Robert Reich, The Borg, and The Heath Care Debate

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I just happened upon Berkeley professor and dweller, Robert Reich's blog and a post title that caught my eye: "The Guns of August and Why The Republican Right Was So Adept at Using Them on Health Care" and a particularly true statement he wrote:

"The Left had ideas; the Right has discipline"

Prof. Robert Reich

The former professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and former Secretary of Labor is right. I'm stunned over the almost "Borg-like" efficiency the right brings to the effort of getting out a message consistently, and getting its members to follow the cue cards chapter and verse, time after time.

(Oh. The Borg were characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation who were part machine and part human and ran by a central computer system.)

Now, if one thinks about my Borg analogy, they might say I'm implying that there's little or no independent thought on the Right. One would be correct here. After all, it's independence of thought that leads to the creation of a new idea.

While the idea-laden Left needs to get its messaging act together, the Couch Potato Conservative representatives on the Right must show the ability to think about what they're talking about. For example, the who notion of "The Public Option".

Conservatives I've talked to think the "Public Option" in the proposed Health Care Bill means you going to a government-run hospital, or having the feds pick a doctor for you. Not so. Ir's just another insurance program. Period. That's it. End of story.

But the facts don't stop the Right from tossing out more untruths, take this email I got from a friend recently:

Hiya,


I got this in my mail. Can you forward it on to Zennie. Could be good stuff for his blog.


It's kinda scary... It seems like it's coming from a legit website.


Below are the items you may find interesting and worth more investigation:




Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!


Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get


Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!! You can only get so much "care" per year


Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits 4 you. You have no choice!


PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise


Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!


Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 your banks accts for elective funds transfer


PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).


Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control.


PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs for private HC plans in the Exchange


PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!


PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services..... Example - Translation for illegal aliens


Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individually for Govt HC plan


PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Benefit Levels for Plans. #AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed


-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will be automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice


pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly


pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make.


Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public opt plan. NO CHOICE


Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.


Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll


pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll between 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll


Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC accrdng to Govt will be taxed 2.5%


Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (You and I will pay for them)


Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans financial/personal recds


PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that


Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor will be very affected


Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same


PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, professional judgments, etc. Literally value of humans.


PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries


PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs


PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!


Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions.


Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.


Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand


pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!


Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing


Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing all into Govt HC plan


Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs


Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can you say HC by phone?


PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life. Seniors will be interviewed every year for health issues and decisions made as to what care they can or can't receive


Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!


PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding you in death


PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends


Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates


PG 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV


Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.


PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life


Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?


Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment to a community-based org. Like ACORN?


PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage


Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those services


This is all in there, check it out yourself! And be afraid. You must contact your representatives and STOP this insane Health Care Plan before they pass it some night at midnight.

Now none of the points in the email is true. For example, the first item on the list, "Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!" is a load of crap. The Heath Care Bill calls for a study of the ABILITY of self-insured programs to cover their obligations. It's part of a call for a national study.

I was pretty upset with the email because of the list of distortions you saw, so I asked harshly "What idiot sent out this email?"

I got this response from the friend of my friend who originally sent the email:

I do not know who wrote it which is why I ask a few friends if they knew anything about it.


My persoal opinion is not an F for who wrote it but a F for the ones that wrote such a complex plan and involved bill. No wonder there is confusion on both sides of the fence. Seriously who will interpret the plan if no one can read it? Will it be the politicians that interpret it to the doctors and patients?


That is I want to know.


Thank you.

To which I replied:

Hi


Just saw this.


The Bill is not complicated to read. It's simple but one had to take the time. You're asking for the "dumbing down" of an important piece of legislation. Please don't do that.


Take time to get a cup of coffee, turn off the TV, and read the bill for yourself. It's that important. I'm really concerned with the apparent lack of desire of Americans to absorb information that's not in small bites.


Read. Read. Read.


...And then ask questions.


Best,


Zennie

But do you see how the Right's sending out these takes on the Health Care Bill and scaring the uninformed with their own uninformed view? Part of me thinks its deliberate and they know its wrong, but a larger part of me thinks they just can't comprehend what's before them.

We've always complained about America's declining levels of education, so it should come as no surprise and complete alarm that we now have a good set of the population that's just not used to reading large amounts of information and turns off past page two.

And it seems most of those people have decided to be on the Right and not the Left.

(I'll return to this list for more vetting soon.)

Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn) Thinks You Should Die If Your Poor

More at Video Cafe” Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn) thinks health care is something for the rich, calling it a "privilege" on MSNCB. I can't figure out what's worse, the comment or the fact that he was serious about it. Is this the kind of person Tennessians want representing them when they need access to health care?

