It's funny to me that many people of one particular political persuasion actually believe that people of an opposite political stripe are out to "destroy this country". That absolutely ridiculous hyperbole should be obvious to any thinking person, yet it becomes more prevalent each and every day. Obama wants to tear the U.S. down!!! That's funny shit.
Identifying a problem, raising it for discussion and trying to find a way to mitigate/fix it doesn't mean pinko commies like me want to destroy this country. From one perspective, it means that people like me who want to make things better are more patriotic than you. Certainly, some of you think that there is absolutely nothing wrong with anything. From my perspective, if you think everything is peachy then your head is in the sand.
There really is a myriad of social and cultural issues which, if we addressed, would make this place better for all of us. Health care for everyone should be on the same level as public education. I would go so far as to say it should be a basic human right. I'm not about to sit here and list all the faux-justifications that the anti-health care reform crowd is using to maintain the insurance industry status quo. I find it all very troubling. It makes me wonder about you all. What the fuck are you thinking by gobbling up all that tripe? Don't you see how much money they have at stake?
My guess is that we all believe the LIE that anyone can make it big in the U.S. That propaganda has been shoved down our throats since we were young. Ask anyone who has made it big and they'll tell you that without LUCK all their hard work might have ended fruitlessly. But because we all believe our ship will come in one day, we fear any change that some talking head tells us would be antithetical to that dream. But it's just a dream folks. Nobody reading this is going to become the next Bill Gates. Sorry to tell you. Statistically it just isn't going to happen.
Some of you have done very well no doubt. Some of you will do very well in the future. But that dream that you'll be mega rich is just a dream ... a fantasy.
My ex-girlfriend used to believe that she would one day be what she called "normal". The problem was that she what she thought was "normal" was actually exceptional. Maybe 2 percent of people in the world are actually in the state of being that she described as "normal". I'd launch here into a diatribe about the manipulation of our psyche's by media etc ... and blame this guy named Edward Bernays (a guy that you've never heard of but who shaped our modern culture more than any of single person EvAH!). But I'll save that for another time. Google his name if your curious.
The point is that our expectations are out of step with the reality of what is actually probable ... because we think in terms of possibility not probability. And those two things are dramatically different. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is possible. Science can't disprove/discount the possibility that his noodly appendages designed our world. The probability though that FSM did so is minute.
For now. Just watch Sicko. Please. I dare you to watch it and pay attention. It's an important time to pay attention if your a citizen of the U.S. I implore you to watch it.
And don't bother with asking me to stick to hockey. Refer to the This Is Not Your Father's Oldsmobile post from August 21st for my answer to that particular issue.
Today's Seawolf hockey content:
The incoming freshman attended the UAA women's volleyball opening games and provided cheerleading entertainment. There are pictures ... This would have never happened in the Soviet Union. I miss Leonid Brezhnev.
27 comments:
I'm Canadian. I've seen this before. And before I sent my son to play hockey at UAA I made sure our universal insurance covered him Stateside. It does. He's in Alaska. Time that right-wing-nuts got their heads out of their ass and accepted that every citizen has a right to health. We fought the same fight in Canada in the 1960s, and there are still those here in Canada who would love to bring an end to universal health care. However the people won't have it. (And that sentiment crosses all political lines.) We get sick or have an accident, we go to the hospital and stay there as long as is needed. We don't even think about the economics of a hospital stay--we think about getting better. Wake up, my friends. The government does have a role in ensuring your health. -30-
Do people actually still believe the bullshit that Michael Moore spues? My question is where, will the Canadians and Brits go when the US has socialized medicine? Also why should I give up my hard earned decent health care coverage so Joe Blow (who would rather by Big Screen TV's,smoke and drink like a fish) and I can have the same lame coverage offered by Uncle Sam? Oh don't forget the Elitist politicians will get to keep their elite (free) insurance that no one in the private sector could even hope to get. Michael Moore is full of shit!
I've had hard discussions with people on this and most of them, because they already have insurance, don't believe in insurance for others. A lot of people work really, really hard and don't have the opportunity to work for employers that offer benefits. Nothing wrong with these employers except for the economic reality that to keep in business and keep these people working, they can't afford to provide benefits.
There are only a finite number of jobs that offer benefits and not everyone is lucky enough or skilled enough to get those jobs when they do become available.
Michael Moore is not to everyone's liking. He does bring up a subject that most people hope will go away by ignoring it or by babbling of "death squads". At least there is a discussion going on about it.
To put this in perspective because I saw this. When you see a hockey player who is playing pick up hockey during the summer and he gets hit in the face with a puck and he doesn't want to go to hospital because he doesn't have insurance, you know that there is a problem.
Anon@9:00:
What you haven't done is actually watched the program. So you have NO STANDING to call it bullshit.
Anyway ... in the same context as you mention...
Why should you pay for other peoples kids to go to school? What if some asshole wants to have 8 kids? And you have to finance that?
