Friday, November 08, 2013

Sorry is not so hard to say.


"It's sad, it's so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Always seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word"


Not for this president, Elton.

President Obama apologized to America for his health plan not working the way he wanted it to, and for his misguided promise to a small percentage of the people who will have to actually sign up for a better plan, but republicans and their wingnut friends will not accept it. (BTW, remember that "poor" lady with cancer who was going to die because of Obamacare? Well, not so much. In fact, a lot of people have been lying severely misinformed about Obamacare of late. Some of them are famous, and some of them are just ordinary folks.)  

Now the folks over at FOX are really confused. They demanded an apology, and now that they have one, they are scrambling in the newsroom to come up with a new meme.

I can't wait to hear it. Because wingnuts have a way of living in an alternate reality. For instance, did you know that Mitt Romney won the 2012 election by a landslide? Or that Ken Cuccinelli actually won the governor's race in Virginia?

If you live in our world you don't. But thankfully we have FOX NEWS to give us a glimpse of the other side every now and then.

Anyway, Obama isn't the only one who has been apologizing of late. Home Depot felt compelled to apologize after an ignorant and offensive tweet  that was retweeted from their account. 

And then there is Lara Logan and her crew over at CBS for botching a 60 Minutes report on Benghazi.

"In a humiliating retreat from a piece she had staunchly defended, "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan admitted on Friday morning that she and the news magazine had made a "mistake" in their reporting of a controversial story about the Benghazi attacks. She apologized to viewers and said "60 Minutes" will issue a correction about the reliability of one of her key sources, security contractor Dylan Davies, on its next program.

"We were wrong to put him on air," she said, adding, "We will apologize to our viewers and we will correct the record on our broadcast on Sunday night."
It emerged on Thursday that Davies, who gave Logan a hair-raising, detailed account of his actions during the 2012 attack, had previously told the FBI that he hadn't even gone to the site where it took place.

This was the second occasion where Davies had been recorded as saying that he wasn't at the scene of the crime. He had already admitted to doing so once, but CBS and Logan had firmly backed him, saying that he had lied to his employer to protect himself.

Lying to the FBI, however, is a different matter, and "60 Minutes" pulled the report and said it was "reviewing" the new information to determine whether it had been misled.

That review led to Logan's apology on Friday morning.

"The most important thing to every person at '60 Minutes' is the truth, and today the truth is that we made a mistake," she said, calling it a very "disappointing" situation.

Logan said that the emergence of the FBI was "the moment for us when we realized that we no longer had confidence in our source." She said that the show had taken the vetting of Davies "very seriously," but that he had "misled" everyone.
"CBS This Morning" host Norah O'Donnell asked Logan, "Why would you stand by this report after Dylan Davies admitted lying to his own employer?" Logan said that Davies had always portrayed that lie as part of a patriotic, selfless desire to help his fellow security workers, even though he was not supposed to be at the compound." [Source]

I never liked Lara Logan; I always felt that she was more suited for FOX NEWS than a real news company.

Please bring back some real journalists to 60 Minutes.

Poor Dan Rather caught a lot of heat for his George Bush National Guard story.

Let's see if Logan gets the same treatment for this phony story.  














46 comments:

Whitey's Conspiracy said...

Ms. Logan has always made a point of dressing in clingy figure-flattering western clothes when she reports from Muslim lands, and has otherwise made no secret of her neo-imperial scorn for the "backward" traits in the middle-east where modesty is universally expected of women. While he was as much a feminist as any man of his generation, when we lived in Iran & Turkey, my dad always took the same practical approach as local Christians & Jews and made sure that our women-folk too wore loose clothing with long sleeves in public and they never had any of the problems that Ms. Logan ended up in.

Anonymous said...

Field, "I never liked Lara Logan; I always felt that she was more suited for FOX NEWS than a real news company."

Logan is alright with me. So, lighten up Field. Look, she made an innocent mistake in dealing with a liar. Hell, there are liars on FN, from coast to coast to PR who fool people here everyday.

Take for instance, Dr Nuwang. She has been fooling people for years. She has changed her name at least 5 times and claim to have several medical degrees. AND, she is working on another one!

If you can put up with Dr Queen, Dr Nuwang, and Flying in my 40s, then certainly you can give Logan a second chance? Besides, she looks a lot better from head to toe than Dr Nuwang.

President Oblame-a said...

