Right Wing’s Anti-Health Care Icon Is Uninsured, Seeking Donations To Pay For Care (Updated)
Right Wing’s Anti-Health Care Icon Is Uninsured, Seeking Donations To Pay For Care (Updated)
Last week, during a scuffle between health care town hall protesters and SEIU members at a town hall hosted by Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), anti-health care reform protester Kenneth Gladney was injured and required hospitalization:
Among the injured was Kenneth Gladney, 38, of St. Louis. He said he was with the Tea Party, handing out yellow flags with “Don’t tread on me” printed on them, when he was assaulted. He said he sought hospital treatment for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face.
“I was attacked for something I believe in,” he said.
Since then, conservatives have been using Gladney’s case as a cause célèbre to claim that “union thugs” are being used to silence dissent at health care town halls and have turned him into a hero of their movement.
The irony is that Gladney’s situation underscores the vital need for health care reform. He was recently laid off and lost his insurance (14,000 Americans suffer a similar fate each day). Because he has no affordable health care option available, Gladney is now soliciting donations to pay his medical expenses:
Less than 48 hours later, protesters gathered Saturday in front of the union’s offices, many of them holding signs with a slightly different version of the message: “Don’t Tread on Kenny.” [...]
Gladney did not address Saturday’s crowd of about 200 people. His attorney, David Brown, however, read a prepared statement Gladney wrote. “A few nights ago there was an assault on my liberty, and on yours, too.” Brown read. “This should never happen in this country.”
Supporters cheered. Brown finished by telling the crowd that Gladney is accepting donations toward his medical expenses. Gladney told reporters he was recently laid off and has no health insurance.
Commenting on the Gladney incident, The Moderate Voice writes, “Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. If anything was more calculated to make the Right look foolish than this St. Louis incident then I’d love to see it.”
Under the House’s health care proposal, Gladney would be guaranteed a coverage option and would likely receive a subsidy to purchase affordable health care.
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The world would be a better place if schools had lobbyists and it was instead that the Pentagon had to have bake sales to buy new weapons.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:27 pmGladney is allowing himself to be used against his own self interest and he doesn’t even get it…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pmMy brain officially just had its first syntax error.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pmBAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pmGladney would receive that subsidy to buy affordable health insurance in 2013.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pmThe US can’t afford health care while spending 54% of it’s budget on the military.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pmLeave it to the hypocrite party to choose YET ANOTHER “false” icon.
Friggin’ unabashed morons, each and every one.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pmThis guy was originally accused of faking. He refused transport to the hospital. The video of the incident is inconclusive, but he’s still a hypocrite.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pmBut the whole “Don’t Tread on Kenny” think makes me so think of South Park…anyone else?
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pmSo i wonder how many of the protesters will drop money in his can to help him ? I would have to say no one from the bus tour will, and hell image went they fine out that he had no insurance and well went to the ER and one of those bus tour people will be paying for it.
Shaking my head
August 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pmUmm…according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, there was another injured person (shoulder separation) who contends that Gladney attacked him in an unprovoked fashion shortly before the cameras started rolling. Liberals should be mentioning that Gladney may be the one responsible for battery.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pmpastcaring says:
But the whole “Don’t Tread on Kenny” think makes me so think of South Park…anyone else?
:|
LOL >>> know i didn’t but know i do LOL
them basters
August 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pmOh great. *Another* Joe the Plumber. Spare me.
This guy is just another friggin’ drama queen hoping to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame – and the Repukes are more than willing to use him as a shill.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pmFirst, I want to state emphatically that I am against violence in any form, and I wish Mr. Gladney a full and speedy recovery.
Having said that, what a moron! He admits that’s he’s unemployed and uninsured, so how much do you suppose he was paid to be the African American face on the side of the protesters? Or is he simply a Christianista who will rail against anything proposed by a Dem, even if it is entirely ginned up and against his best interests?
PEACE
August 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pmphony patriotism
phony flightsuits
phony plumbers
phony victims
phony outrage
a whole lot of phoniness in the right wing
August 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm“I was attacked for something I believe in,” he said.
Mr. Gladney, if you really believed in keeping the status quo, you should be paying for your hospital bills yourself.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pmYou know—“Oh My God, They killed Kenny”…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pmIf anything was more calculated to make the Right look foolish than this St. Louis incident then I’d love to see it.”
– - A win-win for the GOP! A tea-bagging, Insurance-aratti who’s black! I bet Gladley is also Stephen Colbert’s best friend.
Btw, anyone familiar with the Lemmon-Matthau film Fortune Cookie? Uh huh.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:41 pmThese people boggle my mind, for the life of me I can’t understand what they base their beliefs on.
In our letters to the editor today, there are two letters talking about the fear of putting old people to death.
I am eagerly waiting to see a campaign by AARP and the drug manufacturers hit the air waves…we need a spark!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:41 pmMy God, this is incredible. All the Repugs said this week was these ‘Protests’ were real and the common man was voicing his displeasure. I think the Repugs aren’t even trying anymore. They honsetly believe we are this stupid. LOL! I’m speechless.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pmEven pathetic, foolish tools of the insurance industry like Gladney deserve medical care. Health care is a basic human right (at least that’s the way the rest of the industrial world sees it.)
August 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pmWhat? Mr Gladney doesn’t own any bootstraps?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pmJane E. Schneider says:
Spot on, as usual, Jane!
Doesn’t his request to have the community contribute to the cost of his personal healthcare make him a socialist at heart?
PEACE
August 10th, 2009 at 12:43 pmMr Blifil says:
Umm…according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, there was another injured person (shoulder separation) who contends that Gladney attacked him in an unprovoked fashion shortly before the cameras started rolling. Liberals should be mentioning that Gladney may be the one responsible for battery.
Well this would be interesting to see is story in same paper as the attack story? if so then we need to bring this up.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pmIS the Rethuglic party willing to pony up to insure their symbolic tool?
*crickets chirping*
August 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pmWell I for one hope the deadbeat Mr. Gladney stops trying to mooch off of hardworking Americans and pays for his health care the honorable way – by declaring bankruptcy.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pm“Double vote up” to Spencer’s mom!!!!!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:46 pmtexasrick, AARP is backing healthcare reform. Remember, their membership age begins at 50, so many of them are part of the group that can’t get affordable coverage based on age and/or pre-existings, and they won’t get Medicare until 65.
