Obama Quizzed at Health Care Town Hall: On Taxing Benefits, Single Payer System, and Costs

Democrats like to point out the exceptions and not the rule and treat them like the rule.
Do I feel sorry for Debbie?
Sure.
Do I think Obama just heartlessly used her for his own agenda?
Abso-freakin-lutely!

it was all staged for the media

I’m glad the President is willing to face the media in news conferences and answer questions at town halls.
Remember how President Bush would hole up for month after month without taking any news conferences and unwilling to face that kind of questioning, but simply issuing ‘statements’.
This President is willing to put himself and his policies on the line in front of public questioning.
This is a vast improvement over the previous administration.

Don’t we already have Medicaid, paid for by taxpayers? Isn’t it a federal program for low-income, financially needy people, set up by the federal government? Wouldn’t Debbie be eligible for Medicaid?
Obama actually called Debbie “Exhibit A”. How awkward and harsh.

Posted by: danita | Jul 1, 2009 4:09:32 PM
Posted by: danita | Jul 1, 2009 4:07:20 PM
=============
Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush…….

debbie, thanks for serv- uh, sharing your story…
ryanc: obama is the one who HAMMERED john mccain NUMEROUS times: “john mccain would like to tax health the first time in american history…” see, what’s good for the goose…

traffic cop timmy:
i didn’t see you post before, but i agree. what itemized deductions? i had a huge medical expense year in 2007 and my expenses were actually a substantial part of my income–for the bracket i was in. the itemization made little difference for me even though the med. expenses were 24% of my entire income…

“I’m glad the President is willing to face the media in news conferences and answer questions at town halls.”
Are you kidding? Even Helen Thomas says these town halls are fake.
How does Obama adding $918,398,297,518 to the national debt in his first 6 months help?
What would help?
Cut taxes so people have more disposable income. Cut the cost of doing business in the U.S. to “create or save” American jobs. Stop expanding overlapping social programs. Stop funding community organizers. Stop funding purely political entities like unions.
Nevermind, the response will be “but Bush…”
Obama won. He wanted to be president. He needs to man-up and so do his fanatical followers.

i own a business and have provided healthcare for over 140 employees.i have no problem with that as we expect alot out our employees and they deliver most of the time. i have no problem with it being taxed either as its THE EMPLOYEE that will pay the tax. if it shifts to the employer YOU WILL ADD MAY MORE TO OBABBLES JOBLESS RECOVERY.

WhereWasThePress ….
Exactly! Bush and the Republicans came into office with the election promise of smaller government AND they had control of Congress for much of that time.
They were unable to cut programs and reduce expenditures!
Why would you think President Obama could miraculously accomplish this?
Own up!

“ryanc: obama is the one who HAMMERED john mccain NUMEROUS times: “john mccain would like to tax health the first time in american history…” see, what’s good for the goose…”
Nearly all Democrats hammered that plan.
It should be continued to be hammered.
But again the irony is Obama is being attacked for taking a Republican position.

Suddenly Helen Thomas’s words constitute the ultimate truth in the world? Just because Helen Thomas says it, it must be true? Get real.
President Obama faces news conferences and town halls on a regular basis. Bush hide and issued ‘statements’.
You guys have no sense of historical perspective.

Wait ’til govt. takes over health care and sucks innovation out just like it does to everything else it touches.
Wait ’til some pencil-neck bureaucrat decides whether or based on your age, your condition, and prognosis whether or not you will receive care.
Wait ’til you are waiting in line for weeks and months for tests we take for granted today due to equipment shortages as the govt. cuts back to “save” money.
Wait ’til you are waiting in line for weeks and months for doctor appointments due to doctor shortages as would-be physicians no longer see a career in medicine as an attractive option due to government intervention.
Can’t wait! Gotta get it done now!

“This President is willing to put himself and his policies on the line in front of public questioning.”
As previously stated, this entire event was staged – Attendees and questions were hand-picked. Helen Thomas and Chip Reid (CBS) raised this issue to Gibbsy during today’s press conference.

