So… Obama is attacked now for bowing to the emperor of Japan. It was OK when George W. Bush virtually tongue-kissed King Fahd, but Obama is a traitorous lap-dog if he shows respect to a foreign leader. I imagine Sarah Barracuda would have thumbed the emperor in the eye.

Everyday normal conservative people are done a disservice by the rabid ideologs who purport to speak for them.

The elites deserve a Sarah Palin to try to bring them down, to tell the truth, but I thought she was the aristocracy’s own doing, their idea of ensuring they have the peons on their side (the deceptive side of lobbying’s efforts). Watch for her talk show, Firing Line Two, The Right to Be Right. I’ll watch it, defensively.

look what i found

why npr refuses to report single payer?

On June 10th the House of Representatives held the first congressional hearing on proposals for Single Payer Health Insurance. Amy Goodman highlighted the hearing on Democracy Now. But neither National Public Radio’s flagship news program (All Things Considered) nor its morning news program (Morning Edition) reported on the hearing. Instead, on June 11th, Morning Edition reported that President Obama is planning to conduct a town hall meeting on health care. With respect to the health insurance debate, what the President is planning to do (news via press release!) is apparently more news worthy than what the House of Representative had already done the day before.

NPR’s web site provides lists of foundation and individual major donors but not of corporate sponsors. For that list you need to go to their annual reports. The latest report available on line is for 2005. Health and Long-term Care corporate sponsors in 2005 were:

*

$1 million+: Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, Prudential Financial
*

$500,000 – $999,999: Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Allstate Insurance Company, Northwestern Mutual Foundation,
*

$250,000 – $499,999: AARP, The Hartford Financial Services Group, UnumProvident
*

$100,000 – $249,999: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company

http://www.counterpunch.org/pace06122009.html

for the above

Tortured Justifications for Bad Journalism

By Jim Naureckas and Candice O’Grady

NPR Baghdad correspondent Anne Garrels (Morning Edition, 10/26/07) presented listeners with an unusual exclusive: the results of an interrogation conducted by a Shiite militia.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3413

How many people in America saw the video of Bush walking through the flowers and holding hands the whole time with the Saudi King like a school girl????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man, what an eye opener. I wonder why the right wing never brings that one up.

RE: Healthcare

Seeing that there are currently 5 different health plans offered to federal employees, why is it so hard to find a template to frame a government sponsored plan to model from?

MIchael

Of course. Corporations control every aspect of our lives in America. Corporations control our government. You obey the corporations and like it when they take your house or or job or your healthcare or they will crush you and leave you with nothing.

On the change in the recommendation for mammograms, what is special about the time frame of once a year? All recommendations are based on cost/benefit, otherwise, why don’t we screen every six months or every day? I finally had a colonoscopy this year and am glad and somewhat a little surprised I don’t have to do it again for 10 years.

If Glenn Beck was progressive commentator, he might have fun with the title of Sarah Palin’s Book. Phonetically, “Going Rogue” has vowel sounds identical to the “oh-we-oh” battle chant by the Wicked Witch’s army in the Wizard of Oz. This might be a subliminal suggestion to the reader, purposeful or not between Mrs. Palin and Dorothy.

Interestingly, the same song was sung at a Ku Klux Klan meeting in the Coen Brother’s film, “Oh Brother Where Art Thou.”

During his visit to China, President Obama publicly expressed his belief in the universality of human rights.

Has he yet expressed that same belief vis-à-vis the Palestinians living under Occupation, whereby Israel has routinely ignored or violated 29 of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Healthcare Vote

How are the democrats’ ability to block a filibuster with 60 votes affected by the loss of Senator Kennedy?

The health care reform bill is a joke, the congress is a joke. The dysfunctional nature of this whole situation is disheartening. The plan is a joke it is giving the insurance companies a wind fall and big pharma as well.

What amazes me is how we can’t figure this out.
We all spend huge sums for health care, That’s a given.
We all think we want the best care, do we?
We spend 16% or more of GDP and the Canadians spend 10% and cover everyone. We spend 16% and 45 million are note covered.

I have coverage through my wife’s work. I could have coverage through my job but it has a $3000 deductible and is $350 per month for the premium. My premium through the other plan is $400 per month and no deductible. The plan offered by the place I work is a take or leave it plan, the only one they offer.

I have to wonder how many people who have health care in this country have plans with high deductibles or ones that are rising. I looked at the plan available to me and quite frankly these plans with high deductibles are a rip off. I never spend $3000 a year on health care.
I never have. Once every four years I have colonoscopy but that’s it. Now I know every person has their own health care issues and histories. The thing is this whole argument on health care shows me how selfish and self centered we are as a people. We spend billions on the military to defend the country, but when asked to collectively spend on the health care of all Americans we end p with this mess. What is the military defending? Our right to be a sick as we can?

Only the biggest of fools could possibly believe the Iraq war was about anything but oil.

Sad truth, the 1.5 trillion (at least) that we have spent there could have made the us independent from foreign oil with green energy.

Yes 1.5 trillion was wasted in the dessert in Iraq and we are more dependent then ever on foreign oil

When I was in my 40’s, I had numerous friends that were diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Some have passed away. Nonetheless, I waited until age 50 to have my first mammogram because I knew that statistically I was more likely to be overtreated for disease that might never become a problem or could resolve on it’s own than to have my life saved by mammography. The science justifying the benefits to women in their 40’s has been shaky for a long time. The new guidelines are long overdue!

Tom,
One of your guests (Jill I believe) just made the point that something has to be done now because people are losing their jobs and health insurance in droves due to the economic downturn.
However the Senate bill does not introduce the insurance exchanges until 2014, to there would be no short-term benefit.

Thanks

Putney

I just got my new health insurance fees for next year.