Palin avoids imploding during VP debate

Did Governor Palin's performance change the outcome of the election? Almost certainly not, though she probably did succeed in getting the attention back on Senator McCain. Her answers were obviously much less spontaneous, and accordingly less substantive, less revealing, and generally less related to the questions Gwen Ifill posed. In fact, the debate may have been overshadowed by the revelation that the McCain campaign has written off Michigan, and will even continue running ads there.

Both candidates foreshadowed their strengths and styles for the evening handling the very first question, Biden gave a fairly soft answer when asked had the previous week been DC at its best or its worst, but Governor Palin essentially ignored the question altogether to assert that McCain, who had championed Wall Street deregulation, nonetheless had warned people "two years ago" that something bad might be looming.

What came through from Senator Biden was the sense of a man who genuinely grasps the enormity of the dual crises facing America: the meltdown in our economy and the damage to our standing in the world that the policies of the Bush administration have wrought. Biden was considerably more willing to show himself to us, while his opponent's agenda was clearly to echo now-familiar talking points wrapped in folksy colloquialisms – a sort of blending of the styles of George Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Biden did seem to gloss over that the time-tested Republican campaign theme of "lowering taxes" which has not by any means strengthened our economy during the Bush administration. So perhaps casual viewers looking for bright spots in Palin's performance will buy her assertion that a vote for McCain isn't likely to continue current policies even though Biden did once basically dare her to name one way in which McCain offered any real change. We're left to wonder if gosh-darnits meant to sound like Reagan are sufficient evidence of a viable Vice President or not. As a strategic goal, distancing the McCain~Palin ticket from Bush and Cheney is obviously prudent, yet speaking at a tactical "in the limelight" level, Sarah Palin mispronouncing nuclear in the same way that George Bush does surely emphasized her similarities to our increasingly unpopular President.

When Ms. Ifill asked how a VP might change the partisan posturing that we associate with Washington politics the two answers were markedly different. Biden's story about being given a come-uppance and his resulting lesson about not judging another motives rang with credible humility. Palin, on the other hand, after suggesting the secret was in selecting political appointees without regard to their politics (that's a trifle naïve, I must say) then immediately launched into a highly partisan smear as she made her appeal to voters to pick Republicans to return to the Oval Office.

Who dealt with the questions better?

Palin dodged the question when both candidates were asked about their weaknesses. Biden was forthcoming, whereas the Governor clearly launched into talking points. Asked about policy issues they'd had to change on during their careers Biden admitted to giving up his original ideal about selecting judicial nominees based solely on temperament and intellect, learning there was reason to consider "judicial philosophy" as well. Palin cited not vetoing budgets when she lacked support. In other words she'd learned she couldn't dictate from a minority position, which frankly sounded like she didn't understand the question although it's a good lesson.

Biden did have the upper hand in the exchanges about taxes. The Governor was obviously in talking point territory on that topic, while Senator Biden clarified and debunked those points and how they relate to wage earners under $250,000, regardless of if they are small business owners or not. A format that allowed longer responses probably would have provided Biden the opening to talk about how tax cuts haven't been creating jobs lately, but the rules for the VP debate cut down the intervals each had for speaking in comparison to the Presidential events, and that frankly worked in Palin's favor.

Well moderated evening

Any questions or concerns about Gwen Ifill's impartiality as a moderator have been erased by her style of presenting both with similarly sticky questions – and letting both hear both questions before replying when the two were different, such as on challenging the Governor to explain why she'd said she didn't know what a VP did ("it was a joke") whereas Ifill noted Biden had been quoted as saying he'd never be a VP (which he didn't actually have to address, since Palin wanted BOTH to be seen as jokes - Sarah let Joe off the hook.) Ifill had moderated the vice-presidential debate between Republican candidate Dick Cheney and Democratic candidate Senator John Edwards during the 2004 debate, but her as-yet-unpublished book had been the source of some hand-wringing among certain pundits during the 24-36 hours before the debate.

One outstanding quandary for those who were paying close attention to Palin's talking points is how to reconcile her assertions about getting government out of the way with such statements as being the first Governor to form a climate change sub-cabinet. That's not exactly a small-government approach, although it did allow her to nearly deflect questions about what causes climate change. Biden, of course, was quick to point out that while it's all well and good to talk about avoiding finger pointing, yet it's hard to solve problems if you don't know what the cause is. Perhaps his best shot of the night came early on when he likened McCain's proposals to tax health care benefits while deregulating the health care insurance system as a "Bridge to Nowhere."

Republicans can relax, she passed.

