Sunday, August 09, 2009

Only some of us A-merry-cans deserve to have good health.


"Black Americans still get far fewer operations, tests, medications and other life-saving treatments than whites, despite years of efforts to erase racial disparities in health care and help African Americans live equally long and healthy lives, according to three major studies being published today.

Blacks' health care has started to catch up to whites' in some ways, but blacks remain much less likely to undergo heart bypasses, appendectomies and other common procedures. They receive fewer mammograms and basic tests and drugs for heart disease and diabetes, and they have fallen even further behind whites in controlling those two major killers, according to the first attempts to measure the last decade's efforts to improve equality of care.


Together, the research paints a discouraging picture of the nation's progress in closing the gap for one of the fundamental factors that affect well-being -- health care -- during a period when blacks have made progress in areas such as income and education.


"We have known for 20 years that we have a problem in our health care system: that blacks and whites do not receive equal care. We had hoped all the attention paid to this topic would result in some improvement. What we found is we have not made much progress," said Ashish K. Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led one of the studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "This should be a call to action to make the changes needed to make sure people get equal care."


That was taken from a piece written by Rob Stein in the Washington Post back in 2005. Fast forward four years and the health care debate rages on in these divided states of A-merry-ca. The insurance lobby and partisan republicans are fighting with everything they have to keep the status quo, and all indications from the latest polls is that they are winning.


For me, it's rather simple: I trust the government to deliver affordable health care and to be fair in doing it, more than I do the private insurance companies. Sorry, but with them [the insurance companies] it's all about the bottom line. When I go to sites like this and read about the uphill battle poor people and people of color face in this country when it comes to health care, I have to wonder what the hell some of these black conservatives (Now there is an oxymoron for your ass. If you are black, just what the hell are you conserving?) are smoking when they jump up and jig in defense of the health care status quo in this country. Do they really think that all the money that's pumped into R&D with these drug companies is being done to deliver drugs to market to cure diseases that affect minority communities? Please!


If I was king of the world there would not even be an option. (The "public plan" option, in my never humble opinion, is bullshit. Political compromise by the usual suspects in Washington. And let's throw the "voucher plan" into that mix while we are at it.) Health coverage would be nationally run by the government and it would be a single payer system. I am not even willing to listen to the bullshit talking points from the right anymore. Rationing health care? Really? As if health care isn't already rationed. The truth is, that in these divided states of A-merry-ca, the wealthy get better health care than the poor. If you are poor health care is already rationed. Eighteen thousand people die in this country every year because they can't afford proper health care. So yea, for them, I would say that health care is pretty much out of their reach.


Oh but field, I just don't want the government running health care. The government just can't be trusted to do something so important. Another dumb ass wingnut talking point. Let me see now, the last time I checked, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, health coverage for public employees, elected officials, and the military was all being run by the government, and that seems to be working out just fine.


But field, what about our taxes going up? Wrong again wingnut. Your taxes won't be more than you are already paying in co-pays, deductibles, self employment plans like Cobra , and your out of pocket expenses. Another myth manufactured by the right to throw the dreaded T word into the debate.


See field, I always knew you were a Socialist, you are just like that damn Obama.


"Deo volente" my friends "Deo volente."






144 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:16 PM

    This health insurance fight has been on my mind all week and I've had it up to here (puts hand above neck) with it. The government is not getting rid of private health insurance, nor is it becoming socialism.

    I wish the Dems would fight back, but the damned lobbyists are lining their pockets with $$$$ as well.

    The only way we get health care reform is if President Obama goes "South Side" on those who oppose him. There's no other way.

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  2. See field, I always knew you were a Socialist, you are just like that damn Obama.

    Dude, Obama's not a socialist anymore; now he's a fascist HITLER! Try to pay attention!

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  3. History Dude9:37 PM

    Japan has universal healthcare coverage. People can even decide on the doctor or care center of their choice! Yet, who would call Japan a socialist country?

    I'm sure that these folks screaming about socialism and Obama couldn't even give you a correct definition of socialism.

    Socialism: Public/worker ownership of the major means of production. A system also characterized by low inequality and a somewhat relative distribution of goods. Would any sane person think that America is there or moving in that direction?
    And which sounds better? The New Gilded Age, or the above mentioned definition?

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  4. I think this is a losing battle (for health-care reform). Most Americans aren't smart enough to understand when they are acting against their own interests.

    I must say; the GOP and insurance companies are doing an amazing job of rounding-up the low IQ types and getting them to go to these townhall meetings. Say what you want about the GOP but they know how to disseminate propaganda to the masses.

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  5. mesha9:59 PM

    ComradePhsy:

    so sad..these redneck would come to our site to spurt hate...Must be jealous. Back in the day, they (some white folks)never wanted minority to communicate with each other.

    I guess socialist is the new word for nigger...Yeah, I said it.

    Why dont the birthers, tea party, Glen, Lou and many others just say it? You are a brunch of cowards.

    I luv living in this time..The internet is best tools invent by the man or boy...They hated it that we able to communicate with each others.

    That why they continue to come to this beautiful Black site and comments on the way they do. Straight jealous. Any more drunk/stone white women killing multiple of white kids or a horny man shooting up gym classes left.

    I guess you are acting "stupid" aka dumb ass white folks.

    Ha..go have a beer why we continue to run this country.

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  6. History Dude10:06 PM

    The only way we get health care reform is if President Obama goes "South Side" on those who oppose him. There's no other way.

    Not only are Democrats part of problem: Obama is as well. Back when this country was still strong, organized labor was key. Deregulation, which strangely began under Carter, was followed by the union of busting of Reagan; however, it was another Democrat who walloped labor with NAFTA: Clinton. Bubba also dropped the ball on health care. Fast forward to today. Obama betrays his promise to labor about card check under the Employee Free Choice Act.

    Card Check was considered crucial to stop business interests from crushing organizing drives. Initally, Obama supported it: "We need to stand up to the business lobby that’s been getting their friends in Congress and in the White House to block card check. That’s why I was one of the leaders fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. That’s why I’m fighting for it in the Senate. And that’s why we’ll make it the law of the land when I’m President."

    Yet, Card Check was stripped from the EFCA and Obama did zippo to keep his promise. While pensions go bust and people like Delphi Packard workers lose their health care and pensions, Obama bails out corporate interests. Why wouldn't he screw up health care as well? Just more broken promises from the Democrat machine.

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  7. Well, I can't say if a public option will pass... but I an sure gonna be at those town meetings. And I am demanding single payer at best and a public option as the fall back will tolerate.... And I have called all of my representatives to tell them them so..... and every single one of you that is reading this needs to do the same! That is, if you haven't already.

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  8. These cats in health insurance are doing their best to protect their bottom line. The rest seem to be cheerleading for some strange reason...sort of like rooting for the Nazis while standing around in Poland with a big fat star of David on their foreheads.

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  9. Doesn't the average person itemize their taxes? They may not be able to deduct their health care expenses, but they would get an idea what it cost them every year.

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  10. Anonymous10:51 PM

    "Sorry, but with them [the insurance companies] it's all about the bottom line."

    Capitalism is ALWAYS about the bottom line. It cators to the rich and tramples the poor. It has NO Reason to care about the poor, weak or vulnerable. Believe it or not, capitalism is one of the prime movers in lowering the moral conscience of our nation.

    Without a Higher Conscience or Higher Power to be morally accountable to, humans can now do to each other what was once considered unconscionable. All you need is the right price(money) and it shall be done without shame or guilt.

    Therefore, the insurance companies will win this battle because they have plenty of payoff money for every politician whether Dem or Repub.

    Maybe capitalism and caring for another human being who needs food and healthcare are like oil and water--that is, they just don't mix?

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  11. Trapped in South Carolina10:53 PM

    All these middle and lower income whites who support republicans down here are supporting the same people who want to end the very programs that they use. They would rather die of the flu in the middle of the winter than go to the doctor because they are afraid that Lakesha will be able to get health care.

    All those dumbass neo-confederate folks at the town halls who are convinced that medicare is NOT a government program. Keep believing that bullshit Fox News tells you.

    Mindset down here is simple: If Obama came out in favor of breathing, these pogues down here would hold their breath. And I am not joking.

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  12. Trapped in South Carolina said...

    If Obama came out in favor of breathing, these pogues down here would hold their breath. And I am not joking.

    ______________________
    Hey South Cack-a-lacka , I wish they would.

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  13. Love this blog. Couldn't agree more that single payer should be our first choice and the public option just a fall. However, our soft-core democrats in the Senate are conciliatory that they can't get a damn thing passed. Hey, I also got something I want you to check out...
    http://haroldsleft.blogspot.com/2009/08/10-most-conservative-people-places-and.html...
    email me and tell me what you think, my email is on my profile page.

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  14. On...Point! You couldn't be more right. But of course conservatives and Republicans fear the reform because it will equalize the care for all people. Just like conservatives being unwilling to see their tax dollars going to programs that help those less able or less fortunate, this is just another iteration of that theme.

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  15. This health insurance fight has been on my mind all week and I've had it up to here (puts hand above neck) with it. The government is not getting rid of private health insurance, nor is it becoming socialism.

    I wish the Dems would fight back, but the damned lobbyists are lining their pockets with $$$$ as well.

    The only way we get health care reform is if President Obama goes "South Side" on those who oppose him. There's no other way.
    9:16 PM <<<

    Earlier this evening, I received a phone call from my U.S. Rep's office informing me of an upcoming townhall meeting she is hosting in town on Tuesday.

    I already was aware that this was coming up (as a matter of fact, I emailed everyone possible who lives in this area about the meeting).

    In any case, we discussed the crazies against health care reform that have been featured on the evening news.

    Just the other day, lunatics in Appleton, WI were screaming and yelling nonsense about rationed care, euthanasia, etc. at the U.S. Rep for that area.

    The woman who called me said that not only are people purposely being misinformed, but the insurance companies are busing in these lunatics--people who are not even from the communities that these town hall meetings are being held.