Premium went up ONLY BY 10%. Yet my deductible went up by thousands. Thousands. And the percentage I have to pay should I be hospitalized went up to 20%. I am paying 550$ per month.

No middle class American could possible afford to get sick with these policies and actually pay the fees and deductibles without going bankrupt.

Health insurance policies in American are really just an extortion documents.

Re Sarah Palin: If she looked like Eleanor Roosevelt (a great American), no one would have ever heard of her. This proves all of the old adages:

Beauty is only skin deep, pretty is as pretty does, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

ENOUGH OF SARAH PALIN!

Could there be found in all of the land a stupider, more vindictive, hypocrite???!!!!!

On Palin, after the Republicans subsidized her wardrobe to the tune of some incredible sum of money — remember — and especially after the millions for her book, I actually no longer think she is a representative of the populists, as Matt is now saying. She has morphed from everywoman to something else.
As to the KSM trial, will we hear a defense of extremist Islam, or just grandstanding?

Lame Stream medai?

Palin is Lame Stream. She doesn’t need any help for the media.

I still don’t understand why some Americans don’t want Universal Healthcare.

Medicare is Universal Health Care. A Franklin Delando Roosevelt idea to help retirees or elderlies under the poverty line to have affordable health insurance for almost 6 decades.

I think the people who opposed Universal Health Care are selfish people.

It will cover 30 million Americans without health care insurance. It will create more jobs. it will take us out of this Great Depression it will cover the people that lost their jobs and are badly needed of affordable health insurance

DO REMIND AMERICA again that Massachusetts Universal Health covers 90%. the other 10% does want or does need health insurance

We have to generous and help our fellow Americans.

I hate mindless slogans “tax cuts for the wealthy” is an obvious one that I heard. When I heard this I ask who are the wealthy? It’s meant to project an image of fat cat money managers, but these “wealthy” could be small business owners who risked their homes in 2nd mortgages, worked 80 hours a week for years, employ a half a dozen others and are doing well? Or they could be couples making more than $200K per year? Any time these cutsy slogans are used, someone should ask for details.

Sarah Palin is an embarrassment. I wish we could stop talking about her. I know she’s got a big following, but how much of this is because the media follows her.

California school system. A close relative is a professor in one of these colleges. 15 to 20 hours of work a week for a generous salary and benefits. He knows it’s a scam, but is hoping the financial disaster doesn’t catch up with him for a few more years til he retires. If he’s indicative of California, I’m not sympathetic.

Marc

In case you don’t know the super wealthy got super super super wealthy under Bush due to his tax cuts and deregulation of Wall Street.

How did the middle class do?

You guys seem to have missed that the same elements that are using the mammalogram issue to argue that the goverment will “ration” healthcare are the same elements that were ranting that the problem with employer paid health insurance leads to over use of medical tests. Now, a commission finaly says that a test should be done less frequently (and I think thaat their recommendation is short sighted) and those elements are suddenly in favor of patients having any and every test on demand.

How about trying some intellectually honest commentators, just for a little change and to relieve the boredom?

As for Palin, didn’t she pose for that picture with the intention that it would be used in a national magezine?

Marc a professor might only teach 15 or 20 hours a week but they do a huge amount of work out of the classroom.
Advising students, and all the endless meetings they have to attend. Not to mention that in some schools they also have to be department chairs.

They also have to publish, which means research.
If they are in the arts they have to show work.

Don’t blame California’s financial problems on the backs of the educators.

Matt Continetti, doesn’t do so well when he actually questions about sarah palin and his book the Talk of the nation interview was abysmal and one sided. Thanks tom for having him on to show how foolish he’s statements were and both him and palin are used by the republican establishment and are nothing bout fluff.

As for Katrina vanden Heuvel haha she was on-point today grats to her and I enjoyed listening to her.

So I’m being told that at least one of the guests during this segment repeatedly referred to tea party activists as “tea baggers.” First of all, is this true? And if it is, are the producers of On Point ok with a guest referring to these activists by this label?

The Massachusetts health care is crap, its saddens me and I wrote to my congressman, and the president to please, please do not use the Mass as a example. It didn’t at all address cost. And if you find a good deal you get fined anyways, It doesn’t address cost at all, and is bankrupting Mass. While Making the insurance companies a good chunk of profits. Even Chrale Baker who helped make insurunces companies richer is now running for governmor .

I pay about 340 a month for health insurance and they want more to create a health saving account, in which after 1000. 00 they can invest it in the stock market. Plus having the health saving account I have to pay a memembership fee if I got it each month. This is supposed to be for the medical procedures that my insurance does not cover. I still have high deductiables. While allowing NO restrictions on the health insurance companies thanks to neo liberal and Mitt Romney.

Why have health insurance if you cant use it? All mass cares about is covering people in name only mass doesn’t care about if the people cover can use it, or afford it. Unless of course your poor.

Massachusetts was a not the answer to based the U.S. health care system on.

Don’t believe me listen to the shows where Mass doctors talk about the plan and all the callers talking about how terrible it actually is and how prems keep going up and people keep downgrading there plans because of cost. And the Mass Doctors and Supports dismissing them.

Lucky enough i have no health or physical problems, yet i know many and friends who are getting screwed my the Mantory Massachusetts health care.

Kevin, “teabaggers” is how they refer to themselves!

Michael you are right the Massachusetts model is a failure. It does not work. It does nothing to address the problem. THE INSURANCE CORPORATIONS. Not the mention the pharmaceutical corporations. How did it come to this? Deductibles that are so high that it makes insurance for most people redundant. Not one politician is dealing with this. Not one. The bills in congress right now are a nothing more than a way for the Democrat’s to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. The Republican’s are just the party of no.

The bottom line is the majority of Americans are being screwed by this current health care system. The political will to really take this on is not evident.

It seems to me that the bill if it passes will make it worse than it already is. As much as I hate to say this I hope it fails.