“digital brown-shirts”
Awesome.

Posted by: Young Wisdom | Jul 1, 2009 4:35:46 PM
I had the exact thought. Well stated.

now that the supreme court cleared the way for fair competition in hiring practices, my wife just recently took a job with the govt. her health care is so good that i am dropping mine and going on hers.over qualified people are now competing for jobs and getting them. time is up for the slackers. i am going to beat obabble at his own game

Ryan, you’re right. That was ‘harsh’.
However, what is even ‘more harsh’ are the Health care reform acts (which refuse to cover AUTISM because (according to COngress.gov) the legislators LIED and said AUtism was a untreatable illness), and S.819 (which ‘also’ according to congress.gov) calls for every man, woman, and child who has Aspergers/Autism to sign a voluntary registry and SUBMIT to being Monitored (as though they are common criminals)).
We don’t need ‘health care reform’, we don’t need the Government to be CHOOSING who is and is NOT worthy of LIFE. Nor do we need the government saying that we are too old to deserve to be treated like human beings.
What we need the freedom to CHOOSE the right HEALTH CARE for OURSELVES (Without the Government looking over our shoulders at every turn).

“More name calling and insult attempts to SMEAR the President.”
DRINK!

“Wait ’til some pencil-neck bureaucrat decides whether or based on your age, your condition, and prognosis whether or not you will receive care.”
So you pay cash for your medical treatment rather than dealing with an insurance company?

“now that the supreme court cleared the way for fair competition in hiring practices, my wife just recently took a job with the govt. her health care is so good that i am dropping mine and going on hers.over qualified people are now competing for jobs and getting them. time is up for the slackers. i am going to beat obabble at his own game”
Why would you need to transfer to your wife’s insurance if you have 140 employees, surely a group plan that large would give you great benefits.

moderate . .. .
“you claim that you brought up George Bush “in order to contrast the approach of President Obama.” What has that to do with anything?”
Now you reveal limited insight.
President Obama promised change for the better. President Bush hid from the media for month after month, refused to do news conferences and only issued ‘statements’.
President Obama has done lots of news conferences and answered questions at a number of town halls (not just the one above).
This is a major improvement – a good change.
That you can’t see this speaks more about your own biases.

Bill Summary for S.819
Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 – Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to implement an Autism Care Center Program to provide grants and other assistance to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in providing comprehensive care to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide grants for services to enable adults with autism spectrum disorders to be as independent as possible; (2) establish the National Registry for Autism Spectrum Disorders; and (3) award grants for multimedia campaigns to increase public education and awareness and reduce stigma concerning such disorders.
Establishes the Interdepartmental Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate all federal efforts concerning autism spectrum disorders. Repeals provisions establishing the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning autism spectrum disorders.
Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) the National Network for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services to provide resources for, and facilitate communication between, autism spectrum disorder researchers and service providers; and (2) a National Data Repository for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services to facilitate the development and rapid dissemination of research into best practices that improve care.
Requires the Secretary to award national training initiative supplemental grants to address the unmet needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to require group health plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market.
Can someone please point out where the below is happening?
“S.819 (which ‘also’ according to congress.gov) calls for every man, woman, and child who has Aspergers/Autism to sign a voluntary registry and SUBMIT to being Monitored (as though they are common criminals)).”

@ RC
“We are the only 1st world nation without nationalized healthcare and we lag behind those countries in our health care system ratings.”
What ratings? Where do Canadians go when they don’t want to wait for treatment or when they have been denied coverage by the govt.?
“We pay an extravagant amount more than the next country on per capita health spending.”
And we have the best healthcare in the world.
“And on top of all that Obama is not nationalizing the healthcare system, but rather providing a public option not tied to age or income.”
Yes, that is how it begins…you’re a smart guy, Ryan. You know that anytime private industry competes with government, government always wins. Private insurance will be crowded/priced out by the govt. You know this.

ryanc…missed the point again…with 140 employees i cant compete with the govt. my wifes plan is substantially better. its only because my wife being employed by the govt that i can participate…my employees cant.