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  16. Trapped in South Carolina11:51 PM

    I think it just comes down to perceived worth. As long as it for a war, or for old people, or for helping sick girls named Brittany, they are all for it. But southern conservative logic is not hard. It's really a toxic mix of fear and projection. Its kinda like the Kübler-Ross model, except it's for southern racists.

    1. Obama is Black.

    2. Blacks look own for their own.

    3. How do I know this? Because I look out for my own.

    4. He doesn't look like me.

    5. So, he doesn't want to help me.

    6. He wants to help black people.

    7. Black people don't deserve health care. They all are on welfare anyway.

    8. Black people are going to take over.

    9. They are going to treat us like we treated them.

    10. I'm scared. Glenn Beck told me to be.





    People down here REALLY believe this shit.


    Where I live, there is a real, palpable fear that this brown guy with the funny name is some kind of Manchurian candidate that is trying to enslave white people under the auspices of "change" and "health care reform". I've never seen so many people who think Obama is the antichrist, while thinking that Sarah Palin, a person who couldn't pass a basic citizenship test, is somehow giving you enlightened advice.

    I don't think we can really understand how fucked up seeing the Obama family walking around the White House can be for the mental midgets in the conservative movement.


    Remember, this is the state that gave you a man who talked for 24 hours straight in the senate because he didn't want to give black folks basic rights, but yet he really liked black pussy.

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  17. Anonymous11:54 PM

    My favorite of the republican argument against the public health plan that people will opt out of private insurance. Forgive me for being a little retard in my thinking, but is that not idea of having competition a part of capitalism. Being competitive is a good thing, isn't it. I thought the GOP was all about free market, boy how things have changed. Well silly me for having such a thought.

    My job has changed insurance companies at least three times because of the expense to the company, and each time I have to changed doctors each time. I just went to the doctor for an annual check up, and received an invoice of $72.00. That is after I paid the $200.00 deductible. The cost of the visit was $475.00. $220 was evaluation (doctor asking me medical questions, blood pressure, temperature, weight), $100 for an EKG, $25 ($50) each for viles of blood for lab test, $25 and $65 for immunization otherwise known as tentus shot, and $15 for a urine sample. When I went to the doctor, I sat so long until I wnet the bathroom. So by the time they ask me for a urine sample, I did not have to go. The nurse told me she was going to get me so water, but when she returned, they run out of cups an she used one of the urine sample cups. She said at least it is sterile, hey who could argue with that (nodding my head). Although, I like the doctor, the following week when I returned to the office because I had the flu, the office could not find my chart . This is the first time when felt the need to change doctors because the office is incompetent. If only my doctor was at another efficient practice, I would be a happy camper. My insurance is CIGNA which iis suppose be good insurance.

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  18. The health care issue is one on which I am not willing to accept compromise. We need radical change here, not some bullshit compromise. Number One: Why is health care related to your job? Income taxes aren't even related to your job! If you lose your job and get money from some hustle, or sell something, you still have to pay!
    Number Two: We need to get ready to ride down on these so called "blue dog" democrats and the rest of these poot butts that are so worried about the damn insurance companies.
    I went for three years without health insurance because I couldn't get it because I was self-employed. I was willing to pay but they wouldn't take me. Simple as that! I don't have any life threatening disease or anything. I just happen to be over 45. I was scared every day!
    There is no other side on this issue! The Government's first job is to protect it's citizens. I am not worried about some asshole from Assholistan trying to blow me up, I am worried about the dude that comes to work with viral meningitis because it is too expensive to go see the doctor for a "really bad" headache (this actually happened)!
    Obama and Axelrod need to quit slow rolling and start naming names of those who are causing trouble and get the troops he has out here on their collective asses!
    As a lawyer with a small practice, I pay the health insurance for me and my staff. It is no joke! Just go on and tax my ass to pay for the damn health care! At least if I have to close my doors, I won't have to worry about myself and my employees dying in the street like a dogs if we get sick.
    Number Three: I hope they have one of those town hall meetings where those crackers show up with their bibles and their yelling near me! If they want to play that, we shall see how loud they get when they are surrounded by me and some of my fellow FN's fresh from the Field (Black, proud and determined to be free as we used to say back in the day!) I believe the shit talking will be substantially reduced (out of respect, no doubt).

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  19. Probably your best post yet, FN.
    And yeah, the commentators who pinned the opposition to single payer healthcare among poor white folks as opposition to black folks getting put on the same footing as them hit the nail square on the head.
    White pride is one expensive bitch.

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  20. History Dude12:23 AM

    The question isn't why the Republicans don't favor single-payer health care, everyone knows why, but why don't the Democrats? Did anyone notice that the White House dodged questions the other day about Obama's past support for single-payer?

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  21. Good to see you still at this Field. Anyway the right has been saying in some circles and complaining that they can't get an open and free debate on this issue.

    Where have they been? It has been the lunatic fringe that has been obstructing the very places that would give them that open and free debate, the town hall meeting.

    Man they are nuts.

    Haroldsleft, good blog you have there as well. You have been lucky so far, the lunatic fringe hasn't found you. They found me and I got sick of it all and quit blogging.

    Anyway the last thing the lunatic fringe wants is a debate.

    I hope this looks to other humans that may be calling themselves republicans and thinking it isn't for them. Join the light and the cause of equality in every aspect of a comfortable life, for all.

    In the meantime they all just make me sick. I need to find a single jewel in that pile of filth known as the GOP and their followers because I really hate lumping people.

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  22. Regarding health care, old racist southern white folks and everything else Obama, Senator Mel Martinez seems to be heading for the hills. Shameless plug to follow: Mel Martinez As Snagglepuss. Exit stage left!

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  23. Anonymous12:41 AM

    Expect some new company here shortly, Field -

    http://www.politicsandtechnology.com/2007/07/make-no-mistake.html

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  24. These are the same idiots who voted for Bush TWICE, so we really can't be suprised.

    "Let me see now, the last time I checked, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, health coverage for public employees, elected officials, and the military was all being run by the government, and that seems to be working out just fine."

    Add to that the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). A program which covers children of families with incomes too high to be covered by Medicaid but to low to afford private insurance. Bush vetoed additional funding to the program on two occasions (Funds which would be covered by an increase in cigarette taxes). Obama, in one of his first acts as President, signed a bill expanding coverage to 4 million more children. So who's really rationing healthcare?

    These troglodytes arguing against healthcare are just baffling to me.

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  25. I have to say that I am just over this Health Care debate. Lord, it stresses me. Why? Same reason a lot of you guys are fed up too. Field, I swear if it weren't for your blog and being able to vent on my own, I'd have been under the covers singing, "Make the World Go Away."

    They know the present system is not working. They KNOW this. Yet, they are so brainwashed by corporations/corporate america, that they fight for them to embarassing proportions.

    Even if they don't agree with Obama, what is their solution to the present problem? There is none. I'm all ears, as long as we can get the millions of uninsured Americans INSURED.

    And quite frankly, if they are going to overhaul health care, they might want to start with overhauling the DAMNED FDA which allows some truly noxious shit to go past their quality control, and onto our tables and into our mouths.

    BAH!

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  26. Some type of reform will get through. It will unfortunately be watered down just so it can pass.

    Single payor is best, but public option is not an unreasonable compromise. No way it will stifle competition. It will just require the big insurance companies to play ball like the big airlines did with Jetblue, Southwest, etc. coming along.

    As has been alluded to, the major issue is that profit in healthcare is an oxymoron. The only profit should be by those providing the care, just like in any other profession. Shame that only about 13% of the medical dollar actually goes to the physicians providing the care. Part of the reason for this mess however is the greed on the part of the medical profession. (I have no issue indicted my own profession, when appropriate.)

    As a physician in A-merry-ca, I have been socialized(pun intended) to be against any type of single payor system. I am supposed to be about making the money more than providing the care,which stands in gross hypocrisy to my Hipocratic oath. However, as a black, Christian physician, I am compelled in philosophy and practice to believe that healthcare is a right and not a privilege.

    The attack indeed should be on the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies, both of which make obscene profit at out expense. I do agree with the idea of tort reform. Not from the perspective that it wll decrease frivolous lawsuits(which it will), but it will start to turn the tide back to the days when I did not have to practice defensive medicine. A patient has the right to expect competent and compassionate care. But the physician used to have the right to accept the unspoken covenant that he/she would do what was best for the patient(for their health andnot for physician pocketbooks). The push for quality that has been spearheaded with the Institute of Medicine's, and best practice guidelines will help prevent the profiteering-first physicians.

    We must also move from a society that focuses on treatment to one that focuses on prevention. And it we want to tax, go ahead and tax all the environmental and self-inflicted luxuries we love. Since essentially all of our devastating diseases are related to lifestyle, tax the causes--tobacco, alcohol, fast food, etc. Of course, that would only become equitable when our communities have the same access to healthier choices.

    Basic quality healthcare should be like riding coach on a flight. There are basic expectations that you have and get the same as first-class--like taking off and landing safely. But you will have to pay for the extras.

    For instance, there is a type of procedure that I perform for brothers who are having some "difficulties". There is a choice of the "motel 6" variety and "Ritz-Carlton". either will get the job done. But you have to pay for the "pump". But either will correct the problem.

    The profit motive in capitalism promotes ingenuity, research, invention, and competion. But without a moral compass, greed is the inevitable result.

    I could go on...

    Here's hoping and praying that change we can believe in includes a change in our moral compass.

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  27. Minnie:

    Our California Governor "The Terminator" truly lives up to that name. He terminated CHIP out this way in the budget cuts. I wish they would have had a recall for him. He cut more from education and practically everything he could put his John Henry on.

    My health benefits have been axed and cut so many times. I can't begin to count the ways.

