Friday, August 21, 2009
"Hey, Look over there!!!!"
The most maddening aspect of the whole health care debate for me is the utter willingness of the libtards to lie wholesale about EVERY ASPECT of the debate. The intellectual dishonesty... the flagrant intellectual dishonesty - goes all the way up to the top. To the President, to Speaker Pelosi, and to Harry Reid.
This alone, regardless of the merits of the policy objectives themselves, is a powerful reason to fiercely oppose this legislation. The lies have been so frequent, and so egregious, that there is simply no way to reason with the current crop of libtards in control of Congress and the White House and their noise machines. You cannot take them at their word. You cannot assume that your words will be honestly taken. Instead, the libtards in charge, unfortunately, have made it so that the default position for opponents of PelosiCare must be that every thing they currently offer in compromise is a lie, and a trick. They are utterly devoid of reason and utterly without honor.
The fish rots from the head down:
President Obama himself claimed that he never said he was in favor of a single payor system. That was a flat-out lie: He is on tape saying precisely the opposite a couple of years ago.
The entire libtard-industrial complex is saying that Palin was referring to end-of-life-care consultations, and threw them out of the legislation as a sacrificial lamb. Unfortunately, too many hopeful idiots believed them. But it was clearly a big lie. Palin wasn't referring to the end-of-life consultations, but to the various boards and commissions that MUST be convened in order to rationally allocate scarce health care resources. THESE are the "death panels," and Palin had it precisely right. The entire bill will turn the Health and Human Services department into one big 'death panel.'
Nancy Pelosi is calling soccer moms and grandmoms speaking out against the measure "nazis," and "unamerican."
This was too far even for the Obama Administration (though they may well have privately encouraged her bomb-throwing.)
Following the attack on a black conservative, caught on tape at a St. Louis Town Hall, the leadership of the SEIU issued a press release claiming their own members were attacked - and edited out a section of the video showing a witness screaming at a Union thug "you attacked him!" They kept the audio, but since the video proved them to be liars, they edited it out.
Now that Palin has come out swinging on tort reform, the "operative statement" on the left is that malpractice costs do not contribute to high health care costs - an assertion that would be laughable in any other context, but with so much at stake, it's not laughable - it's sinister, maddening, and Orwellian.
Obama continues to insist that the bill will be revenue neutral, despite the findings of the Congressional Budget Office. Obama's White House made no attempt to rebut the
Obama claimed that for those making less than $250,000 per year, our taxes would not go up one dime. But many of those makeing less than 250k per year are small-business owners, and Obama is now advocating an 8%-of-payroll tax on any businesses that do not offer group health care benefits.
This 8% is either going to come directly out of health care benefits for workers, as small-businesses punt their private insurers, or it will come directly out of small-business-owner income, be it 10k or W-2 income.
Obama is claiming "you won't have to wait in any lines!" But this isn't even true of the Post Office, and it's CERTAINLY not true of the VA health care system.
Obama claimed no one will be forced to buy coverage. But he also claimed he wanted a system with "everybody in, nobody out."
Obama claimed you'll be able to keep your insurance company. This is a flat-out lie. First of all, workers who get their health care from their employers will get booted from their plans by the millions as smaller companies drop coverage to save costs and move workers to the public option. Some states require group insurers to issue an individual policy, but not all.
Further, if Obama gets his way, adverse selection will cause millions of healthy workers to move to the public option, leaving private insurers with a pool of sick people. Premiums must rise to compensate for the deteriorating risk pool, which further accelerates the adverse selection problem. Private insurance risk pools will quickly collapse. This isn't just theoretical bullshit: It will happen as surely as night follows day.
The '47 million uninsured Americans' claim is itself a lie: The figure includes millions eligible for Medicaid and millions of illegal immigrants. The damnable thing is we've known this figure to be false for years, and yet the libtards STILL embrace it.
The libtards, including Obama himself, have claimed that federally-funded abortions would be excluded by the plan. This is also a lie, and the President continues to lie about it. He is totally two-faced: He will tell libtard audiences that "reproductive care" will be covered, but tells centrist audiences that there is no language in the bill specifically including abortions in the list of covered services. If the President is appointing people who populate the 'best practices' boards, then they are going to cover abortions. This is obvious to most intelligent people, but Obama continues to try to play both sides - and continues to lie to all but Leftard America.