"his misguided promise to a small percentage of the people who will have to actually sign up for a better plan,"
-----

Wasn't it because of a "small percentage" of people who couldn't buy health insurance we had to trash our whole system for Obamacare?

I guess some percentages are more equal than others.

And the only reason they are small now is because the employer mandate got delayed a year.

I'll bet a year from today, Field is telling us that 60% is a small percentage.

And helpfully pointing out that's what they get for making the wrong decisions. The President is just saving them from their own bad choices for 'subpar' plans. He's like Jesus, I guess.

Akbar said...

Whitey's Conspiracy said...
Ms. Logan has always made a point of dressing in clingy figure-flattering western clothes when she reports from Muslim lands
----------

That's right Whitey. It's entirely on her. That slut Lara Logan deserved every bit of the gang raping she got in Tahrir Square. Don't go to someone's country and dis their culture by wearing your own clothes. Nothing like getting raped by 200 guys to put a woman back in line.

We could use a little of that over here for any Romney-voting women, am I right?

Anonymous said...

Whitey, you make a good point about Lara's way of dressing while in the middle east. Trouble was bound to come her way. It's a different culture, with different morals and ethics. Hence Americans need and should respect them.

Nevertheless, Lara is a good person and a good reporter. We all have to give her that. Field just doesn't know much about good reporting...just read some of his posts and you'll see what I mean.:)

Whitey's Conspiracy said...

Your words Akhbar; I wouldn't be quite so slut-shamey about it. I'm not saying that she dressed provocatively, excited passions & therefore deserved to be gang raped; I'm saying that Ms. Logan deliberately interposed herself and her western image into traditional societies with such casual disregard for their social standards that something like what happened to her in Tahrir was almost inevitable.

Josh said...

As a non-liberal, which makes me a racist righty conservative to progressive liberals, I can speak a bit as to at least one of the reasons Obama's "sorry" isn't good enough.

It's because it's backhanded and still dishonest.

If the guy would just say what he wants, then it'd be okay. Just say it: "I want the poorer people in this nation to have their health insurance subsidized. I did not misspeak when I said I want to 'spread the wealth around,' nor was it taken out of context. I meant what I said when, about businesses, I claimed 'you didn't build that.' These are my core beliefs. This is my vision for America."

Wow! That's so hard? Instead, Obama and Co. put on a years-long charade, where anyone even hinting that it wouldn't work was libeled as all sorts of horseshit, where someone calling him a big-government bozo was called racist, and where the ACA was supposed to be a great law to help 30m uninsured get insured. It was supposed to be brilliant, allowing ALL people to keep their insurance.

But, now, suddenly, after Obamacare is failing, 30m becomes a "small percentage" and "unimportant" and not part of the "bigger picture." Now that it's people who already had healthcare (the haves) being f'd, it's okay. It's necessary. Now at least people who didn't have insurance will have....insurance? Well, close enough to it that America can feel more like one of those 90% white nations doing the white thing.

That's why the apology isn't good enough, because the way they ushered the ACA in was sleazy in itself.

They were never honest about the full intention behind the move. And even now that it's becoming apparent, they're still not honest about it.

Wesley R said...

My people dont like Bryant Gumbel, but he is someone who tells the story regardless of right or left. You can call him him a House Negro all day but he gets to facts regardless of the left/right world we live in. I wanted him on Meet The Press, but it looks like 60 Minutes could use him.

It's Bush's fault, if you think about it. said...

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me (wink, wink)” – Barack Hussein Obama

It’s not his fault really. He really believed you could keep your health plans. And then his people wrote the regs so that you couldn’t. But the trigger for the regs was technically in the marketplace.

So it’s not his fault. It’s the fault of the healthcare marketplace churn.

Some might say that’s like putting a bomb on a bus that will go off if it drops below 50 miles an hour and then blaming the resulting deaths on the bus for going too slow… instead of on the guy who planted the bomb.

Obama put the bomb on the bus. But it’s the fault of the bus, gasoline, the combustion engine, gravity and the fragility of human bodies that caused all the deaths.

Don’t get him wrong. He’s sorry that your subpar body was on board a bad apple bus that began going so slowly that the bomb went off. He really, really thought that the bomb wouldn’t go off.

The Purple Cow said...

"Racism is a psycho-biological survival system based on white peoples subconscious desire to avoid extermination by Black Men co-cohabiting with White Women."

Not true. Racism was invented in the 14th and 15th centuries as a retroactive justification for the economic imperative of slavery.

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

Purple Cow...

I am talking about the psychological pathology after world sentiment turned against slavery.

