Comments Posted By Moltenorb
Displaying 21 To 30 Of 70 Comments
IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT IN DC FOR PROTEST
There was more people at Woodstock.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 22:29
Elisabeth says:
"If the gov’t wastes billions… whether it is defense or healthcare…"
Health care fraud wastes billions...Defense fraud wastes trillions..
Huge difference...see how huge at this link:
http://www.ptm.org/uni/resources/ptmupdate/032309/conclusion.html
Elisabeth goes on to say:
"...why on earth DO YOU TRUST THEM WITH YOUR MONEY!!! Or for that matter with your healthcare? They are INCOMPETENT. Maybe not individually, but certainly collectively."
The alternative is a worse in my opinion..
I can choose not to pay corporate profiteers to broker my health care...but I already pay the government in the form of taxes which I cannot avoid...No matter how "incompetent" the government may be, I am a shareholder in America, and I have to believe that our system can improve and evolve...
The logical alternative to democracy is corporacy...which is the thing you don't take into account...Corporations have far too much influence in our government right now...and their only agenda is profit..
Those billions being defrauded from Medicare??...That's the insurance companies, the Pharmacuetical companies, and the health care conglomerates stealing from the US taxpayer...Those Trillions in Fraud and graft at the Pentagon??...That's the defense contractors stealing from the US taxpayer..
Our government has organizations that focus directly on corporate fraud...The National Procurement Fraud Task Force...The Inspector General...The Defense Contract Audit Agency...so it's not like they are unaware that this is happening...they collect billions in settlements from corporations regularly...they're not completely incompetent..
Between 2000 and 2005, procurement spending rose 86%, twice as fast as other discretionary spending, which rose 43%...federal contract expenditures now consume almost 40 cents of every dollar of discretionary spending..
More contracts....more fraud..
Procurement fraud squanders limited funds, threatens our safety and national defense, cheats American taxpayers, and harms the government at a time of concern for our nation's security..
Know thy enemy Elisabeth.
The influence of profit hungry corporate interests on our politicians, and the fleecing of institutions that are supposed to use our tax dollars to benefit us is an insidious cancer which is at the root of most of the corruption and greed we see in government today..
Our politicians are bought and sold...no doubt about it...greed rules the day...but it's big business that feeds the monster..
"All is grist for the mill"
Now I know that you're anti-government right now for idealogical reasons as well as fiscal ones, but the government is not the enemy here. It's this corporate fraud that bleeds our taxpayers, and corporate money that buys politicians which in turn stifles the government from doing its job of providing for the general welfare of the country..
Reducing corporate influence in government could restore us to a civil society, grounded in life-centered values rather than immediate financial gain..
I wont hold my breath for that to happen, but I'll side with the government that the founders created before I'll side with corporate behemoths intent on profit at any cost...every time..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 21:40
You can make up any numbers you want to...it's all just guesswork in the end..
Does having an "official" number really make any difference?...Or is it just bragging rights after the fact that's important..
188 million registered voters in this country according to census reports...pick a number over 1% of that and you win the booby prize!
Like most protests of this size, there is no cohesive political philosophy or agenda evident..This particular one comes off as anti-liberalism...not much of a platform..
Elisabeth says:
"As a healthcare professional, the notion that we can spend 900 bil to cover everyone, that MCARE has 500 bil of waste, and that we haven’t even discussed the boomers hitting the shelf is on its face ridiculous! BO CANNOT put this together in any way that makes sense. It is a fraudulent discussion to profess that all the noncovereds plus those moving onto the MCARE rolls and off the payrolls can occur without adding to debt that CANNOT be paid off by working, underscore working, Americans."
Elisabeth,
You should check into waste and fraud at the Pentagon...it dwarfs Medicare, running into the trillions of dollars..
Here's a short video of Rumsfeld admitting that he doesn't know where 2.3 Trillion dollars went the day before 9/11...it's a good place to start..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etttthink%2Ecom%2Fon%2Dsept%2D10th%2D2001%2Ddonald%2Drumsfeld%2Dadmitted%2Dthat%2Dthe%2Dpentagon%2Dcouldnt%2Daccount%2Dfor%2D2%2D3%2Dtrillion%2Ddollars%2Dth&feature=player_embedded#t=173
25% of the Pentagon budget cannot be accounted for at all...If you want to complain about fraud and waste, why go for the small fry Medicare??