PEACE
August 10th, 2009 at 12:46 pmLucky Spencer’s Mom: “Remember, their membership age begins at 50, so many of them are part of the group that can’t get affordable coverage based on age and/or pre-existings, and they won’t get Medicare until 65″
According to the latest Kaiser Foundation poll, over 77% of Americans believe Medicare should be extended to include everyone age 50 and up.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:49 pmgladney the plumber
August 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pmThe very definition of ‘TOOL’…
August 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pmGive a man healthcare and he is healthy for a day…
August 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pmKenneth Gladley admitted on the scene that he was being paid by the Republican Party to sell American flags. Apparently the GOP does not provide its employee shills with any healthcare benefits.
I pity Mr Gladley. He is an ignorant, brainwashed man, out of work and willing to do anything for a job. He is even willing to work for a pittance without any healthcare benefit.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pm^^^
ken meet ashley.
:)
August 10th, 2009 at 12:51 pmDoesn’t his request to have the community contribute to the cost of his personal healthcare make him a socialist at heart?
IOKIYAR
August 10th, 2009 at 12:52 pmI’m curious as to when Gladney was photographed above in the wheelchair, i.e., was it taken upon his release from the hospital (where they usually insist on the wheelchair ride to the door), or at Saturday’s protest at the union offices?
Zaid, do you know the date of the photo?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:56 pmKenneth Gladley admitted on the scene that he was being paid by the Republican Party to sell American flags. Apparently the GOP does not provide its employee shills with any healthcare benefits.
Wondering if the repugs who hired him knew they were actually giving them away free but told kenny to sell them making him open for more then a few insults.
either way i am sure that the top dogs there in the bus tour group new extractly whats up.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:58 pmI think the photo was taken at the demonstration outside the SEIU offices.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:00 pmAlong with a lot of more deserving people who wouldn’t have a shot at any help for 50 years if not for the dems.
Grow up mr doom and gloom. Be a part of the solution, not part of the problem. We don’t need your kind of help.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:02 pmLevi the Dungbeetle says:
Sure hope the unemployment benefits office is tracking this because Mr. Gladley needs to report any outside income!
PEACE
August 10th, 2009 at 1:03 pmThanks, Zaid.
Hmmm, it’ll be interesting to see how often and for how long Mr. Gladney appears in public in a wheelchair. Personally, I believe he’s pulling a Guy Caballero.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:05 pmWierd that he sought treatment “for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face”, when he appears to be ok in the video I saw…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 1:07 pmI took another look at the video that Newsbusters has
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/seton-motley/2009/08/07/violence-townhall-against-conservative-six-arrested-including-reporter
Newsbusters reports that Gladney “…was waiting to be treated for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face that he suffered in the attack.”
Newsbusters comments “That is some list of injuries, which means it must have been some beating.”
It’s impossible to clearly identify Gladney in the footage but if he’s in it, I assume he’s the one on the right, tripping bakwards or sideways on the kerb and falling over.
Someone else who clearly isn’t Gladney falls over the kerb as well at the same time.
In the confusion of bodies all one can see of the possible Gladney are the tan pants. A person walks into shot from the left and obscures a couple of seconds of activity, a woman comes in from the right adding to the confusion, by which time ‘possible Gladney’ is up on his feet and more people get in the way.
For a brief moment it appears the subject is walking quickly away. The pants are light tan, the shirt appears to be wine-red, the guy obviously isn’t white. An official enters the milling about and someone says something like “he ran off”.
IF that was Gladney who went down in the video ( pants shirt and dark skin suggest it might be) he may have been pushed off balance but he went down, got up and got away within about three seconds.
The video certainly doesn’t show “a beating”. There’s nothing about the seriousness of the reported injuries,and the list is consistent with tripping on concrete/tarmac.
If the video is supposed to show Gladney getting “beaten”, well it doesn’t. And that would make the use of the wheelchair in the above photo purely theatrical.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:08 pmpastcaring says:
Wierd that he sought treatment “for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face”, when he appears to be ok in the video I saw…
August 10th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
______________
And as for the face, well, I’m afraid ugly is a preexisting condition.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pmRantingTommy says:
August 10th, 2009 at 1:10 pmThe US can’t afford health care while spending 54% of it’s budget on the military.
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
what the republicans lack most is a sense of irony.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:11 pmRantingTommy, I am afraid factually your information is incorrect. DoD received 21% of the Federal Budget, Social Security 21%, and Medicare/Medicaid received 23%.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:12 pmwouldn’t that be something to fine out that he`s a laided off union worker.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:13 pmWhat other facts are not known about this incendent, like what was going on just before he got into his tiff with the big bad union works. wonder if they bus in steel works or iron works you know the big bad guys.
As he looks pretty good for being attack by those big bad union guys.
I used to work for a law firm that did defense work for a chain of grocery stores.
Ken Gladley reminds me forcibly of the people who would scatter coffee beans on the floor – and then file a lawsuit claiming serious injury from falling down because of those coffee beans on the floor…
August 10th, 2009 at 1:16 pmI say he was the assulter.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:17 pmMy two cents: Republican and Democrat both need to stop finding the “poor victims” to represent their side of any issue. It is frankly pathetic to thrust a single representative forward to represent an entire issue!
I will contend that the follow-up video taken following Mr. Gladney’s attack shows the camera woman getting attacked by an SEIU representative, as well.
Another aside, what is interesting about all of this discussion about violence and the town hall meetings is the “coincidental” timing of the violence. To this observer it seemed to commence after the call on supporters to join the meetings.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:18 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Tundra says:
The guy was assaulted, perhaps if we looked at the root cause (proper enforcement to ensure public safety). This would be a non issue.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
______________
Public safety? Public safety?!?
Go back to Russia, ya socialist! This is AMERICA! We’ll let the FREE MARKET ensure public safety, thank you very much!
August 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Spencer’s Mom said,
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pmI am thinking that Mr. Gladley needs to contact OSHA, because he has been given a hazardous job, with little to no training or safety equipment.
Yippee!! Town Hall meeting in my town on Wednesday. I called my congressional rep (Dem. of course) and asked if they have anything they want us to do or say. And I was told that the congressman just wants to hear our thoughts and opinion, that he doesn’t want to give us talking points or tell us what to say. THAT is the difference between repubs and dems. Dems trust their constituents to think for themselves.
I’ll report back on Thursday if anyone wants to hear what happened.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pmIt is easy for any of us to play armchair quarterback and second guess who assaulted whom and when, but in the end why did violence ensue?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pmTundra says:
——————————————————————————–
The guy was assaulted, perhaps if we looked at the root cause (proper enforcement to ensure public safety). This would be a non issue.
Is this YOU???
