Not this lifelong Kentuckian. I have proudly voted against McConnell 4 times already, and plan on making 5 for 5 next year.

You can call CNN: 404-827-1500, hit O for the operator. I had to wait several minutes for someone to answer. I asked for the news room. Another wait and finally a human being, who took down the entire story of McConnell’s office leading the smear job on the Frost family. I told her about John Roberts at CNN, who read verbatim the bogus talking points from McConnell’s office. I asked the woman to make sure that Roberts’ supervisor and everyone up the chain of command at CNN got my message. Please call CNN today.

Also call McConnell in DC: 1-800-828-0498 and in Louisville, 502-582-6304. Thanks.

Except for republicans. They believe in free lunches for those willing to carry their water for them. Or hadn’t you noticed?

Other, “less tolerant” blogs would’ve censored moderated my comments out of existence!

Regards,
St Wendeler
Another Rovian Conspiracy

That you only picked those two items to respond to shows me that you’re not confident enough in your positions on socialized medicine.

Just remember this one thing.. there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

That’s bull. Monopolies are wasteful because they don’t have voters keeping an eye on them!

Yeah… we can always trust the voters to stay on top of the government and make sure it’s not wasteful, right? Fed government is a model example of efficiency and human enlightenment!

LOL

and if you don’t like the way the Dems are running health care, will you vote in another party?

Or are you all for a single party system? Talk about a monopoly!

If kids are off limits in terms of questioning their assertions in a political ad, can I shoot a couple of ads using my kids to promote my public policy preferences? Here are just two examples I can envision…

On School Choice

Ad featuring a disadvantaged student… The kind being left behind b/c of the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations.

Kid says (paraphrasing): “The teachers’ unions, the dems, and the federal government won’t give his parents the freedom of choice in selecting a better school. Closing line: “Democrats claim to care about kids, but as a kid, it seems like they care more about teachers unions that giving me the skills to succeed in life.”

On Death Tax

Ad Opens with a kid talking about how life was great. Dad ran a small business, had a house in the ‘burbs. Then dad died and, in order to pay the federal death tax, Mom had to sell the business. Closing line: “Mom used to stay at home and take care of me and my sister, but now she has to work – if she can find a job. It’s a shame we had to sell our business just because Dad was so successful.”

When I cut these ads, you guys have to promise not to question my son or whatever positions he promotes, mmmmmmkay?

P.S. If the Frost’s are such advocates of government run programs like S-CHIP, why isn’t little Graeme heading to the Baltimore public schools? Even if the private institution is free, where’s their commitment, people?

A couple of other important differences – governments own & operate jails (could make private insurance illegal, like in Canada); governments have guns; governments can print money; governments can raise taxes on people’s incomes (and use those jails & guns to make sure their “customers” pay; governments are inherently wasteful because they are a monopoly.

– Are you advocating “do-it-yourself” healthcare? There is no alternative to “eating out” in terms of healthcare.

No, I’m pointing out that the price one pays for a good or service often has a bearing on the usage of that good or service.

And I think you’re thinking about healthcare only in terms of catastrophic illnesses. Again, insurance is intended to protect against unexpected, future potentialities, not to pay for anticipated expenses – ie, I expect that I’ll get 3-5 colds in a year based on my health history. Should I save up for that likelihood or should I expect my friends in the insurance pool to pay for it? I have no idea whether I’ll be diagnosed with cancer, get hit by a car, etc, so I’ll pay an insurance premium for those (hopefully miniscule!) possibilities.

And there is plenty of “do-it-yourself” healthcare – over the counter medications, prescription medications, chicken-noodle soup for a cold, cough drops, etc. When I don’t have to pay a dime to visit a doctor and I get a bug, I’m more likely to go see a doctor and eschew those home remedies. If I have to pay the fee, I might wait a day or so to see if it’s something serious or not.

– What’s your point? Because a small percentage of the population is neurotic, people who are actually sick should be allowed to die? Good argument.

Ummm, not exactly. My point is that people need to be educated about their healthcare options and make informed decisions. Letting the doctor suggest a procedure without knowing enough info (such as 1) the efficacy; 2) the other alternatives; 3) the respective costs) is not good for anyone – the patient or the people paying for it (aka the insurance company aka the other people in the same insurance pool).

And again, you’re talking purely about a catastrophic illnesses when you speak about health care. I am totally for catastrophic coverage as that is true insurance. It’s rare that someone would die from a cold or a sore throat. Also, well visits (aka preventative care) are often covered at not cost because insurance companies recognize that someone who takes care of themselves is less likely to have higher costs for the insurance pool.