Still, it must be said, Governor Palin was much better prepared for this than she had been for her interviews with Katie Couric, and surely exceeded the expectations of many who watched the debate. Did she win? Not in the traditional sense of providing substantive answers related to the questions. Yet political debates are not judged solely by that standard, and since she likely didn't drive conservative voters away she also didn't lose.

If the standard is which candidate presented a person ready to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency, a question Ifill asked about, Senator Biden's more thoughtful, spontaneous familiarity with the national policy issues outshined the Governor's repeated references to Alaska as an energy producing state. There can be little doubt in the minds of the voters that the Obama~Biden policies will diverge sharply from those in force currently, whereas based on Palin's performance, (which didn't meet the level she attained reading her acceptance speech at the RNC,) a vote for McCain~Palin is, indeed, a vote for more of the same.

Digg this article...

Kennedy & Kennedy: bringing down the house

Caroline Kennedy took the stage at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on the evening of 25 August 2008 to remind those assembled for the Democratic Nominating Convention that the same values that define the Kennedy family resonate in Barack Obama's family, too: Justice, fairness, service and sacrifice, faith, and family. She stressed that we are all in this together, that we all have something to give.

She repeated what some have heard her say before in the context of the campaign, "I've never had someone inspire me the way people tell me my father inspired them. But," she went on in a clear recognition of the pending nomination, "I do now!"

Ms. Kennedy was understated as she tugged at the heart-strings of the crowd, alluding to Ted Kenndedy's "early, courageous stand against the war in Iraq." Her uncle values family, she told them, and, "never missed a first communion, a graduation, or a chance to walk a niece down the aisle." She mentioned, briefly, how his response to the recent surgery had served as a lesson in "dignity, courage, and the power of love."

The crowd was warm, and appreciative, then listened attentively to a video tribute that served segue rattling ovation ted took the Senator Kennedy spoke new season of hope in he renewed his call to that nation we healthcare as fundamental not a privilege."

Kennedy is confident that, when elected as the next President of the U.S., Barack Obama will "close the door on the old politics of race, gender... and straight against gay." He reminded us that as a result of his brother's leadership when he set the moon as a goal for the nation in the early 60s. "We have scaled the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again."

This November, Kennedy said, "the torch will be passed to a new generation." He told the delegates, and honored guests of the convention, that, "the work begins anew. The hope rises again, and the dream lives on."

Barack's sister had roused the crowd. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., had fired them up, Caroline gathered them with calm confidence into the palm of her hand, and Ted Kennedy brought them to a fevered pitch, daring to dream, to hope, to believe in the vision that Barack Obama has for uniting America.

Sandy Allen - World's Tallest Woman - Passes Away At 53 (YouTube Videos)

Sandy Allen, the World's Tallest Woman at 7'7 inches, passed away Thursday at 53 years of age and after a decline in her health that started in January and due to kidney and blood infections.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
I always wonder what people like Sandy go through, and also having been a bit of an outcast myself in my youth, everytime I read or hear about a story like this, I am saddened and because of the way we treat people who may not be like whatever the "norm" is.

There's really no such thing as a norm; there are only individuals.

Anyway, here's a collection of videos about Sandy that I found on YouTube. I didn't include the ones that were insulting or sensational -- sorry.





Tribute Video:

China Discovers Poll Dancing - Video

I'd never considered that poll dancing started to pick up in China! Wow. China! Well, check this out:



It's not an easy thing to do there as it goes against the "code" for women there. "To show off in this way," someone said in the movie," is to make people jealous."

Yep.

Clinton Swift-Boats Herself: Clinton Lies, Mistruths Nasty Pattern

Clinton Lies And Mistruths Are Nasty Pattern: Health Care and NC

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, just two weeks from a nasty storm of criticism on the heels of the disclosure that she lied about a trip to Bosnia she made as First Lady, faces a brand new problem of truth regarding an area that was her strength, health care. Then, just today as well, it was disclosed that Clinton is telling lies about Senator Obama's committment to North Carolina.

The Clinton Lies just keep coming.

According to the New York Times, Senator Clinton has crossed the country on her campaign tour, recounting a story of an Ohio woman who was denied health care for an illness that eventually took her life. Well, it turns out that the woman was not only not refused care, but had health insurance as well.

Bloggers are calling this a lie.

And CNN has the story on it's "Ballot Bowl" telecast:



Now the problem with the video is that Senator Clinton tells this story with a great deal of detail, and that the entire CNN segment makes Senator Clinton look bad, even as the CNN anchor's try to "balance" it out.

While this does not seem to count as a "lie" it certainly points to a lack of fact-checking on the campaign's part. They don't follow the Obama rule, which seems to be to talk in general terms and use the names of the people you know -- and make sure you know them.

