- yada yada: the GOP debates

September 16, 2011

here’s why the Republican Candidate debates are so boring:

“obamacare”

yeah, we get it, you don’t like universal healthcare.  you don’t like chipping in a few bucks to make sure we can all be healthy.  they all talk about how much it costs, but the moderators have not had the intelligence to point out the money it will save taxpayers because of those without insurance who walk into random hospitals, can’t pay, and the government covers the bill.  that’s your taxes too.  so you can either pay now or pay later.  at least if you pay now, people can get preventative care and save a greater cost later.

“unconstitutional”

they throw that word around as if they’ve actually read the thing.  they need to stop saying that “it’s unconstitutional to mandate a purchase” such as health care.  can’t the moderator – just once – point out that there’s already a mandate to purchase car insurance?  if we can be forced to protect our cars, shouldn’t we also protect humans?  i read two stories today about a 24-year old and a 12-year old who died because they couldn’t afford antibiotics for a tooth infection.  that’s damn sad.

isn’t home owner’s insurance a mandate?  in addition, depending on how close you live to water, flood insurance is mandatory as well.  i live about a block and a half from the beach, and flood insurance is certainly mandatory for me.

and speaking of the constitution, i have read it.  let me educate you.  people need to stop saying the phrase “separation of church and state.”  i’m not sure why so many people think that’s in the constitution, but it’s not.  the only thing is says that is in that direction is that the government will not show favor to any one religion over others.  so when you see an office that’s decorated for christmas, channukah, etc, that’s actually following the constitution.  and while i respect people’s right to celebrate kwanzaa, it’s not a religious holiday.  it’s a cultural holiday, so it’s not protected in the constitution.

“non-answers”

just once i’d like to see a moderator ask a question, let the candidate yap, and then say, “well, your minute is up, but you never answered the question.  i asked … and you said … but that’s not what i asked.”  then, at the end of the debate, there should be a scoreboard which shows the percentage of actual answers that actually addressed a question.  that would be a useful tool.  a batting average for the candidates.  hey, CNN, get on that.

if i think of anything else, i’ll add it.

have a nice day.


- let’s be honest about healthcare reform

March 26, 2010

i get really bugged by people who cloud the truth and disguise their lies with something designed to appear as helpful.  a great example is the current republican stance in opposition to healthcare reform.  i’m not saying that obama’s healthcare plan is great.  i’m not really smart enough to be sure in either direction, but the general public would be able to form better opinions if we didn’t have so many half-truths to sift through.

here’s what the GOP is saying:

1. we’ve got the greatest healthcare system in the world.

but the truth is that the united states is ranked 37th in the world, lying behind the following countries:

1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America
(according to the world health organizaton, http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html)

2. we agree it needs to be fixed, but let’s start over with a blank sheet of paper.

but the truth is that they want to start with a blank sheet of paper because it will frustrate the democrats, making them more likely to succumb to intentionally strenuous demands funneled from the insurance industry.

3. the american people do not want this bill.

but the truth is that there are some american people who are against this bill.  notice how they never say “the majority of the american people, or most american people.”  if three are against it, it can be said that “the american people are against it.”  regardless, it’s still a stupid statement because polls show that 49% of americans say this bill is a “good thing.”  only 40% said it’s a “bad thing.”  clearly, more “american people” are for it than against it.  see:   http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34887.html

4. the american people do not want a government mandate on healthcare reform.

but the truth is that everything that comes out of washington is a government mandate.  every law, every tax, every piece of legislation is a government mandate.  seatbelts, FDA regulations about product labels, anything that protects the american people – it’s all a government mandate.

 let’s please be honest.  the GOP has collected a lot of campaign money from the insurance industry on the contingency that they do everything possible to stop this legislation.  it seems it just wasn’t enough.


healthcare reform

October 3, 2009

when an issue is in the balance, and there is equally strong support and opposition, it is necessary to determine what the opposition stands to lose. when an effort is made to help those who need help, then the opposition must have a very strong reason to oppose something designed to help.

who loses from healthcare reform? it is clear that the taxpayers do not lose because the money spent on universal health care will be saved through preventative care because 80% of healthcare money is spent on aftercare, taking care of someone after they’ve been inflicted by something that could have been staved off from preventative care. those who claim our pockets will suffer are wrong.

so then who loses from healthcare reform? some claim democracy loses because it will bring us closer to socialism. but medicare, medicaid, and social security are already socialist programs, and they are quite well accepted by those who use and need them. healthcare reform will simply bring more people on board a very popular boat.

so, again, who loses from healthcare reform? if there is a public option, or even if not, the insurance companies lose. if there is a public option, then we have the opportunity to have a great discount through a government-sponsored system. this system would take a great deal of money out away from the insurance companies. as it stands, they make more money by denying coverage, which they seem to be able to do at will.

then who wins from healthcare reform? everyone – except the insurance companies. then why do so many misguided americans oppose health care reform? because they have fallen into the propaganda trap set in motion first by the insurance companies. then the rightwing pundits give it a good push. too many people hear the limbaugh-o’reilly-beck-hannity machine spitting out rhetoric without anything to prove or support their claims. they could claim the sky is green, and there would be a great segment of society who would have to step outside and take a look. unfortunately, they don’t look. they listen, they adhere, they fall in line. sometimes we need to step out of the line and take a good look around to see where that line is headed and what’s at the other end of it.


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