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
5th Estate at #43
Thanks i watched that myself a few times and i have to say i think you are right, if he needs a wheel chair today he must have hurt his leg went he was running away. So some where there had to be his handler saying we need something more as this will not fly. So the wheel chair and being beating.
shaking my head i seen beating worst then that at a roller derby game and we know how real those are.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:23 pmHere’s the facts, Reginald:
http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm
54% when you count ALL military spending, not just the Pentagon budget
August 10th, 2009 at 1:23 pmReginald says:
Another aside, what is interesting about all of this discussion about violence and the town hall meetings is the “coincidental” timing of the violence. To this observer it seemed to commence after the call on supporters to join the meetings.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
______________
Nothing coincidental about it. The teabaggers are getting exactly what they wanted. They’ve been ramping up the rhetoric for weeks in order to incite mob violence, and in St. Louis they finally got it. They wanted one of their own to get assaulted, and they got it. The fact that the victim is black is just the icing on the cake.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pmThe guy was assaulted, perhaps if we looked at the root cause (proper enforcement to ensure public safety). This would be a non issue.
Or rather, check ID’s at the door and see how many of these so-called “patriots” even belong in that district to begin with.
The mere act of requesting ID would send the offenders running for cover…
August 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pmThere are plenty of black people that are willing to sell out thier race. We have evidence of it with powell and rice.
Your mo is to capitalize on those traitors. No big surprise to us. We actually expect such underhanded actions from you. Wonder why….
August 10th, 2009 at 1:25 pmTundra says:
August 10th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Hey Tundra, long time no see.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:25 pmyour most intelligent (and honest) post yet
August 10th, 2009 at 1:25 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Funny thing is that none of the violence lately would have happened without the right wing pushing for it. They want it and they want it bad.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:28 pmTundra says:
Bah…..
My Russian characters looked good in preview but went down when submitted :(
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
__________________
Yeah – you gotta convert your Unicode to NCR literals first. Observe:
كيف الحال، يا طوندرة؟ اهلاً يلى موقعنا
August 10th, 2009 at 1:29 pmStupid is as stupid does.
Welcome to the U.S.A., the monument to stupidity.
So much of this stupidity is egged on by the holy roller scumbags staffing the megachurches.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:29 pmjoeyramonesmom says:
“…I’ll report back on Thursday if anyone wants to hear what happened.”
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Please do, joeyramonesmom. Unfortunately, there won’t be any town hall meetings scheduled in my neck of the woods. :(
August 10th, 2009 at 1:30 pmJeez, Tundra, I’d forgotten all about Squeege.
Ah, good times, good times. ;)
August 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
BINGO!!!
Standard reight-wing playbook…amp up the crowd, light the match & when it flames up then play surprised, saddened and judgmental while pointing the finger at the opposite side…
What a gang…and I mean gang…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pmTundra says:
HEYAS!!!!!
How ya been? Talked to Squegee lately?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Yeah, I found him on facebook. Still doing the frisbee thing, and seems like he’s enjoying life.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pmReginald says:
I hate to burst that happy bubble but the White House released a website today …
August 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Gotta link?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:33 pmCorrection/Addition to #48.
AH!.
On the right of the video, assuming it is Gladney, the guy who also falls over at the kerb is a big white guy in a dark blue shirt and light grey pants.
It looks like he pulls ’supposed-Gladney’ by the waist towards him. HE falls over kerb and ’supposed-Gladney’ goes down as well.
BUT that might not be Gladney being pulled off balance, looking at the feet the person who gets pulled over seems not to be wearing full length trousers.
This altercation appears to have something to do with the guy in the blue shirt and light pants on the ground on the right.
Also AH-AH the guy who walks away center shot (who seemed to be wearign a wine red shirt, BUT it may not be, just limited color rendition by the camera) was just watching from a distance and just turned and walked away, so that ISN’T Gladney.
Whatever this video shows, its not a beating by “thugs” and it seems impossible to even marginally identify Gladney from it.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pmThis guy is just another dupe for the right and it shows that the SHEEPLE are so damn lazy they won`t even bother to check their own selfishness……………..if they did they would learn something instead of the usual Reich Wing lies about Health care.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pm#28 Spencer’s mom:
Keep up the good work.
I agree with your words. AARP represents the largest lobbying group in Washington (or so I’ve told).
They are on board with the President’s plan and I’m hoping to see their enthusiastic support along with the drug manufacturers who are rumored to be releasing their supportive advertisements soon.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:35 pmThat was an idea for elections a while ago that was considered facist,
Dear stupid,
Elections already have these things called Voter ID cards, so you see, any other form of proof is unnecessary.
Such is not the case in an elected officials “town hall” meetings where the simple act of confirming a participant’s residency as a means to ensure ACTUAL CONSTITUENTS ARE IN ATTENDANCE instead of bused-in, dumb-as-dirt, jack-off obstructionists, would swiftly clean things up.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm——————————————————————————–
joeyramonesmom says:
THAT is the difference between repubs and dems. Dems trust their constituents to think for themselves.
————————-
I hate to burst that happy bubble but the White House released a website today asking you to use the attached PDF and follow a playbook to meet with your representative and share a “canned” form with them about how much you support their call for health insurance reform.
That is much, much different than a playbook full of lies and myths and ways to disrupt, shout out, distract, and prevent lucrative discussion and discourse.
So you didn’t burst my happy little bubble. In fact, my happy little bubble and I are laughing at you. Kiss kiss!!
August 10th, 2009 at 1:38 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
So your own studies have shown that bush’s economy should have ushered in a period of growth and prosperity. Where is it?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:40 pmYou moron wingnuts tools are threatening the lives of Americans with your stupidity. You better be careful.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:40 pmWhere are the benefits from tax cuts for the very rich?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pmI hope one tries to threaten me. I have 8 years of “liberal anger” stored up ready to unleash on any of these redneck cowards that wants some
August 10th, 2009 at 1:43 pmReginald
Whatever mr. The facts remain in place. No violence occurred until the right pushed for it until they got what they wanted.
The right thrives on violence and this is just more of the same.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:45 pmYeah, I found him on facebook. Still doing the frisbee thing, and seems like he’s enjoying life.
Oh yeah he always will. Hows Zoo Jr doing?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pmThe right thrives on violence and this is just more of the same.
yup.
