September 4, 2009, 8:07AM
The mantra from the anti-reformers we have been hearing (and reading) quite a bit, is that we have the "Best Healthcare System in the World." Well, I am going to disagree with an example from my family experiences.
About 11 years ago my dad was having medical issues. He went to different doctors and specialist for about a year to determine his medical problem. After this timeframe, there was no diagnosis. All he was basically told is it didn't appear life threatening. With that in mind, he went to visit his brother, my Uncle Dave in Upstate NY. After a short period of observation and questions, my Uncle Dave diagnosed my dad with Parkinson's Disease. Upon my dad's return to Southeast Michigan, he asked his doctor if it was possible for him to have Parkinson's. Tests were ordered and completed and guess what? Yes, he had Parkinson's.
So for over one year, numerous doctors and specialists ordered numerous tests and could not determine what condition my father had. In a short time frame, my Uncle Dave could diagnose it. You know what else; my Uncle Dave is a retired DAIRY FARMER! He is not even a doctor and diagnosed the condition. So, the medical industry spent thousands (if not more) and could not determine it, but a dairy farmer in Upstate NY could figure it out--"Best Healthcare System in the WORLD!"
Unfortunately, I have more real world instances dealing with the "Best Healthcare System in the WORLD" which may be unloaded on you guys in the near future. All the examples, actually would not promote the mantra and one, led to the death of my sister.
October 27, 2008, 9:46AM
My wife and I attended two out of three classes at a conservative Christian church regarding voting in the upcoming election. The first class was OK, but there were issues with the voting guidelines on "why people vote" the way they do vote. The reason people don't vote "Republican" is that they don't know any better. Basically, anyone who votes for the "Democratic" party or candidates is an uneducated or uninformed individual. If they really "knew" the issues (which are extremely limited), they would see the light and vote Republican.
The class began with an individual claiming they were being persecuted at work because they are Christian. After questioning this individual on their persecution, it came out that someone allegedly said something that "bothered" them. When it was discovered that they were bothered, the alleged offender apologized and nothing has happened since that time. Yet, this person is "persecuted". One thing I have noticed about conservative Christians is they have a "persecution complex".
Then, the leader brought up issues regarding "liberal" book banning, which was refuted by a librarian in the class. Lastly, the idea of an "activist" Supreme Court came up (activist only with Roe v.Wade, not Bush v. Gore). At the end of the first class, their was good discussion but the goal is to make sure you vote Republican. One caveat, these conservative christians do not like John McCain, but they love Sarah Palin.
My wife and I missed the second class. But, during this class they came up with the "important issues" (Abortion, homosexuality, stem cell research, etc) which would be discussed during the third and last class. The economy, War in Iraq & Afghanistan, poverty, health care did not make the cut.
The third and last class was basically if you don't vote Republican, you are anti-Christian based on their "important issues". There was a lot of blatantly racist and ignorant remarks about voting and voters. They are against Voter Registration Drives and basically feel you need to be able to somehow show you are "educated" enough to vote (ie-vote Republican). During the third class (remind you this is a "christian" church), I discovered that some conservative christians view the poor as the enemy. The poor are greedy and want what the rich have. The poor want "redistribution of wealth". When I asked about the "redistribution of wealth", our tax dollars, to the already extremely wealthy, that was just fine by this group. So, "redistribution of wealth" to the poor=bad, but to the rich=good. And they didn't even get the hypocrisy of their position.
After the class, I was cornered by three of the members who wanted to know who I was going to vote for. I told them Obama. When asked why, I said there were many reasons, but since the Republicans have destroyed the economy and Democrats typically have good economic programs--it was time to put a Democrat in the Whitehouse to turn the economy around. This response was just "socialism". Yet, when I told them what we've had under Republicans was "socialism for the rich" and "destruction of the middle class", I just got a blank stare.
October 19, 2008, 7:28AM
Yes, It is the Worst of America
October 19, 2008, 6:48AM
In a recent post, entitled "The Worst of America", I presented in a short fashion that what the McCain/Palin ticket was doing in their campaign was encouraging the worst in us. Some people agreed, some did not, yet the McCain/Palin campaign continue to pursue the "worst in America". Drudging up hate across the USA, particularly (if not entirely) by white people--as rallies of McCain and especially Palin have shown the white hatred toward Barack Obama.