Racism surely did not end after the economic imperative of slavery was exposed, and generally frowned upon across the world.

So while your statement about the actual structure from which Racism was born has truth.

It just doesnt negate my theory...

field negro said...

I blame the greedy corporations in the healthcare industry for some folks being kicked out of their plans. Look what happened in California.

Anonymous said...

This isn't about today's post, Field, but I don't tweet and you need to read this if you haven't. About Incognito/Martin but a lot more. Jason Whitlock is brilliant, totally nails it over at ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9941696/jonathan-martin-walked-twisted-world-led-incognito

—anotherbozo

Anonymous said...

Blogger field negro said...
I blame the greedy corporations in the healthcare industry for some folks being kicked out of their plans. Look what happened in California.

7:40 AM
----------------------
Capitalism is about making profits...as much as you can. In capitalism, greed is good.

BTW, what happened in CA? I'm not asking Field, because he speaks sometimes in cryptic language and leaves a lot unexplained. But maybe someone in CA can let other FN fans know what happened in their state?

Seeing how this Obamacare is without a doubt chaotic and confusing with blame thrown all over the place, surely someone in CA can clarify what is going on in the 'edge cutting' state?

Whitey, can you help us out? Or maybe FP can?

Anonymous said...

I love Jason Whitlock. He is the best, the most insightful, and dedicated to the truth. ESPN made a great move when they hired Jason.

field negro said...

Thanks anotherbozo,that was a pretty good article. I actually tweeted it.

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

Here one link so that people can see for them selves whats happening in CA....

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2013/october/21/cancellation-notices-health-insurance.aspx

I guess this is the long road to single payer , because trying to get for profit insurance companies to put service over profit doesnt seem to work.

Dr. Nuwang said...

field negro said...
I blame the greedy corporations in the healthcare industry for some folks being kicked out of their plans. Look what happened in California.
>>>>>>>>>>>>

Besides insurance companies themselves, the only other source of greed in "the healthcare industry", comes from Attorneys who work at insurance companies or litigate against Physicians, and hospital CEOs.

The Affordable Care Act needs to be dumped and rewritten because: 1) It doesn't as I understand it,address tort reform , 2) a legally required commodity like healthcare will NEVER realistically be well priced for those who aren't already poor, and 3) There's no personal health responsibility required for users.

Again, there's absolutely NO incentive to keep prices low or even reasonable for that matter. And if you think your healthcare options are going to improve, think again. I'm predicting that top Docs in thier field will go the "concierge medicine" route. Others will be found at academic/research centers, which is where I'm headed.

Alfred Nobel said...

"The Affordable Care Act needs to be dumped and rewritten because: 1) It doesn't as I understand it,address tort reform ",

Tort reform is impossible at least as long as the dems are in charge, as the trial lawyers lobby is one of the main funders of the Democrat Party.

2) "a legally required commodity like healthcare will NEVER realistically be well priced for those who aren't already poor, and "

This is correct. Obamacare increases demand while decreasing supply. This will necessitate rationing and scarcity.

3) "There's no personal health responsibility required for users."

Again good point. There is no price control from consumer choices. The responsibility part will be dictated from the top, e.g. you don't get heart surgery because you smoke; she gets the kidney because you're too fat, etc.

field negro said...

Alfred, do u know who ultimately pays for people who make bad choices about their health? The rest of us.

If we make good choices as consumers we can hold down healthcare costs. Do u agree with that statement?

Anonymous said...

I find it absolutely shameful as well as utterly disgusting that anybody should be thinking about denying healthcare to anyone!!!

How shameful is it that the supposedly 'greatest nation in the world' would have sick, agonizing poor people dying on it's streets of gangrene,sepsis,untreated tumors, antibiotic resistant skin/organ infections et al.

Much like a bunch of stray dogs, because they have no money for healthcare!!!

I mean really!!!!!

I read these comments and I really do wonder what kind of people are you???

Are you really people? Persons? Human beings? Or as Fiels says, are you robots???

Where is the human compassion for the fellow man???

Where is the today it's you, tomorrow it may be me???

This conversation shouldn't even be happening!!!

All this ridiculous nickel and dimeing, when the only concern here should be that everyone in the nation be as healthy as possible!

EVERYONE, because the infection/disease that doesn't get treated today may just be the one that YOU get/catch tomorrow!!!

The thing that we should be doing is lobbying for lowering the costs of studies and meds, so that we can all be healthy!!!






