Impossible Politics Options

[Merica]

I just wrote a blog called Impossible Politics [link removed], which discusses my uncertainty about politics in general. I thought some of you here might relate to my ponderings. If you're interested then feel free to read, and I'd greatly appreciate any comments (on the blog page itself, preferably).

In all honesty, I want Obama to rule England. Dude's cool as fuck. Obama, or Bruce Willis.

This post has been edited by Merica: Jul 19 2018, 8:36 am

[Wambangalang]

gotigrz probably formed his opinion while waving his little american flag and watching glenn beck's take on healthcare here

[Pokey]

gotigrz probably formed his opinion while waving his little american flag

[gotigrz]

that's the confederacy flag... not the american flag... i know you know that, but anyway...

look, healthcare aside, i work in a business that sees so many people take advantage of the system. people coming in and paying their bills with money that was provided by the gov't while they are talking on their cell phones, with extensions in their hair, with 5 kids all from different daddies. these kind of people are a dime a dozen in this country, and these are the ones that are gonna reap the benefits of this healthcare system. and, i know a lot of you ask me... "what would Jesus do"... honestly, i don't know... i don't think Jesus is in the business of helping those that don't want to help themselves.

am i 100% sure obama is joke of pres???... no. am i 100% sure that there are too many people that are being allowed to take advantage of hard working american tax money??? yes... and, that is what i want someone to step in and say.... "uh, not so fast, bum".

like i said, if someone needs the gov't because they can't help themselves... fine. but, there are too many that have just learned to live off the gov't and don't want to get out there and earn a living cause they don't know how cause they've never done it.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

look, healthcare aside, i work in a business that sees so many people take advantage of the system. people coming in and paying their bills with money that was provided by the gov't while they are talking on their cell phones, with extensions in their hair, with 5 kids all from different daddies. these kind of people are a dime a dozen in this country, and these are the ones that are gonna reap the benefits of this healthcare system. and, i know a lot of you ask me... "what would Jesus do"... honestly, i don't know... i don't think Jesus is in the business of helping those that don't want to help themselves.

Again, the words you are looking for are "welfare reform." This isn't a "healthcare system," it's a government mandate to receive care with provisions that will make it easier for people to do that.

Right now, if someone goes to the hospital who has no insurance, the cost ultimately goes to those of us who pay for our insurance in higher premiums. Providing insurance, even through medicaid, for more people is going to help those of us who are already paying.

So, ultimately this means that less of your money will be going to people you seem to have such disdain for.

Now, let's talk welfare just for a moment, since that's really what you are discussing. It is true that welfare benefits allow people to live off of them, should they choose, but ONLY in places with a low enough cost of living to support it (places like South Carolina). This is not true for the whole of the country, it is much more of a regional problem.

Your basic premise of "people working to get what they deserve" is fundamentally flawed. It assumes that everyone has the same opportunities in their family and in their community to make it on their own. The civil rights movement and mass immigration are both so new that our country is still trying to figure out how to help those people who don't have the same opportunities as the predominately white middle class. Part of that is being worked out in this bill, but a very small part.

Ultimately it comes down to this: if there is a system people will always try to take advantage of it. In this country, there are ultimately more people who truly NEED welfare (and need healthcare) than those who are taking advantage of the system. It's not a perfect system, but it does help the poor, which if I recall Jesus was sort of into.

[FishOutaWater]

Right now, if someone goes to the hospital who has no insurance, the cost ultimately goes to those of us who pay for our insurance in higher premiums. Providing insurance, even through medicaid, for more people is going to help those of us who are already paying.

I agree. And people who don't have insurance go to a hospital emergency room for routine services because they are not denied service there. So it screws up the emergency rooms and adds costs to the system that are already borne by everyone else. In addition - people without health insurance get no preventative care. So when they get advanced, undetected diseases, they become a greater burden on the system, or just die.

If you step back and think about it, what would you have these people do? What is the alternative? The only option for these people is to die in the streets or show up in an emergency room and get treated for free. I would prefer to see them paying for affordable insurance.

This is not a government take-over of the healthcare system. It's not even close. It is just sensible regulations over an industry that had run amuck. But Republicans are so deep in the pockets of the big businesses that they were screaming bloody murder - Obama is going to kill grandma and hold "death panels". I can't even believe people can entertain those notions with a straight face.

I saw some scary sh*t on Rachel Maddow last night. There are a number of conservative groups literally planning armned protests, armed with guns, to march on the capital in Virginia and another march to get as close to the capital as they can. One conservative nut bag was spewing the exact same talking points you hear on Fox the other day and was arrested by the FBI for viscious death threats made against a Washington State Congresswoman. Congressman Lewis made voicemails he received public yesterday in which crazy people were shouting viscious, racist death threats in voicemails to him. It is getting crazy out there and Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Palin, O'Reilly and the Tea Baggers are grossly irresponsible and directly to blame for this stuff. They are sensationalizing this inflamatory rhettoric for ratings and money, getting big contracts and selling books and speaking engagements, off of inflamatory rhettoric and lies that no sane person can believe. It appeals to a radical, dangerous, fanatical wing of the Republican party and they are throwing gasoline on a fire. They treat politics like it's WWE professional wrestling. It's dangerous behavior. It really is. They create this sense of urgency and fear and danger. They say that Pelosi and Obama and their fascist, communist, marxist, communist takover is going to literally destroy our country. The end is almost here. Our country is doomed! Pack away your food and rations for what is coming, take up your guns and form a militia and take this country back into your own hands from those evil Hitlers that hate America. I swear I have heard this very rhetoric from the likes of Glenn Beck. Just look at the advertisers on his show. People who buy and sell gold (to proect you when our economy gets destroyed) and a company that sells you a 40 supply of bunker food that will last 20 years. I'm not making that up - I swear I heard those sponsors with actual commercials on his show. That guy is dangerous and as soon as some Democrat is assasinated by some stirred up nut job - I will look at the likes of him for being directly repsonsible.

This post has been edited by FishOutaWater: Apr 7 2010, 10:50 am