I hope one tries to threaten me. I have 8 years of “liberal anger” stored up ready to unleash on any of these redneck cowards that wants some
August 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pmTundra says:
Oh yeah he always will. Hows Zoo Jr doing?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
He’s back home. I’d kill him, but the body is too big to hide. *sigh*
August 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pmThe absence of real reporting is only strange if you believe the meme of a liberal media…
There’s a LOT of things that haven’t been reported in the media–and that is strange…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
right wingers think they can intimidate liberals because right wingers are easily intimidated themselves and just assume everyone else is
August 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
shorter Reginald:
“slow down, give us time to spread more lies about he bill”
August 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pmReginald, I’m joining this conversation late, so forgive me if I’ve missed something, but you raise an important point.
I’m not sure it’s the point you were hoping to raise, however.
In fact, TP has covered both the effigy incident and the reported assault of a Congressman.
To my knowledge, the assault was never confirmed.
Yet the effigy was definitely confirmed and, as you note, the MSM has been curiously silent. I think we are agreed that the media should be covering such stories — but not as a means to “bolster more support against the Right”. More as a means to simply do their job.
I don’t think the media is particularly rightward biased. I think they’re just lazy and undisciplined and no longer committed to serving the public. they’re just committed to serving their shareholders by serving their advertisers.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pmPastcaring @ 92: Touche! Very valid point. Are there actually any reporters left in the media?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pmTommy, I’d ask you to give Reginald the benefit of the doubt at this point. He seems to be willing to engage in conversation honestly and intelligently.
If he proves otherwise, I’ll call him out on it, but let’s give him the opportunity to prove himself either way.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pmEvangenital @ 71…..
I already miss your “Lou Dobbs is a moron” signature :(
August 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pmdidn’t you say the same thing about backedup?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:59 pmI’m still waiting for my 15 minutes….perhaps my republic congressdoosh will have a town hall fiasco so I can go get my ass kicked by redneck Florida a$$holes.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:00 pmUnder the House’s health care proposal, Gladney would be guaranteed a coverage option and would likely receive a subsidy to purchase affordable health care.
but, under the repug plan, this poser did exactly what he was supposed to do – hit the ER…
now, the getting a lawyer part, that’s not part of the repug plan… trial lawyers = bad!!!
oh, wait… that’s right: IOKIYAR…
August 10th, 2009 at 2:00 pmI did. And when he proved differently, I called him out on it. I think you’ll agree that now I’m one of his harshest critics when he deserves it.
But even when b-cup is in troll mode, he still adds more than the garden-variety trolls.
I have high hopes for reginald being able and willing to offer a cogent counter-argument to our standard positions. I think it could be valuable and fun.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:05 pmHey Ralph, your point is actually spot on, in my opinion. I used that particular phrase, “Against the Right” because I see too much discussion coming from our elected officials and others of how the violence is from the Right alone.
My concern is that these acts of violence, isolated as they are, are being characterized as the norm for any who would oppose health care reform in its current guise. That is not healthy for a nation which has as one of its basic tenants, the freedom to speak up against the actions of government.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:05 pmWhile we’re on the topic of violence at townhalls…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/10/gabrielle-giffords-town-h_n_255656.html
let’s see some of our fine, upstanding conservative trolls defend that.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:06 pmUnfortunately there are too many reporters and not enough journalists…
real journalists are still out there…but for the most party you should do your own fact-checking…sadly too many people don’t…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 2:07 pmWell Ralph, this post by reggie should assuage your indecision about him.
Can we say JFK, RFK, MLK, etc. Now name some violence from the left that compares!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:08 pmWait a sec… Aren’t these people the ones who show up on message boards and town halls everywhere and say they don’t want to pay for other people’s healthcare?
August 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pmReginald says: “…but when I see media coverage of violence on the streets it usually involves the Left.”
WTF? Proof, please!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pmIt is interesting to read the article on the protest. 3 or the 6 arrested were arrested for taking pictures. 2 of those arrested were involved with Gladney, though the stories vary on who started the skirmish. The last person was a woman that attack another woman for taking pictures with her cell phone before smashing the phone. I think we can assume that she was a tea bagger. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/0D082BFFE012C7CD8625760C000BCCBD?OpenDocument
The second irony on Gladney not having insurance is that his injuries don’t appear to be of a nature requiring a hospital visit. The hospital visit and wheelchair look like grandstanding only to find out that he has to pay for it himself because he is uninsured. What do you want to bet that a lot of the tea baggers do not have health insurance?
August 10th, 2009 at 2:12 pmWe don’t even have to go back that far!!!
May 31, 2009: Scott Roeder allegedly shot late-term abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller inside a Wichita, Kansas church.
April 25, 2009: Joshua Cartwright, shot and killed two sherrif’s deputies he reportedly disturbed that Obama was President and he believed the government was conspiring against him.
April 4, 2009: Richard Poplawski was a white supremacist who shot and killed 3 police officers in Pittsburgh. Poplawski was upset by the election of Barrack Obama and was afraid the Obama administration was going to take away his guns, an idea promoted by the National Rifle Association (NRA)
December 9, 2008: James G. Cummings II, was a white supremacist who was shot to death by his wife in Bangor, Maine. Cummings wife alleged he had been abusive to her, had a collection of Nazi memorabilia and was reportedly upset with the election of Barrack Obama.
December, 2008: Kody Brittingham, a Marine Lance Corporal, stationed at Camp Lejuene, after an arrest on an armed robbery charge led to a search of his barracks, revealing a journal that contained white supremacist material and plans to kill Barrack Obama.
October 22, 2008: Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman were arrested by sherriff’s deputies in Crockett County, Tennessee for allegedly plotting to target a predominately African American school, to kill 88 people and behead 14 African Americans with the killing spree culminating in the assassination of then Senator and presidential candidate, Barrack Obama
July 27, 2008: Jim David Adkisson, shot and killed several church members during a youth play at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. In a letter, Adkisson said he was motivated to kill liberals by Bernard Goldbergs’ book, “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America”.
NONE of them were on the LEFT…NONE
And that ain’t all…..
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 2:13 pmReginald says:
when I see media coverage of violence on the streets it usually involves the Left.
Oh, you mean like the Holocaust museum shooter?
Or the abortion clinic bombers?
Or the Tennessee church shooter?
Or the invasion and occupation of an entire country that was never a threat?
Yeah, them leftists are so violent…
August 10th, 2009 at 2:13 pmFrom the Huffpost link (thanks, EnnuiDivine:
“One of the callers to the SEIU has said, “I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people’s First Amendment rights,” one caller warned. “That, or you all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment.”
Real effin’ nice…
August 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pmI’d like some clarification.
