Sunday Roundup
This week, the health care debate journeyed through the looking glass. Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance committee, embraced the death panel myth, telling a crowd in his home state that they were correct to be worried about the government deciding to "pull the plug on grandma." Noted medical expert Chuck Norris also weighed in, sounding the alarm about "government agents coming into your home and telling you how to parent your children" and encouraging abortions. And Investors Business Daily claimed that physically disabled scientist Stephen Hawking would have had his life cut short by the government-run British health care system if he lived in England. Which, in fact, he does. And always has. Who needs details when there are town hall discussions to disrupt -- or bring a gun to?
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Sen. Grassley has taken $1,334,941
See my complete list of all the congresspeople taking money from health-care-related special interest groups in "Congress on Sale!" at HuffPo: http://www
Very interesting blog post here: http://ste
I learned quite a bit reading his post.
How could this nonsense be allowed to continue. America is the most powerful country in the world and at present, she is the biggest laughing stock in Europe and elsewhere! Governments must provide basic health care for its citizens. Even developing countries have it, so what's wrong with the USA?! This is ridiculous!
I have not yet heard a single, valid argument for this rabid opposition by politicians who are bent on denying their constituents a basic health care plan. Not counting all that lovely insurance lobby green that's found it's way into politicos sticky pockets; it's the elephant in the room.
From the Canadian side of the border, this hateful debate over Obama's attempt to improve health care produces feelings of sadness and amazement. Seems as if the Republican machine wins even when it loses. My fingers are crossed that sanity and the truth will prevail. Otherwise, the enormous promise of your new president may evaporate and be replaced by poisonous cynicism. Wish you luck and the best.
Maybe it's time for Democrats to start telling the public what may surely come to pass.
Business after business will start canceling insurance for their employees because they can no longer afford to pay huge overheads and dividends, capital gains, $million salaries, bonuses and golden parachutes to the parasites of the American public.
I am fortunate to work for an employer that still has group coverage. They were just in, starting last week REQUIRING every person to completely RE-ENROLL even though it is the same company. They, of course are offering nothing similar to even the barebones coverage we all had. As you might guess (I know I did), the new deal being offered is barely enough to allow entrance to the hospital in an emergency. I looks as if I am close to joining the ranks of the uninsured and I am at least among the ranks of the severely underinsured at this point. I am grateful that my employer has some superior HR people that really do CARE about the well-being of everyone in my building and they went to bat to get the very best they could for the most reasonable price possible. Despite that, the cost is going up (which means I am getting a pay-cut) and the benefits are about a fourth of the paltry coverage they were (if that).
Let's face it - the big news this week happened today when the Administration's agents stated they are going to drop the public option because there is no public/political support for such a bill.
No public option, plus selling out to drug companies is a FAILURE in the eyes of most supporters
QARY: quality adjusted remaining years is a good concept when we want to caclaulate the medical cost. Administration should put forth logical explation of this methdology (I think it is applied even today by HMO ), keeping the emotional part away... this is not death panal. with out QARY health cost will be very very high...
May be Katheen Sabilius should calculate the QARY cost for someone very well know to public like ....Ted Kennedy and may be Obama's mother-in-law and explain the services they are receving actually is justified by the formula...
HR 3200 pg 837 Home Visitation—"A description of the high quality programs of home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children that will be supported by a grant made to the State under this section, the outcomes the programs are intended to achieve, and the evidence supporting the effectiveness of the programs."
Apparently Chuck can read.
Now, if you want to talk tort reform, portability, interstate sales, we'll listen.
This says nothing close to what Chuckie is claiming. Once again, fear and distortion is the way of the right wingers.
Most people are happy with their current health care and are worried that a "change" will be bad. Is that so hard to understand? We do need reform but it can't be so drastic.
HEALTH CARE COSTS = THE #1 THREAT TO OUR FUTURE!
$2.4Trilli
$3.1Trilli
$4.3Trilli
America STOP THESE GREED MACHINES that are SAPPING AMERICA DRY!
______
Compare:
USA spends 17% of GDP
Switzerland spends 10.9%
Germany 10.7%
Canada 9.7%
France 9.5%
YES!
Complete nonsense.
The Public Option is necessary. The government runs medicare and I want the government to run healthcare for all, not just those over 65.
We need the Public Plan. Period.
I do not see "most people" being happy with their current healthcare insurance; but I do see a large number who are afraid of needed change, and who are easy prey for the disingenious powers trying to kill a good healthcare bill. People who are happy with what they have are either wealthy, or haven't had cause to use their policy.