The leftards continue to claim that the UK spends less with better outcomes than the United States. But the UK lags significantly behind the US in the metrics that actually count: The 5 and 10 year survivability rates of people diagnosed with various dread diseases. Why? The UK sharply restricts access to newer drugs and treatments - to save money. Why? Because the UK, like all socialist systems, has appointed a Death Panel, called NICE, whose job it is to rationally direct scarce resources to where they will provide the most value.
The leftards continue to claim you can be 'dropped for a preexisting condition.' This is also a lie. Under just about any state law I'm aware of, an insurance company cannot target an individual, in-force policy for a rate increase because he or she has developed a preexisting condition. They can adjust rates on a class, or a group, but typically not an individual.
Yes, you can drop someone for letting his or her policy lapse. That's life among grownups and it's true for Medicare, as well. (That's what disability income insurance is for: Everyone who can qualify should have enough disability income insurance to cover health premiums, in my book. The LAST time you want to be lapsing your medical insurance is right when you lost your job because you are sick or hurt.)
The libtards are still arguing that preventative care reduces costs, overall. Idiots who don't take time to think about the mechanics of the plan take them at face value. But preventative care does NOT save money, in the aggregate. Some screens are expensive, and where positive results are rare, they can very easily lose money, in the aggregate. This is well-documented, but obvious to anyone who gives the issue more than a moment's thought.
The ONE thing the libtards aren't lying about now, is that illegal immigrants are not going to be covered under the bill (except, of course, for point-blank emergencies that no doctor in good conscience could turn away.)
This is a disappointment to the cheese-eaters at NPR, who wrote a story, in all seriousness, headlined "Health Care Overhaul Ignores Illegal Immigrants."
No doubt the bastards will try to Rahm that through in the reconciliation commitee.
Splash, out
Jason
This alone, regardless of the merits of the policy objectives themselves, is a powerful reason to fiercely oppose this legislation. The lies have been so frequent, and so egregious, that there is simply no way to reason with the current crop of libtards in control of Congress and the White House and their noise machines. You cannot take them at their word. You cannot assume that your words will be honestly taken. Instead, the libtards in charge, unfortunately, have made it so that the default position for opponents of PelosiCare must be that every thing they currently offer in compromise is a lie, and a trick. They are utterly devoid of reason and utterly without honor.
The fish rots from the head down:
President Obama himself claimed that he never said he was in favor of a single payor system. That was a flat-out lie: He is on tape saying precisely the opposite a couple of years ago.
The entire libtard-industrial complex is saying that Palin was referring to end-of-life-care consultations, and threw them out of the legislation as a sacrificial lamb. Unfortunately, too many hopeful idiots believed them. But it was clearly a big lie. Palin wasn't referring to the end-of-life consultations, but to the various boards and commissions that MUST be convened in order to rationally allocate scarce health care resources. THESE are the "death panels," and Palin had it precisely right. The entire bill will turn the Health and Human Services department into one big 'death panel.'
Nancy Pelosi is calling soccer moms and grandmoms speaking out against the measure "nazis," and "unamerican."
This was too far even for the Obama Administration (though they may well have privately encouraged her bomb-throwing.)
Following the attack on a black conservative, caught on tape at a St. Louis Town Hall, the leadership of the SEIU issued a press release claiming their own members were attacked - and edited out a section of the video showing a witness screaming at a Union thug "you attacked him!" They kept the audio, but since the video proved them to be liars, they edited it out.
Now that Palin has come out swinging on tort reform, the "operative statement" on the left is that malpractice costs do not contribute to high health care costs - an assertion that would be laughable in any other context, but with so much at stake, it's not laughable - it's sinister, maddening, and Orwellian.
Obama continues to insist that the bill will be revenue neutral, despite the findings of the Congressional Budget Office. Obama's White House made no attempt to rebut the
Obama claimed that for those making less than $250,000 per year, our taxes would not go up one dime. But many of those makeing less than 250k per year are small-business owners, and Obama is now advocating an 8%-of-payroll tax on any businesses that do not offer group health care benefits.
This 8% is either going to come directly out of health care benefits for workers, as small-businesses punt their private insurers, or it will come directly out of small-business-owner income, be it 10k or W-2 income.
Obama is claiming "you won't have to wait in any lines!" But this isn't even true of the Post Office, and it's CERTAINLY not true of the VA health care system.
Obama claimed no one will be forced to buy coverage. But he also claimed he wanted a system with "everybody in, nobody out."
Obama claimed you'll be able to keep your insurance company. This is a flat-out lie. First of all, workers who get their health care from their employers will get booted from their plans by the millions as smaller companies drop coverage to save costs and move workers to the public option. Some states require group insurers to issue an individual policy, but not all.