When you say, “when I see media coverage of violence on the streets it usually involves the Left” are you saying that the media is concentrating on those incidents and ignoring others? Or are you saying that this indicates the Left is more violent than the Right?
It’s not really clear to me what you mean.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pmA big pillar of free market health care is charity to pay for the needs of those who can’t pay themselves.
But why would anyone donate to this teabagger? Janeane Garofalo was right. These people are just racists and hate the black president.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:18 pmIf this fellow was attacked without provocation, I am seriously sorry for him.
However, knowing the history of Repub “ringers” such as Joe the not-a-Plummer, I will continue to exercise a very large dose of skeptiism.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:22 pmMy connection bogged down for no apparent reason, so I defragged and rebooted and tried Crooks and Liars as a ‘test’.
C&L posts a clearer version of the video. ALSO the C&L video post includes Gladney in perfectly good health–though Newsbusters wrote “it must have been quite a beating”.
I got the newsbusters source from one of our new trolls a few threads down.In that thread and this, I looked at the video itself first of all.
It did NOT show “a beating”, and the Newsbusters comment was utter BS.
I know Newsbusters are complete hacks but that was shameless—not a reasonable interpretation of the video , but downright lying—and shortened specifically to avoid showing Gladney walking around completely unconcerned by his supposed injuries.
Every time some troll provides a source, it’s invariably an EPIC FAIL.
But it’s ALWAYS worth honestly looking at their sources, not because they might be correct for once, but because they undermine their claims with their OWN sources (thus also negating the questioning of sources and a battle of pure opinion).
THIS example is however one of the most pathetic failures I’ve seen.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:24 pmThe violence should never have happened…
…but the Reichwing has brought this upon themselves with their disruption, people are pissed at them and are getting more pissed by the day.
And just the Irony of this is….well….the ultimate irony.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:25 pmWhat do you want to bet that a lot of the tea baggers do not have health insurance?
That would give them more credit for their cause. Something that would directly benefit them they are against because (in their eyes) it’s wrong.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pmIrony…
August 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm113. Past Caring:
Some easy pickings:
*) Eric Rudolph
*) Timothy McVeigh
*) Innocent Iraqis either blown away or blown into the stone ages to die of dysentery and the like.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:28 pmavoid showing Gladney walking around completely unconcerned by his supposed injuries.
Adrenaline causes people to not feel their injuries until a while after the fact. It is possible he was hurt and wouldn;t show signs until he came down.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:28 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
I know…there are so many, just dissecting them all could float a new website…
:|
August 10th, 2009 at 2:33 pmRalph @116 and the rest: My final remark before work. My apologies for the lack of clarification. I meant the coverage seems to lean on the violence of the Left in public forums of the type currently going on. I am not speaking of individual shooters, etc. There are plenty of right-wing nuts with guns doing stupid things. On that, no one will get any argument from me.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm“What do you want to bet that a lot of the tea baggers do not have health insurance?”
Actually, in one of the recent town hall meetings, the video shows an audience member standing up and asking for a show of hands as to how many in the audience already had health insurance. The majority of the people who had been carrying protest signs and shouting slogans raised their hands.
So Tundra, if this is the case at most of the meetings, it would disprove your premise.
I cannot believe that most of the protesters, like the teabaggers, have given the healthcare issue much real thought beyond what lies are being fed to them. But, then, I’m pretty cynical.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pmSo you want socialism for doctors and capitalism for the rest of us.
malpractice insurance is there because doctors don’t provide good service. If they make huge amounts of money they should be held responsible for their failures. It’s capitalism.
You can’t have it both ways.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pmWeak minds tend to trend violent, in addition to leaning Republican.
Thinking people usually see through the lies from the right wingers.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:39 pmReginald, do you really believe that malpractice insurance is the primary reason for so many ordinary Americans being priced out of their own coverage?
Seriously?
Oh, and by the way, your last clarification wasn’t all that helpful.
I still can’t tell if you’re criticizing the media for only covering violence from the Left, or if you’re criticizing the Left for using violence when the Right doe not.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm“I meant the coverage seems to lean on the violence of the Left in public forums of the type currently going on.”
Reginald, maybe after work you can come back and give some concrete examples of this?
August 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pmAfter reading your posts for quite awhile, I wouldn’t say you’re cynical…just realistic and spot on…
:]
August 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pmReginald says: “I see too much discussion coming from our elected officials and others of how the violence is from the Right alone.”
Which elected officials have been discussing “violence on the Right alone, too much”?
What is the appropriate amount of discussion of violence in general, and in particular with regard to the Right?
What instances of violence from the Left should be included in the discussion to balance things out?
My concern is that these acts of violence, isolated as they are, are being characterized as the norm for any who would oppose health care reform in its current guise.
Aggressive confrontation has been promoted by the movers and shakers of the Right (Beck,Limbaugh all the Teabagger supporters in the elected GOP ranks and the operatives organized by the Movement Conservatives financiers that fund AstroTurf organizations (like FreedomWorks and its offshoots)as the new norm.
That is not healthy for a nation which has as one of its basic tenants, the freedom to speak up against the actions of government.
TENETS, not “tenants”. The freedom of speech is to ARGUE against the government,NOT to yell mindless slogans at it and drown others voices who are in support of the government (and who are in the MAJORITY, according to polls and the election record).
August 10th, 2009 at 2:44 pmWhy, thanks, pastcaring. :D
August 10th, 2009 at 2:44 pmTundra: Adrenaline causes people to not feel their injuries until a while after the fact. It is possible he was hurt and wouldn;t show signs until he came down.
Check the video on Crooks and Liars. He would definitely be limping, were his legs injured. He might not feel the pain, but he wouldn’t be able to use a seriously injured leg.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pmI would be willing to bet Gladney did get into a shoving match with someone, and when the wingnuts realized they had some video of it, they decided to try to capitalize on it.
They probably offered Gladney more money if he would submit to a beating offered up by his fellow Republicans, just to prove the liberals used violence.
I know this might be a trifle paranoid, but I do not trust Republicans at all. Republicans have proven they have no morals, and that they are willing to go to any lengths to regain their power.