You should be yelling for reform of the Pentagon...the savings there alone could finance universal healthcare and take a chunk out of the debt..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 17:35
THE LEFT IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT JOE WILSON
Sota,
Arguing that if a bill won't prevent a prohibited action 100% of the time, then it implicitly supports that action is hogwash..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 08:30
Rick replies:
Not necessarily hypocrisy. Wilson’s “You lie” heckle was about giving illegals access to the public option. It was not about the public option per se or any other aspect of the program. To claim Wilson is a hypocrite because he called Obama out for his interpretation of the bill relating to illegals just because he is a beneficiary of government run health care is a stretch.
You can argue that HR3200 denies access to illegals. Says so right in the bill. Except, because there is no requirement for anyone to prove they are a citizen when signing up for it, you know and I know that illegals will indeed benefit from the program - just as they end up voting in elections, receive food stamps and welfare, housing assistance, and any other government benefit that they are not eligible for.
ed.
Rick,
So are you saying that Wilson supports a robust public option?
Because I was pointing out the general hypocrisy of Wilsons statements about government run health care...I wasn't "claiming Wilson is a hypocrite because he called Obama out for his interpretation of the bill relating to illegals"...He was simply wrong to do that...no hypocrisy...just stupidity..
We do agree on one specific point here about illegals being unable to participate in the system..
"It says so right in the bill."
That it does..
Obama said: "...the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."
Wilson screamed: "You lie!"
Technically...Obama did not lie.
You can argue that the proposed legislation does not go far enough to ensure government dollars won't flow to those who are here illegally...but you can't really argue that the reforms Obama is proposing will apply to those who are here illegally...because they wont.
"It says so right in the bill."
Right now...federal law bars hospitals from refusing service, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay...The taxpayer picks up that tab...
Where's the outrage??
Personally...I think it would be great to offer all recent immigrants the option of purchasing affordable health insurance that would result in the payment of billions of dollars in insurance premiums every year...That would put a dent in giving health care away for free in emergency rooms, and forcing the government to subsidize hospitals for the cost..
Fact: Recent immigrants (those who have been in the U.S. for fewer than 10 years) were responsible for only about 1% of public medical expenditures even thought they constituted 5% of the population.
Fact: Recent immigrants who were fully insured over a 12-month period had medical costs that were half the size of their U.S. born counterparts.
Fact: Recent immigrants have lower rates of hospital admissions and emergency medical visits than native-born Americans.
Fact: 80% of the growth in the number of uninsured individuals between 2000 and 2006 consisted of U.S. citizens.
source: American Journal of Public Health
So why not let those immigrants that are able to purchase private insurance end up subsidizing the care of U.S. born citizens?
Seems fiscally conservative to me..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 08:12
Travis Monitor says about Joe Wilsons fundraising:
"He’s gotten hundreds of thousands of contributions himself in the last 48 hours."
He's gotten about 200,000 dollars...so what your saying is that "hundreds of thousands" of people have given him like a buck a piece?
You really need to stop exaggerating your numbers Travis...
Wilsons opponent has gotten 400,000 dollars since Obamas speech from appoximately 11,000 donors.
Those are realistic numbers.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 04:50
Travis Monitor says:
“It shows how inconsequential Obama’s speech was that this tempest in a teapot got so much play. ”
"Indeed. The only thing new about Obama’s speech was that he got to feel a bit like the Congressmen at the townhalls. The audience is not buying it."
The "audience" you speak of was mostly Democrats, and President Obama's speech was particularly successful in unifying Democrats. Now, 85 percent of them approve of his handling of health care.
And in the end, the unity of the Democrats is really the only important factor in passing health care reform...Republicans are the "inconsequential" ones..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 04:27
Travis Monitor quotes the CRS:
“Under H.R. 3200, a ‘Health Insurance Exchange’ would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange.”
I quote H.R. 3200:
Section 246
"NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS"
"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."
This is "restrictions on noncitzens" in H.R. 3200...plain as day and simply stated..
And if you take CRS reports as holy gospel...I've got about a 1,000 quotes from their reports that will have you crying "YOU LIE!" just like Joe Wilson did..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 04:12
Sota says:
"Messenger-killers: Wilson is a southern, confederate flag-flying racist! He gets free health insurance! Hypocrite! No blood for oil! Haliburton!"
