hglindquist's Comments (944)

“Amazing isn't it? The Democrats keep the left in line and the Republicans keep the right in line while the financial services sector -- the new elite in the continuum of slavery, feudalism, fascism, and ye old company store -- rip us off by chaining the economy to their instruments of debt.

I think the system as to crash and burn before we move to the next level ... otherwise we the people just keep fighting each other in the ageless strategy of all elites: divide and conquer.”

“Oh my gawd! I will always remember Chris Matthews almost slobbering over himself in cheerleading the beginning of the Iraq War. In fact,whenever I start to take him too seriously, I remember it as a brake on my enthusiasm for anything he says. He has his moments,but ...

Markos nails him.”

“I hope Senator Rockefeller reads this thread. It should be revealing.

More than a few of us believe with Dr. Dean that this locks in the control of our health care by Big Insurance and Big Pharma (BI&BP). It makes private health care insurance MANDATORY. That's what no choice/no public option means, Senator.

Tell me how you are going to fix it when BI&BP are ripping us off for even MORE money and donating MORE to y'all's campaign funds.

That's what nonsense and irresponsible IMHO.”

“I'll tell you what is irrational, Mr. Gibbs, giving Citibank 30 billion plus in tax breaks so it could pay back 20 billion to TARP. Doesn't that mean we are paying ourselves back plus a "bonus" to Citibank?

And why are the critics of Dr. Dean not addressing his facts ... like triple premiums for those older with pre-existing medical conditions? No choices? No cost control? Mandatory premiums taking an average 27% of income? Who can afford any of this?

Does US Senate "reform" bill lock in the private sector on our health care for the explicit benefit of Big Insurance and Big Pharma?

Sounds like Dr. Dean's comments are right on target.”

“Unless of course you believe as I do that we can make progress toward economic justice for all ... as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr did ... and preached it before he assassinated for it ... IMHO.

We have overcome feudalism and slavery and fascism. We can aspire to fairness ... which does not mean that some won't own Rolexs and Rolls and others Timexs and Chevys ...”

“Like I keep telling y'all, the Democrat politicians keep the left in line while the Republican politicians keep the right in line while the financial services sector -- in a modern iteration of ye olde company ("chain 'em with debt") - rips us off.

It is the same old, same old continuation of slavery, feudalism, fascism ... where an elite conspires politically to benefit from the wealth that we the people's labor creates by taking/stealing our fair share.

And fairness in a market economy is NOT the equality of communism.”

“B-b-bu-bu-but Obama gives a great speech when called upon.

And if "The White House" thinks the current version of healthcare "reform" coming out of the Senate is going to save their bacon ... by enriching Big Insurance and Big Pharma (BI&BP) through high premiums from young people and actually cutting health care services to Seniors ... they are living in a fantasy ... IMHO.

There is an Alice in Wonderland quality to what Obama is doing.”

“Exactly! All the foxes in our hen house sorting our eggs were picked by the head fox aka Obama.

Well ... he's either the head fox or a front for the real one ...”

“Does anyone still think this is health care reform that benefits we the people?

There is so much wrong with the package coming our way -- we the peoples's -- including the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula reductions, the Medicare specialty to specialty variation changes, and the cuts in home health care that by the time we get to the benefits to Big Insurance and Big Pharma (BI&BP) in the health care reform bill coming out of the Senate in mandatory new policies for tens of millions, no drug re-importation, and no strong public option, it's breathtaking in its giveaway to BI&BP.

"Kill the bill!"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/15/kill-the-bill-some-progre_n_392436.html

IMHO we started down this path when the progressives in Congress tossed in the towel on single payer rather than use it as strong bargaining position.”

“Democrat politicians have a problem. They want the health care reform "trophy" ... and the opposition knows it.

The Democrat politicians have kept caving in on single payer and a strong public option to the point the current health care reform is a bonanza for Big Insurance & Big Pharma while we the people are told to compromise for the good of the community.

(Or for the good of the Democratic Party, 'cuz if they don't get it done then the Democrat majorities in Congress are as good as gone. Trouble is, they are going to be gone if they pass the current US Senate version, also ... IMHO.)

And I believe getting the deal done by Christmas has more to do with what's going to hit us -- we the people -- come January 1st than with making sure the health care reform really is reform ... 'cuz in it current form in the US Senate version it's not ... IMHO.”

“How many police would it take to make sure there would be no more bank robberies? Would it even be possible?

Sending 100,000 or so to fight in Afghanistan at a million dollars per year against 100 or so Al Qaeda in Pakistan at -- what? -- a few thousand a year is absurd on the face of it.

This is not about winning or losing the war on terror. That war cannot be fought this way. Terrorism can only be minimized by real justice including economic justice.

This is about showing the right wing that we are not afraid to use violent force ... even when it compounds the problem.”

“I think the left should start planning their tactics now ... like all (as many as possible) of the homeless converging on Washington DC at cherry blossom time or a little later when they can sleep outdoors for a week or two ... and those of us who still have jobs, buying them a round-rip ticket from wherever they are o Washington DC ... then have workshops for the people on how to lobby their Representatives and Senators in Congress.

I'm not homeless, but I would pay my own way to be part of something like that ... and I would lobby on what they are doing to my Medicare.”