Would Republicans beat a black man without healthcare insurance just to prove liberals are violent? You bet they would.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pmFrom one African American to another: Kenny boy, you’re on the wrong side of the issue. What’s wrong with you? Here you are without a job and without health insurance , and you go out with these teabaggers to stop yourself from getting health insurance? Did Michael Steele send you an email asking you to go? LMAO
August 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pmReginald says:
Ralph @116 and the rest: My final remark before work. My apologies for the lack of clarification. I meant the coverage seems to lean on the violence of the Left in public forums of the type currently going on. I am not speaking of individual shooters, etc. There are plenty of right-wing nuts with guns doing stupid things. On that, no one will get any argument from me.
fUNNY how these concerned conservatives and libertarians never condemn right-wing violence until Progressives call them out on it…and it’s only with the utmost reluctance…
August 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
The irony of the situation is lost on Gladney.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:37 pmHuummm, let’s see….Gladney can’t pay for Health insurance or his hospitalization BUT he can pay his lawyer???? What’s wrong with this picture….
August 10th, 2009 at 3:48 pmTundra: “You would. Blame the black man who was just out trying to earn an honest buck.”
Well, the “other guy” did end up with a dislocated shoulder, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a good argument.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pmWinski, good point. I’ll bet the lawyer is delusionally dreaming of a big settlement. Not gonna happen!
August 10th, 2009 at 3:54 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
From the Globe:
“The largest survey on primary health care ever conducted in Canada found that most people have high praise for their family doctor, and a staggering 92 per cent would recommend their physician to a relative or friend.
Canadians – except those living in Nunavut – have excellent access to primary health care: 85 per cent of people aged 12 and older have a regular doctor, and two thirds have been seeing the same doctor for five years or more, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) study, released yesterday.”
August 10th, 2009 at 4:14 pmSomeone is going to get killed before this is over with.
An Anti-Health Care Reform protestor dropped at a gun at a Democratic Town Hall meeting this past weekend.
And the irony of it all….the discussion on HEALTH CARE will cause injury and/or death.
Do you think the Republican Party or the Insurance Companies will pick up the tab for the funeral(s)???????
Only in America!
August 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm***
an agonizing dilemma for the right wing:
whether or not to donate to mr. gladney’s fund.
i’m sure they’d all like to make a generous donation
but if a judge dismisses his suit or a jury
rules against him they’ll wind up looking like
suckers for being victims of his fraud.
…
good luck, ken.
:)
August 10th, 2009 at 4:27 pm119 – I watched that video. If that stupid teabagging wingnut scammer/stooge thinks “his attorney” is going to get him a single penny – he’s completely delusional.
Like I said in my earlier post – this is a guy who throws the coffee beans on the floor, falls down on them – and sues for “serious injuries.”
Anyone care to place a bet as to whether or not the R’s have offered him money for his acting role in this disgusting little farce?
August 10th, 2009 at 4:35 pmSince when does anyone let facts get in the way of a good argument on this site?
Including… you?
August 10th, 2009 at 4:36 pmTranslation: “don’t expect me to use facts or argue honestly. And it’s all the fault of the libruls!“
August 10th, 2009 at 4:38 pmRight wing irony at it’s finest! Gladney is laughable. He’s now asking taxpayers to pay for his health care. LOL…
http://whitenoiseinsanity.com/2009/08/09/remember-black-conservative-exaggerated-injuries-beat-shreds-white-seiu-guy-turns-guy-health-insurance/
August 10th, 2009 at 4:54 pm“Since when does anyone let facts get in the way of a good argument on this site?”
Aw, c’mon, Tundra, you know we’re not that bad. If we were, you wouldn’t be here, would you?
August 10th, 2009 at 5:00 pmDo you think the privacy center is in on the dl about how hot TP chicksare?
August 10th, 2009 at 5:23 pm“hot TP chicks”
Oh, dbadass…(shaking head)
August 10th, 2009 at 5:29 pmThe GOP’s chairman is also black — and this is of course working wonders for them. (hint: in their minds, the veneer is all that people can comprehend)
August 10th, 2009 at 5:30 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
So he is just panhandling since he does have medical coverage? Or is his lawyer just trying to get money to cover his fees? Either way there is really something smelly about the whole thing. There may be no innocents either side and just call it a draw.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:59 pm“Health care is not a right. What everyone does have is a right to pay for their own.”
Under a single payer system, everyone would be covered and you’d be paying a lot less. This isn’t just about “every many for himself” or helping everyone. This is about what makes the most economic sense. What we do now is way too expensive.
Or do you like gigantic co-pays and deductibiles and premiums?
August 10th, 2009 at 6:00 pmHi conservative guy.
August 10th, 2009 at 6:05 pmCan you give me a bulleted list of the things which you see as rights? Thanks. I sure hope a rocket launcher is among them…
Stop….hammertime! The bill is terrible and the administration is rush, rush, rush. The lines are drawn. HR3200 has written in it many issues that need to be addressed. Don’t get side tracked by the media, the President or Congress! Issues: gov’t control (yes, that’s what it is,) Sec. 431. p 195, lines 1-3:Officers and employees of HC Admimistration (govt) will have access to ALL American’s financial and personal records. Sec 1121, pg 239, lines 14-24: The government will limit and reduce physician servies for Medicaid, Seniors, low income and poor)Sec 59B, p 170, line 1: Any NONRESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for their health care)…Once again, you come to my country….you better get your citizenship! Sec 1308, p 489: the gov’t will cover mental health services including (heres the kicker: defining, creating and RATIONING THOSE SERVICES.) READ THE BILL….geesch n rice!
August 10th, 2009 at 6:06 pmJane E Schneider:
August 10th, 2009 at 6:07 pmI assume you are shaking that head up and down in agreement rather than side to side….
***
#159,
republicans please take note
and run your campaigns on this platform.
:)
August 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pmI thought of the South Park Kenny, too; but he isn’t a shilling, opportunistic, exhibitionist shitweasel.
August 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pmBtw, anyone familiar with the Lemmon-Matthau film Fortune Cookie?
Oh, yeah. I think Gladney’s lawyer has seen it a number of times… and thinks it’s an instructional tape.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:22 pmSo?
That’s even worse.
If he has insurance and still has to solicit donations to help pay for his medical bills, what does that say about the quality of insurance in this country?
Either way they lose on this one.
The irony here is world class.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:35 pmWaynebro, or he’s pocketing the donations. Oh, there goes that cynic in me again!
August 10th, 2009 at 9:40 pmI see a lot of comments here about how military spending should be reduced to provide for a national healthcare plan.
Right on.
Moreover, why do morons like this guy seem to think that we don’t need healthcare reform, and even WITH his wife’s insurance, he STILL has to ask for DONATIONS.
We liberals look at charities, and we resent them. Why? Because we realize that if a charity exists, there’s something fundamentally wrong with the system. If we had it our way, there would be no charities. No soup kitchens. No stuff like that. Everyone would be taken care of. Everyone would have a roof over their head, some food on their table, and a job to pay for it all, and when they found themselves sick or incapable of working, they’d have a doctor right there to take care of them too, free of charge, save what was taken out of taxes.