That anybody should be

Whitey's Conspiracy said...

With our 600K punitive damages cap, our medical malpractice litigation in California is all about actual damages caused by medical acts far below the standard of care. Some of the cases I've recall from a friend's practice: an infant intubated with an adult sized airway that shreds her esophagus, a woman suffering from phlebitis has her leg literally cooked when a heating pad is incorrectly applied; a man in an ER suffering from a stroke is given 100x the proper dose of the blood thinner/rat poison cumidin, a woman with 90% cardiac blockage is diagnosed as suffering from acid reflux and sent home from the ER. Nothing even makes it to court here unless it's blatant wrong doing, so when I hear "tort reform" I'm not thinking poor oppressed doctors as much as immunity for incompetent practitioners/cost-cutting corporations.

Alfred Nobel said...

field negro said...
If we make good choices as consumers we can hold down healthcare costs. Do u agree with that statement?
----

Yes. The current system discourages that; Obamacare makes it worse.

Additionally, we are not livestock, we are human beings. Our value to the farmer is not the most important thing. I wish to be a free adult.

When the government starts paying for your healthcare, they then of course have a stake in your health. Your 'incorrect' choices cost them money. This justifies the government telling you how to live (for your own good, of course). It won't be just a suggestion either. Is that worth it to you?

Alfred Nobel said...

Desertflower said...
"I find it absolutely shameful as well as utterly disgusting that anybody should be thinking about denying healthcare to anyone!!!"
------

Who has ever advocated denying healthcare to anyone? You are still falling the leftist conflation of healthcare with healthcare financing.

The debate is over private health insurance, and whether it is better for most people to finance their healthcare through this mechanism while addressing those who fall through the cracks with charity and government assistance, or, having the government manage all financing of healthcare.

I think the government solution is terrible for me, and for the majority of Americans. They are already screwing up the rollout. How bad is it going to be a year from now?

More importantly, I am convinced that this government financing scheme will result in significant reductions in the quality and access to actual, delivered healthcare for most Americans.

Further, the federal government imposing these restrictions and conditions on its citizens is illegal and a direct contradiction to the limits imposed by the Constitution.

If the states want to this, they have that right. The federal government does not. How likely is it they can come up with a one-size-fits-all solution for 300 million people?

Alfred Nobel said...

Further to the manufacturing of a false 'crisis' as pretext to taking over 1/6 of the economy:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/11/23/the-myth-of-americans-poor-life-expectancy/

field negro said...

Alfred, do u really believe that doctors perform open heart surgery without billing the patient? Of course not. Many families have gone broke because of staggering healthcare costs that they can't afford. I's that right?

Desert is right, most first world and forward thinking countries provide free health care and services for their citizens. Why can't we?

They realize that keeping the population healthy should be their number one priority.

Funny now Alfred and other right wingers talk about individual choices when it comes to health, but they can't seem to leave women and their bodies alone.

Alfred Nobel said...

"Desert is right, most first world and forward thinking countries provide free health care and services for their citizens. Why can't we?"
----

There is no such thing as "free" healthcare.

And the people who went broke (another 'small percentage'?) still got their healthcare. Bad things happen; that's what insurance is for. Is it a moral imperative that we pay their mortgages and food bills? How about new shoes and X-boxes?

And I love women's bodies. If by your misdirection you are implying I favor banning abortion, you are wrong. I am tired of paying for other people's poor choices. Left wingers can't seem to leave other people's property alone. Now you want our bodies too.

The Purple Cow said...

Quote Cletus

"Tort reform is impossible at least as long as the dems are in charge, as the trial lawyers lobby is one of the main funders of the Democrat Party."

The Purple Cow said...

For clarification, socialised medicine is only free if you are under 18, in full time education, unemployed or over 65.

The rest of us pay a flat percentage of our salary towards health care costs. It's not insurance as such.

It's very simplicity is of course why it is so efficient. If you break a leg, you go to hospital, get it treated and go home. That's it. No paperwork, no invoicing, nothing.

field negro said...

"Left wingers can't seem to leave other people's property alone. Now you want our bodies too."

That had to be an attempt at humor.

Barbbf said...

Right-wingers can't leave a woman's body alone?

The population of Blacks in the US today is supposedly 31 Million. Since Roe v Wade 15 Million Black babies where aborted. Someone wrote...the most dangerous place for a Black baby is in the womb.