Obama loves to speak in dichotomies.
As in claiming that health reform will be “fully debated” in the house and senate, balanced by his dismissive and preemptive attacks damning all critics of his health reform proposals as if they are merely “naysayers” with a “do-nothing” agenda unworthy of his lofty consideration — and therefore, as he just loves to say, unhelpful.
Fully debated? Sure thing, believe it all ye who are morons. Just like in-the-dark-of-night drafting by demwits in the House and Senate of their unread no-debate non-stimulus bill that will spend hundreds of thousands of billions of dollars that demwits will pick from Americans’ pockets for stealth stimulus that has already created hundreds and hundreds of thousands of new unemployed Americans each and every month since it was enacted, with even more unemployed to come as far as Obamamessiah can see.
And don’t forget those demwits in the House passing unread their record clap-and-trap full unemployment energy bill (once again, drafted in-the-dark-of-night and with no “full debate”) that will spend more hundreds of thousands of billions of our dollars to effect a change in the weather, while keeping their collectivist heads deeply imbeded in their lower orifices to pay homage to their cultish commitment to fix what ain’t even proven to be broken.
Returning to the other half of Big O’s dichotomy — how dare anyone criticize Obamareform, even though that reform is simply idiotic and proven to fail, and how dare anyone presume to suggest any contrary proposals which are DOA by the Big O’s lofty standards.
So shut up — get with the Obamaprogram which promises change at any price and with any deficit, and hope Big O takes care of all of us and our loved ones.
After all, even though Big O doesn’t want to, it’s his job to run our lives because someone has to do it.
All hail, Big O!
TParty4USA

catman . . ..
” CANADA HAS A 16 to 25% higher CANCER MORTALITY RATE THEN WE DO”
hahaha . .. what a pile of horse crap.
U.S. – Deaths per 100,000 population: 187.0 (due to Cancer)
Canada – 166 deaths per 100,000 population (due to cancer)

“You realize there is a difference between haggling with insurance for what care/conditions will be covered vs. being flat-out denied by the government due to condition, age, lifestyle, etc.”
Yup, 1 big difference is you pay premiums for the “privilege” of denial of coverage.
“Nataline had been battling leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother. She developed a complication that caused her liver to fail.
Doctors at UCLA determined she needed a transplant and sent a letter to Cigna Corp.’s Cigna HealthCare on Dec. 11. The Philadelphia-based health insurance company denied payment for the transplant, saying the procedure was experimental and outside the scope of coverage.”

Another Obama Soap show. He should just appear on days of our lives every day and tell everyone how he is going to fix it all.

Posted by: Ryan C | Jul 1, 2009 5:25:01 PM
You are struggling…

“The Philadelphia-based health insurance company denied payment for the transplant, saying the procedure was experimental and outside the scope of coverage.”
At least she received treatment. Do you think under Obamacare she would be allowed in the hospital?
I’ll still take my chances with private insurance.
BTW – Is there anything that the government does well on behalf of its citizenry (outside of the U.S. military)? DMV? Tax compliance (i.e., catching tax cheaters – let’s not go there)? Public education?

“At least she received treatment. Do you think under Obamacare she would be allowed in the hospital?”
She was denied a transplant that her doctors pegged at a 65% survival rate and died.
If you can name a case where MediCare denied someone coverage please present it.

tjp612 . . .
One of the first thing totalitarians do is to try to eliminate memories of the past.
Your attempts to avoid the practises of the Republicans under George Bush will not succeed. Too many people remember.
Bush refused to answer media questions at news conferences for months and only issued ‘statements’. We remember.

“I’m curious – Do you work for the govt.?”
(RC) Nope.
=================
(tjp) Interesting…Care to share your profession? Just curious. Whatever it is, you seem to have a lot of time available.
=================
(RC) I seem to have roughly the same time available you do.
(tjp) No, not so much.

tjp612 . . .
One of the first thing totalitarians do is to try to eliminate memories of the past.
Your attempts to avoid the practises of the Republicans under George Bush will not succeed. Too many people remember.
Bush refused to hold news conferences to answer media questions for months and only issued ‘statements’. We remember.

“Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey
Commentary by Betsy McCaughey”
ROFLMAO!
This is a lesson on how a lie gets halfway around the wolrd before the turh catches up with it.
First McCaughey is a paid shill for
“not noted in Betsy McCaughey’s op-ed article was that she is currently on the board of directors of Cantel Medical, a device company, and formerly on the board of Genta, a biotechnology company.” In fact, according to a Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership Securities from the Securities and Exchange Commission, McCaughey received 750 Shares of stock options just days before writing the Bloomberg op-ed. Then, the total worth of the shares was approximately $11,250:”
I’ll let Ezra Klein do the rest of the work
“McCaughey, unsurprisingly, is back again, with an editorial in Bloomberg. In it, she warns that provisions of the stimulus bill “are dangerous to your health.” In particular, she tells of “one new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, [which] will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.”
Sigh. The National Coordinator of Health Information Technology is not a new bureaucracy created in the stimulus. Bush signed it into office in 2004. it has a web site, a director, and, presumably, a phone line, which could have been used by McCaughey or Bloomberg to check the next fact: That it will “monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.”
“You’ll be shocked to learn that, no, it doesn’t do this, either. McCaughey is darkly conflating two things: One is medical health records. That’s what the NCHIT oversees.”

“The US Postal service even with its faults is excellent.”
I’ll give you that, I don’t have a problem with USPS
===========================
“As is the Social Security system.”
You mean the system that will be bankrupt in ~25 years? I guess it works well for those who are currently receiving benefits. What about those of us who are paying in (and will pay in until we retire) and will most likely not receive benefits? Does not seem like a good system to me (I’m a little surprised at you – you are smarter than that)
And what about Medicare? Also going bankrupt (<10 years). So let's rush to do socialized medicine!

Posted by: danita | Jul 1, 2009 5:33:51 PM
BUSH!!! BUSH!!! BUSH!!!
Time to move on. It’s Obama’s country now. He won!

“First McCaughey is a paid shill”
who did not write the Stimulus Plan.

And they all gazed at him in wonderment as he spread his arms, smiled benevolently and said, “Come to me, all who know I am merciful.” Taking a long draught of thier KoolAid, they drew closer to the one who would heal all their wounds and bring about Utopia.
Suddenly…

Obama asked; “Why are the insurance companies afraid on competition?” Well, let me ask anyone who owns a business. Would you like to be in competition with an organization that can just stroll in a back room and print up as much money as it needed? Better yet, Would you like to be in competition with an organization that doesn’t mind being trillions of dollars in debt? Could you compete with a company like that? Could anyone? Government run systems operate very differently then private one’s do. Private one’s run on fiscal responsibility, government one’s don’t have too. What’s so damn annoying is that Obama knows this, he’s no dummy. But he also knows that no one in the media will challenge him either.

Where is Obamas going to get his health care? WELL lets have everyone in Congress and Obama himself BE FORCED into this health care system. I want teachers and lawyers to be forced into this first. LETS see what happens when that LAW is passed before you drag the rest of us into this boondogal. This is nothing more than SCAM FOR CASH and POWER

“RC does not want to share with the group…why not? We’d all like to know! :^)”
Sorry I think we’re all entitled to a little privacy if we so desire.
Would it make you feel better to think I am paid with huge resources behind me instead of being just some guy with google kicking your butts all day long?

“A lot of people tried to scream about this but they were drowned out by the MSM’s “crickets”.”
Yes it was passed around from Limbaugh to Drudge to FoxNews.
They stopped passing it around when the things she claimed were in the stimulus or part of the plan were not at all.
Such as the creation of an office that in fact had existed for 4 years.
She’s a paid for liar.