Further, if Obama gets his way, adverse selection will cause millions of healthy workers to move to the public option, leaving private insurers with a pool of sick people. Premiums must rise to compensate for the deteriorating risk pool, which further accelerates the adverse selection problem. Private insurance risk pools will quickly collapse. This isn't just theoretical bullshit: It will happen as surely as night follows day.
The '47 million uninsured Americans' claim is itself a lie: The figure includes millions eligible for Medicaid and millions of illegal immigrants. The damnable thing is we've known this figure to be false for years, and yet the libtards STILL embrace it.
The libtards, including Obama himself, have claimed that federally-funded abortions would be excluded by the plan. This is also a lie, and the President continues to lie about it. He is totally two-faced: He will tell libtard audiences that "reproductive care" will be covered, but tells centrist audiences that there is no language in the bill specifically including abortions in the list of covered services. If the President is appointing people who populate the 'best practices' boards, then they are going to cover abortions. This is obvious to most intelligent people, but Obama continues to try to play both sides - and continues to lie to all but Leftard America.
The leftards continue to claim that the UK spends less with better outcomes than the United States. But the UK lags significantly behind the US in the metrics that actually count: The 5 and 10 year survivability rates of people diagnosed with various dread diseases. Why? The UK sharply restricts access to newer drugs and treatments - to save money. Why? Because the UK, like all socialist systems, has appointed a Death Panel, called NICE, whose job it is to rationally direct scarce resources to where they will provide the most value.
The leftards continue to claim you can be 'dropped for a preexisting condition.' This is also a lie. Under just about any state law I'm aware of, an insurance company cannot target an individual, in-force policy for a rate increase because he or she has developed a preexisting condition. They can adjust rates on a class, or a group, but typically not an individual.
Yes, you can drop someone for letting his or her policy lapse. That's life among grownups and it's true for Medicare, as well. (That's what disability income insurance is for: Everyone who can qualify should have enough disability income insurance to cover health premiums, in my book. The LAST time you want to be lapsing your medical insurance is right when you lost your job because you are sick or hurt.)
The libtards are still arguing that preventative care reduces costs, overall. Idiots who don't take time to think about the mechanics of the plan take them at face value. But preventative care does NOT save money, in the aggregate. Some screens are expensive, and where positive results are rare, they can very easily lose money, in the aggregate. This is well-documented, but obvious to anyone who gives the issue more than a moment's thought.
The ONE thing the libtards aren't lying about now, is that illegal immigrants are not going to be covered under the bill (except, of course, for point-blank emergencies that no doctor in good conscience could turn away.)
This is a disappointment to the cheese-eaters at NPR, who wrote a story, in all seriousness, headlined "Health Care Overhaul Ignores Illegal Immigrants."
No doubt the bastards will try to Rahm that through in the reconciliation commitee.
Splash, out
Jason
Labels: Congress, health care, NPR, Obama, Pelosi, Politics, Reid, stupid, The Left
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Freedom of Speech
In order to more fully portray the vileness of the assault on democracy being propogated by Nancy Pelosi and the White House communications office, I'm going to discuss it in the context of this great Norman Rockwell painting, Freedom of Speech.
The painting depicts a 1940s version of Everyman: a working man, by his tidy but informal presentation, and the lean strength of his frame. He could well be a farmer - Rockwell frequently portrayed Middle America in his art. Note the wear and tear on his hands - aged well beyond his face. The figure has a bill or program or agenda in his pocket, and is looked up to and apparently admired by the citizens - citizens - surrounding him, young and old alike.
The painting, for those who may not be aware, was one in a touching series of paintings depicting the Four Freedoms as constructed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, and Freedom of Worship were the others.
Now, when you or I see this painting, we see an admirable figure, a leader, a great American. We see a citizen speaking his mind, an American posessed of the God-given, inalienable right to freedom of expression. We see discourse and debate. We see what America is all about.
The modern Libtard, represented by Nancy Pelosi and the White House Press office, sees a manufactured mob.
This is pure poison. Pelosi and her enablers have simply declared rhetorical war not just on the Republican party, but on the electorate itself.
Their attitude is nothing short of a big 'F***k You' to the American people. I cannot overstate how vile and dangerous modern libtards are. They need to be opposed at every turn. They need to be made to feel the heat until they see the light, or driven from office. They are bigger enemies of America than McCarthy could ever dream of being. For all his faults, at least McCarthy loved his country and the things that made it great.