Just like the Nazi's took control in Germany pre-WWII, the McCain/Palin campaign are doing similar actions.
First, blame a minority for registering to vote--and attack one group for doing it. Lying about ACORN (ala McCain) about "destroying the fabric of our democracy" which leads to death threats to ACORN volunteers and break-ins of their offices in Boston and Seattle. Also, it does not help that the FBI & DOJ have politicized the issue while at the same time it is Republicans who are truly suppressing the vote, intimidating voters and acting in "caging" democratic voters in numerous states across the land. That is really putting Country First. In Nazi Germany, the Nazi's blamed the Jews for the countries ills. The Nazi's were wrong, but millions died and a war had to be fought to stop them.
Second--Obama is a threat to the white working class. Either the "Joe the Plumber" set-up (either planned in advance by McCain's group or after Joe went out of his way to "meet" Barack Obama). Anyway, the McCain group exploited this alleged hard working plumber who would be hurt under Obama's plan. All you white guys are going to be allegedly screwed by a black guy. Then we find out "Joe" isn't a plumber, was a member of the Natural Law Party, is now a registered Republican and lied throughout his TV appearances. The one truth is he finally did admit he would get a bigger tax break under Obama's plan. In Nazi Germany, the Nazi's claimed it was the Jews taking the jobs & money away from the white working class. Also, the Nazi's believed that white people are superior.
Third--based on robocalls, television commercials and continually lying from the McCain/Palin campaign that Obama is associated with "terrorists", "elitists" and "liberals" and we should be very afraid of him because of that--and he is Black! When the Nazi's got power in Germany, they systematically destroyed anyone they believed was an enemy--and you didn't even have to be Jewish.
Fourth--Somehow the Republicans (especially rightwing nutcases who've run the country for the past 8 years) are entitled to continue destroying the country and any attempts to change this are unAmerican and unpatriotic. That is clear in the vitriol from the rightwing on tv, radio at McCain/Palin campaign events. The Nazi's fostered hatred with anyone who disagreed with them and used intimidation and character assassination to get their way--or they would imprison or kill you.
This is the continual nurturing of American style Nazism promoted by the rightwing of the Republican Party. And, unfortunately, it is now mainstream politics and they don't even recognize it as such.
This is a cultural phenomenon in the United States.
For those who may be offended, I would call it fascist, but checking into it--it is Nazism because it is race based:
"Fascism can in no way be identified with Nazism. Undoubtedly the two ideologies, the two movements, and the two regimes had common characteristics. They often ran parallel to one another or overlapped, but they differed on one fundamental point: the criterion of German national socialism was biological determination. The basis of Nazism was a racism in its most extreme sense, and the fight against Jews, against 'inferior' races, played a more preponderant role in it than the struggle against communism. -- Zeev Sternhell, The Birth of the Fascist Ideology: From Cultural Rebellion to Political Revolution. 1994.[170]"
From this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Nazism_.28National_Socialism.29
October 10, 2008, 5:47AM
What Sarah Palin and John McCain have been doing lately (besides blatantly lying) in their character assassination of Barack Obama is the worst of America. You may have seen the videos with the soundbites of "terrorist", "traitor" or "kill him" with no response from the party leaders to stop the nonsense.
Most recently, the coordinated effort to drop "Hussein" into the introduction for the next Republican fuerher and first frauline.
The latest videos from Ohio and Wisconsin should be disturbing to all Americans--including Republicans and McCain/Palin supporters. It seems to me that they are not. And the Republican propaganda outlet, Fox, continues to promote the lies about Obama's associations with questionable characters.
We know what they are doing--they are being the worst of America--they are being hatemongers, scaremongers--the kind of people that brought us the Klan, McCarthyism and Bush/Cheney in this country. The kind of people that America is not supposed to be about.
They should be ashamed.
October 8, 2008, 8:03AM
Whenever I see Barack Obama and John McCain together it get reminded of the "Leave It To Beaver" show of the 1950's & 1960's.
Barack Obama reminds me of Ward Cleaver--calm, smart, wants all the facts before he makes a decision. Actually asks questions! Cares about people, but sees through lies.
John McCain is Eddie Haskell--scheming, getting into trouble, when found out lies about it.
And, I would guess, if we looked at some of those old TV shows, we would see similar behavior between Obama and McCain as Ward Cleaver and Eddie Haskell, in which Ward would have to correct Eddie's lies (Eddie typically would say, "yes, Mr. Cleaver".
