barriosbabe's Comments (405)

“I've been a pro-consumer attorney for 26 years and in my experience what you've written is an over-simplification possibly influenced by where you worked.

I've also read this opinion twice and read all of Harry's posts.

Harry is 1000% correct on this issue.

bb”

“I respectfully disagree. I think mainstream medicine has bungled cancer completely. Everybody walks around with cancer and cancer cells all the time. It has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry to scare people and convince them to take extra jobs to pay insurance companies. I have help the hands of more dying close ones who died from the treatment not the disease. I'm sorry for what you went through but we do have to look at the big picture. Big medicine is one of the largest s cams going. If I get cancer the last thing I want is a doctor. I want green juice and prayer and letting go. See Louise Hay's story. I've seen so many people die iatrogenically from doctors and drugs and cutting. Never again. There's another issue too - the heartless cold inaccurate work done in screening. I had a breast cancer scare last year and I will never eve again submit my psyche to the fear, tests, nasty people, wrong results, waiting, crying, not understanding, and then weeks later told "Oh it was nothing but xome back in six months." Never!”

“I knew this from day one, based on the Jessica Lynch baloney.”

“I believe we do not make spare time, I believe we adapt an all new decision or attitude out of necessity when we realize we could all be gone tomorrow. I had to have some bad health setbacks before I learned to stop and smell the roses. My life today is again very busy with stuff, but the spiritual experience has taught me an amazing lesson. No offense to the article or other posters but once this happens to you, I believe you do not have to reclaim or make spare time, it becomes part of who you are. If I need 2 hours in the morning to just wander around my garden, regardless of my full time job, I take it, I get up earlier, whatever, I make it happen. It now comes mostly naturally to me because I know life is so very short. I also recommend Arjuna Ardagh and Eckart Tolle - the latter talks about not so much living in the now (I think the title is misleading) but rather stop wasting time and energy rehearing every next step. Too bad they have become a bit New Age/Oprah, I mean, perception wise. Namaste.”

“You wrongly assume O does not know the nature of what he has surrounded himself with.”

“There seems to be some kind of weird media disconnect between who the man really is (read the texts of his speeches for example and examine his work history - brilliant) and this kind of ink blot test he has become for everyone's passion or rage - on either side!~”

“I worked for decades inside the California system, Sparky, and I can tell you first hand what was breaking it - not what you call progressive society! It's the six digit salary bureaucrats with unfirable jobs. Even the unions want them out but people like Arnie protect them.”

“Fanned.”

“The uninsured middle class ARE the less unfortunate.

When will you guys get this right?

Of course the truly poor need help.

but what about the uninsured middle class?

When will you talk to us?

Subsidies are based on income not legitimate debt load.

When will you do interviews with those of us that are working uninsured that won't even be able to afford the 11 percent rule? When? I'm so frustrated. I feel like nobody here is listening. Talk to me! Talk to half the people I know! We are working uninsured middle class people who won't even be able to afford the monthly premiums with or without subsidies - what about us? We are broke before the next paycheck not because of cars or tvs or cell phones - got rid of all that! - we ride the bus! We are broke from payments on old medical bills! interest rates! We work second and third jobs. When will you ever highlight THAT? What are we supposed to do?”

“What we are deeply born to give is never what people want to pay us for.”

“Go Bernie!

What the public option folks fail to take into consideration is exiting legitimate bills. We are PRECISELY the people one of the groups of people that desperately need health care now. Half the people I know and I know a lot of people are in this category. Typical age is 30's to 50's, they make "an okay salary" but because of mortgage and old medical bills and rising interest rates they have ZERO money to pay the monthly premiums even at the subsidy rates. The needed subsidies within any public option fail to take into consideration this: middle class Americans burdened by legitimate bills. Subsidies go by income not by legitimate debt load, such as mortgage and old medical bills. If you are a hard working uninsured middle class American with legitimate bills to pay, and you want health coverage, even with the subsidy, where are you supposed to "find" the additional $400-$1,450.00 (I'm using the various subsidy scale rates) PER MONTH when you are already broke before the next paycheck?

Why is this not widely discussed?”

“Arianna, big fan here. No idea why you're really taking this weird stance! The last thing the oft attacked O admin needs right now is a shake up. I can already here the howls on the right.”

“I'd happily but it but work 3 jobs live paycheck to paycheck and the cheapest policy available to my family is now $1,700.00 per month!”

“Please consider. None of the subsidy discounts take into account how heavily middle America is already burdened with bills mortgage, old medical bills etc. Millions of families already living paycheck to paycheck making "ok" money with no health ins --- it's half the working people I know! Even w/ subsidy scaling, where are we supposed to find another $800 etc per month?! No, we need to raise taxes and get coverage for all not insurance for all. Single payer or a PO so robust anybody can but into it cheaply. And yes raise taxes across the board.”

“Silly argument full of holes.

Our country was set up BASED on the notion that we can participate, complain, improve.”

“Bob, great post as always. I would disagree with one thing - perhaps an oversight? - take a look again at all the Chomsky stuff. In other words, Americans go along their merry way without protesting exactly because the corporatists in power have created a climate (cubicle life, silly news, boy down well, numbing through syke mehds, exaggerating things, fear of gas prices, etc) of manufactured consent where by the end of the day people are too tired and too confused to really get mad.”

“Bravo!”

“Thank you for your extraordinary work. I checked out your website and some of your videos and writings and they are fantastic. If I posted something negative or cynical elsewhere, I'm sorry. It's kind of sad that such a great website like HuffPo attracts so many of us Searching Rebelling Types but we often end up at the end of the day just feeling kind of lost. I like your ides of "The Trance of Me!" it adeptly describes things I've felt and seen in others that in the long run are not very pretty. I wonder if as a member of a searching progressive, well, that progressives get kind of self-tranced too. I liked the exercise you did with your wife in one of your website videos about "A typical Shtick" that too was amazing. I also loved when in the blessing video part 3 I think you said "I belong to no cult" human race etc, super. Do you have a strong background in literature? Many of your perspectives seem very humanistic yet narrative. Thank you.”

“Bernie, wonderful!”

“"Unfortunately, the majority of the MSM have reduced their role to that of stenographer, with the he said/she said approach to writing."

Richard Clarke on Bill Maher said it well: the news used to be What happened today? Now instead it is Who won?

bb”

“It's not easy but it is pretty simple.

Some industries need a lot of regulation.

As I see it, that has little to do with the demonizing of labels like socialism or capitalism.

Banking, travel, health, food safety, etc etc should be highly regulated.”

“I worked as a fraud investigator in subprime in Countrywide right before 9/11. You have no idea at the corruption on the banking and mortgage side telling working Americans that they COULD afford a house (when they couldn't). I disagree in part with what you wrote. Stop blaming the victims.”

“ynug LOL Newspeak”

“As a ynug person it is quite easy you can even hook up with secular non-profits that pay for a good deal of it or get a temp student work visa. Be creative! Read Pico Iyer! Eat day old bread and cheese. Stop being so negative.”

“How do you feel about Buckley v Valleo?”