You and I look at this painting and see America.
Pelosi and Obama see a threat.
Splash, out
Jason
The painting depicts a 1940s version of Everyman: a working man, by his tidy but informal presentation, and the lean strength of his frame. He could well be a farmer - Rockwell frequently portrayed Middle America in his art. Note the wear and tear on his hands - aged well beyond his face. The figure has a bill or program or agenda in his pocket, and is looked up to and apparently admired by the citizens - citizens - surrounding him, young and old alike.
The painting, for those who may not be aware, was one in a touching series of paintings depicting the Four Freedoms as constructed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, and Freedom of Worship were the others.
Now, when you or I see this painting, we see an admirable figure, a leader, a great American. We see a citizen speaking his mind, an American posessed of the God-given, inalienable right to freedom of expression. We see discourse and debate. We see what America is all about.
The modern Libtard, represented by Nancy Pelosi and the White House Press office, sees a manufactured mob.
This is pure poison. Pelosi and her enablers have simply declared rhetorical war not just on the Republican party, but on the electorate itself.
Their attitude is nothing short of a big 'F***k You' to the American people. I cannot overstate how vile and dangerous modern libtards are. They need to be opposed at every turn. They need to be made to feel the heat until they see the light, or driven from office. They are bigger enemies of America than McCarthy could ever dream of being. For all his faults, at least McCarthy loved his country and the things that made it great.
You and I look at this painting and see America.
Pelosi and Obama see a threat.
Splash, out
Jason
Labels: Arts, culture, health care, Obama, Pelosi, Politics, Rockwell, The Left
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
More hilarity on the Army Emergency Relief Fund hit job
The libtard assault on the Army Emergency Relief Fund continues.
Today, we have Jeff Donn of the Associated Press leading his story headlined "Veterans Advocates Riled by Report on Army Charity" with an interview with a spokesperson from a veterans organization critical of the AERF.
Who does he lead with? The American Legion?
No.
Veterans of Foreign Wars?
No.
Soldiers' Angels?
No.
He leads with a spokesperson from some outfit called Veterans United For Truth.
No, I've never heard of them either.
Here's their Web site.
Flipping through the pages very quickly, here's what I learned about them:
o they are a non-partisan 501(c)3 organization.
o as a non-partisan organization, they naturally call for criminal charges to be filed against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzalez, and a host of others.
o they don't believe we are at war with terrorists.
o They believe the deployment of National Guard troops to Iraq is illegal.
o Michael Dukakis is on their board of advisors.
o Their newsletter includes exerpts from AlterNet and TruthOut.org.
God knows how these jokers ended up in an AP reporters' rolodex. As a reporter, though, I tried to keep people in my tickler file from all across the political spectrum, and talk to a number of people from all points of view while writing my stories.
So who else does the AP interview on this story? How about Amy Fairweather, a San Francisco attorney, Mills College alma mater and chair of the Iraq Veteran Project. And where is the Iraq Veteran Project headquartered? San Francisco! (So far, California scores 2 for 2!)
And what can we learn about the Iraqi Veteran Project on its Web site?
The Iraqi Veteran Project grew out of Swords into Ploughshares, a veterans advocacy program that started in San Francisco in 1974. It provides veterans seeking to sue the VA for benefits with legal counsel (the law prevents veterans from suing directly, but these guys, apparently, sue on their behalf.
At least these guys appear to have actually done some good for veterans (though their claim that on any given night there are 200,000 to 400,000 homeless veterans on our streets seems high to me.)
They've also helped to out a fraudulent military charity. Nancy Pelosi serves on the advisory board.
But the chairman of Swords into Ploughshares is a guy named Paul Cox. Paul appears prominently with an organization called Courage to Resist. Their motto: "Support the Troops who Refuse to Fight!" According to their Web site, they have lately been conducting "training" of members of Veterans Against the War who are currently serving on active duty - activities which include teaching servicepeople the ramifications of going AWOL, refusing orders, desertion, etc.
Sedition, apparently, is a virtue among these fucks. (Why would Nancy Pelosi willingly consort with a known pro-sedition organization, anyway?)
The third organization the AP talked to is Veterans for Common Sense, out of Washington, D.C. The head of the organization is Paul Sullivan. As far as I can tell, Sullivan's outfit is the only legit organization out of the three AER Fund critics interviewed for the piece. Sullivan at least has some street cred, having testified before Congress on veterans affairs without going completely off his rocker.