The health care debate has been deemed in a moribund state by the lack of muscle and true reform in the bill that is potentially near going into law…I suppose one could look at it as a start, as some tangible progress after so many decades of nothing happening beyond free reign afforded to the insurance industry. But, considering how, historically, political attention on health care only seems to occur about every seventeen years or so, we will be stuck with a policy that probably will not serve our citizens very well…and, on the ginned up rhetoric and political opportunism on “rationing” by the right over the recent recommendations from the USPSTF: conservatives are engaging in their usual fear-mongering techniques. Btw, the USPSTF’s recommendations were not the result of their conducting a scientific medical study, more a risk-benefit analysis based on other studies (of which they picked and chose which ones to use), which, risk-benefit analysis is a necessary approach to determining health care protocol. Their guidelines are not, however, prudent from a preventive standpoint, and I’m not convinced the cost benefits will be so neat and clean, considering treatment for advanced cancers will rise and, of course, there will be more deaths.

On KSM in NYC/Federal trial: this decision is mostly symbolic and political…so what? First, symbolic acts in the way our nation conducts itself in representing what it stands for are sometimes important in and of themselves; and, considering everything is political, it IS important for this administration to proceed based on the issues for which it was elected. Statistically, federal courts have prosecuted and convicted 195 terrorists vs. 3 in military courts. If KSM went to a military tribunal, there is a good chance the judge would have no experience with that kind of trial. The death penalty part of the “debate” is more of a diatribe from pro-death penalty supporters than any substantive issue. KSM will be convicted and will probably be given the death penalty. You conservative types will be satisfied enough from having some opportunity at demagoguery with respect to the Fort Hood tribunal and the Congressional hearings in association with the tragedy. After all, you don’t want to over stuff yourselves.

On Obama’s trip to China…ehh…

On Wailin’ Palin: her feigned “regular folks” persona is funny. If people who believe she is really just “regular folk” saw how much money she’s worth, how much she and her dude bring in every year, what their house looks like and the privileges they have enjoyed being ensconced in Alaska’s “elite” for so many years, they would be shocked. Palin is a good example of a stereotypical “nouveau riche” person, and she probably feels slighted by what she perceives as elitists, hence her kind of David and Goliath/ anti-intellectual approach to populism. She really just wants to be part of the elite. Like Ellen believes, I suspect she’ll get herself some little talk show, probably in the Mike Huckabee/Fox-style talk show, only without Huckabee’s insufferably insipid “live” music…

Jonas,
You make a good point about the “rationing” fear mongers who bemoan the USPSTF’s recommendations of mammograms on the one hand and bemoan what they would call “forced excessive medical testing” on the other.

Who ever wrote Mass Universal Health Care is a joke or failure is lying to the World.

Let me tell you something did you ever work for a hospitals in Massachusetts? I Have been a reimbursement specialist for almost 15 years now and 90% of Massachsetts are covered.

Did you ever work with PCP and Specialist, or spoke with HMOs or insurance company, probably not

Pharmaceutical companies is totally different problem compared with Universal Health Care. Prescription drugs is another problem to discuss in the future but for now affordable health insurance is the mainm issue

GO AHEAD DON’T SUPPORT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE.

$340 a month for a premium is not bad at all some people pay more than that to their employer.

DON’T BALME THE HEALTH CARE BILL FOR HIGH DEDUCTIBLE BLAME THE INSURANCE COMPANY. That’s why we want the Universal Health Care bill to be passed THE BILL WILL control the cost of premiums every year.

I have Tufts and I only pay $36.00 a week for my health insurance.

don’t be selfish help the American people without insurance.

Putney, you wrote that “We spend billions on the military to defend the country, but when asked to collectively spend on the health care of all Americans we end up with this mess.”

Isn’t that the truth! When 3,000 people die on 9/11 we launch a war that costs hundred of billions a year. When it’s reported that roughly 45,000 Americans are dying each and every year because they lack healthcare, we’re told that we can’t afford to do anything about it. How does that make any sense at all?

How can a Health Care Bill screw America if the bill hasn’t been passed or implemented yet?
if the the bill fail you will PAY MORE EACH YEAR FOR health insurance.

if you don’t want insurance don’t get one and pay the tax fee every year so next time you have an accident the hospitals can use money to heal you.

The tax you paid for not having a health insurance will be use to treat you in the ER instead of using tax payer money.

Do something for your country Don’t let the country help You

“I have Tufts and I only pay $36.00 a week for my health insurance.
don’t be selfish help the American people without insurance”
So I pay 2.36 times more than you do for health care I can’t use but I’m being selfish?
I’m all for universal heatlh care but I at least wanna be able to use it or is that to selfish of me?
“if you don’t want insurance don’t get one and pay the tax fee every year so next time you have an accident the hospitals can use money to heal you.The tax you paid for not having a health insurance will be use to treat you in the ER instead of using tax payer money. “
I hear that argument over and over again but again if being forced to have insurance that doesn’t cover the ER visit, or even health care than again what’s the point in having it if you can’t use it. Since the tax payers and yourself will have to pay either way?
Can I have a say when someone fat is overeating at McDonalds and becomes sick? Since my prem is paying for there unhealthy life-style, since they can go to the doctor and I can’t? How about smokers?

Like you say without this bill the prem will keep going up so what does that say about MASS Health Care, which like you flaunt who has 90% coverage yet Prems Keep going up in Mass who has 90% of its people covered?

Also if Mass Health was so great why are they also denying care? Denying medicine? Answer that since with 90% covered this shouldn’t be happening right?