    Seattle:

    I totally agree with you about FDA. It's a wonder folks have died from overdoses of toxics. Not only that something needs to be done about water too. We had the best water in our city. However, now, it's beginning to taste different.

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  28. StillaPanther23:59 AM

    Brother Field.... People hate change especially when they have benefitted soo long. Thanks for the kudos to the VA. Post war, I have been using the care offered. Many years ago they were not up to the numbers of veterans...now much better. I don't know, but I always see these commercials about the people of Canada having to wait for services...is it possible that a lot of their doctors jump ship and come to America due to the close proximity to here. All the complaints I hear are problems with numbers(not enough doctors); that can be remedied. Again thank God for the VA. Again, I lost more partners/Brothers (in the late 60s and 70s) when the VA had not the doctors; numbers that were fixed in many areas. I think the dividing line has been exposed in our health care system. It was okay when it was thought to be only "us" and some bums not receiving care.

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  29. Insurance companies provide a valuable service; they lessen the cost of healthcare. Blueshield of CA was established as a NON PROFIT organization to help groups of people because the rates doctors were charging effectively prevented people from getting healthcare.

    FN if you think that the government will run healthcare, you are way off base. The government is working with insurance companies to figure out how to implement broad changes in our healthcare system. Who will get paid? Non profit and private insurance carriers. They will likely make even more money should ObamaKare become a reality.

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  30. Anonymous4:49 AM

    This is one area where Obama has always worried me. He had to be dragged kicking and screaming to consider a public option even though he'd supported single-payer as a younger state pol. Had it not been for Edward's and Clinton's plans I don't think he'd have considered including the public option. Now, he says he won't sign without it and I hope he sticks to his guns because without it any reform is useless. I wish he'd go back to a real plan and do it through reconciliation. I don't understand him on this. A few months ago he was strong, saying will get what we want through reconciliation if we have to but now it seems he's backing off. He needs to step up and be strong because the American people will rally to him if he does. I think part of the reason his numbers are dropping on this is because he's let congress handle it and both want and need the White House to take a strong leadership role in this. Articulate a vision and drive it through -- it's not too late.

    --j

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  31. The bill has not even been written yet, and he has people in his own party trying to stab him in the back, the GOP are doing what they always do trying to do anything they can to cause him to fail, and the Insurance companies are paying big bucks to sabatoge his bill. He is up against a lot of stuff.

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  32. Anonymous5:19 AM

    @Granny -- You're absolutely right. The Blue Dogs are bought and paid for but I think he needs to step up and lay the smack down. I really think his leadership matters right now and can make a difference. Both the GOP and especially the Blue Dogs will only go so far he focuses and shifts public opinion.

    --j

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  33. M. Rigmaiden said...

    Who will get paid? Non profit and private insurance carriers. They will likely make even more money should ObamaKare become a reality.

    3:59 AM
    ________________________________
    You ever heard the expression , so smart that you're dumb?People are telling people who have conceal carry permits to go to the townhall meetings.I serious think that you work for the CIA.You used a K in Obamacare.All I can say is this take you ass to a townhall meeting where you can find the other two K's.Your friends, the rebubliklans are talking about killing black people and the President on the fucking radio.No one on the fucking right is saying shit. I lost respect for you . You are a race traitor(not the nice one that post here)and a Tom.

    Palin the nutty bitch said the President wants to kill her baby and old people.I know one thing , I bet that the first lady would like to shove her Jimmy Choo haveway up Palin's nasty flat ass.I'M GETTING FUCKING SICK OF WHITE RACIST TELLING AMERICANS ESPECIALLY BLACKS, FUCK YOU.

    You ain't that smart if you like them to call you NIGGER!

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  34. Anonymous5:32 AM

    @Kid -- Apparently some fools took them up on the gun offer. They (permit holders) tried to bring guns into Steve Cohen's Town Hall in Memphis. The Sherrif's dept. checked their guns at the door.

    --j

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  35. That's nothing, a car dealer was offering free A47's to people who brought cars from him in MO, and others are thinking about following suit.

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  36. He sold cars and gave free A47s and ran out of cars because they were selling so fast. He even had some that fired 600 rounds. I call them street sweepers.

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  37. Anonymous5:44 AM

    @Granny -- I tell you I'm nervous about all this sh*t. Do you remember the Knoxville Church Shooting last year? These people want to kill democrats and liberals, period. A protester actually showed up to the Church this year on the anniversary and got arrested. This Church is Unitarian and they supported desegregation back in the 50s-60s and never had any violence.

    These people, and I hope they're fewer in number than I fear, think every person who is democrat is subhuman and some of them are ready to kill.

    --j

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  38. Hi Granny:

    I guess Mahndisa doesn't get FOX where she lives. I see village idiots Mark Levin and Klannity on Television blaming the President for the riot they are trying to start.It doesn't take a rocket scientist (which she claim that she is)to see that the right, Health and Insurance lobbies are trying to start a race riot.

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  39. J

    Before it's over with some people are going to be hurt. People should have been uniting together to get Rush, Hannity and crew off air, but they did not listen. They should be demanding that they be arrested for inciting hate speech, sedition, and treason. They are at the root of the problem, along with the Insurance companies, politicians who the insurance companies have their hand in their pockets too.

    I kept telling folks on here that it was going to be a big mess when they started working on Health care
    Its so much corruption entwined in it, until I don't even know where to start. I'm just about through giving out warning to folks though.

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  40. It's practically out of control now, and MSM played a hand in it too, blood will be on their hands. MSM wanted President Obama to fail too, so instead of telling the truth, they help spread falsehoods. Hate destroys everything in it's path, because it smothers everything to death.

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  41. They should have been boycotting for FOX and Rush to be taken off the air.

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  42. I got this from Daily Kos I forget about the girl and her father killed by the Minutemen. You know there are several more:

    Three Pittsburgh police officers.

    Two people in a Unitarian church.

    One gynecologist in Kansas.

    One guard at the Holocaust Museum.

    That makes seven victims so far.

    To which I would also add the four who were shot by the nut in the gym last week. The media make this out to be "the guy was jealous because he didn't have a girlfriend." However if you read his online diary, the very first entry is a filthy racist diatribe against Obama. And if you do just a little digging you find out that the church he was with for 13 years is one of those extreme-right denominations that's part of the rightie-winger religious nut network.

    Correlation doesn't prove causation, but that guy came from the same part of the political spectrum as the rest of 'em.

    So, eleven by my count.

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  43. Well, Kid, You can lead a horse to the trough but you can't make them drink. Let the blind lead the blind. I understand how you feel, and God sees how passionate you have fought to wake folks up.

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  44. Kid:

    Did you hear about the threatening letters that Ellen and them have gotten from someone?

    ReplyDelete
  45. oops, sorry I meant e-mails

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous6:10 AM

    @Granny -- Amen! Violence is in the air and it's something I've never felt before except at particular events where my heart told me to leave cause something bad was about to happen. This feeling though is more constant rather than particular. There's a racial undertone but it's bigger than that and broader. Like everybody on the left has been declared black in 1960s Mississippi just before something bad is scheduled to go down is the best I can put it. It's bigger than just the blowhards like Hannity and Rush but extends to FoxNews in general. I hear these people talk about "the Unions" and "ACORN" and they think they're an enemy army that's behind all this. They're outta their damned minds. They see us as an enemy army for pete's sake and everyone of us organized and out to get them. What's so bad is that they're not just looking for something to happen they WANT something to happen!

    It's a very dangerous thing for politics to become like this. Have you ever read about La Violencia, the Columbian Civil War? It's worth reading about because it's a prime example of what happens when politics turns toxic. I don't think we're close to that but if these people had their way we would be. I think this is how a lot of the super radicals think.

    --j

    ReplyDelete
  47. Fox New and Rush and some of the GOP politicians plan is to overthrow the government. That's what their up to. I've been trying to tell folks that. Maybe, I'm not expressing it plain enough. The FEMA camps was GOP plan all the time. I kept telling folks that everything they accuse others of is what they themselves are doing! All folks had to do was observed their pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous6:16 AM

    @Granny -- What happened with Ellen?

    ReplyDelete
  49. Granny, I love your passion. And you get it. You realize that the tools of propaganda push these debates for those on the right.

    haroldsleft, I will be sure to check out your blog. Thanks for dropping in. Topper. why did you let the wingnnuts stop you from blogging? You have to jump back into this thing. Don't let them scare you off.

    Doc L, thanks for your perspective. Could you read the article from the sidebar from the Canadian doctor and tell me what you think? It's under the caption "Truth Serum". Thanks.

    "The health care issue is one on which I am not willing to accept compromise. We need radical change here, not some bullshit compromise..."

    Amen Malik.

    Trapped In South Carolina, I am still laughing from your comments. They would "hold their breaths", huh? :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous6:23 AM

    @Granny -- That's a maxim I live by with Republicans and I was told it by a former Republican! It's really hard to believe that's what they really want because it's just so extreme but deep down inside I think a lot of them do even if they don't realize it. I think it partially comes from the overemphasis of End Times prophesy in some of the crazier Evangelical Churches. That stuff got brought into a lot more churches with Bush when it used to be only rare and very wacky churches that other Christians shook their heads at engaged in.

    That's another thing that never should've happened mixing politics with religion the way the have. It's one thing to advocate a social policy like feeding the poor but quite another to become an arm of a political party.

    --j

    ReplyDelete
  51. *Here's a list of FOX movies that you shouldn't see. Remember every penny FOX makes goes into Rupert Murdoch pocket, and John Gibson, And Oreilly, and Klannity, and Greta's:

    Out now

    Aliens in the Attic
    Night at the Museum 2
    Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs
    I Love You Beth Cooper
    Wolverine

    All About Steve Sept 4th
    Jennifer's Body Sept 18

    By all means necessary please don't go!Remember that Aug 28th, the day that Emmett Till was murdered, the day that W.E.B. DuBois passed, the day of the March on Washington, the day a certain Senator from Illinois got the Democratic nomination is the day of the start of the worldwide boycott of FOX.