The Canadian health care system, when compared with those of other OECD countries, is not a high-performing system.
Facts are with Unviersal health care example Canada There is little collaboration between universities and business enterprises.
Canada has drastically fewer medical patents and applications than other countries.
Fewer university graduates in Canada have advanced research skills.”
Canada may provide service to all but it can be argued that service is horrible.
Access to new technology and medications is a chronic problem in a government-controlled, penny-pinching system.
2008 nearly 2 million Canadians were waiting for medical procedures, including 200,000 waiting for surgical procedures right now – 45% of whom say they are ‘in pain while they wait. This is not to mention the fact that those same Canadians are more likely to die in that OR they waited so long to get into than their counterparts in America, or about how 33% of US heart attack patients receive angioplasty compared to 11% in Canada leading to a significantly lower 5 year mortality following MI
Canada lags far behind the cutting edge of medical technology all day. And, the level of healthcare provided in Canada would often be considered ‘sub-standard’ in America.

SAS, good points!

“The Canadian health care system, when compared with those of other OECD countries, is not a high-performing system.”
Not sure what the fascination is with the Canadian system in particular among right wingers since every other first world country also has a nationalized healthcare system.
Was is the embarassment of seniors going to Canada for ‘scripts?

sas wrote “Obama asked; “Why are the insurance companies afraid on competition?” Well, let me ask anyone who owns a business. Would you like to be in competition with an organization that can just stroll in a back room and print up as much money as it needed?” —-
Oh please enough with this nonsense. How about a little perspective because the insurance industry has been getting billions in taxpayer bailouts so the uninsured are in fact subsidizing the sleazy insurance industry through inflated taxes. Is it fair for the insurance industry to dine at the public trough & then cry foul when someone tries to help the little guy? The insurance industry stiffs everyone. The dumb patients off on the government when they age before they might have to pay up. They have the uninsured subsidize them through taxpayer bailouts & the stiff the sick out of the benefits, deny treatments & interfere with the doctor patient relationship all while charging obscene rates & raking in obscene profits.

Yes, if we could only get back to good old Republican administration . . . like under the previous administration . . .
Those halcyon days of smaller government, small budgets and fiscal responsibility.

President Bush hid from the media and didn’t hold news conference for months at a time, but only issued ‘statements’.
Nobody has forgotten that.
President Obama regularly faces the media and takes questions – we see the improvement even if you history deniers don’t.
We saw how Bush and the Republicans operated.
This is a marked Change for the better.

danita President Obama regularly faces the media and takes questions – we see the improvement even if you history deniers don’t.+++++So someone that has a nice suit and is a pretty speaker makes a good president? Watching his poll numbers lately is starting to reveal that those attributes will carry you only so far. I have met several people like him in my life and they all went by the title of used car salesman.

Danita for the last time….Just because Bush was bad does not give Barry a blank check. Ryan c, you have always had an intelligent argument it’s that I usually disagree. Please tell me you are not for the phony health care fix, and more importantly PLEASE tell me you are against this cap n trade nonesense.

tjp . . . .
Again, as much as you would like to sweep history under the rug (and it’s easy to understand why you would want to) . . . it’s not going to happen.
We remember the way Bush and the Republicans conducted business, we remember their doubling of the national debt, we remember Bush refusing to face the media in news conferences, we remember the lies that took us into Iraq.
President Obama offered us Change from all of that bravado and ineptitude. We will not have history swept under the rug.

had to go to a meeting.i read some posts and picked up on the technology piece of the stimulas that relates to healthcare.the surgoens i deal with will tell you this is the biggest waste of time and money period.i will be meeting with another surgeon at 4.45 today and i will reconfirm, from the field, that this is a total waste. the docs have been told they been allocated 50k apeice to computerize records. most of them are buying laptops for the family.docs dont have time to waste that the government has. liberals think you can throw money and technology at something and its fixed, however the miss common sense and chaos theory along the way.

Ryan C You guys really need to think you’re up against some big bad enemy to rationalize getting your butts kicked. ________________________________________
You give yourself way to much credit.

Posted by: catman | Jul 1, 2009 6:54:30 PM
Thank you for your insight – Keep it coming!