Planned Parenthood was established as a result of the efforts of Black-hating, Nazi and KKK-loving Margaret Sanger. Planned Parenthood today is located in mostly Black and poor neighborhoods. Seems like things are proceeding just as Margaret Sanger and the KKK wished..

Gomez said...

"It's very simplicity is of course why it is so efficient. If you break a leg, you go to hospital, get it treated and go home. That's it. No paperwork, no invoicing, nothing."

Sounds great for illegal aliens. Let's do this!

Dr. Nuwang said...

IMHO, ANYONE who smokes is NOT entitled to free healthcare UNLESS they can afford the disease(s) that come along with being a smoker.

And to those who feel smokers are entitled to free healthcare, I suggest YOU pay for it.

Ditto for those who are over 18 and obese without an UNCONTROLLABLE medical cause, ie type 2 diabetes doesn't count because it's main cause is poor diet and lack of exercise.

The Purple Cow said...

Quote Gomez-the-Retard

"Sounds great for illegal aliens. Let's do this!
What does it matter if they are 'illegal' (whatever that means) or not?

It's a health service's job to help sick people get better. Nothing else.

**
Quote Bbarbfffff

"Planned Parenthood was established as a result of the efforts of Black-hating, Nazi and KKK-loving Margaret Sanger. Planned Parenthood today is located in mostly Black and poor neighborhoods. Seems like things are proceeding just as Margaret Sanger and the KKK wished.."

We;ve done this one a hundred times before - this story is complete bollocks.

You guys need some new lies. It's boring when you keep recycling these old ones.

Gomez El Genio said...

The Purple Clod said...
What does it matter if they are 'illegal' (whatever that means) or not?

It's a health service's job to help sick people get better. Nothing else.
----

"Illegal" means illegal. Or not legal, if you will. Hope that helps.

So I guess you are saying it won't matter if 7 billion people make their way to America, it's our job to give everyone healthcare, for "free". Sounds like a plan.

BTW, please post your address. My friends and I would like to camp out in your extra room. We'll be there in time for dinner.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Gomez El Genio said...
So I guess you are saying it won't matter if 7 billion people make their way to America, it's our job to give everyone healthcare, for "free". Sounds like a plan.
8:10 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earths entire population is 7 plus billion, so I doubt they'll all be coming over :)

But should they be, so what? Doesn't the U.S. spend billions on a daily basis supporting wars and giving aid (read buying out)other countries?

So? I think a little of that can be used for healthcare.

Repeal the 19th Ammendment said...

"So? I think a little of that can be used for healthcare."


This is why women shouldn't vote.

Dr. Nuwang said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr. Nuwang said...

DesertFlower said:
All this ridiculous nickel and dimeing, when the only concern here should be that everyone in the nation be as healthy as possible!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Desert, why do you think that those who don't care about their own health should be entitled to free healthcare?

Better question, are you really ready to PAY for the poor choices if others?

I DO think people up to age 25 (post college), college students at ANY level, and pregnant women should receive free healthcare. But smokers and the morbidly obese should have to PAY for theirs due to their CHOICE to make poor choices.

Anonymous said...

Dr.Nǚwáng said...
Desert, why do you think that those who don't care about their own health should be entitled to free healthcare?
But smokers and the morbidly obese should have to PAY for theirs due to their CHOICE to make poor choices.
10:17 AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But first I think smoking should be made illegal.

A mere "Surgeon Generals Warning" is not enough to curtail smoking when as a consumerist society we are bombarded with ads that feature 'glamorous' people with cigs in their mouths.

Same with liquor. Ads every friggin where! Can you say cirrhosis of the liver? and the many hospital stays with the GI bleeds?

and you wouldn't want anybody walking around spreading hepatitis would you? :D

The many pints of blood, and the care these patients need to get them back on their feet?

Only to have them eventually bleed out and die anyway!

What about a secondary to drinking pancreatitis? That's a doozy to get rid of! Time,care,meds and money!:D

Morbid obesity Has it been researched? No! Can anybody say fast food addictions? :D

You see Dr. Queen, I have, as have you, seen all of these. And we know where it comes from, don't we?

These things are complicated and many have to do with mental illness and addiction.

I just don't think it's as easy as to say pay for your own treatment or die to these patients. To me anyway.

As long as these products are glamorized and fed to a consumerist public, we;ll have the consequences.

Dr. Nuwang said...