On another note, Ken Osmond, who played Eddie Haskell actually had a helicopter business that ended when he crashed the helicopter! (another similarity with McCain)>
October 7, 2008, 12:57PM
The latest McCain/Palin strategy is to lie about Obama regarding items already discredited. Which, in itself, is not Christian. But, they are much worse because they are doing it in a manner to incite violence.
The calls of "kill him", "treason" and "terrorist" from the varying crowds without any recourse from McCain and Palin that those responses are inappropriate show me that these are the Pharisees and the Leaders who also chanted to "crucify" Jesus.
We could get into details about both McCain's and Palin's "Christianity". For McCain, any form of it seems non-existent and for Palin, it is an extreme right wing branch, which upon further review, many right wing Republican Christians would normally reject.
Anyway, this site, "Crossleft", has a good summary and a petition to sign and ship to Sarah Palin.
http://www.crossleft.org/
September 30, 2008, 6:21PM
John McCain wants to be a hero. He wants us to adore him. His attempts at picking Palin, flip-flopping on most political issues and his bizarre "campaign suspension" (which wasn't suspended) so he could save the economy are all attempts to get us to worship and idolize him.
It seems that McCain has some serious issues. There is a probability that he has NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). He also appears to have anger management and bullying issues. Put all this together and you get a delusional individual who not only wants to be worshipped, but needs to be worshipped. There is something wrong with anyone who doesn't see the incredible magnitude of the man.
That is all scary. But, it may be worse. Going to
www.drugs.com and reviewing Ambien, there are potential side effects that may lead to the following behaviors:
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worsening sleep problems;
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depressed mood, thoughts of hurting yourself;
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unusual thoughts, risk-taking behavior, decreased inhibitions, no fear of danger;
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aggression, feeling agitated;
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hallucinations, confusion, loss of personality.
Less serious Ambien side effects may include:
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daytime drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, feeling "drugged" or light-headed;
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lack of coordination;
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amnesia, forgetfulness;
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vivid or abnormal dreams;
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diarrhea, nausea, vomiting;
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headache, muscle pain; or
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blurred vision.
Doesn't make me feel to comfortable with the Republican Presidential Candidate.
September 26, 2008, 4:51PM
The following are items that Republicans are good at:
Please add your own items to the list, I want to list some and focus on #6--
1) Lying
2) Cheating
3) Stealing
4) Blaming the Victim
5) Acting like the Victim when they victimize someone else
6) Political Theater
Republicans used to be great at Political Theater. Going back to Newt Gingrinch and buddies talking in an empty House chamber on C-Span, pretending to care about the public. Many people ate it up. So, they would "create" situations and act out all the scenes. Sarah Palin is a great example of Republican political theater--everything is scripted, nothing is left to chance. Another example of political theater is the financial crisis.
Is there a financial crisis? Probably, to a certain extent. Yet, the full details are not out and it is a crisis created by Republican policies going back to Ronald Reagan. But, it is in this crisis, that John McCain may have "jumped the shark" on Republican political theater. His bizarre antics don't make sense to most Republicans and his minions that support him on TV.
It seems very few find McCain believable. The Republicans who are attempting to change the storyline are (so far) not believed. So, has McCain's antics, and Palin's inability to talk coherently taken away the Republicans advantage of political theater?
September 26, 2008, 9:26AM
Well, it's not new. McDonald's should remane the McChicken Sandwich to the McCain Sandwich. Or, if you happen to go to a McDonald's order a McCain sandwich and when they ask "What?" respond with, "I meant a McChicken".
September 20, 2008, 6:06AM
I know all Christians don't vote Republican, however, those who claim they are Christian overwhelmingly vote Republican. Why is that? The main answer is to change the Supreme Court about abortion. But, I think it goes deeper than that. Part of the answer can be found in Sara Diamond's books on the Christian Right and the Christian Right's leaders' deals with the Republican Party leadership to bring in votes to the Republican Party.
This works very well in the Evangelical Churches, because rightwing political hot button issues are continually inserted in sermons and it will continue to increase until the election is over.
I attend an Evangelical Church and last week we got to hear about--9/11, abortion and homosexuals in that order. Yet abortion, homosexuals and 9/11 aren't all that convinces many of these individuals to vote Republican. Sure, we all get Dr. James Dobson inserts (and believe me for many of the people who he says to vote for, that is who they vote for).