    ReplyDelete
  52. They are some dangerous people!!!!
    Think about it.

    1. Inciting race riots
    2. Inciting assassination
    3. Usurping the President and Secretary of States authority
    4. Spreading rumors and lies to get their racist base riled up
    I could list all of their mess and believe me it's more than that.
    5. Telling folks to go out and buy guns

    ReplyDelete
  53. GrannyStandingforTruth said...

    Kid:

    Did you hear about the threatening letters that Ellen and them have gotten from someone?

    6:09 AM
    __________________________________
    Granny:
    Yes I heard about it. I think it was connected to the same one that Daily Kos picked up from this guys facebook.Then again it could be another one. There are several out there.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Field:

    I'm gone send you an e-mail. I want to show you something.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Kid:

    Nah, Ellen and I keep in touch with each other. She sent me an e-mail and told me about the e-mail they received. And I was just over there the other day.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Matter of fact, I got to go over back over there and catch up with Paige.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Thanks Granny.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anon10:51

    There are people that believe in a philosophy where the free market as one of its main tenets, creates a moral society.

    It is not that capitalism is not compatible with caring for others, it is when those adherents think the victims of capitalism without restraint will somehow be taken care of by people's charities; by those people which value themselves more than the society.

    This philosophy sometimes borders on Social Darwinism and that also brings in the same 19th century thinking of Phrenology, which was instrumental in the pseudo scientific definition of Black folks as a sub-human species.

    It is also interesting that when the Market failed them, they didn't blame it on some economic theory, they blame it on social policy and guess whose face was on that.

    ReplyDelete
  59. The Insurance companies are even posting blog on Huffington Post spreading lies. They post with no names crediting who wrote the article or pictures. They're real slick! I peeped it though. What makes it so bad some people are falling for it that voted for him. Right now, their working on trying to kill the President's influence.

    I told y'all back a month and few months ago wait until they start working on health care that when a lot of stuff was gone start coming out. The President needs to step his game up.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Hathor:

    I bet it was poor people and blacks folks. They've always used black for the scapegoat.

    ReplyDelete
  61. I wish I could put a bug in the President's ear.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous6:46 AM

    @Granny -- The way I look at these companies is that people will kill you over what's in your wallet so what will someone who stands to lose BILLIONS do?

    --j

    ReplyDelete
  63. Hire someone to to do it for them

    ReplyDelete
  64. I'm hearing that song..."Jesus on the Mainline." That's a blessing!

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous6:56 AM

    @Granny -- Exactly. Nothing's off the table for them.

    --j

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous10:00 AM

    A single payer system I think is the best way to go, but the President never campaigned on that stance because he knew he could not get through the Congress or Senate. The second best option would be the public option and we will probably see that in some form or another.

    I do not mind paying taxes for healthcare as I long I get good quality healthcare. My health is the most important thing and is a part of my overall happiness. We are paying a heavy price now for healthcare and we are beholden to the health insurance for our care as they determine what kind of care we receive. They determine whether it is worthy for to receive treatment so long as it is not expensive. I do not want to cover preventive care such as mammograms. I sit there and watch Boehner with his smug orange face making the argument that healthcare reform is going to bankrupt us, and the bluedog democrats are no better. As Bill Maher said about a week ago, Obama is like Michael Jordan playing on a bad team.

    However, it is going to be up to us to have a bigger and louder voice in this debate. We are going to have to go out there and demand healthcare reform. We can attend for townhall meetings.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Soapbubble10:50 AM

    Thank you field for pointing out the silliness of a black conservative. Talk about house negro behavior.

    ReplyDelete
  68. "As Bill Maher said about a week ago, Obama is like Michael Jordan playing on a bad team."

    Damn. I like that analogy.

    Single payer, good option, and also cover some preventative care. Do you know how expensive MRI's, mammmograms and cat scans are these days? You can damned near buy a used car for the same price in some places.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Anonymous12:33 PM

    Fitness Diva:

    It is obscene what they charge for MRIs, and if you think that is expensive there is also prescription mediciation that is off the chart. Some peole are paying as much as $1,200 for their mediciations. My physician told me that my blood pressure was a little high, it did not take a brick to fall on my head to let me know that I have to make some lifestyle changes with food and exercise as those are cheaper alternatives to going blood pressure mediciation. I might knickname Whole Foods as Whole Paycheck, but I eat significantly better and it is cheaper in the long-term because I do not have buy breakfast and lunch due to cooking my own food and elminating processed foods. It is like Julia Child move over because off to the kitchen I shall go.

    I am sitting next to a guy who's family has a history of diabetes and heart diease, and continue to have a horrible diet. I told him if did not cook at least pick up deli meats, whole wheat bread, and pre-wash salad greens to make his lunch. He responded that he did not have the time to do that. I mean that is not even cooking and you cannot not get easier than that, and to even mention that he should go out for a walk during lunch time, well that is like a cardinal sin because he considers a walk from the office building on Varick & Charlton Sts. to Washington Square Park in New York City is too far (it is almost a mile).

    There are things we do as individuals to improve our overall health, and I am all for prevention. We has African-Americans have to realize that along with the rest of America have bad diet habits. I have seen some people with diabetes on medication will still drink Pepsi and refined foods believing that they have medication and will be okay, and I am saying no will not be okay you need to change your diet and get to moving. I ask my physician questions and tried to be proactive as possible with my health. I think some people are intimidated by physician because they are educated, but I am not. We also need to demand to have better food options at supermarkets and neighborhood stores.

    ReplyDelete
  70. History Dude12:37 PM

    The last Democrat with balls


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgPFJnV76c

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous1:07 PM

    Why can't Obama get Obamacare passed??Obama and the Democrats have the power to get anything they want to passed.

    They need to hurry.All those old negros in the field are losing it.Or is it normal for field negros to have sex with farm animals?


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esff-OycscE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdetroitiscrap%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F%3Fzx%3D3eda082ebb52c1f2&feature=player_embedded

    ReplyDelete
  72. "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”~~Howard Zinn~~


    Not while Obama is our dear leader.Dissent is now considered racist and Un-American.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Here's the study to be done:

    The VA is a government-run system, and from what I've heard it's pretty damn good. We've got a lot of black veterans who use the VA, and that system supposedly has a great data tracking capability.

    So, someone should use the VA records to do comparative research by race and see what falls out of the data.

    We debated some of this stuff in a different thread and I showed that blacks have higher rates of a bunch of diseases related to lifestyle, especially obesity. The issue there is that black women are far more likely to be overweight than white women. Black men and white men are equally obese, which is to say that America is becoming a country of lardasses, but on the male side it's an equal opportunity phenomenon.

    Anyway, I think careful examination of data could really help people figure out exactly where the issues really are.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Don't forget high blood pressure caused by racism and that sickle cell gene.

    That make ya'll is bills go up to.

    ReplyDelete
  75. MR.R, white people are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as black people are. We don't know what the suicide rate is for white racists, but I hope it's even higher.

    ReplyDelete
  76. grinder said...
    MR.R, white people are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as black people are. We don't know what the suicide rate is for white racists, but I hope it's even higher.

    Who said anything about suicide?

    ReplyDelete
  77. History Dude3:03 PM

    Mr. R,

    You have got to be kidding me with this bullshit. Are you a little child? This isn't grade school. Contribute something and stop with your inane ramblings. And take down that absurd Obama poster. It's so devoid of any factual basis that it's laughable. You and your arguments aren't going to do anything to convince people to see things your way.

    ReplyDelete
  78. hennasplace,
    The same reason that you use for good health is why a lot of Black people have bad health. There are some things that you cannot eat your way through. Stress is a major factor in many diseases and also genetics.

    My retail drug prices a year are close to $10,000, in which I put out about $1200 myself. This has nothing to do with my eating right?
    I have seen Black people put themselve in jepordy, thinking all they have to do when they have certain diseases is to eat right or to take herbs. There are instances where medication is necessary and I wish that equating taking medication as a moral failure would stop.

    You may be fortunate that doing what you are doing has kept you off of medication, but that may not work for every body.

    I am not saying one should not try to eat right or to watch their weight, but I think Black folk listen to too many testimonials rather than try to get the facts.

    ReplyDelete
  79. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  80. MR.R said...
    History Dude said...
    Mr. R,

    You have got to be kidding me with this bullshit. Are you a little child? This isn't grade school.

    Than stop ranting like a 7 year old.



    Contribute something and stop with your inane ramblings. And take down that absurd Obama poster. It's so devoid of any factual basis that it's laughable.

    But it has ya'll is panties in a bunch so i will keep it up thank you.


    You and your arguments aren't going to do anything to convince people to see things your way.

    Why do i want to convince the leftwing peanut gallery here of anything?



    "Let me see now, the last time I checked, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, health coverage for public employees, elected officials, and the military was all being run by the government, and that seems to be working out just fine"

    After that i may have to start calling you "filled" negro

    Do you really want to say the VA and the military are being ran just fine??

    The VA has never been ran just fine.Sure its better now than it was back in the day but its still f'up and needs repair.

    I could sit here all day and point stuff out thats wrong with the military.Its far from being ran just fine.

    My hope is one day we get a president that true to his word and makes major changes.That would save taxpayers billions of dollars.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Who said anything about suicide?

    I did.

    ReplyDelete
  82. grinder said...
    Who said anything about suicide?

    I did.


    Well your just one less we have to worry about.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Anonymous4:44 PM

    The President has to step up and Define who he is! he is allowing the Republican's to be the Second President!! and they are loving it!

    OBAMA may be the President, but, Rush and all the rest are defining themselve's as a stronger Leadership! and they are doing it without any Change involved! they continue to run on Fraud and they intend to get away with it! these people are expert's at this!!!

    OBAMA was chose to lead America, not half of America, but, the country as a whole, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST and WEST! Red state's and Blue state are obsolete! he is the President of all of these people in these State's,his job is to LEAD!