Health Care and specifically the “task force” decision on Mammograms, planning a silent protest. My 80 plus Mom said, “It’s time to rally up!” As I could not walk away from Kent State without taking some action, so too I feel a similar intensity in knowing I can not walk away from a group or government suggesting that women, as it translates for me, be fodder for a political machine.

who told you Mass Health is denying care?
My daughter is covered under Boston Medical Center Health Net plan, she had Kawasaki Disease she was well taking care at Boston Medical Center and was cured without being denied of care. Deductible yes I paid a deductible.

You are just getting your ideas from radio stations or newspapers. In order FOR A PERSON to undersrand the Health Care World you should be working for hospitals in order to understand the deeper side of the health care world.

I write off millions of unpaid claims that were not paid by HMOs or Commercial insurances. And for Medicare and Medicaid they pay everything even if the claim is wrong it is up to the Provider to find out their mistakes and reimburse Medicare or Medicaid. Don’t tell me that Medicaid doesn’t pay. tsk tsk tsk

I rather pay a $250.00 deductible than PAY a $15,000 claim. choose paying a $250.00 deductible or pay the entire claim of $15,000.

If you don’t use your health insurance and you now you are healthy DON’T GET HEALTH INSURANCE. that’s why 10% of Massachusetts don’t get health insurance because they don’t use it regularly and pay the Tax fee or $250.00 or more each year if you don’t want health insurance but you will still be taking care if you have an accident. simple arithmetic even a Junior high school student will understand my explanation of health care reform.

It depends what kind of policy you have but majority of insurances will charge you a COPAY of $50.00 for ER visits

Evaluation and Management (E&M)rates are totally different from ER visit. ER visit are expensive especially if the person doesn’t have health care coverage and doctors are Trauma doctors who can perform surgery right on the spot like ERs.
Why is going premium is going up every year even we have Universal Healthcare in Massachusetts.

Because the bill doesn’t cover the entire United States if the HMOs will reduce their premium every year for Massachusetts what about other States rates for premium.

The cost of care goes up because GOOD AND Services goes up every year. like Gas,water,medical supplies etc etc etc. if they go up of course the premium goes up. But if there is health care bill the rates will be controlled.

I have lot explanation but it will take another 2,000 pages to explain everything.

If you don’t support it better save a lot of money for medical bills and $7,000 cost per capita will go up to $10,000 by 2015.

save now if you don’t support Univeral health care.
GOODLUCK

One more explanation the health care bill is really for those people are denied care for pre-existing illnesses

And people who doesn’t have health care insurance and are badly needed of care.

I am not here to argue with the America people. I just want the American people know that WE ARE RUNNING out of time to overhaul our health care system. if we don’t solve this problem this year or next year. it will be too late for all of us.

I am not even born in America. I am a naturilized citizen from the Philippines. But being a Citizen of United States of America helping my fellow America who are really really sick and are dying as I write these.

Imagine 30 millions of America are uninsured and more is coming because of the national unemployment rate is 10%.

For someone who works in the health care field you seem to be lacking the information about the fines involved. The fine is actually over 1000 per year not the 250 you present. Further many insurance companies do not cover the full amount of a ER visit or health care in mass and also deny covering the amount at all..

I like to see the study of how many people had to reduce there coverage because of high cost or increase in premiums in mass. Wait they wouldn’t since it undermined they whole 90% coverage. My friend was denied care for getting the chicken poxs, they called it a pre-existing condition. Another for is asma medication, another fought with his insurance company and had to threaten to sue them to get them to pay his coverage. All in Mass.

I hope others see how people in the medical field dismiss any such critizism and how mass Health doesn’t provide what it is set out to do it’s only political posturing.

You said you pay 34$ a week and you daughter is covered too. Is that not a red hearing where someone like yourself pays less than half of what someone has to pay for health care? Also doesn’t new tecnology reduce cost? I do notice adminstartion cost are going up for these insurance companies and amount of money channelled from my premiums are going to Lobbying for mantory health care without restrictions. Maybe if you premiums went up you understand my anger and many others.

Ask Putney what they will pay or not pay for . Yes in Mass.

“The cost of care goes up because GOOD AND Services goes up every year. like Gas,water,medical supplies etc etc etc. if they go up of course the premium goes up.

But if there is health care bill the rates will be controlled”

wait, wait the insurance companies received a windfall in new forced customers so there premiums and cost would and should have actually gone down due to having a bigger pool of people and money. I’m sure you be aware of this if you took economics, but it didn’t, instead it continue to go up. So ethier that wind fall was spent on something other than health care or the idea of universal health care does not lower health care cost? Since Universal health care in other countries have lowered cost therefore the insurance companies ethier pocketed the money or banked it.

Therefore I come to the conclusion the Mass Healh Care system is a Fake, a Lie, and only covers people in Name only and people paying those fines are keeping this corrupt and ineffective system going.

How about a Poll of people who believe the Mass Health system helped them, another poll of how many people of that 90% can actually use it. I beat its fall less than that 90% you love so. Like you state mass has mutiple health care plans, which in itself says it allows for rationing of health care, since you have to have more money to get better care. Unless of course you in the health care field than you pay 36 dollars a week right? while others who are not pay far more. your cost being less than 800 dollars above the fine to be covered for you and your child, while someone like myself pays 4080 just to cover myself.

What a great system mass is, givens forced customers 90% of the population , and free market to do whatever they wised and still managed to raise cost.(amazing system) and they want the U.S. to follow suit.(what)

Well, Fannie May used to be a big donor of NPR, now it’s the Monsanto Food Corporation, which dictates the U.S. agriculture and farmers out of business or force them into their patent seeds.

NPR has good programs like OnPoint, but their journalism still can’t get out of conventional box. NPR broadcasters just sound more graceful or sane, not like other radio stations are obnoxious, but at times still full of cliche and rhetoric.