Wilson not only gets "free health insurance"...he gets government run, single payer health insurance...Or as you and Joe Wilson might call it...SOCIALISM!!
In Wilsons own words it's a "comprehensive health plan that is portable and available in some form world-wide"...it's "world class health care"..
If you can't see the hypocrisy in those statements...you have no grasp of logic or reason..
Not necessarily hypocrisy. Wilson's "You lie" heckle was about giving illegals access to the public option. It was not about the public option per se or any other aspect of the program. To claim Wilson is a hypocrite because he called Obama out for his interpretation of the bill relating to illegals just because he is a beneficiary of government run health care is a stretch.
You can argue that HR3200 denies access to illegals. Says so right in the bill. Except, because there is no requirement for anyone to prove they are a citizen when signing up for it, you know and I know that illegals will indeed benefit from the program - just as they end up voting in elections, receive food stamps and welfare, housing assistance, and any other government benefit that they are not eligible for.
ed.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 12.09.2009 @ 03:55
Poor Joe Wilson.
Cut the man some slack. He's passionate! I know this because he told me, in the sole message that blazes across his campaign Web site: JOE WILSON IS PASSIONATE ABOUT STOPPING GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE!
Except that he's not?at least not when it comes to his, and his family's, government-run health care. As a retired Army National Guard colonel, Wilson gets a lot of benefits (one of which, apparently, was not a full appreciation of the customs, traditions, and courtesies that mandate respect for one's commander in chief). And with four sons in the armed services, the entire Wilson brood has enjoyed multiple generations of free military medical coverage, known as TRICARE.
Yes, it's true. As politicos and town-hall criers debate the finer points of the public option, employer mandates, coverage for undocumented immigrants, and who's more Hitler-like, they seem to miss a larger point: the United States has single-payer health care. It covers 9.5 million active-duty servicemen and women, military retirees, and their dependents?including almost a 10th of all Californians and Floridians, and nearly a quarter of a million residents of Wilson's home state.
Military beneficiaries like Wilson?who, as a retiree, is eligible for lifetime coverage?never have to worry about an eye exam, a CT scan, a prolonged labor, or an open-heart surgery. They have access not only to the military's 133,500 uniformed health professionals, but cooperating private doctors as well?whose fees are paid by the Department of Defense. It's high-quality care, too: surveys from 2007 and 2008 list TRICARE among "the best health insurer(s) in the nation" by customer satisfaction. Yet Wilson insists government-run health care is a problem.
To be fair, Wilson has been consistent in his policymaking if not his personal life: according to his last congressional opponent, Wilson voted 11 times against health care for veterans in eight years, even as he voted "aye" for the Iraq War (during the debate on the war vote, he even called one Democrat "viscerally anti-American"?several times). He voted to cut veterans' benefits?not his own?to make room for President George W. Bush's tax cuts. He repeatedly voted for budgets that slashed funding to the Veterans Administration and TRICARE. And perhaps most bizarrely, he refused?repeatedly?to approve Democratic-led initiatives that would have extended TRICARE coverage to all reservists and National Guard members, even though a disproportionate number of them have served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan?and many lost access to their civilian work benefits when they did so.
There's one other notable exception to Wilson's tough-on-government record: In July, when the health-insurance debate just started heating up, he offered an amendment that would exempt TRICARE from any system of employer mandates in a health-care bill. It's not clear whether this is necessary, since most such bills in Congress keep government benefits exempt from the rules as a matter of course. But Wilson took the opportunity to make his stand.
"As a 31-year Army Guard and Reserve veteran, I know the importance of TRICARE," he said in a press release. "The number of individuals who choose to enroll in TRICARE continues to rise because TRICARE is a low cost, comprehensive health plan that is portable and available in some form world-wide." He went on to call TRICARE "world class health care," concluding on a personal note. "I am grateful to have four sons now serving in the military, and I know that their families appreciate the availability of TRICARE," he said.
What does that mean? Nothing?except that Joe Wilson was against government-run health care before he was for it. And now he's against it again. Just not when it comes to his own flesh and blood.
Adam Weinstein, an Iraq veteran, is a freelance journalist. He is uninsured.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 11.09.2009 @ 19:48