What this story does is totally wreck whatever credibility Clinton and her staff had. Bloggers are already referring to this as "a lie" because of Clinton's Bosnia error, and it comes at the same day that Clinton is accused of lying about Barack Obama in North Carolina.

Eventually, no one will believe anything Clinton says at all.

Wall Street Journal Backs Obama's Heath Care Plan Over Clinton's

The Wall Street Journal's editorial staff took a good look at both Senator Obama's health plan and Senator Clinton's, and liked Obama's for the same reason I do: an efort to reduce costs and without using penalties like calling for wage garnishment.

Look, I don't care what anyone says, that threat in the Clinton plan is a deal-killer.

Dr. James Watson Is A Major Racist Idiot Who Needs A Spanking

Yep. You saw the headline. I'm not going to waste a lot of space on some racist idiot who thinks he can judge who's smart and who's not based on his own racism and his ego and arrogance that led him to the "unravelling of DNA." This nut job says that Africans are less intelligent than Westerners. Now think about it. If Watson -- who's "Western" -- found that Westerners were less intelligent, would he report it? Hell no. Not at all. Because it would mean he's less intelligent.

He's not intellectually honest enough to place himself in that position. And while I'm at it, if you follow his belief, you're dumber than he is, and need a lobotomy!

He's such a confused 79-year old twit that he would judge the intellect of a person based on perceived skin color. What a stupid. Part of me wants to go on and on, but the other part wants to stop, knowing that this guy's just plain out of his mind.

Why?

Well, you, him, or I am not capable of judging how smart someone is. Suppose that person knows only French? Does that mean he or she is not smart because they don't know English? That's nuts. Totally stupid. But that's what I've come to expect from James Watson -- acts that pander to racists, because he's a racist.

YearlyKos - Hillary Clinton Says She Takes Lobbyists' Money - Barack Obama Fires Back

Senator Hillary Clinton came to the Yearly Kos convention to be around some friends -- including the Daily Kos which has taken $5,000 in weekly ad revenues from her -- and annouced controversially that she takes money from lobbyists, saying they represent "real Americans."

Wow.

Tell that to the millions of Americans who can't afford health care because of the health care lobby that gives money to Senator Clinton. How is she supposed to reform the American health care system with this track record? Fortunately, Senator Barack Obama didn't let her brazen comments go without an excellent rebutal, one that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Think I'm kidding? Look at this video:



Since then, her comments are the talk of the Blogsphere and Vlogsphere, too. And the vast majority of them are not favorable, as can be seen by this Huffington Post article . I think we've reached a turning point here, and it may be that Senator Clinton's biggest campaign wound was self-inflicted. We're in an American where people seem to want a fair and level playing field for all, and the presence of lobbying money rings fowl to many today, as lobbyists are seen more as the reason problems persist, rather than the agents of change.

Finally, Senator Clinton said that her presence at the convention brought a dose of reality. Really? As if Bloggers are off in a fantasy world, I guess.

Michael Moore - Hillary Clinton's Receives Large Sums Of Heath Care Industry Money

Filmmaker Michael Moore's new movie "Sicko" has received a lot of attention, and some of it because of his assertion that Senator Hillary Clinton receives more monetary support from the Health Care industry. That comment is captured in this video taken from the Hollywood Business show "Sunday Morning Shootout" hosted by Peter Guber and Peter Bart.

Apply Iraq War Expenses To Heath Care Here

I'm watching the "New Leadership Health Care 2008 Presidential Forum" in Las Vegas. Senator Obama just made his presentation and did very well. Now Senator Clinton is speaking and it's obvious that this is where her heart is. But the matter of how we should pay for a new health care system has not been adressed in a way that avoids taxes or at least is less likely to cause an increase in taxes.

I have a suggestion for Senator Obama, because he opposes the War In Iraq. Because Senator Clinton does support the war, this idea does not apply to her.

Currenly, the War On Iraq costs $411 billion. That's a half trillion dollars and the cost is going up each second. According to the National Priorities Project, we could have insured 246 million kids for one year. Now, get this, we don't have that many kids in America. So one could argue that we could insure kids for up to three years!

The Senator needs to make this link between what we need to pay for heath care and what we spend on the War on Iraq.

Golden State Gamble - At Least Arnold's Adressing The Problem

Some economists are attacking Governor Schwarzenegger's plan for a kind of universal health care coverage.

But I give him credit for trying something that many have talked about but never actually attempted. It's a very democratic proposal. But more to the point, it does work to solve a real problem and that is the lack of health care coverage in the state of California.

Let's do it and see how we can make it better.