Up till this day, there’s only one voice you hear from all sources of U.S. or any western medias, radio or tv, all of them support Dalai Lama, but can never look at Tibet issue from China’s point of view. Here in the States, seems everyone regard Dalai Lama as a saint or sage without being an advocates to question and look at this issue from different point of view.

Most people here draw conclusion, China is evil, Dalai Lama is a holy saint, who has been willingly used a U.S. political tool. Hummm……

Putney,

I’ve agreed with you on healthcare all along. We need this current fiasco to FAIL. In 15 years when the tea baggers start to lose their insurance and millions more of us are bankrupted by our current system, we will perhaps be ready to discuss single payer. What they are doing now is a mockery. It infuriates me that insurance companies have a substantial role in shaping the legislation. It is a bit like having the fox help you mend your chicken wire!

Brett,

Through all the Palin media blitz I still can’t figure where she stands on any issues (other than maybe low taxes). Nuclear proliferation, Israel, poverty, globalization, education, nothing! Her answer to everything seems to be being folksy and plain and christian. The fact that twenty percent of us would vote for her says an awful lot about us (them). Oh wait, I did hear her say that she’d give the generals as many troops as they asked for. At least we know where she stands on that.

Without a decent and affordable Health Care is inhumane, especially we are talking about a “developed” country, and self-claimed “greatest” country in the world!

Well, how great can a country be if without an affordable Health Care System, can anyone answer this? Can those congressman opposed to this bill answer this?

akilez, with all due respect you don’t seem to get it.
You claim to pay very little for a premium $144 per month for what seems to be a family coverage.
That’s very cheap. I guess your lucky that your employer is footing the rest of the costs or you have a very basic plan.

My premium is $400 per month, as I said.
It seems from some of the other comments that most are in this range or higher. If I went with what my employer offers it would be 350 per month with a 3000 or more deductible which I already stated. This is one of the problems with health care insurance, the absurd way that these companies charge whatever they want. Why are there any deductibles at all? What is the point? In my view it’s just a way for the insurance companies to rob us of the premiums and never have to pay out for the coverage we all pay for. Your right about one thing, the insurance companies are a huge problem. So are the way doctors are payed and how hospitals charge for services.
In fact the whole damn system is broken. I think we can all agree on that. It seems that the politicians are unable to fix this and also seem to have the ability to even try. The bill that Senator Harry Reid is putting forth seems woefully short of solving anything and will no doubt make things worse. It will give the Republican’s ammunition to kill this if they retake the senate in 2010. Worse it will make the insurance industry richer and the rest of us wondering if these rubes in Washington can do anything right except start wars.

Cory,
I heard her (Palin) say that if we had profiling in our military and police force, incidents like Ft. Hood wouldn’t happen! I also heard her say to give McCrystal whatever he wants. Let’s see…uh…oh, yeah….no…wait…uh…Of course, she does run through those platitudes of returning America to those values that made it great, values that have been lost. I don’t quite know what she means by that. She seems to snipe at quite a few people and blame people for her poor interviews and gaffes…that kinda stands for lack of personal responsibility…uh…umm…nope, sorry…what she stands for? what she stands for…Oh, I did hear her say that Israel should continue to build and broaden settlements on the West Bank.

It is about as unmemorable as when I hear someone ask a Palin supporter why he/she likes her. They say glib, platitudinal things like “she’s plain folk” “she tells it like it is” “is honest” has experience because of her “meeting payroll” as governor “is energizing” “rallies people” “stands for good old-fashioned American values” “blah, blah, blah…”

Just in case anybody cares, it was revealed this week that Obama’s 800 billion dollar stimulus package has not created any jobs at all. All claims by the Obama administration about the thousands of jobs created were all fictitious lies. All you liberals can now go back to talking about Sarah Palin instead of “your” own failed president.

To Louise,

My neighbor lost his job in April, 2009, and got hired August, 2009 because of the stimulus package according to his new employer. You just have to be careful the word you choose to use “not any”, here’s one good personal example for you.

Palin is another brainless talking head, and only motivated for her personal gain.

Cory,
Now, Louise has a platitudinal, economy with words, and here she has just made her usual weekly “‘…failed presidency’” comment about Obama. She’s also mentioned Palin, I see. She’s probably one of those Palin supporters, I bet; perhaps she could state a few supportive, glib statements about what Ms. Palin stands for. Louise? Got any pro-Palin gems for everybody?

Obama seemed like he had assumed that position with a lot a guys before. He was clearly comfortable going down on the emperor.

Louise,

I am wondering if you regard the administration that governed this country from 2000-2008 a failed presidency? I’d like to know so I can gauge what your standards are for a failed presidency.

The previous administration:
1. started two wars and finished none.
2. entered with budget surpluses and left with massive deficits
3. Left office with the country at the brink of depression.
4. Authored the first bank bailout.
5. Began the use of “enhanced interrogations” aka torture
6. Pronounced “nuclear”, newkyeler.

So Louise, do these standards meet your definition of a failed presidency?

So, Travis, you see the President bow in front of Japan’s Emperor Akihito and you immediately think of a man “going down” on another man and ponder if that man has gone down on other men…well, that certainly reveals how your mind occupies itself…

Brett, stick to your anti-Catholic comments, they’re funnier.

Cory, to answer your question, the Obama administration is “the” definition of a failed presidency. And yes, I would take George W. Bush as president over Barack Obama any day of the week.

According to the most recent Gallup Poll, Obama’s approval rating is below 50%. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that Obama is failing.

“According to the most recent Gallup Poll, Obama’s approval rating is below 50%. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that Obama is failing.”

By this standard this country has not had a successful president since WWII. Actually, looks like Kennedy’s approval never fell below 50%. Of the others, Eisenhower held out the longest. But ultimately, every single President since WWII, with the exception of JFK, so far has been a failure.

Louise,

I thought conservatives don’t pay attention to the polls? You win the election, so you are the “decider” right?