Why the hell are you paying for fire protection? You don't burn your house down. If other people are stupid enough to burn theirs down why should you care?
Do your eldery parents or grandparents like their Medicare? Damn right they do.
Right now you are paying for people of substantial means to have Medicare. Plenty of folks out there are millionaires and yet they utilize their Medicare.
The true measure of a society can be seen by the way it treats those less fortunate souls.
It's pretty clear to me that people like you will ensure that the U.S. health care system remains wonderful for people with the means and absolutely shitty for those without.
As long as you and yours are fine though ... right? Who gives a fuck about anyone else.
Nice philosophy. I'd put money on you being a religious person.
FWIW, When you reach 65, you have no choice, you have to use Medicare before you can use your other insurance as "secondary insurance". People that have good insurance when they retire would rather be able to use their own rather than do the medicare dance. But they have no choice. So the US Government in their infinite wisdom pays for Millionaires to be taken care of with Medicare dollars that would be better spent on those without $$$. My opinion is, don't take diminish or take away from someone who works hard and happens to have good benefits. I would rather see the US government work on Tort reform so that MD's don't have to pay $100,000 for malpractice insurance. I would rather see them set up clinics in underserved communities, making them sliding fee style clinics, bring out Medical Graduates to help staff them at a reduced cost. There are many other answers other than ramming this socialized health care program down my throat just to satiate Obama's ego.
Oh, and Donald, I have watched Sicko and Michael Moores other propoganda movies. He has an agenda, he exagerates and is basically full of shit.
When does the Hockey season start so we can talk Pucks?
Anon 8/30/09 10:48 pm
"When you reach 65, you have no choice, you have to use Medicare before you can use your other insurance as "secondary insurance"."
I don't know what world you live in, but there is an alarming number of health care providers who no longer accept Medicare patients. And there are millions of Medicare patients who can't afford secondary insurance. What do these poor bastards do when they need medical care??? Hmmmmm....that's right .....NOTHING!! They stay home instead of seeking help. They get sicker and sicker. They let their blood pressure get totally out of control where they finally have a massive stroke which ultimately leads them to the hospital ER, then ICU, then some rehab hospital for the rest of their lives because they have only use of half of their body. Let's hope this doesn't happen to a grandparent, parent or sibling of yours.
Anon 11:02
You basically make my point. Medicare is run by the Government. They pay shit to Doctors. If a Doctor had nothing but Medicare patients he'd be bankrupt in 3 months. It takes 6+ months for Doctors to get reimbursed for their claims. The claims are paid at 30-40% of their normal fees. Obama Care is saying they will be paying at 10% over the Medicare fee schedule.
Tell me what the Government runs and runs well? I can think of one thing they can do well and that is blow the shit out of a mudhut in Africa from thousands of miles away.
Keep the F'n Government out of my health care decisions.
Of course Michael Moore has an agenda. He'd like to see our country become a better place for all people. He recognizes (as unfortunately so few people of means) that he has a responsibility to give something back. He is in a unique position to give back by educating people. There is NO information presented in Sicko that you could refute. None. Nada. Zip.
If you've seen Sicko ... then answer this ...
Are the people he profiled in the movie in possession of health insurance already? Or do they have none?
It's nice that you have empathy for Doctors ... they only average about $300,000 dollars a year income. Such a shame. Their high malpractice insurance couldn't be in part due to the litigiousness of so many people, could it?
I used to go to the doctor regularly ... then I found myself without health insurance. During the YEARS that I was covered, I estimate that he billed at minimum $50,000 to my carrier (and about $200,000 for my extended family who followed my wife and I to him).
When briefly without insurance (about a year) I managed to run up a bill of $1,200 that I wasn't able to pay. He unceremoniously kicked me to the curb. That's 1200 bucks that bastard never got and never will get from me.
I've been denied care because of pre-existing conditions. One example ... I was born with a fairly substantially deviated septum and can't get it fixed. I hope you breathe easily through your nose. I don't. I'd like to one day.
Hopefully, the Democrats use their numerical advantage to RAM THIS DOWN everyone's throats. I really hope they do. That's why the country elected so many of them.
LOL ...
"Keep the government out of your health care"
but
Let the profit motives of health care insurance companies stand between your and your doctor.
Interestingly enough, I due support universal health care, but Donald, can't you come up with a better comparison than the K-12 system. Lord knows, I don't want my care like that.
Yikes, I of course should have written do and not due.
mea culpa!
The point of the comparison had to do with cost.
Public education suffers because people aren't involved with their children's education and because so many people fight tooth and nail to hold onto every precious penny that they can.
I'll never understand the strangeness of people who want public services but scream and moan when they have to pay for them.
Donald,
Thank you for sharing that link! I never made it to the theater when that was showing and didn't know it was available on-line in its entirety.
Pretty eye-opening documentary!
