The guy who lost his pinky was opposed to health care reform. He had verbally assaulted a woman, then started physically assaulting a pro-health care supporter. The latter fought back. That's according to this eyewitness account, which adds: Don’t be fooled by reports ginning up sympathy for that 65-year old guy or worse yet, reports characterizing him as a senior citizen. … Read More
“I Don’t Know What The Public Option Is, But I Hate It”
The health care debate might be more productive if the public had a clue what the public option is. A new survey by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates for the AARP reveals widespread uncertainty about the nature of the "public option" — a government-run health insurance policy that would be offered along with private policies in the newly-created health insurance … Read More
Accusing Someone Of Politicization Is Itself Politicization
Conservatives Warn of Wellstone Effect: Key conservative voices have begun to charge in the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death that Democrats are inappropriately politicizing the senator’s death, his memorial and his legacy. Kennedy was that ultimate political creature, a “lion of the Senate,” and the last son of the archetypal American political family — his passing is inevitably political. … Read More
Making It Local
Excellent resource here showing what passage of HR 3200, American's Affordable Health Choice Act, would mean for every Congressional district in the country. For example, I live in NC 5th District, so my Congressperson is the brain-dead Virginia Foxx. What would passage of HR3200 mean for my district? America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 5th Congressional District … Read More
The “2009 Future of American Health Survey” Sent Out By The Republican National Committee
Here it is, in pictures (click to embiggen): My answers: 1. Yes 2. Cost, but quality and availablility are right up there. 3. Does it concern you that this survey contains biased and loaded questions? 4. "It has been suggested…."? By who? Anyone with credibility and/or reason to know? Or just by partisan hacks? [NOTE: This bit about Democrats using … Read More
Morning Radio
I missed the beginning of the interview, but NPR's Morning Edition was interviewing somebody who was opposed to Obama's plan for health care reform. The guy was exciteable and defensive, and really really contradictory. For example, the guy said (I'm paraphrasing) that whenever government competes with private business, it always does a bad job. He cited as examples, the post office … Read More
Health Insurance And The Free Market
Tthose opposed to health care reform do so because they want to keep "their" insurance. (Forget for a moment that under the Obama health care public option, you can keep "your" insurance). But how many people can actually claim that "their" health insurance is actually theirs? I mean, did they select it? Was it their choice? I buy insurance for my car; … Read More
The Coburn Health Care Plan
CNN’s Rick Sanchez aired a segment from a health care town hall where a weeping constituent explained to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) her prblems. The woman in the clip struggles to even speak through her tears, but she explains to her right-wing senator that her husband has traumatic brain injuries. Their family's private insurer, she said, won't cover some of his … Read More
RIP Edward Kennedy
In the 1930's, Joe Kennedy knew one of his sons would be President. That future president, everyone assumed, was to be smart, handsome, and charismatic Joe Kennedy, Jr. But Joe Jr. was shot down and killed in WWII. All eyes fell to John. Joe Kennedy lived long enough to see JFK become President, as well as the younger brother Bobby become Attorney … Read More
Myth Debunking
By the way, if you want a one-stop health care myth debunking place, bookmark this. Here's the myths they debunk: MYTH 1: There is no health care crisis MYTH 2: Health care reform will impose rationing MYTH 3: Health care reform provides for euthanasia, "death panel" MYTH 4: Health care reform legislation will cover undocumented immigrants MYTH 5: Health care … Read More
Our Local Senator Representative Is Entering Crazy Michele Bachmann Territory
In a telephone town hall yesterday, Senator Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said: "The Constitution doesn’t grant a right to health care, and most of us are living as much by the Constitution as we can. It also doesn’t give the federal government the authority to deal with health care. As you may know, the 10th amendment, it says if it … Read More
Stewart vs. The Originator of the “Euthanasia For Granny” Myth
Jon Stewart is best when he stops being a comedian and just talks reason. Betsy McCaughey, the first who equated end-of-life planning with government-influenced euthanasia, went on the Daily Show to make her case. Rather than trading barbs, the two of them actually discussed the house bill which supposedly supports the whole "death panel" meme. (McCaughey never suggested, and in fact denies, … Read More
Silliest “Serious” Objection To The House Health Reform Bill
It still gets a lot of play, even among congresspersons: "The health care reform bill is over 1,000 pages long!" I'm not sure what that objection really means. Are they suggesting that, because it's a huge bill, it must represent a massive government program? If that's so, why don't they say it's a massve government program? Or, are they complaining that … Read More
A Pox On Both Houses?
Barney Frank took a protester to task after she refered to Obama's "Nazi" health care reform. He asked the woman "on what planet" does she live, and said that trying to have a serious discussion with her about health care would be like talking to a dining room table. Now, comes the tut-tut of the conservative media. How both sides … Read More