– Great, then we should leave it as it is? Let’s make a change that fixes the system as well as our population. This seems like an easy call to me.

No, I think the current system is broken as well… as I’ve pointed out, the current system of private healthcare insulation (not insurance) keeps the consumer from getting appropriate information about doctors, the procedures, and the costs.

I think we should change the system. I just disagree that moving the costs further away from the consumer (and more into the arms of the government which already accounts for more than 50% of healthcare spending) isn’t a wise move. Fortunately, we can see the results in from other government run health systems. Much of the Prime Minister’s time in the UK is spent discussing the overcrowding of hospitals, the lack of spending for various hospitals throughout the UK, etc, etc. If you don’t trust George W. with running FEMA, imagine having to lobby him for health care.

By the way, I don’t care who gets married.

Comment by ANeccessaryEvil — October 11, 2007 @ 4:28 pm

all lies and fairy-tales that you’ve bought into because you’re working 60 hours a week instead of being able to keep up with all of the hardworking, innovative CEOs stealing your pension funds and sending jobs to India. If y8ou were middle class, you’d be working 40 hours a week and having a decent life, with health insurance. instead, you’ve enslaved yourself to an ideology that counts on your ignorance to bleed you dry. You’re the great Republican victim, voting against your own best interestes so that the rich can get richer, laughing at you all the way to their numbered bank accounts–offshore.

Comment by ANeccessaryEvil — October 11, 2007 @ 4:58 pm

Aren’t you just the moron the government loves; they take all of your money in taxes, give it to the rich. At least the left wants its tax money back in the form of healthcare and services for the taxpayers, rather than the rich and arms-dealers. Your taxes are too high because of warmongering and the rich’s greed, not because of the poor or middle class. Take a look at the budget og the US some day, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Comment by ANeccessaryEvil — October 11, 2007 @ 5:06 pm

A single payer system would help then, only one insurer to submit claims too, the forms would all be the same, and one organization would process the claims. Seems like a no brainer.

OT, what is your feelings about right wing whacko’s attacking a 12 year old and his family, because they had the temerity to stick up for what they believe in?

Comment by ANeccessaryEvil — October 11, 2007 @ 5:11 pm

Nice idea, maybe I should also convince my pastor to donate the collection plate money to the rich.

Comment by ANeccessaryEvil — October 11, 2007 @ 5:06 pm

Um…great? This is a bit of a non-sequitur. It’s a great idea unless the items on the menu you need are out of your price range. You seem to have some crazy idea that everyone can afford everything if they just want it hard enough.

Driving a car is a privilege and so is healthcare. This will drive down the amount of healthcare costs because less people will not have health insurance.

There has been a rise of doctors opening practices in which the have a “menu” lists of cost for said procedures. If it is too critical then they refer you to a hospital that has the means. This has been a hidden jewel for many patients because they do see how much it will costs and can decide to pay out of pocket or with insurance if the doctor accepts it. Most however, do not accept insurance in order to keep prices down, otherwise, they would have to to hire more administrators for the increase in paperwork.

I do recall the message of Mussolini, Hitler, Marx, Lenin, Castro too.

I also know that in Canada, England and the rest of Europe are drowning in it.

– The insurance companies are wasteful and yet somehow make money…is this your point? It’s still your money they’re wasting, just as it would be with government run healthcare. The only difference is, the government wouldn’t be driven by stockholders to raise premiums periodically.

Imagine having a restaurant insurance card. Every night that you go out to eat, someone else picks up the tab and you just get a portion (either a % or a flat, nominal fee). How likely are you to increase your usage of restaurants for food?

– Are you advocating “do-it-yourself” healthcare? There is no alternative to “eating out” in terms of healthcare.

Actually, people do see doctors when they don’t need to. In fact, extreme cases are called hypochondriacs. More moderate cases might be people who go to the doc when they get a sore throat, but could just as easily stay at home and get better in a day or so. If they only have to pay the co-pay, why not “be on the safe side” and get it looked at?

– What’s your point? Because a small percentage of the population is neurotic, people who are actually sick should be allowed to die? Good argument.

And, despite what the herd here may think, our current health care system can’t be described as free market. Compare the amount of government involvement in healthcare vs. other industries and you’ll see that what we essentially have is the worst of all worlds.

– Great, then we should leave it as it is? Let’s make a change that fixes the system as well as our population. This seems like an easy call to me.