    We have one President! but, RUSH and the other's have decided to share the stage with the Elected President! they have decided to share in the POWER that the President hold's! they have decided to keep a segment of the American people held back as Hostage's!!!

    The President has the Power to
    SNATCH those Captivated, Weak Republican citizen's out of the hand's of RUSH, HANNITY, GLEN and all the rest! the weak minded citizen's are the one's the President has to reach, he has to find a way to win them over!

    He has to go full blast into their turf, he is their leader whether they want him to be or not! his job is to LEAD the American people! when it is all said and done, these same people will expect him to keep them safe from HARM! if God forbid, any harm come's to this Country! Rush and the rest cannot Protect them!!

    IseeIsee

    ReplyDelete
  84. Phuck health care reform, lets start this off with TORT REFORM!!

    Insurance companies couldn't have screwed up the health care system by themselves, they had help from BOTH sides of the isle so spare me this Conservative only bullshit argument because there aren't enough Conservatives to screw this up alone.

    LAWYERS play a HUGE role in why the health care industry is the way it is, but Obama wouldn't dare go after "his own". Trust me when it comes down to brass tax, Obama is a Lawyer first, Black man a distant second!!!

    And for the record, I know many, many Black doctors and not ONE of them is for this bill as it stands now. But they all agree that Lawyers have done medicine a HUGE disservice

    ReplyDelete
  85. And if most Black folks weren't so dam overweight, they wouldn't suffer as much from health disparities!!!

    ReplyDelete
  86. MR.R said...
    Don't forget high blood pressure caused by racism and that sickle cell gene.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    Black folks got sickle cell and white folks got Thalessemia, a blood disorder common to white folks. So what's your fucking point?

    ReplyDelete
  87. Grinder

    "Anyway, I think careful examination of data could really help people figure out exactly where the issues really are."

    What has this to do with health care and what is your fascination with Black women?

    Is it that you would not want your tax money being used on black people, because you think they bring health problems on themselves. What about the babies born with defects or the genetic propensity to have debilitating disease. Would you take away the mothers right to choose, because it might cost you tax money.

    If everyone of the 12 percent were ill, do you think it would be more than those who are sick in the 88 percent.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Field,

    I earn part of my living dealing with Medicare Supplement contracts and other types of contracts related to those.

    As you know, I have no great affection towards either the (D) or the (R) parties, but would you like to know which president has actually brought us closer to Government subsidized care than any other in the last 30 years?

    No one other then George W. Bush.

    It is called Medicare Part D - the government subsidized prescription benefit to coincide with Medicare Parts A & B for people 65 and older.

    This has been the largest step foward since the L.B. Johnson administration in the 60's.

    Interesting, huh?

    All the best,

    Adam

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous6:55 PM

    Black Americans get plenty of medication,crack,weed,heroin,.

    ReplyDelete
  90. The Wall Street Journal featured an article today about health care, it was cloaked in cute dogs, written by a pithy London doctor, and the main point of the article seemed to be comparing dog health care to human health care. But towards the end of the article, it seemed to me that the WSJ is also hoping the Obama will fail, here is a paragraph from the article:"The one kind of reform that America should avoid is one that is imposed uniformly upon the whole country, with a vast central bureaucracy. No nation in the world is more fortunate than America in its suitability for testing various possible solutions. The federal government should concern itself very little in health care arrangements, and leave it almost entirely to the states. I don’t want to provoke a new war of secession but surely this is a matter of states’ rights. All judgment, said Doctor Johnson, is comparative; and while comparisons of systems as complex as those of health care are never definitive or indisputable, it is possible to make reasonable global judgments: that the French system is better than the British or Dutch, for example. Only dictators insist they know all the answers in advance of experience. Let 100—or, in the case of the U.S., 50—flowers bloom."

    There have been other articles in the WJS lately, today they also had a headline that claimed that "Corporate Earnings are not a sign of Recovery" well, hello, than what is? Next they ahve another article "Our Unconstitutional Census" claiming that California will get nine more house seats because the Census will count illegal aliens.
    Then, there is a nice little letter to the editor headlined, "Racial Victimization is a Dead End" claiming "Prof. Gate's brand of racial victimization as a way to even the score..."

    Fox News is bad, but the Wall Street Journal probably has even more power to influence, Wall Street is not behind Obama, and I agree with Granny, our President is up against a huge power force.
    History Dude, I really believe that the Employee Free Choice Act fell by the wayside, because if Obama pushed it, the corporations would make sure that this whole economy tanked into a full swing depression. Notice how now that the Employee Free Choice Act is not an issue, how the economy is recovering? Coincidence? I don't think so. I also read that when this ecomony does bounce back, the demand for labor will be huge.

    One other big issue in health care is that a lot of the training and education that medical professionals receive is geared toward the diagnosis and treatment of white people, one of my sisters is a nurse, that's what she told me, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous 6:55:

    I shouldn't even reply to your asinine statement. However, this one time I'll be real nice and courteous and agree with you. In fact, I even added the proof of your statement.


    http://www.scienceclarified.com/images/uesc_01_img0011.jp

    http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2007/12/old-junkie-crack.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  92. http://www.scienceclarified.com/
    images/uesc_01_img0011.jp

    http://www.scienceclarified.com/
    images/uesc_01_img0011.jp

    Just in case some of the link got cut off, Anonymous 6:55.

    ReplyDelete
  93. http://theinspirationroom.com/
    daily/print/2007/12/old-junkie-crack.jpg

    Sorry about that.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Kid:
    I will respond to your comments. You are insane. I've never claimed to be a rocket scientist and I don't work for the CIA. I am a stay at home suburban housewife who simply knows how to read and think for herself. You live in a pocket of reality where literacy and critical thinking are subordinate to partisanship. What a shame.

    I don't care for Palin and don't watch FOX news because it is a propagandist station. I don't like Palin because she is ill equipped to hold political office. I am not a member of the GOP because I don't think they have the interests of Blacks in mind.

    I don't know where you get this misinformation but it is sad. Are you so woefully ignorant of economics that you don't know who is lobbying the Obama Administration for such radical healthcare reform? I'll spell it out for you: LARGE insurance companies, which are seeing such a system overhaul as a boon to their bottom line. I know this from personal experience,in addition to reading I've done.

    If a single payer system evolves or co-ops as our President has suggested, then the government WILL delegate the responsibility of arranging, organizing, compliance and everything else on insurance companies. They have the expertise of how to minimize costs and deliver healthcare to large numbers of people.

    My c-section and hospital stay cost over thirty thousand dollars. Due to my insurance, I only had to pay a small copayment. When looking at the itemization of the bill, I couldn't help but notice that the anesthesiologist charged on the order of THOUSANDS of dollars per hour.

    His rate has absolutely nothing to do with insurance companies at all. If you want to blame someone for the cost of high health care, look to your doctors and hospitals. Your vision is so myopic that you don't even see how soon, hospitals will be obsolete with people going to ambulatory care, urgent care, or ambulatory surgery centers.

    I think universal healthcare is a laudable goal. However, it cannot possibly function without blowing up on its face under our current economic paradigm. Medicare and SSI should have shown you this.

    ReplyDelete
  95. cinco8:32 PM

    These people suffer from Toddler mentality! We can't help them. They spew disharmony without facts.

    They are wrong and they don't care.

    ReplyDelete
  96. M Rigmaiden,

    FYI Anesthesiologist cost thousands of dollars in a doctors office. I almost had to pay once for a colonoscopy because of a paper work screw up. I am sure his cost didn't go down when they moved the test to a short procedure unit.

    Medicare uses insurance companies to administer it program now.

    We are not talking about insurance companies costing so much, but their ability to pick and choose. If you change employers will they cover future pregnancies, since your last delivery was high risk. If you are not old you do not have options. Insurance companies are not competitive and they don't make their money giving care.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Free speech made so much more sense when you had to give some second thoughts to dueling; as in Burr and Hamilton.

    Just another evil fantasy...sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  98. What has this to do with health care and what is your fascination with Black women?

    Huh??

    Is it that you would not want your tax money being used on black people, because you think they bring health problems on themselves.

    Huh??

    What about the babies born with defects or the genetic propensity to have debilitating disease. Would you take away the mothers right to choose, because it might cost you tax money.

    What on earth are you talking about?!

    If everyone of the 12 percent were ill, do you think it would be more than those who are sick in the 88 percent.

    That part of your comment doesn't even make sense.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Anonymous10:06 PM

    MY.RIGMAIDEN, you better hope SSI is still around in case you drop off your Ivory Tower, it never fail's to amaze me how the so called Educated Black's, can criticize the President!

    You people are a bunch of MR.R'S! you can all tell us why the President this and that policy's will FAIL!!!!!

    You use your big word's as if that will justify your Man Made talking point's!!!!you people need a DOSE of living in a Shelter for a while! and then let's see if you will come on here and talk about everything the President is trying to do bring harmony to this country!

    I am used to White Folk's like MR.R, they have been around for a long time, but, it's you new Breed of Black's that I will never get used too! you have it too easy, you are REAPING the HARVEST of our ANCESTOR'S, and then in return you SOW back a SPIRIT of Black condemnation!

    ReplyDelete
  100. Anonymous10:07 PM

    grinder I agree- I don't know what the hell those comments are about.

    ReplyDelete
  101. "If a single payer system evolves or co-ops as our President has suggested, then the government WILL delegate the responsibility of arranging, organizing, compliance and everything else on insurance companies. They have the expertise of how to minimize costs and deliver healthcare to large numbers of people."

    Your whole statement rings as counterintuitive. Why would the president turn to healthcare insurers, rather than to healthcare providers to achieve the goals you've outlined?

    I would think that the providers would be the people who know where the waste is occurring (although probably not currently incentivized to correct it).

    You're right about insurers' vested interest in minimizing cost, but I question whether they have the expertise to deliver quality "healthcare to large numbers of people."