“Of course he did. But -- perversely -- obstructing this health reform bill coming out of the US Senate is not necessarily obstructing the national health care reform we the people want IMHO. Lieberman may be doing we the people a favor.”

“Let's see ... the Democrat leadership in the US Senate has been waffling for months and Lieberman has been standing firm ... and everyone here is screaming at Lieberman as if he's the problem. No wonder health care reform is in a shambles ... with the literally insane proposal IMHO to expand Medicare before it is able to deliver quality health care in states like Oregon.

Lieberman is not THE problem. Lieberman is an icon OF the problem: failure of campaign finance reform.

Follow the money.

Who doubted that Big Insurance and Big Pharma (BI&BP) would win? Is there any other "group" that the current health care reform bill coming out of the US Senate will benefit more? And how much to they donate to political campaigns?

Let me see ,,, higher mandatory premiums with annual limits to individual costs combined with reduced services under Medicare ... sounds like a windfall to BI&BP to me. People on Medicare will desperately need supplemental insurance from BI.

If the left -- many -- would have stood firm on single payer like Lieberman does for his pov from the right then we would have at least a strong public option ... IMHO.

What a mess!

Lieberman may in fact be doing the left a favor. If health care doesn't pass this time around then we can blame him ... as we are doing here. If it does pass in its current US Senate version then the Democrats will be blamed for the mess”

“You have me laughing! You caught the essence of our relationship with Karzai ... but he sure jumps around on that leash! Maybe we need a shorter leash.”

“Well ... what I don't understand is why we have 100,000+/- troops costing $1,000,000+/- per year in Afghanistan fighting -- whom? -- 100+/- Al Qaeda costing a few thousand a year in Pakistan.

IMHO it is absurd on its face.

Didn't we go in with a thousand or so troops and rout Al Qaeda in Afghanistan only to let Bin Laden escape? Can't we always do that again whenever we want?

Has there been a time when we didn't know what the problems were with Karzai and his leadership? I had to laugh, really, when there was this big to-do over the last election ... as if no one KNEW he was a corrupt leader BEFORE the election when President Obama double-downed on his "war of necessity" policy toward Afghanistan in his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on August 17th.

And not knowing what the Taliban were paying their fighters in what could be described as essentially a war of mercenaries ... are you kidding me, Mr. Gates?”

“"Whenever change as happened, it has been through protest, dissent, struggle, social movements, ordinary people picketing, striking, boycotting, sitting down, sitting in. All this mans that we make history, history is effected by our everyday decisions." -See post

With our children going hungry, it will happen sooner than you might imagine.

First the obligatory, "I am not a Marxist. I believe in well-regulated markets. And the oft-repeated phrase "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." ... speaking of Marx, of course. The phrase was "invented" without digital clocks in mind, I suspect.

Anyway, Marx is supposed to have said, "The people won't revolt until their belly buttons hit their backbones."

The corollary truism is, "They will revolt at that point."

Looks like we are going to find out how true it is, don't you think?

As I remember it, it was when the college students became eligible for the draft lottery in the Vietnam War era that the campus demonstrations begin ... a fact pointed out by RFK.”

“After the bill comes out of conference it is getting pretty late to let our opinions be known, don't you think? I, for one, prefer to participate throughout the sausage making.”

“Are you saying I should what until the sausage is in the market cooler before I question what's going into it? When it's my sausage? Just wait and take it or leave it? In other words, don't worry about what the US Senate is doing because "they" will fix everything in conference?”

“Anyone still think that the mincemeat coming out of this bit of sausage making is still a good buy?”

“You are right on the classic divide and conquer strategy of an elite. But it isn't hopeless. When it gets bad enough, we will do whatever is necessary. We the people really do have the power. It's just that we have a little farther to go in losing our stuff before we march on Washington and Wall Street ... but do not doubt that we will. IMHO”

“"Without some mechanism forcing private insurers to compete, we're going to end up with a national health care system that's controlled by a handful of very large corporations accountable neither to American voters nor to the market."

While we fight among ourselves on how much to gut Medicare or extend Medicare in areas where the expenses of health care are greater than Medicare reimbursement fees ... (See @huffingtonpost Medicare Buy-In Filibuster-Proof? Senate Dem Deeply Concerned http://bit.ly/5KOGXT )

If we allow the current package of changes to health care take affect on January 1st -- including enacting the health care reform monstrosity -- we are screwed. IMHO”

“My point was that it costs less than $1.50 a barrel to produce the oil ... so when it sells for $10 a barrel, "they" are making $8.50 .... and so forth and so on. And, yes, in this case "they" are the Iraqi state.”

“Exactly!”

“Which public option are you talking about, Senator Reid? The strong one or the weak one or the garbled one or the one you thought might be acceptable to 60 US Senators? Unless you are comparing it to a strong public option, your comment is worse than meaningless ... it is deceptive. IMHO

"The basic challenge for Oregon is that a program that expands Medicare using existing Medicare rates would be of very little use in our state," the senator told the Huffington Post. "And the reason why is because the reimbursement rates are so low in the state of Oregon that doctors aren't taking additional Medicare patients... They can fill their agenda and their schedules with higher-paying patients."
-Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/medicare-buy-in-filibuste_n_387257.html”