I'm amazed that "anonymous, 8-30-09 @ 9:00 PM" completely dismisses the film as BS simply because they don't care for the filmmaker.
Why doesn't "anonymous, 8-30-09 @ 9:00 PM" explain why they disagree with the content and provide a counter argument to it?
Could it be because Donald is correct in his hunch that "anonymous, 8-30-09 @ 9:00 PM" never took the time to even watch the film?
Sure looks that way.
In any event ~ thank you again Donald!
- - -
p.s. ~ Speaking of healthcare, I saw Zap over @ Anchorage Orthopedic & Fracture :o)! I thought he was still working at Elmendorf, but it looks like he's now practicing Orthopedics and Sports Medicine like he always wanted. KUDOS to him!!
I forgot how to add links, so if I screw this up, can you fix it Donald? Pretty please? :oD
Gregg T. Zaporzan, PA-C: http://www.afoc.com/Mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=17&id=59&Itemid=112
Link to above mentioned Zaprozan profile
I thought this was the hockey blog...unless I am reading it wrong it says "UAA Hockey Fan Blog: A Place To Share Information About UAA Hockey." If I want to hear more about the possible switch for health care, I will read the ADN, watch C-SPAN or open my mail with both sides of the propaganda.
I know in the past blog, "This Is Not Your Father's Oldsmobile," Donald said that he would be including other things than hockey. I know it is my choice to read the blog, I am not denying it so I do not need a million responses saying that. But what I will say is that the title does no longer represent what the blog is actually about.
If the blog starts to tie in other political and cultural things to hockey, that would be fine. But I will miss the pure hockey blog that it once was.
It doesn't say that anymore. Thanks for pointing it out. I think the change better represents the content here.
*Sigh* Donald, you know I luv ya, but I have to agree with Sitkafan.
Sorry.
Suze,
It's really nothing more than a few dozen gallons of self-indulgence in an otherwise olympic sized pool of UAA hockey pontificating.
It's easy to avoid i.e... ANY reader will know in the first couple of sentences whether it's something they want to read. In this particular case the post is titled "More Commie Crap" ...
I know you've read here since I started. In that time I've made 597 posts and I'd estimate that no more than 5% of those are this sort of "off-topic" content.
It's not like I'm asking anyone to eat dog turds in order to ride the roller coaster. Everyone can see exactly what is in store for them before they take a seat.
AND ... I basically apologize in every "off-topic" post.
In any case, I'm not going to continue the hockey blogging without these infrequent (but perhaps periodic) tangents that satiate my desire to express myself.
If in time I sense that the majority of those reading here are offended by these interruptions ... then I'll close this and start a culture/politics blog and express myself full-time there.
give me a f'n break suze and sitka.
did either of you watch the film?
i've never herd such whining.
don't change a damn thing here dd.
soapie smith
herd = heard
soapie in the radio booth
Anon 11:02
If it takes 6 months to get paid by Medicare, then logically speaking the doctor can expect to get paid for 6 months after he treats his last Medicare case. JK LOL...
Sitka Fan and Suze, i believe Donald gave the BLOG a name but the reality is it's his BLOG and he is the king of all UAA Hockey Fan BLOGDOM
I prefer Godfather, Czar, Mogul, Potentate or perhaps Dictator as opposed to King.
Here is a thought on Entitlement from a noted commie group:
"Regulation 5
You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege."
Institutional Rules & Regulations U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz
So if the most dangerous criminals in the country were "entitled" to some health care, why not the checker at the Holiday Station?
I just want to say this is a kick ass post, and you are spot on with this argument. I especially agree with you on the fact that people are ok with for profit insurance companies making their decisions for them, meanwhile those companies secure record profits and then raise their rates (the same thing they did when Katrina hit New Orleans). I also strongly agree with you on the part about people thinking there going to be super rich one day so they better vote for no taxes , I’ve been thing that for a while, it’s the only reason I can come up with for the way some people vote. I love how you can call the other guy a socialist, say you will lower tax, a be pro-life and it doesn’t matter what other evil shit you do (i.e. spend hundreds of billions of dollars liberating a country that hate us) and at least 45% of the voting populous will vote for you. I hope this isn’t to incoherent and there is so much I want to say including real life examples of why I feel this way, but I don’t want this to be the mega comment. So, I’ll say I agree with you on this rant 100%.
anon 11:29 pm
You've missed my point entirely - at least EVERYONE will have health care coverage and NO ONE CAN BE DENIED!
Furthermore, it's not only Medicare taking 6+ mos to reimburse doctors. The surgeon for my daughter's tonsillectomy had to wait 9 mos+ for both of her PRIVATE insurances to pay the bill.
When it's time for Faux News loving, O'Rielly worshipping, Rush Limpballs listener 11:29 to go onto Medicare, I say he FORGOES it and does without.
Completely. Without.
What a f'n brain-washed wingnut.
Anon 9/3/09 11:05
Right on!!
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