean in his description of the Watergate-era crimes.
Clinton wasn’t the first, nor was he the last, to be caught up in that activity.
Sixth, who has time for this nonsense?
We are in big trouble if his healcare passes. I feel sorry for the youth of today. They don’t even realize what is happening!
That is very, very creative! Bravo!! 🙂
Nice video! But I have to laugh at all those who labour under the impression that American healthcare is the best in the world. Yes, there are a few Canadians who come south of the border for healthcare. Remember the republican attack ad for the woman with the life-threatening brain tumour? Well, it was a benign cyst which needed to be removed as it would have threatened her sight if it wasn’t. Ontario (Canada) paid for the treatment and would have provided treatment if she hadn’t high-tailed it to the States because she decided she couldn’t wait. What those who talk about Canadians getting treatment in the States conveniently forget is that those few Canadians get treated because they can PAY for treatment, unlike those forty million Americans who have to depend on medicare because they don’t have insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions or because they’ve been laid off. Ahh, the profit motive runs deep in the United States healthcare system, unlike anywhere else in the world. That’s why American healthcare is the most expensive there is and Americans still don’t live as long, on average, as Canadians, nor, on average, are they as healthy as Canadians. But hey, go ahead and have your Fox(ahem)News-inspired tea parties where you can whine about death-panels (good one Sarah!) and parade around with big blow-ups of nazi concentration camp scenes if it makes you feel better.
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I’ll come back and read some more of your articles.
Keep the great job!
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