What if we take your daily chant of “he’s a failure” as fact? Now what? Do you want to just wait for three years to do anything, do you want him impeached now, or do you want something worse?

Liberal commie pinko socialist inquiring minds would like to know.

guess obama still has 28% to loses before he makes it to bushes approval rating of 22% wow what a great president.

Listen to Louise statements there so incoherent, on one hand obama is a socialist,fascist, commie changing america and they want it back than the next he’s a failed president who hasn’t done anything to change america.

So on the one hand he’s changing the country the way they don’t like while doing nothing to change the country.

Hahah the logic of republican, I can clearly see why they think palin could be president and even know bush F the country up as a good president. There care about the debt as long as it taxs cuts, and there not in power once in power they made the government even bigger, spied on its Citizens, twisted the constitution, and are afraid to try terrorist because the torture methods used can’t be used in court.

haha the party of values like Governor Sanford right? or the congressman looking for some in the bathroom, or the one hitting on little boys, or Ted Haggard the gay basher, actually bashing a gay guy not in the way his followers thought. Or Senator Ensign, Senator Paul Stanley caught cheating on wife with who is an advocate of sex-abstinence. Or Palins daughter being the spokes women for abstinence only, or Newt G. who cheated on his wife or wifes 1st with the 2nd, 2nd with the 3rd. Even mccain the war hero left his wife when he return for someone much younger and richer what morals.

Let me call it first whoever obama runs against in 2012 he is eventually going to win, why you ask? cause anyone trying to gain the republican ticket will have to appease the loons like Louise to get it. So your hear socialist, Commies, fascist,tax cuts more spending in war, tax cuts on the richest of Americans, flat taxs, the so call (liberal) media will actually help the republicans on this since it will provide higher ratings, more advertising money , tons of polls will come out almost on a daily basis of independents against obama but it will neglect that fact that many of the new supposed independents are ex-republicans or actually republicans which will slant the polls nor the fact that 2/3rds people in there 20s to 30 don’t have or use land lines. You think fox news is ugly now just wait its going to be a sh#t show,

I can see in 10yrs from now instead of a independent moderator for debate it will have a foxs host moderating instead of being a objective moderator it be a advocacy moderator asking tough questions.

The republicans will talk about terrorist and how your going to die,will say we are becoming like Europe but say our companies should be just like Europe, and how civilians leaders have to follow there commanders on the field no matter what, and the drum beat for war with iran, and Israel helping with this, hopefull J Steet would have garner more support and weaken AIPAC and israel interest to second or even third since its doing it to itself it should be much easier to do. Anything science will be attacked repeatedly as partisan and instead placed with what if’s, and maybes, and it could happen.

After all this Obama will still pull off a victory much closer this time, and once elected his agenda will be pushed much more strongly, than in 2016 Hilary Clinton will run for President and lose since many democrats don’t like her, by that time the republican would be tried of the “palins, Steeles” in the party and start tighten the rope on such and run a moderate in name only beating Hilary, the green party and other parties will still have about the same votes as today. By this time NPR would have become much like cable news, opinions and balance based on emotion on almost every issue instead of objectivity and a focus on facts.

the movie idiocracy is our future if we go down the road our glen beck type current face of the republican thinking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

the argument that this recent change in mammogram policy is what happens when the gov’t gets involved is ridiculous; who was involved in determining that women should get a mammogram every year? The same people all the time, and there’s always that “Ooop, turns out…” 10 years later…read your history –

and, I’ve lived frugally for 15 years on no more than $21,000. a year; but that sure as hell ain’t gonna cover no health insurance out there, and since I’m only 50 and have no children, I don’t qualify for any government mandated assistance for health care. At this point, there are at least 3 serious issues I can feel on my body, one of which is teeth, but oh well…not in America. But let’s go get ‘em with those drones, and don’t forget about moving to the MOON!

Tell me this doesn’t sound like the modern tea-baggers and republican.

A narrator explains that in modern society, natural selection has become indifferent toward intelligence, so that in a society in which intelligence is systematically debased, stupid people easily out-breed the intelligent, creating, over the course of five centuries, an irredeemably dysfunctional society. Demographic superiority favors those least likely to advance society. Consequently, the children of the educated elites are drowned in a sea of sexually promiscuous, illiterate, alcoholic, degenerate peers.

Well it seems Palin has pissed off her base.

I don’t know what is more pathetic, people waiting for hours to see and get this woman to sign their books or Palin’s fake populism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/20/palin-booed-by-book-tour_n_365883.html

Putney,
I know! I heard of this story about Palin not meeting people who waited in line all day and were promised that she would sign their books. The Palin fans were also subjected to inclement weather while they waited (many, up to 9 hours). I guess she was tired or decided to quit on yet another promise to her people. She finally responded in a Facebook message saying she was told some people did not get to see her and she was sorry…but she was just feet away in her tour bus from a screaming, angry crowd of disappointed fans. Did she have to be told of this? What I found compelling about this incident was not her shirking responsibility and disregarding her base, she’s done this before; what was interesting was how quickly her base turned against her!

While all you loyal party lovers fuss over who is in power and who wants power the fact remains, the good ship USA is sinking. This is not a question of who is Dem. and who is Repub., both parties and politicians pander to the citizens that vote. They will promise you the world and lie to do it. The facts are there, politicians make promises, if they don’t keep them, then they have lied! But we citizens don’t care, we want our place at one of the teats of government. They are orgasmic that we fight amongst ourselves, because in doing so we take our attention off the coming iceberg that is headed our way. People, our wants will not kill us, but the imformation at this website does not lie(http://www.usdebtclock.org/)it is the iceberg that is going to sink this country.
Go to this puppy and see for youself. The US debt is 12 Trillion and ticking fast. The US unfunded liability is 106 Trillion and ticking.(the iceberg)
The Dems are telling the true that this Healthcare bill will not add to the National debt, not one single dime. They fell to tell you that it is going to be added to the other account. The 106, with a bit T, account.
One day someone is going to want payment, the government is not going to pay this, quess WHO?
Americans, if you can pull yourself away from the teat and the little white lies the politicians are feeding us, we need to live within our means, otherwise we better find a lifeboat!