Picture it… Sicily, 1922…
No wait, that’s wrong…
Picture it… America, 2010…
Americans have just passed a plan that is close in nature to the UK’s NHS. It is subsidized mainly in taxes, and we have reduced our military significantly to pay for it, without raising taxes at all. No more tax-sponsored killing. Only tax-sponsored caring.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:04 pmlol, funny Jane. Of course in all seriousness its obvious either he’s uninsured or his insurance didn’t cover all the bills. Most peoples doesn’t.
Usually you end up getting a bill for the difference and clearly this clown who was out protesting over how much he loves his insurance now had to go out and beg for the money to pay for the medical bills incurred from injuries resulting from his protesting against medical insurance reform.
You can’t invent irony like this.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:07 pmsumma says:
_____________
This fool is just making up Sh*t completely.
Here’s a link to the actual bill. You can scroll thru it, find the sections Dingleberry is referring to and see for yourself: he’s just making sh*t up, period.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.txt.pdf
Sorry, pal, but yer an f-in’ fraud.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:12 pmThe dude is a drama queen, no doubt. However, if DSems really want to make Republicans look like mindless sheep, they should get a leash on the folks who jumped on this guy, or they will just be giving momentum to their cause.
August 10th, 2009 at 11:00 pmSorry for the typo. This laptop is messing my fat fingers up….
August 10th, 2009 at 11:01 pmArne,
Good thing you aren’t on stage or you would collect a lot of over-ripe fruit for that one. Really bad, really bad. Grooooaaaannn!
August 10th, 2009 at 11:29 pmGood God almighty! Just how much money do these insurance execs and bankers need to live on? All this greed and the machinations that drive it is turning everything so schizophrenic. Is there no end?
August 11th, 2009 at 12:47 amconservative guy says:
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Health care is not a right. What everyone does have is a right to pay for their own.
oh that’s right…I forgot the only right for conservatives is the “right” to make money hand over fist…Is money the only thing that matters to conservatives?
August 11th, 2009 at 2:13 amYou’re right conservative guy…I forgot the right of the insurance companies to profit off denials trumps every other rights. Since they are people after all, we would be denying them their human rights if they didn’t have the chance to engage in PROFIT BY DENIAL…DEATH BY DENIAL…
August 11th, 2009 at 2:15 amHealth care is not a right. What everyone does have is a right to pay for their own.
What about people who CAN pay for their own but are denied because of a “pre-existing condition?” Your statement rings hollow, much like the principles of conservatives…
August 11th, 2009 at 2:39 amconservative guy says:
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Health care is not a right. What everyone does have is a right to pay for their own.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights disagrees with you:
August 11th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Don’t give a flip about bs UN made up rights!
In USA, our rights come from you know who: GOD Himself.
That irritates you folks, doesn’t it.
Here the solution to our problems, not that you care:
There is a better way to reform health care that will preserve both patient’s and doctor’s rights.
1. Reform the tort system so there are not “lottery-style” settlements. This will affect costs in two ways:
a. Doctors will not order extra tests to cover themselves in court.
b. Their malpractice insurance will be much, much lower and they will pass on the savings if the environment is competitive.
2. Make health insurance policies portable so that they are not tied to an employer and can travel across state lines. If you could by health insurance like you do car insurance, the prices would be competitive.
Then you can begin to discuss what to do with the 7% of Americans that are not currently insured.
Once you reform health care in this way, then you can discuss weaning the public off of Medicaid and Medicare, which WILL go broke within the next 20 years.
60% is the Average cancer survival rate (all types) for patients in the United States. Canada’s survival rate is significantly lower at 55%, while Europe’s is a dismal 48%.
Why is that?
Overall, according to a study published in Lancet Oncology last year, five-year cancer survival rates are higher in the U.S. than those in Canada. Based on data from the Joint Canada/U.S. Survey of Health (done by Statistics Canada and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics), Americans have greater access to preventive screening tests and have higher treatment rates for chronic illnesses. No wonder: To limit the growth in health spending, governments restrict the supply of health care by rationing it through waiting. The same survey data show, as June and Paul O’Neill note in a paper published in 2007 in the Forum for Health Economics & Policy, that the poor under socialized medicine seem to be less healthy relative to the nonpoor than their American counterparts.
The government cuts costs by not covering things like pap smears, mammograms, prostate screenings. If you look around online, you can find that while over 90% of American women have had a pap smear, less than 75% of British women had.
I’ve got health insurance, but some of my friends don’t, but they still go to the hosptial when they need to. The hospital has signs all over it that say:
“NO ONE WILL BE DENIED CARE BECAUSE OF INABILITY TO PAY”
So don’t tell me we don’t take care of sick folks in this country. They may get a bill, but they still get treated.
You can’t put a price on your health.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:31 pmRight Wing’s Anti-Health Care Icon Is Uninsured (Updated) “has insurance through his wife.”
August 11th, 2009 at 12:54 pmEmily Litella: “Nevermind”
What an amazing thing. Union thugs put a man in the hospital, and we find he doesn’t have health insurance?
How much health insurance would he have needed if the SEIU goons hadn’t beat him so severely?
Oh, none? So this is them inflicting a cost upon him that he wouldn’t have had otherwise? Get health care or we’ll break your legs?
An interesting “insurance” setup… I think “mob rule” had some insurance policies like this; wait, no that was just the mob selling these policies.
Good plan though. Explain to people that they either buy Government health insurance, or you’ll put them in the hospital. Very persuasive.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pm“UCSBKitty says:
What about people who CAN pay for their own but are denied because of a “pre-existing condition?” Your statement rings hollow, much like the principles of conservatives…”
No one has a “right” to insurance. The insurance companies provide a service. Insurance for someone ALREADY sick is not insurance. It’s WELFARE.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:20 pmrgonz71 says:
Yes, according to the Gospel of RGONZ71…those who are healthy but had the flu or chicken pox or pneumonia when they were younger don’t deserve to have health insurance, but deserve their fate. It’s their fault they didn’t take the personal responsibility not to get sick. Nice…*sarcasm
August 11th, 2009 at 10:46 pmGood Lord, what a bunch of disgusting liberal claptrap. At least there are some here who don’t have their head stuck where the sun don’t shine. What in the Sam Hill am I even doing here?
August 12th, 2009 at 2:14 pmYou poor Soros whores and your lies.