One of the underlying issues these individuals vote Republican is they believe Republicans "make us strong," regardless of the evidence whether at home (economy) or abroad (Iraq). It is a very bizarre thing.
But, as a Christian, what is really confusing is Biblically, we are an empire like Egypt, like Babylon, like Rome, just like all the other empires that came and fell before us. What these Christians fail to realize is, as Republicans, they have come to love the Empire. They love the Empire more than they love Jesus. In their love of Empire, they have selected (been brainwashed) to vote Republican.
I would suggest for you, if you feel so inclined, to attend an Evangelical Church, listen to the sermons, get to know the people. They are good people, but mostly, totally devoid of any foreign or domestic policy knowledge. They listen to rightwing Christian radio or rightwing political radio. In church, at least, they will be kind enough to listen and have a discussion. I am not sure it would change their opinion, but I have talked with some at length and they didn't really know anything about our foreign policy.
Just a suggestion: if you are going to do this, make sure you have your facts, because they will check on them.
September 15, 2008, 12:17PM
Those who read TPM know that McCain/Palin MO is to lie and continue lying. But, I think McCain has crossed from lie to delusional with his the "fundamentals of the economy is strong" while Lehman Brothers declare bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch is absorbed.
It is time to move past the McCain/Palin are liars, to not only do they lie all the time, they are delusional as well.
September 13, 2008, 8:02AM
Many people seem surprised that McCain, Palin and their Republican surrogates lie, lie and lie again. When confronted with their lies, they lie even more and defend their lies. BTW--it is a strange media world in which we live in when "The View" does more journalism than the MSM.
Along with the continued pathological lying of the Republicans, good people begin to question: "Have they no shame?!" And the answer is "No". The McCains, Palins and Republican surrogates do not care if people figure out their lies because;
1) Their media machine will keep enforcing the lie--they will never admit it was wrong or apologize becausey they view it as a sign of weakness (Republicans always have to appear strong no matter how wrong they are: ie--Iraq).
2) As most of us know, the MSM (or corporate media) is terrible. The Republicans rely on it. There may be some organizations that call out the lies, but overall, the MSM will continue to play the Republicans game.
3) They have to continue because many of their faithful believe or want to believe in their lies. To admit to a lie has the potential to create a Domino Effect in which the faithful begins to question their party instead of blindly following its lead.
4) Unfortunately, lastly, many of their supporters don't care if they lie. They believe in the Republican policies. Whatever it takes to get elected is good enough for them. This is what really blows me away. It makes me wonder about the psychology of people or a nation that claims they are "honorable", have "integrity", are "honest", but are actually the exact opposite.
September 12, 2008, 6:05AM
One of the fascinating areas that really get people to think about not voting for McCain is healthcare policy. McCain's "plan" is to give us each individual accounts of approximately $5,000. This sucks for two reasons--
The first is my healthcare for my family costs approximately $12,000 per year, which means instead of the $1,000 I pay for this (through my workplace), I would have to pay $7,000--a net loss of $6,000. Many others would be in similar situations and even if this was spread to the economically poor, how in the hell are they going to pay for it?
BTW this is great if you are wealthy!
Second, this $5,000 McCain would "give us" would be added to your income and taxed. For some people, they would be taxed at the 25% rate and cost them an extra $1,250.
September 12, 2008, 6:00AM
It is great that some of the MSM are finally pointing out the lies of McCain and Palin. However, it would be even better if someone (anyone--Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow) in the media start having a "lie counter" on the screen for the number of times McCain and Palin have lied until they recant.
September 7, 2008, 8:17AM
Republicans use patriotism only for war and as a cover up. As Samuel Johnson nicely put it "Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel pleads". Anyway, I think the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign is truly patriotic, because true patriotism deals with more than war and lying as the Republicans are wont to use the terminology.
So, what is patriotic? There are many items, which I am sure we could get a long list. However, I want to focus on just one --Keeping Jobs in America.
If the Democrats and the Obama campaign connected the economy + job loss as unAmerican (which they are) and unPatriotic (which they are) to the Republican Party (who are the proponents), that would not only be true but play well to the states devestated by the Republicans over the past 8 years (actually 28 years starting with Reagan--but that is another debate).
States like Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin would take notice.