I love to see hard-left socialists like Michael desperately making excuses for the pathetic Obama “presidency”.

ABC’s The Note reported:
What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform?
On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”
Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.
On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”
The section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.
How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.
Harry got his wish, she took the bribe and voted yes. America get ready, I hope Forrest Gump doesn’t come out of the woodwork with his famous saying?

Now this is funny

Palin caught LYING REPEATEDLY

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

Oh Michael you such have a very long explanation but you still don’t understand the health care world. All those questions that doesn’t mean anything.

I will explain again in 2rd grader term

My daughter is cover under Boston Health Net Plan under her mother which is almost FREE. They are both covered

I am covered under Tufts health plan single/individual coverage. I pay $36.00 a week for myself ONLY. No Deductible, only copay and coins.

WAIT MINUTE!!! why are you guys treating Health Insurance like a CAR INSURANCE. oh my god! $1,000 or $3,000 deductible.

Here’s another 3rd grader explanation,. every time you have a surgery you will get a deductible because majority of insurances pays 80% of the claim and rest is adjusted or you get billed for it. (too long to explain). the deductible depends how much was the claim from $250.00 to $50,000 claim it is per surgery or procedure not Yearly.

Michael obviously you don’t have a job or you have your own business and your own insurance or family insurance.
I wonder what kind of insurance you have?

First of all Michael your friend’s Chicken Pox is not covered because there is no vaccine for chicken pox.
He will just have to stay home and ride it out the Pox. just like what I did. your friend even risking other people by going to the hospital or ER to have him check.
why does you friend need something for chicken pox anyways?

Asthma is a pre existing condition so AGAIN that’s why it is not covered but some INSURANCE do cover asthma like TUFTS health plan.

Remember the Health Care bill will help pre existing conditions or illnesses.

SUPPORT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!! before it is too late.

Akilez,

I have a job working in the financial world,I guess you elighten health care workers knows best since your one of the people profiting from this mandate in mass. I’m sure your view is objective and not slanted to there side right?

and again you didn’t answer why if Mass went from the previous level to 90% why the cost, premiums would not have gone down? Since this would allow larger pools, and as the insurance companies keep saying we need it mandatory to lower cost? again with a mandatory forced health care why are there still high deductible? since the majority of the Mass Population is covered meaning the cost to the insurance companies are far less. So by your own admission Mass Health insurance ration since they will only cover a % of need medical procedures even when everyone is required to have it. even when there profits go up.

So i’ll break it down to the 2nd grade level you wish to have in this discussion.

More people paying, less people using,higer Profit for Insurance companies, More people paying in, less cost to people using, Lower Premiums(the companies can provide the services at lower cost).

But that didn’t happen in Mass did it? 90% people paying, Mandatory health Care, or fine, Still less people using, YET Premiums still are going up, Rationing still occurring due to higher prices, and partial coverage. Disrupt that if you can

Your argument is weak but expected, telling me to pay more while you pay far less,unless your poor than i have a problem with that. again i pay more than 2 times what you do for less services and you wish to spread such thinking? how foolish.

Ask your daughter that question and her answer would be why?

I already answered that on my previous comments
read my comments again. “Insurance company keep on saying mandatory to lower cost”
You actually believe the Health Care Insurances want to lower to cost of health care? They’re even against the Health Care Bill.
If you COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER get another insurance who will cost you less. I bet you got FANCY HEALTH INSURANCE who rarely cover every procedures or pre existing conditions.
getting HIGH PREMIUM HMO insurance and complaint about it Does not make a any sense. BLAME YOURSELF NOT the Massachusetts local government. Stop blaming people because you bought a FANCY HMO.

I pay less because I chose the affordable health insurance even though I make GOOD money. If you are have Flexible Benefits You can choose from $106.00 to $350 a week family plan health insurancr. depending What KIND OF FANCY insurance you like to buy. In third grade term buy a KIA or a BMW but you choose.

I still DON’T understand what you are trying to explain. There is no such thing as HIGH deductible
it depends how much was your surgery. If they will cover the whole entire claim or just pay 80% and rest is yours.

Please don’t let economics fool you. ECONOMICS as nothing to do with how Medical reviewers will pay or deny your claim. As I told you again and again the
Financial world is totally different from the Health Care world. My world of health care has nothing to do with the FINANCIAL WORLD like or Wall Street.

If Wall Street goes down it will GO DOWN by itself.
It will have minimal affect in the Health Care world.

Are you not happy 90% of Massachusetts are insured?
IF YOU DON’T WANT HEALTH CARE REFORM WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU WANT? All I see from your comments ARE COMPLAINTS.

There is no such thing as LESS service. You tell that to PCP or Specialist it will be an insult to them.
Equal rights Equal Treatment whatever insurance you have.

“My arguement is weak and expected” Your funny and selfish.

Again you choose your own plan of Health Insurance from your employer NOT ME. And you complaint about insurance deductible and health care reform being foolish I think is the other way around.

You always complaint about deductible and you don’t want health care reform. What on earth do you want?