    With their current mindset to minimize healthcare benefits for its members, and to maximize profits for it's CEO's and stock holders, it would require a complete attitudinal overhaul.

    By making insurers central to the process, I'm sure they will bring presssure to maintain a healthcare system similar to the one we currently have: where many medical procedures are denied for sundry reasons, or the government is bilked of untold billions.

    Lastly, insurers seem to like the current healthcare boondoggle, and are reticent to change--and many are behind the efforts we're now seeing to interrupt healthcare reform, although I'm told that healthcare insurers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries, if a public option becomes law.

    Perhaps insurers can reinvent themselves, but I doubt it. Once a crook always a crook.

    For it's billing, Medicare is currently using a Medicare Administrative Contractor, not an insurer.

    "I think universal healthcare is a laudable goal. However, it cannot possibly function without blowing up on its face under our current economic paradigm. Medicare and SSI should have shown you this."

    I don't see how the "current economic paradigm," as you call it, will have the profound negative impact on a government-run healthcare system in the way you believe.

    Medicare is an excellent model. Yet, I agree on this much: it can be improved and streamlined.

    ReplyDelete
  102. I think the government should consider a big expansion of the Veterans Administration, which runs a medical network that's generally considered pretty good. Cheaper than the rest of the medical system, with statistically better outcomes.

    ReplyDelete
  103. grinder,
    Twice you have mentioned black women in the statistics you give.

    You keep repeating other health statistics without mentioning a purpose.

    I was filling in the blanks. You haven't correlated your statistics to anything. Just what are you trying to say?

    You keep making comparison to Blacks and whites for what purpose. The only reason I can see it that you either think we are too stupid to recognize our own health issues or you somehow think our health issue will impact health care. That is what I meant by 12 percent. I surely thought you would recognize that statistic. The percent of Blacks of the US population.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Hathor, you can read. Go find my comments and read them again. They answer all of your questions. If you still can't get it, that's your problem and not mine.

    ReplyDelete
  105. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Black Diaspora:
    It is healthcare practitioners with their high billing costs that created a need for insurance in the first place. My statements aren't counter-intuitive they are quite correct. Insurance companies have been lobbying Obama's administration for universal healthcare. The government uses contractors and subcontractors all the time to complete various tasks. Clearly, the government is using insurance companies to help them not only develop this new healthcare plan, but also to run it once it gets off the ground.

    Once again, you should ask who are the lobbyists for this new healthcare system and what they have to gain from it.

    I still have yet to understand why people rail on insurance companies so much. Imagine a country without it, where doctors set their own rates without conscience and healthcare is only available to the wealthy. This was how America was up until the earlier part of the last century because doctors were charging exorbitant rates.

    There is the last pesky issue of how there are really BIG insurance carriers that are non profit where their whole business model is to save their members money and to provide the best care for the cheapest price. There is nothing wrong with that. Blue Shield of California is one such example.

    I think you are mistaken about insurance companies possible gains if we go to this new system. Some stand to gain quite a bit. See this.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Anonymous11:25 AM

    Rigmaiden "It is healthcare practitioners with their high billing costs that created a need for insurance in the first place. My statements aren't counter-intuitive they are quite correct."

    You are right. There is nothing counterintuitive about you statement. People who know how insurance companies started in the first place know it was the greedy doctors and hospitals who were gouging patients in the first place. Doctors were making an enormous amount of money to the extent that it was obscene.

    To accuse you of being counter-intuitive is absurd.

    ReplyDelete
  108. [quote]I trust the government to deliver affordable health care and to be fair in doing it, more than I do the private insurance companies. Sorry, but with them [the insurance companies] it's all about the bottom line[/quote]

    A big fat flying hippo just buzzed all of you all and you were so captivated by Mr Negro's words that you didn't SEE IT.

    Filled Negro. Do you ever take your statements and run them through in reverse of your propaganda machine?

    Where as the HEALTH CARE INSURANCE FIELD who I heard a Democrat Rep say makes an EVIL $12 billion per year in profit...............the FREAKING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is running a $1,300 billion DEFICIT!!!!

    OF COURSE you are not concerned about a freaking BOTTOM LINE!!!!

    Why even bother telling us this Filled Negro? Of course YOU don't care. You want the goods.

    So let me do a stair step approach for you Filled Negro and then tell you the importance of LOCAL and ORGANIC initiatives to deliver to your people that which they need.

    Lets start off locally. PHILADELPHIA!!!! The city is broke and has - what was it? A $2 billion hole to fill over the next 5 years? They have whittled down your libraries and your swimming pools.

    Now let's climb to the state of PA. To be honestly with you I haven't been following the financial hijinx of the Keystone state but if it is like many in that region - the red ink is flowing. Let me check. Be right back.

    OK - $3 billion dollars.
    http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/06/08/daily45.html

    Certainly not as bad as the progressive state of California but hey be lucky. The Color of Change has not protested against you. You don't have a Republican governor.

    Lets move on up to my man BARACK OBAMA!!!! He is going to save the day for all of you who wrote personal checks to his campaign so that he could "break something off" to you from other people's wallets.

    There is a problem. Obama is BROKE. I will even appease you all a bit - BUSH DID IT!!!

    But guess what Filled Negro - this doesn't change the fact even if it gets you off because OBAMA IS BROKE.

    $12,100 BILLION DOLLARS in Federal Debt. Expected to grow to $19,000 billion by 2020.

    Do you see the problem Filled Negro?

    WHEN YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE ......then your creditors ARE GOING to MAKE YOU CARE about what you are not inclined to care about.

    You know about those things called Treasury Bonds? Well the Japanese and the Chinese are going to have to purchase US bet so our fine sista - Jody can get some "Single Payer Health Care".

    In as much as our friend is interested in 'BEING IN RECEIPT OF BENEFIT' per her RIGHT!!!.....she is not going to concern her self much with her PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY to

    1) FINANCE this entitlement

    2) Allow her people to be DELIVERY AGENTS for these benefits


    I agree with you Filled Negro. It is far easier to not worry about the BOTTOM LINE. Then you can focus on RIGHTS or EMPATHY. You will be LOVED by the people you come through for on the short term.

    But just like many union heads who now see their people laid off and their benefits cut - THAT 'BOTTOM LINE' is a mother!!

    Either YOU will respect it or it is going to MAKE YOU respect it.

    ReplyDelete
  109. [quote]
    It is healthcare practitioners with their high billing costs that created a need for insurance in the first place.[/quote]

    Mrs Rigmaiden:

    We have been getting along kinda good lately. I know that you think that I am crazy but I can live with that.

    I hope that my rejection of your statement above doesn't set back our friendship?

    This is not a logical statement.

    If I said "it is the auto mechanics and body repair shops with their high billing costs that are running up the cost of AUTO INSURANCE " would this sit with you as a logical statement?

    As much as some of the other people on this blog love Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow I would think that they would have seen the report on MSNBC's web site yesterday?

    5 Reasons Why Your Health Care Is So High
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32029403/ns/health-health_care/

    ReplyDelete
  110. Anonymous5:36 PM

    If only he were a real Socialist we'd be getting a better plan than what he's advocating or not advocating for. It's kind of hard to tell because he never gives a straight answer on what he really wants and leaving congress to figure it out makes me think it's not much.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Anonymous6:08 PM

    CF-"I know that you think that I am crazy but I can live with that."

    Did you know that crazy people don't know they are crazy? Ignorance is bliss.

    ReplyDelete
  112. i do not trust the govt to tun health care

    but i trust private capitalist employers not to betray all employees for whatever the govt runs even LESS than i trust the govt!!!...

    ReplyDelete
  113. more on nazisim in obama's bill

    http://sandrarose.com/2009/08/11/dirty-secret-1-in-obamacare/

    ReplyDelete
  114. Black Diaspora8:25 PM

    @Anonymousy: "Doctors were making an enormous amount of money to the extent that it was obscene.

    "To accuse you of being counter-intuitive is absurd."

    At least have the guts to standup and leave a name of a sort.

    Growing healthcare costs stem from many sources. Doctors are just one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Black Diaspora8:35 PM

    Another thing Anonymousy, you didn't take the time to read my initial statement, the one that M. Rigmaiden responded to.

    It had very little to say about who's the blame for healthcare cost, as much as it did about the eventual role of healthcare insurers, if a "single payer" plan became law.

    Read before you leap: You may find that you can stay glued to the spot you're in.

    I respect M. Rigmaiden. She's willing to take the heat, and is not reluctant to identify herself other than just Anonymous.

    For you, well, anonymous speaks for itself.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Anonymous9:21 PM

    BD "I respect M. Rigmaiden. She's willing to take the heat, and is not reluctant to identify herself other than just Anonymous.

    For you, well, anonymous speaks for itself."

    You sound terribly upset by my opinion. Also, I don't think your recent counter-intuitive comment to her caused much 'heat' for her at all. In fact, her reply to you sounded quite calm and cool. Maybe you are overestimating the impact of your comment?

    ReplyDelete
  117. History Dude said: "Japan has universal healthcare coverage. People can even decide on the doctor or care center of their choice! Yet, who would call Japan a socialist country?"

    You are soooooooooo right!! I make my payments to the Japanese government, pay a few additional dollars for doctor visits and medication (usually $10-$15 total per visit)...and have NEVER ONCE been turned away from receiving quality care anywhere in this country.

    I really appreciate this "socialist" system with all its fabulous benefits (To me, it is nothing less than an investment that increases the quality of my future health. LOL!!). Here, the cost of the coverage is salary-based...not age relative. The more $$$ you make, the more $$$ you pay. Some of my Japanese friends think it's strange that we Americans pay more as we get older, considering our salary base normally decreases as we age. I feel secure knowing that ALL residents here, as insurance is mandatory, are guaranteed care.

