Not that he carries any weight, but I'm seeing his show in a month-and-a-half, and he got the question during a live chat, asking him to compare health care systems (he's lived in France for some time). Here's his reponse: Allow me to answer with kidney stones. I had my first one at the age of 34. At the time … Read More
Health Care Without Republicans
It's becoming clear that trying to work out health care reform in a bi-partisan fashion ain't gonna happen. The "public option" itself was a compromise. Obama and most left-leaning people would prefer a "single payer" universal health care system like most advanced nations. The single payer system would, effectively, do away with insurance companies and treat health care like we do our … Read More
Michele Bachmann on Health Care
I love her. Here she is on Hannity last night: Money quote: It is not within our power as members of Congress, it’s not within the enumerated powers of the Constitution, for us to design and create a national takeover of health care. Nor is it within our ability to be able to delegate that responsibility to the executive. Pinhead, … Read More
The Reason For Health Care Reform Opposition
It's buried in this MSNBC story, but here it is: While just 36 percent believe Obama’s efforts to reform the health system are a good idea, that number increases to 53 percent when respondents were read a paragraph describing Obama’s plans. In other words, when you describe Obama's general health care plan without mentioning Obama, a lot more people like … Read More
Barney Frank’s Pushback: “On What Planet Do You Spend Most Of Your Time?”
This must have been fun: Steve Benen comments: There was no defensiveness, and no anger, just someone who knows what he's talking about making someone who doesn't look like a fool. Matt Yglesias raised a terrific point: "Voters don't have a great deal of knowledge about the issues, or a great deal of interest in acquiring knowledge about the issues. … Read More
Teabagger Yells “Heil Hitler” To Jewish Man Praising Israel’s Health Care System
Naturally, he’s offended. At the end of the confrontation, she makes a mock crying noise, indicating that he’s a wimp. This is pretty disgusting, even by teabagger standards. I can’t embed it, but you can see it here . UPDATE: Okay, found an embeddable version… Here’s a short interview with the “Heil Hitler” woman. Her husband has three jobs and … Read More
Texting While Driving
This is an excerpt from a half hour Public Service Announcement being shown to kids in British schools. I think these 4+ minutes is pretty effective enough to get the point across.
Health Care: I Think We Lost
It seems to me that the "public option" is dead. There's talk about co-ops, which are not-for-profit private insurance companies, but I don't think there's the capital or national interest in starting those up nationwide. But with no public option alternative to compete with the for-profit insurance companies, I don't see much in the way of actual reform. Insurance companies … Read More
Way To Go
After buying and spreading the lies that the "advance directive consultation" in the new health care proposal was really just a "death panel" where Obama would personally go around to hospitals and do a Chief Bromden on granny, the right wing rabble rowsers have succeeded in having that provision removed from the House health bill. The upshot? If you are … Read More
Obama In Montana
I just went over to MSNBC where they were livestreaming Obama's town hall going on in Montana. It started up as Obama was saying this: "I don't want — let's be clear — I don't want government bureaucrats meddling with your health decisions. but I don't want health insurance bureaucrats meddling with your health decisions either." Wild applause. 30 seconds, … Read More
Meet Katy Abrams
I like this interview between Larry O'Donnell (former advisor to Bill Clinton, former co-producer of The West Wing [as well as actor portraying the father of Jed Bartlet], and son of JFK advisor Ken O'Donnell who Kevin Costner played in Thirteen Days, a movie about the Cuban Missle Crisis) and, on the other side, Katy Abram (protester at a town hall … Read More
This Is What Passes For A Reasonable Conservative These Days
Ramesh Ponnuru at The Corner: Jonathan Cohn complains that "health-care reform" is being "swiftboated." I think the parallel holds up. A mixture of true, false, and partly-true-but-hyperbolic claims are being made against a liberal cause, and liberals are for the most part using the false criticisms to avoid dealing with the valid ones. They're also ignoring the falsehoods and bullying … Read More
Quote Of The Day
From Reddit: So let me get this straight: liberals protest war; conservatives protest health care. Ok. Just wanted to be clear.
You Want “Death Panels”? We Got Your Death Panels Right Here!
Death Panel 1: A group of bureaucrats take away a woman's fibromyalgia medication because it would be too expensive to cover, leaving her in the lurch to the possibility of horrible nerve pain. Exhibit A Death Panel 2: A miscarriage? According to the bureaucrats in charge of your health care, miscarriages can be considered 'elective abortions' and if its your body, … Read More
Sarah Palin Adds Commentary About “Death Panels” [Update: Palin Supported The Same Provisions She Now Decries As “Euthanasia”]
Just before midnight last night, Sarah Palin posted a "note" on her Facebook page, apparently in response to Obama's comments about "death panels", a phrase that Sarah herself introduced into this increasingly-insane health care debate. What's interesting about Sarah's note is that it cites legislation, contains footnotes, and makes a cogent (albeit wrong) argument. No references to the military, or … Read More