• . “Insurance company keep on saying mandatory to lower cost”
You actually believe the Health Care Insurances want to lower to cost of health care? They’re even against the Health Care Bill.
If you COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER get another insurance who will cost you less. I bet you got FANCY HEALTH INSURANCE who rarely cover every procedures or pre existing conditions.”
•
• I got what my employer provided me. The fact is that you keep skipping the fact that Mass has done what this bill says it promised to do but with horrible results, again Prices did not drop, Premiums did not drop, cost did not drop, the price of procedures are not transparent, people are still ration care, if a procedure costs say 100,000 and the insurance covers 80% than that person still has to come up with 20,000 which could bankrupt them. Or prevent them from getting the help they need. But yea they say there covered so it must be fine.
• Hate to break it to you but Wall Street is getting even more involved with Health-Care, Remember if there shareholders involvement, Doctor Own hospital, backed by private investors they have a agenda to make a max profits. They getting involved with life insurances as well. Health Saving accounts that can be used to investing in shares and into wall street, the company I work for is involved with many different insurance companies on this part and if the market crash all those invested accounts would to.
• What I want is real reform, real health care reform not the junk that’s coming out. Forcing people to get health care that they themselves cannot afford is foolish, and does nothing to help the problem.
There is no such thing as HIGH deductible
it depends how much was your surgery. If they will cover the whole entire claim or just pay 80% and rest is yours.
Therefore there is a deductible, in your own admission, since the cost of surgery they require a deductable before they pay up.
“Please don’t let economics fool you. ECONOMICS as nothing to do with how Medical reviewers will pay or deny your claim.”
What? Than you don’t have a clue on what your talking about, sadly economics has everything to do with health care. Plus my friend who has asthma was covered and than denied, that why he was pissed. Yes in Mass.
Are you not happy 90% of Massachusetts are insured?
Nope if the people covered can not use there health care there really no point in having except the fact people like you can pat each other on the back while others suffer cause they can’t use there health care. So your saying as a provider the more people in does nothing to lower cost since the ones doing it is using something else to tell? But that simply is not true since government employees get it for much less.

There is no such thing as LESS service. You tell that to PCP or Specialist it will be an insult to them.
Equal rights Equal Treatment whatever insurance you have. I would and I have the only thing equal in the health care field is the coming to the doctors after that they give you far less, and do as little as possible if you don’t have the right insurance.
“My arguement is weak and expected” Your funny and selfish.
Again you choose your own plan of Health Insurance from your employer NOT ME. And you complaint about insurance deductible and health care reform being foolish I think is the other way around.
Yes it is very weak, you’re saying people shouldn’t complain about the cost cause its fine for you, and you pay less, so it seems your only care is that people are covered not if they can use it. And that thinking traps people to the will of insurance companies.
Mass has not done anything this bill is supposed to do, except in name only, drafted by lobbyist and insurance companies, doctors with a interest not to restrict cost, or increase regulations. The difference between us is I’m aware it’s a failed bill and drafted after the failed Mass Health care WHICH DOES NOT ADDRESS COST. Only income, no factor of housing, debt, school,
How the Mass budget doing

If the health care plan with its 2,000 pages is designed primarily to forbid insurers from excluding due to preexisting conditions, great, but I know it will cost me more, because insurers’ self-interest would tell them to cherry-pick and price the costly people out of the market. I thought in Massachusetts this was already the state of the law. You go to the Massachusetts Connector board and plug in your age and gender, and they’ll offer you plans pretty much the same as you would find from the same insurers in cost. For me, since I was about 50, whatever coverage I had the year before, the next year they want to charge 700-or-so dollars for that, so each year I reduce my coverage, until I basically ration myself out of any care.
Why so costly? Lately, apparently, because all those Bad Cherries are included. If my premiums went to One Grand American Risk Pool, then my premiums wouldn’t be going to the profit of my insurer, they would be going much more directly to the sick who need it. It seems a no-brainer. If I wanted insurance beyond the basic provided to all, there would be insurers for that.
Republicans seem to think that the 2000-page bill will threaten the insurers who provide insurance to 80 percent of Americans, so Blue Cross would be gone. Companies would decamp to a nonprofit alternative.
In my opinion, that would a helpful first step, to get rid of the insurance overhead/profit motive.
Tom Friedman was telling Charlie Rose the other day that this country is no longer capable of going for and getting the best solution. It is very sad.
The other horrors in our system — the way costs skyrocket due to possibilities of litigiousness being unleashed on any doctor, for instance — I have no faith in my ability to take on these issues in regard to a private insurer in a single state. I do think that on a national level, enough people could organize to push for what needs to be done.
As to Khalid Sheik Mohammed in NYC, I now hear that those to be tried (plural) are going to plead not guilty — get this — in order to explain why “they” (al Kaida) opposes American foreign policy.
At last, I think. Words speak louder than bombs, we like to think. And what I hear is that if we really wanted to shift foreign policy we would scrap the special treatment that goes with letting Israel keep a secret nuclear facility, while expecting Iran to play by different rules and publicize its own efforts.
Make Israel be honest? Us? Apparently that is even a bigger stick than withholding military and financial support. And apparently this underlies a lot of the furor that has Islamic peoples reviling us.
I think it would be a great service to this country to have all those arguments laid out, for a global audience, and give it a proper airing. Let us at least hear what the point of all this violence is, violence that does in many ways stem from and reflect the violence Israel confronts.
If we won’t do that, listen and talk, I’d think we aren’t truly facing the foe, just beating up on them with our costly military.
What judge could handle a “plea” that has such broad ramifications and implications? Judges seem to me to be extraordinary at getting to the root of something, at excising everything that doesn’t matter, focusing on the law and the relevant facts.
The Law, as represented by the judge, might not care at all about the reasons, the intent (but we say there is killing that is justified, “as in war”), but the continuation of the standoff between the two great monotheisms (if you want to look at it that way) could be rather neatly terminated by having an orderly “trial” of the CAUSE of the violence, rather than the violence itself.

[...] steal from and reformat Katrina vanden Heuvel on November 20’s On Point Week in the News segment: if there were as much passionate and vehement debate within mainstream political discourse on [...]