    Maybe a major difference between my country of residence and my country of origin is that Japan is a country which puts GROUP needs first, whereas America focuses more on the rights of individuals. Even so, a democracy is ALSO about protecting the welfare of the GROUP...even if that means having to, at times, rely on the government for that to be accomplished. Some of the same people screaming about 'socialism' this and 'government interference' that are the same folks reaping the benefits of the bank bailouts and other government policies. One disturbing point that I made debating this issue with my students made during an English lesson is this: "If you want to keep a group, any group, of people down, the only thing you need to do is deny them access to good health care, nutritious food, and a healthy natural environment."

    I feel that, after having lived under both health care systems, that the Japanese one is FAR superior to that of the US. (Note: I realize that some of you may choose to try to promote your idea regarding this issue by questioning my "patriotism" or by calling me anti-American! Fact is, when I visit a Japanese doctor or health care facility, I do so as an American, so that point is moot.)

    On a more personal note...my mother lost her right foot to diabetes a few weeks ago...after losing her left leg five or so years back. I can't even begin to describe all the foolishness my family has had to deal with when it came to health care for my mother. Apologies in advance for the sarcasm, but we've been "blessed" with some incompetent doctors, a few botched surgeries, staples left in a wound a year after the surgery, facilities that were over an hour drive from where my parents live (because those facilities were in her coverage zone, etc), and health companies that wouldn't pay for certain procedures when they should have...to companies that tried to find any and every excuse to drop my mom's coverage when she became too much of a drain on their profits.

    When I see how extremely lucky and blessed I am, as a American woman, to be covered under the national Japanese health system, it disappoints me that America can't...no make that WON'T...offer its citizens the same (or even something better). There is something TERRIBLY wrong, when one of the world's greatest countries has a citizen base so unhealthy and uncared for.

    Anyway, I didn't drop by to say that America's health care system doesn't work. I'm saying that it doesn't work for me. I will gladly live here to take advantage of wonderful health coverage after witnessing the devastation that my parents are suffering as a result of their life savings being practically wiped out to cover costs that should have been covered by money-hungry insurance companies. As a proud American, I feel that if this is indicative of health care in the States, then the system is utterly pathetic!! Oh...and so are those pedaling the merits of the existing system just to get financial rewards from it.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Food for thought...

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081003126.html?g=0

    ReplyDelete
  119. FlyNMy40s said...

    "And if most Black folks weren't so dam overweight, they wouldn't suffer as much from health disparities!!"

    Now that you have mentioned an obvious problem, what do you suggest be DONE about it?? What are some of the causes of it to begin with??

    ReplyDelete
  120. Black Diaspora2:37 AM

    Anonymous @ 9:21 PM

    "You sound terribly upset by my opinion. Also, I don't think your recent counter-intuitive comment to her caused much 'heat' for her at all. In fact, her reply to you sounded quite calm and cool. Maybe you are overestimating the impact of your comment?"

    First, you're entitle to your opinion.

    Second, I liked her response and chose not to reply.

    Third, you're underestimating the impact of her comments.

    Fourth, it was not my purpose to cause her heat, but to have a civil conversation. She gets enough of that from others that post here.

    And fifth, come out of hiding: have the courage of your convictions to sign-on to your comments.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Black Diaspora2:54 AM

    @Angie-in-Japan: "Some of my Japanese friends think it's strange that we Americans pay more as we get older, considering our salary base normally decreases as we age. I feel secure knowing that ALL residents here, as insurance is mandatory, are guaranteed care."

    Greetings again, Angie. Thanks for taking the time to compare your healthcare system with ours.

    It was, indeed, an eye-opener. I wonder why, when our system is compared to other universal healthcare systems around the world, it's always Canada and England.

    It's good to know that some countries are getting it right, and placing the health of its populace ahead of greed.

    Now if we can only get on-board educationally. How does Japan's education system compare with ours?

    I'm almost afraid to ask!

    ReplyDelete
  122. MR.R: I agree! Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. But let's raise the bar one notch and take it a step higher:

    "The job of the opposition is not to salute the government but to pounce on its every mistake, prick its every pretension, belittle its every success — and, above all, to offer an alternative." (The Economist, 13 Oct 2001, page 56)

    So, for all the dissent going on...where are the alternatives those dissenters are obligated to give? I don't know about you but I was taught that if I don't have anything worthwhile to bring to the "table"... then I should excuse myself from it in order to make room for someone who does. I watch the news and see people yelling about what is wrong in America. (That happened well BEFORE Obama...and it'll happen long after he's gone.) I see some media, as well as certain politicians trying to sabotage many things the Obama administration champions. (Of course, this happens on both sides of the political fence!! The reason I mentioned the Obama administration is because that is where we are NOW.)

    Rarely do they offer their thoughts or ideas on what can be done to help solve the myriad of problems our country faces, yet they have both the passion and resources to provoke violent conflict. It's almost as if they are out to make sure this man and his staff don't succeed so that they can bask in their failures. Yes, what I see is dissent...much of it MINUS THE PATRIOTISM. Sure makes me wonder if these people need to be sentenced to a few years abroad to experience what it would be like to be without the comforts of America. Maybe they would actually learn to not take its existence for granted. I don't...

    Are we ready for quality health care in America?? We can fight, vote, shoot, curse, stick our heads in the sand, hate, debate and blog all we want. But in the end, we will either stand united...or united we will fall. (I'm sure China, no doubt watching for of our failures, is banking on that second one.)


    Field et al: Apologies for the length of this, but I am really frustrated. From abroad, it looks as if our country is falling apart. I am truly sad to see that so many of our fellow Americans who, though capable of influencing public opinion in a positive, uplifting way, focus on using their talents to promote hatred, violence, ignorance and anything else negative, especially when money and/or the spotlight is involved. "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." — Mohandas Gandhi

    ReplyDelete
  123. BD said: "Now if we can only get on-board educationally. How does Japan's education system compare with ours? I'm almost afraid to ask!"

    So good to "see" you again, BD. I'm getting ready for a trip to SIngapore for a little R&R, so I don't have time to blog. BUT...here is a little something that I wrote about the Japanese educational system in the past (edited a little for you). I'll try to pick up where I leave off when I return next week! Stay blessed...

    -------------------------------------
    I'm not sure how it works now, but when I was in the States, public schools received a large portion of funds from local property taxes. The higher the taxes in a particular neighborhood, the better the facilities at the school catering to that particular neighborhood. This, in turn, allowed for the type of money needed to attract teachers with higher qualifications. Of course, this would give students at these facilities an advantage over students from schools with less money. Yeah....we don't like to admit it but this only creates a society of those who have better education; which means they get better jobs; which gives them the opportunity to become more powerful and make more money...which ultimately keeps them in a position to maintain control, perpetuating the negative effects of that cycle to their own advantage, while limiting the successes of other children.

    What would America become IF (as in Japan):

    .....property taxes were distributed evenly amongst the public schools regardless of who went where?

    .....if students where able to CHOOSE the high school of their choice, then test to enter it?

    ......school officials and teachers were not allowed to CHOOSE where they wanted to work but were rotated to different schools in their general areas every 3-5 years?

    .....teachers were all paid the same standard salary to start off, with promotions and higher wages dependent on the level to which they can encourage their students to excel academically?

    BD...of course, there are some disadvantages to the Japanese educational system. Many problems with bullying, as well as a lack of creative thought. Much emphasis is placed on rote memorization. More later!!

    ReplyDelete
  124. angie:

    millions of dissenters/peers of obama in DC have many specific ideas...

    it is the dissent itself that offends all obama nazis

    the details of that dissent are irrelevant

    worse = obama's fans rule all media

    they omit the details as they slant all news to slander the dissenters!!!



    http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/141856/obama%27s_$80_billion_deal_with_pharma_is_a_very_bad_deal_for_us/

    http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/140886/obama_is_making_the_wrong_decision_on_health_care_reform/

    http://www.alternet.org/immigration/140985/obama_dives_into_immigration_reform,_but_lines_are_already_being_drawn/

    ReplyDelete
  125. un-be-fuckin-lievable3:07 PM

    angie:

    "millions of dissenters/peers of obama in DC have many specific ideas...

    it is the dissent itself that offends all obama nazis"

    What about the tea partiers (faggots) and their dissent?

    Or does it not count for racist republikkkans?

    ReplyDelete
  126. Black Diaspora5:45 PM

    @Angie: "BD...of course, there are some disadvantages to the Japanese educational system. Many problems with bullying, as well as a lack of creative thought. Much emphasis is placed on rote memorization. More later!!"

    It helps to get out and see how the other half of the world is living.

    Alas, no such luck.

    But, I'm truly grateful that you're willing to share.

    Do you know the cause of the "bullying"?

    And why "rote memorization"?

    I would think emphasis on problem solving, and scientific inquiry would take center stage.

    Perhaps it does, but it just doesn't seem compatible with "rote memorization," and a deemphasis on "creative thought."

    Given Japan's history, I can understand why an emphasis on teaching "critical thinking" that encourage questioning sacred cultural views would be suppressed, but perhaps I'm reading too much into your statement.

    Have a restful trip.

    ReplyDelete
  127. FlyNMy40s said...

    "And if most Black folks weren't so dam overweight, they wouldn't suffer as much from health disparities!!"


    Now that you have mentioned an obvious problem, what do you suggest be DONE about it?? What are some of the causes of it to begin with?? <<<

    Obesity--particularly childhood obesity--affects many Americans, not just black folks.

    ReplyDelete
  128. Sharon from WI said...

    "Obesity--particularly childhood obesity--affects many Americans, not just black folks."

    Yes Sharon...many people around the world are suffering from obesity. The Japanese have termed it 'metabo', short for "metabolic syndrome." I didn't focus on the big picture because I wanted to hear what FlyNMy40s had to say regarding the effects of obesity on the Black community first.

    Thanks for sending out that reminder to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  129. alicia banks said...