Which form of hepatitis are you referring to Desert? Because 1 form is transmitted from eating contaminated food (Hep A) and the others are transmitted through blood/body fluids (Hep B and C). As a future Doc, I was required to have just about every vaccination you can name to enroll in school and spent a little time back I the day working/studying Infectious Diseases, so I know a little "somethin' somthin'" about this.

FYI, the #1 way folks get hepatitis (B and C) in the first place is from unprotected sex with an infected individual. So the question isn't do I want people spreading it around. The real question is if people stopped getting their freak on with infected individuals, sharing needles, ect, would they still contract Hepatitis at the same rate? And the answer is HECK NO!!!

This issue is far more complicated and you're right on that point, and also about the role of addition and mental illness. But the problem won't be solved by giving folks free health care. You're cherry picking different diseases to make a point, but the point you're actually supporting is mine. Personal responsibility can NOT be ignored here.

I can't count the number of times I've seen folks in free health clinics where I volunteer, coming in with the latest Jordans on their feet. And for the racists out there, I'm including my volunteer time in rural WHITE health clinics too. Rednecks like Jordans too. So don't tell me folks can't afford health care because I'll bet their cell phone bill, weave, or pick-up truck, they can more that afford to cover it.

Giving folks something for free absolves them of ANY personal responsibility. Or appreciation for it.

For the record, I don't mind helping people in need, but I seriously mind giving my hard earned money to folks who feel "entitled" by their choices, to have it.

Anonymous said...

Dr.Nǚwáng said...
"spent a little time back I the day working/studying Infectious Diseases, so I know a little "somethin' somthin'" about this.

For the record, I don't mind helping people in need, but I seriously mind giving my hard earned money to folks who feel "entitled" by their choices, to have it."
1:18 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whether it's A,B,or C, and I hear there's even a D and E now:)

Anyone that has had alcohol related hepatitis is very prone to develop any other hepatitis. And the spread factor, we can't control.

As for your point of view, well, you're right, no one wants to pay for the consequences of anyone elses bad choices!

But! What can we do? For the good of society people can't just be left to die with all the festering bacteria and infections that devastate people with compromised health!

You may not want to pay, and I agree with you, I don't either, but then what is the answer to this problem?



Dr. Nuwang said...

Desertflower said...
But! What can we do? For the good of society people can't just be left to die with all the festering bacteria and infections that devastate people with compromised health!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Right or wrong Desert, people are already being "left to die" and I think it's only going to get worse for a few reasons:

1) Free healthcare is NOT financially sustainable. SOMEONE is going to have to make the decision of who gets treated FIRST. And who do you think that's going to be?

2) Many of the greedy smart people that were compelled to going into medicine for the wrong reasons are being turned away from it now by the prospects of lower incomes and less autonomy. Those of us in medical profession for the "right" reasons are a combination of burned out from the complexities of practising medicine in a litigious society and overwhelmed by the paperwork avalanche that will surely happen in a free healthcare system. The end result is going to be fewer Docs for the hundreds of thousands of people requiring/needing services from healthcare professionals.

Car insurance is required by every state in the nation and is NOT free. Healthcare, now also being required, should also NOT be free. If you can afford a car and insurance, you can afford to pay SOMETHING for your own healthcare.

And in case you're wondering where I fall into this equation, the ONLY reason I'm pursuing a career as a Doc is because my interests are not just clinical, treating patients, but research oriented as well. Otherwise, I'd just continue to build my STEM based business, continue to "get paid", and call it day. Put another way, I wouldn't be doing this if I were ONLY interested in treating patients for the reasons I mentioned above and a thousand other reasons.

Now to bring this conversation back full circle, smokers clearly aren't impacted by the prospects of rotting to death as many cancer patients who smoked, often do. But since so many smokers are willing to spend money on needless luxury items rather than their own medications and health services, then perhaps the prospect of an early death and being buried in a cardboard box, with Kmart sneakers on and a coffin strapped to a Yugo on the way to the cemetary, is incentive enough.

Anonymous said...

Lol! "A cardboard box strapped to a Yugo on its way to the cemetary" OMG!!! Ahahahahaha! Do they still make those cars Doc???

I dunno! you're right! But, everybody can pay st least something towards healthcare if they have money for the cigarrettes! But is that "something" enough?

By the way, I read an article tbat people are actually wanting cardboard these days because its more "green"
lol! " strapped to a Yugo" AHAHAHAAA

Anonymous said...

Doc Queen, I found the link!:

http://www.creativecoffins.com/

Not a bad idea actually!

Dr. Nuwang said...

LOL @ Desert!!!