Maybe I will suggest your HQ be one of the protest stops on the 9-12 March on Washington.
Do you plan to continue to target women and racial minorities who protest your fascism? I’m gay so you can send your SEIU thugs after me. But I promise you they will come back missing their eyes.
Your Nazis are scum.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:37 amObama’s Potemkin Village
(www.libertyforall.net)
President Obama seems to be a congenital liar, and perhaps a little more stupid than his fans thought. A product of a long process of social promotion and congenial B studenthood, perhaps. (If he would release his transcripts we would know.)
Faced with dropping poll numbers and nationwide protests by angry voters, President Obama conducted a Potemkin Village town hall in New Hampshire, much like Stalin created fake Russian villages with fake prosperity and villagers ordered to smile and answer correctly to Western journalists. The New Hampshire Potemkin town hall was pathetic. Over 1,000 anti-Obamacare protesters were outside. Inside, staged softball questions, including one from a wee moppet whose mom ran part of Obama’ selection campaign in Massachusetts. And a moronic analogy between Obama’s proposed public health option and the US Postal Service.
Does Obama want us to think the public health option will suck more and more taxpayer money into a black hole, while providing shoddy service, little innovation, and being forced to close hospitals and leave communities with diminishing services, as does the Post Office? Does he think that the governmental Post Office was created AFTER FedEx and UPS came into existence, to keep them “honest” by providing competition, as he dishonestly claims a government funded health insurance is needed to keep private insurance companies honest?
Leaving aside the Obama crew’s failure to grasp that insurance companies provide a check on each other, as long as we are free to pick among them (and would provide more options and be more competitive if the government did not regulate them into uniformity with mandates and prevent them from competing across state lines for our business), what about the question of innovation? The US Post Office only managed to figure out a vending machines could sell a stamp decades after private retailers had been using them to sell gum, snacks, condoms, tampons and everything else. Governments do not innovate, and have little incentive to do so.
And what of government’s failure to innovate if we allow Obama to nationalize the 1/6 of our economy devoted to medical care? One of President Obama’s recent statements about the furor he is facing from voters is that it’s OK that nationalized medical care may mean old people (and others? the handicapped? disabled? incurable? genetically compromised?) will be strongly “nudged” (to use Obama team member Cass Sunstein’s new Orwellian term for totalitarianism) to forego costly treatments and just take pain killers and expire without making trouble, because “we” already ration health care in that those evil insurance companies sometimes say “no” to such treatments.
Of course one can always pick an insurance company that does cover what you need treated. Or you can pay cash for a treatment, even if that means mortgaging a house, borrowing from relatives, or appealing for donations. Obama is either dishonest or dumb in that he evades the way innovations happen, perhaps because he intends for innovation to end, or at least be strictly controlled by a federal government that will decide when any are needed. Innovators in a market economy usually create new products and services that are extremely expensive and available only to the wealthy initially, and then are made more cheaply by new competitors entering the market. A recent example being flat screen TVs or cell phones, once luxury items, a few years later, cheap and ubiquitous. Medicine is, or should be, no different, as such things as lasik surgery have shown.
Most medical services, other than cosmetic surgery, today are provided in very heavily regulated markets, and paid for by government-controlled health insurance provided to employees through their employers because of the tax code. Consumers do not have the same control they do in their free market purchases where they shop and control the purse strings. As a result the medical technologies covered by current government-regulated insurance have not fallen in price as rapidly as lasik surgery. Overall health expenditures increased from 5.9 percent to about 14 percent of gross domestic product from 1965 to 2001 and to 16.2 percent of GDP by 2008. [1] Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, recently asserted that medical spending continues to rise faster than the GDP because the population is growing and new medical technologies and therapies are constantly being developed to enable more people to receive treatment than previously possible. [2]
Professor Mark Pauly of the Wharton School of Business stated, “Basically, most of the data I know about indicates that the lion’s share-whatever that is-of the growth in medical spending per capita, even after you adjust for the aging population, is accounted for by what we call technology.” [3] For example, before the development of hip-replacement surgery, an arthritic hip was treated with aspirin and a walker. Now a single hip replacement can cost from $20,000 up to $50,000 depending on age and the length of hospital stay. [4] Advances in medical equipment also seem to drive medical expenses ever upward. MRI (magnetic resonance imagery) machines involve both heavy capital outlays and additional personnel. The average x-ray costs $80 while a similar MRI machine costs over $1,200 per examination. Unlike x-rays, MRIs can detect brain and muscular disorders. [5]
Obamacare plans to solve the problem of costs, not by deregulating and allowing consumers to shop as they do with lasik, but by denying you access to the new services. Obamacare means that new drugs, treatments, procedures and medical devices will not come into being. Perhaps we will have a somewhat more equal access to treatment (except for the ruling political class, like Congress, who are more equal than others) unless we are elderly or in some other group deemed socially value-less. But the care we will be receiving will never include anything that did not already exist in 2009.
Notes
1- Steve Eisenberg, medical director of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, September 19, 2001.
2- Geri Aston, AMNews staff, “Medicare sound for now, but long-term outlook is gloomy,” April 17, 2000, Amednews.com: The Newspaper for America’s Physicians.
3- “Health Policy Discussion” from “Productivity in Health Care: The Value of Medical Technology,” AEI Conference, February 28, 2001.
4- Leigh Hopper, “Hip replacement firm issues recall,” Houston Chronicle, January 23, 2001.
5- Mark H. Gurda, “Rising costs, September 18, 2000”
August 13th, 2009 at 9:44 amSeeking donations to pay for medical bills is not the same as forcing people to pay for your medical bills as the obama plan intends do. I can not believe the party of the bleeding hearts do not have sympathy for someone who is attacked for speaking their mind. The fact that you want the government .. the same people who cant figure out how to deliver bottled water to the Katrina victims to oversee your entire healthcare system is what I find amazing. And the true irony is that all of this talk about the rowdy conservatives at town hall meetings and the only violence was from the anti-tea party side.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:01 amCrankyOldCurmudgeon says:
“What in the Sam Hill am I even doing here?”
August 12th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Besides whining and being insulting?
August 13th, 2009 at 9:31 pmJilani, Mr. Gladley doesn’t need insurance to cover his hospital bills after getting attacked by the Union thugs. I’m sure he’ll get enough from his settlement to buy all the insurance he needs and wants.
The Union is going to pay for Mr. Gladley’s medical bills for the rest of his life.
Hope I’m on the jury for this case. CAN YOU SAY RECORD BREAKING SETTLEMENT?
August 13th, 2009 at 9:51 pm