    "angie: millions of dissenters/peers of obama in DC have many specific ideas...

    it is the dissent itself that offends all obama nazis

    the details of that dissent are irrelevant

    worse = obama's fans rule all media

    they omit the details as they slant all news to slander the dissenters!!!"

    -----------------------------------
    Alicia: I spent an hour writing an eloquent response to your comment late last night only to lose it during posting. So, behold...my "morning" version. LOL!!

    First, I'd like to thank you for sending the links. I am aware that many folks are concerned about the costs of the plans being pushed. So am I!! I also realize that others are hesitant to trust a health care plan backed by the government, especially considering all of the medical experiments were conducted on certain groups of people over the years. This also makes me suspect of government agenda as it reaches out into our lives.

    Personally...I have no problem whatsoever when it comes to being critical of President Obama and others in government. LOL!! It is, in my opinion, our responsibility and right. I'm not bothered by the actual dissent itself; it is the WAY in which this dissent is being expressed and circulated that I find most appalling. From race-baiting and inciting of violence by encouraging others to go to public events with guns to painting swastikas on property to labeling people who think differently as 'Obama Nazis' and 'racist republikkans.' Are we not better people than that?

    Sure, there may be some Obama supporters who see him as onmiparient, honorable, infallible and morally grounded. In the same breath, there may be some dissenters who see him as short-sighted, racist, ill-prepared and "foreign." I am not here to debate that...but to pursue dialogue regarding how to revamp our health care system. I offer you all a peek into a system that has taken excellent care of me and my health (imperfect though it is). I would be thrilled to see a similar health care system, one adjusted to fit the needs of our culture, operating in the States...but I don't expect everyone here to agree with that sentiment.

    As such, and in the spirit of acknowledging beliefs that differ from my own...I choose to try and state my points without disparaging those who may happen to disagree with me. If more of the policy shapers, decision makers, media and industry folk involved in this debate would only work a little bit harder at dishing out the same level of respect they seek, we possibly could end up with better results.

    Finally, if we really are aiming to produce tangible results regarding health care, we ALL need to rely less on the meaningless insults hurled at people and more on the quality of dialogue we engage in. The key, I believe, is in learning to LISTEN to what opposing dialogue has to say. No, we don't have to like it or even accept it...but wouldn't it be nice to give our egos a chance to learn something of value from it? Fat chance...??? (no health-related pun intended!!) LOL!!

    Stay blessed and have a GREAT day. Off to the airport!!

    ReplyDelete
  130. angie

    ditto to all!

    i believe that many of the town hallers are not racists and many voted for obama

    see:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnJyqZgMoNQ&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-bY92mcOdk

    have a great flight!

    ReplyDelete
  131. The average annual cost of Healthcare in the US is $6,000.

    The average annual cost of Medicare is $8,000.

    The average annual cost of VA healthcare is about the same.

    The average annual cost of Medicaid in NY State is $12,500.

    In other words, the government programs cost more than private plans.

    If you want a national healthcare plan you must have the honesty to admit it will cost MUCH more than private alternatives.

    Does anyone praise the quality of care from Medicaid? No.

    When it comes to delivering services the government spends more and gives less.

    As Obama said, just look at UPS, FedEx and the Post Office.

    ReplyDelete
  132. The average annual cost of Healthcare in the US is $6,000.

    The average annual cost of Medicare is $8,000.

    The average annual cost of VA healthcare is about the same.

    The average annual cost of Medicaid in NY State is $12,500.

    In other words, the government programs cost more than private plans.


    What egregious bullshit. If, and that's a big if, those stats are right, you haven't considered that Medicare recipients are the elderly, and they have higher health care utilization rates. Same for veterans using the VA; the healthier ones tend to go for Tricare. Did you even know about Tricare? Are the numbers combined? What is your source for all the numbers?

    Does anyone praise the quality of care from Medicaid? No.

    Medicaid does not provide care. Medicaid pays for care. The doctors, hospitals, clinics, etc., paid by Medicaid are private entities. Fuckin' wingnut lying idiot!

    ReplyDelete
  133. grinder,

    I gave the annual average per-capita cost of healthcare in the US.

    The costs are distributed as I said.

    Overall average -- $6,000

    Medicare -- $8,000

    NY State Medicaid -- $12,500

    These are the amounts SPENT on healthcare. The cost of the government programs are higher than the private programs.

    By the way, on a regional basis, the lowest healthcare costs are found in Utah -- where the Mormons live.

    Why? Because they live healthier lives -- no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no coffee, better diet.

    Utah health costs are much much lower than costs elsewhere in the country, proving we can lower our national healthcare costs by at least one-third by changing our lifestyles.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Anonymous7:14 AM

    In the rush to enter the so called health care debate we are completely missing the fact that we are actually arguing about continuing a poorly functioning system that has not been delivering care for as long as I have been involved. I worked 40 yrs as an R.N. in 10 different medical fields including hospital based care and home care and paremedic. We do an awesome job with acute medical and trauma care. The technolgy is first rate. We do a lousy job with all the chronic conditions with uses the most health care dollars. The main issue is with predatory capitalism that can only feed off sick conditions...little incentive to change the system...the right to clean nutritious and affordable food and clean air, water and cheap clean energy are a bundle if you will. We have allowed politics and corporations to involve us in a so-called debate on health care as tho that is an issue alone..Au contraire and they seem to be doing a good job as they always do to split us as a people..the created divisions of sex,age, class and caste. People have been so dumbed down that we know very little individually about anything and depend upon so-called experts to tell us how to think about everything.And yet I have great compassion for people...this is not the world order we want...so I am committed to the good and do what I can to inform about the truth..address the good desired..I believe behind the scenes that greater minds than mine are working for the collective good..can we survive the unintended consequences?

    ReplyDelete
  135. "The United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span. Japan has the longest life expectancy — 83 years for children born in 2007, according to the World Health Organization."

    http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/us_med_life_expectancy.html


    I wonder what kind of health care systems the other 30 or so countries have...?

    ReplyDelete
  136. angie-in-japan, you wrote:

    "I wonder what kind of health care systems the other 30 or so countries have...?"

    The average life in Japan is longer than elsewhere due to life-STYLE, not healthcare.

    Also, Japan is a homogenous nation. Almost everyone who lives there is Japanese. They have a better diet, which makes a huge difference. And obesity is not a national problem in Japan.

    If Americans lived like the Japanese, we would live longer too.

    By the way, only a handful of murders occur in Japan each year.

    ReplyDelete
  137. no_slappz wrote:

    "The average life in Japan is longer than elsewhere due to life-STYLE, not healthcare. Also, Japan is a homogenous nation. Almost everyone who lives there is Japanese. They have a better diet, which makes a huge difference. And obesity is not a national problem in Japan. If Americans lived like the Japanese, we would live longer too. By the way, only a handful of murders occur in Japan each year."
    ---------

    In Japan, preventative health care, in particular, is VERY closely linked to "life-style" and the choices we make. They don't seem to be mutually exclusive ...at least not here.

    That Japanese life-style you referenced is taking quite a hit these days: major on-going problems with tobacco, stress, STDs, drinking and overwork. Recent problems include increases in drug cases and murders. Yes, even here in Japan where we don't have easy access to guns to further aggravate things!!

    True, the country is pretty homogenous...but the current Japanese diet is influenced heavily by the diets of other countries. It is NOT as traditional as it once was (brown rice, seaweeds, fermented and pickled foods, wild mountain vegetables, fresh seafood are being passed over, generally speaking, by the younger generations).

    I would say that Japan HAD a better (more nutritious) diet but has given that up to follow the West. Fast food, prepackaged meals and "fatty foods" are now the norm, not the exception to the dietary rules. Convenience stores and fast food joints are everywhere. In the countryside, it is still pretty traditional.

    And obesity IS a national problem here. "Metabo" (meaning metabolic syndrome) is on the news and in the papers pretty much every day. The change in life-style has led to some major health issues. Diabetes and heart disease, once problems that were not so prevalent in Japan, are major problems here now. The times have changed, affecting life-styles and quality of health.

    What has remained constant (or probably gotten better) is the quality of Japanese national health care. Could THAT be Japan's holy grail? Anyway, that leaves the life-styles AND health care systems of about 29 other countries for us to ponder. Stay blessed...

    PS...I'm not sure if you live in Japan or not, but it definitely has more than a handful of murders yearly. Nowhere near the amount I hear coming out of the States...but enough to make me lock my doors before going to bed these days. Those living outside of Japan simply don't hear about the majority of them.

    ReplyDelete
  138. angie,

    Everything is relative.

    Japan may be seeing a measurable increase in the consumption of fatty foods, but the US has a MAJOR obesity problem. Japan seems to be recording evidence of a small but growing problem.

    There are about 15,000 homicides a year in the US. The population is 305 million.

    About 40,000 people are killed in car accidents yearly. In total, about 100,000 people are killed in accidents.

    Heart disease -- a result of smoking, drinking and fatty diets -- is the leading cause of death.

    Again, if the US lifestyle were to match the current Japanese lifestyle, we would record big improvements in life span and overall health.

    I live in New York City.

    Our national healthcare expenditures would drop by at least one-third if we stopped smoking, drinking and eating lousy food.

    ReplyDelete
  139. Yes, it is relative.

    There probably would be an improvement in overall US health if people chose to take better care of themselves.

    And...

    Maybe there would be additional improvements if our government would "invest" more in the health of its people.


    Hey...just a thought but if you could spend a month or so at a health resort in the Japanese countryside ... getting back in touch with nature, detoxing, eating healthy foods, exercising and relaxing.... would you??

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  140. angie, yyou asked:

    "just a thought but if you could spend a month or so at a health resort in the Japanese countryside ... getting back in touch with nature, detoxing, eating healthy foods, exercising and relaxing.... would you??"

    I eat healthy foods and exercise a lot. Moreover, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs. Even so, yes, I would go to a health resort in the Japanese countryside. Write Haiku and read Basho.

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