I am happy with my health care and I am not wealthy and unfortunetly I have had to use it a lot.
I dont see most people "happy with the ir current health care" but I do see a lot of people sucked in by lies and distortions via the likes of Rush et. al.
Tom Coburn says this is NOT ABOUT HEALTH CARE on MEET THE PRESS!
THE ELEPHANT IN TOM COBURN’S ROOM AT THE FAMILY IS: Wall Street!
Tom Coburn says, “I am troubled any time we have lost confidence in Wall Street!
This DEBATE is NOT about Health Care! Health Care is the Symptom!
The DEBATE is Wall Street is going to RUN 50% of everything we spend this year and we are BORROWING from the NEXT Generation!
The tone is the LOSS of Control to Wall Street where all the DOLLARS WENT!”
Of course, Coburn substituted conveniently for “Wall Street” the word “Government” knowing FULL WELL THE FOLLOWING:
$23.7 TRILLION of Corporate Welfare has been given to Wall Street with near ZERO% Loans and Cash from the FED and Treasury!
AND IF YOU TRACK THE MONEY:
1. Corporations have excess ill-Gotten L00T to spend!
2. Congress needs L00T for Reelection Campaigns! Republican buy in and so do BLUE DAWGS!
3. Corporations Buy F@V0RS and V0TES from Congress and the Corruption Spreads
4. Corporations Control Government causing an Oligarchy of the EL1TES!
5. M0NEY ALL FL0WS from Corporations to the Government - the SOURCE of BAD G0vernment as Corporations D1CT@TE L@WS!
Coburn and Armey are simply protecting Wall Street with this as Coburn says this is NOT about Health Care!
It is about covering for Wall Street and the EL1TE Corporatocracy that runs our Government including 0bama, the Senate and the House!
It has nothing to do with health care for us...it's all about Wealth Care for the CEO's and their acomplices in Congress.
Watch the national debt clock ticking in realtime horror:
http://www
http://www
.
i bet your kids really like that. what matters is the ability of national productivity to eat into debt in good times like the clinton '90's. doin't worry. progressive scientists, educators and business leaders will continue to produce so fast they will make the gimmicky "debt clock" an hourglass.
The only death panels are in today's private insurance companies. Rarely can terminally ill patients get relief from courts before they die, because their insurer has denied an life continuing medical procedure or medicine by a health insurance company. That does not happen with government health care, but only with for profit and not for profit health care insurance. (With government what is covered is explicitly stated.)
Senator Grassely is either a liar about "death panel" or an incompetent Senator. Maybe, we need an annual mental competency test plus an eye exam for all lawmakers over 60. No health insurance or health care bill in either the U. S. Senate or the U. S. House has anything even approaching a "death panel." Nor was any doctor required to discuss end of life care arrangements with patients.
Without written proper instructions doctors will hook you up to machines at any age and let you become a de facto technically alive guinea pig on hour by hour methods to temporarily extend life, feed you by tubes and empty you of wastes the same way. They are after all trained to fight off death.
Do you want to spend your last hours of life as a guinea pig for doctors trying to figure out how to extend life? If so, do nothing. If not, do a living will or durable power of attorney for medical decisions.
I saw an interesting book at Borders this afternoon: Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. I keep looking for explanations for what the American public has become.
Why is this so hard?
Why must this be such an issue?
Why must it be more about costs and profit margins and less about human life. We will NEVER, as a society of people with the proven ability to change for the better, be able to move past this from the way we are fed the constant lies and pushed "truth's". As simple as the concept of "keep people alive" might be, someone must get their way to make a profit, and a ridiculous one I might add.
We can fight over things that have time to be fought over. Racism? Gun Rights? Gay Rights? Animal Rights? Cheney vs Bush? Do we really have to think twice about fixing our species' ability to continue to live and learn? If people want to fight their mundane arguments to make a profit, it would be in their best interests to keep their fans alive wouldn't it? If we are spun information, true and false, at a rate that simply cannot be controlled, can we at least put aside our "I'm right, your wrong" ego's and step forward with a solution to an obvious problem, and not fight about something as so simple....
Looks like the screaming minority wins again. why bother with elections?
We will vote no more forever. Then they can be the screaming majority. No, I think I'll go ahead and vote anyway.
The health care debacle was based upon a miscalculation.
After Hillary Clinton conceded the Obama camp forgot that the last election was a rejection election. Then they made a second mistake of thinking the electorate was embracing a personality. Wrong on both counts.
Will they get it?
http://blo
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