But Sullivan is also strongly supporting a lawsuit seeking to prevent military chaplains from using Christianity and religiousity as tools in combatting military suicide. (Although I think he has a point, given the Establishment clause and the particulars of the cases cited, one wonders just what a chaplain is supposed to use? The latest Melanie Beattie book?)
Indeed, although Sullivan is careful to protect his reputation as something other than a screaming libtard, a look through the site's news archive and press releases reveals a consistent pattern of highlighting news and views from a reliable libtard perspective. Veterans for Common Sense highlights the wonderful awesomeness of the Obama transition team, the vile pro-torture policies of the Bush administration, the need for a "Truth Commission" to investigate the Bush administration, and the usual litany of libtard complaints.
Three for three.
Associated Press, you just got led around by the nose by the left.
As usual.
Dorks.
Splash, out
Jason
Today, we have Jeff Donn of the Associated Press leading his story headlined "Veterans Advocates Riled by Report on Army Charity" with an interview with a spokesperson from a veterans organization critical of the AERF.
Who does he lead with? The American Legion?
No.
Veterans of Foreign Wars?
No.
Soldiers' Angels?
No.
He leads with a spokesperson from some outfit called Veterans United For Truth.
No, I've never heard of them either.
Here's their Web site.
Flipping through the pages very quickly, here's what I learned about them:
o they are a non-partisan 501(c)3 organization.
o as a non-partisan organization, they naturally call for criminal charges to be filed against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzalez, and a host of others.
o they don't believe we are at war with terrorists.
o They believe the deployment of National Guard troops to Iraq is illegal.
o Michael Dukakis is on their board of advisors.
o Their newsletter includes exerpts from AlterNet and TruthOut.org.
God knows how these jokers ended up in an AP reporters' rolodex. As a reporter, though, I tried to keep people in my tickler file from all across the political spectrum, and talk to a number of people from all points of view while writing my stories.
So who else does the AP interview on this story? How about Amy Fairweather, a San Francisco attorney, Mills College alma mater and chair of the Iraq Veteran Project. And where is the Iraq Veteran Project headquartered? San Francisco! (So far, California scores 2 for 2!)
And what can we learn about the Iraqi Veteran Project on its Web site?
The Iraqi Veteran Project grew out of Swords into Ploughshares, a veterans advocacy program that started in San Francisco in 1974. It provides veterans seeking to sue the VA for benefits with legal counsel (the law prevents veterans from suing directly, but these guys, apparently, sue on their behalf.
At least these guys appear to have actually done some good for veterans (though their claim that on any given night there are 200,000 to 400,000 homeless veterans on our streets seems high to me.)
They've also helped to out a fraudulent military charity. Nancy Pelosi serves on the advisory board.
But the chairman of Swords into Ploughshares is a guy named Paul Cox. Paul appears prominently with an organization called Courage to Resist. Their motto: "Support the Troops who Refuse to Fight!" According to their Web site, they have lately been conducting "training" of members of Veterans Against the War who are currently serving on active duty - activities which include teaching servicepeople the ramifications of going AWOL, refusing orders, desertion, etc.
Sedition, apparently, is a virtue among these fucks. (Why would Nancy Pelosi willingly consort with a known pro-sedition organization, anyway?)
The third organization the AP talked to is Veterans for Common Sense, out of Washington, D.C. The head of the organization is Paul Sullivan. As far as I can tell, Sullivan's outfit is the only legit organization out of the three AER Fund critics interviewed for the piece. Sullivan at least has some street cred, having testified before Congress on veterans affairs without going completely off his rocker.
But Sullivan is also strongly supporting a lawsuit seeking to prevent military chaplains from using Christianity and religiousity as tools in combatting military suicide. (Although I think he has a point, given the Establishment clause and the particulars of the cases cited, one wonders just what a chaplain is supposed to use? The latest Melanie Beattie book?)
Indeed, although Sullivan is careful to protect his reputation as something other than a screaming libtard, a look through the site's news archive and press releases reveals a consistent pattern of highlighting news and views from a reliable libtard perspective. Veterans for Common Sense highlights the wonderful awesomeness of the Obama transition team, the vile pro-torture policies of the Bush administration, the need for a "Truth Commission" to investigate the Bush administration, and the usual litany of libtard complaints.
Three for three.
Associated Press, you just got led around by the nose by the left.
As usual.
Dorks.
Splash, out
Jason
Labels: Associated Press, Democrats, Media, Pelosi, stupid, veterans