TORT REFORM, reform the tort laws, cap the malpractice awards, regulate the malpractice insurers, emergency rooms should be for emergencies, the uninsured should be treated at clinics that are more cost effective, no more health care for illegal’s that is whets bankrupting California’s hospitals and driving up our health insurance premiums. Illegal’s don’t deserve anything, healthcare, school for their kids, welfare, food stamps nothing. Fix the problem at its root cause. TORT REFORM, malpractice regulation, capped awards like the airline industry had to do and cut out the illegals.

“I think cap and trade is a more market based approach to pollution regulation and I am little surprised that the right is fighting it so hard.”
What you fail to understand is that “the right” is not against pollution regulation – We are against a sneaky tax on industry that will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices in the name of financing liberal/Dem wishlists. It would be nice if the Dems/libs would just come out say “Look, we don’t think you guys should be driving gas guzzlers and setting your thermostats wherever you please. So, we are going to institute a national energy tax payable on gasoline, electricity, and natural gas.” This would be the honest approach, but it is deemed political suicide. So, Dems/libs would like to have their cake and eat it too by getting what they want ($$$ for liberal utopia) while having a scapegoat to blame (big, bad industry).

Danita, the blind faith is amazing. Bush spent….. Barry spends waaaaay more. You are not mad. Bush spies, Barry spies to. you are not mad. Bush bombs, Barry bombs. You are not mad. The fact is this health “plan”, cap n trade, stimulus garbage has to be the biggest scam in history. Keep buying in. I wouldn’t even be here if I could understand your side of the argument but it’s stunning that so many of you are behind policies that are so obviously flawed.

stickman . ..
If you can’t see the differences between Bush and the Republicans and the current President . . . then continue to vote for the current President.

“Ryan C I have noticed that you do like to throw the term right winger”
Yes I do.
“and play the race card when given the opportunity.”
Play the race card?
You mean calling out racists loudly?
Yeah I do that too.

“How about Harry Byrd’s racism?”
Harry Byrd?
You mean Robert Byrd?
The Democrat who 50 years ago was in the Klu Klux Klan and has since repudiated the klan and apologized for his views numerous times?
I can tell you one thing, if you call Byrd a racist he won’t say you are “playing the race card”.

Boxcar, I had no idea you were so interested in the fight against racism.
Would you like to discuss Republican affiliations with the Council of Concerned Citizens?

RyanC++=The Democrat who 50 years ago was in the Klu Klux Klan and has since repudiated the klan and apologized for his views numerous times?
I can tell you one thing, if you call Byrd a racist he won’t say you are “playing the race card”.
—————————————
There is that spin and deflection I was expecting.

Ryan C just about every fault and blame you can place with one political party can also be found with the other. Do you agree?

Ryan . …
They just can’t stand it that Bush, Cheney and the Republicans did such a poor job of managing the country’s finances – horror of horrors for the ‘fiscally responsible’ Republican right.
This in addition to getting exposed on the lies and deception surrounding the attack on Iraq and the tens of thousands of deaths and maimings that came out of that.
If I were them, I wouldn’t want people mentioning this VERY recent history either.
And Bush ducking all the news conferences and issuing ‘statements’.
It’s really embarassing and a little too revealing for them.

“There is that spin and deflection I was expecting.”
Because bringing up Robert Byrd’s history decades ago is not at all spin or deflection when discussing Michael Savage’s racism now.
Get a new handbook.
Because when you pretend to be middle of the road, take no sides you should avoid quickly and repeatedly taking the side of the right.

dead on stickman. And when the attrition of the skyhigh taxes (Obama wasn’t going to raise) sets in goodNhard, – after 5-10 years of these high taxes. We’ll have a new set of politicians, regardless of what letter they have by their name.

“They just can’t stand it that Bush, Cheney and the Republicans did such a poor job of managing the country’s finances – horror of horrors for the ‘fiscally responsible’ Republican right.”
So, because Democrats do not have a reputation for being “fiscally responsible” they are free to run up unsustainable deficits, free to spend at unprecendated levels, and free to DOUBLE the national debt of presidents George Washingon through George W. Bush?
Well, the Democrat party is the party of NO accountability, so seems about right.

“Does cap-and-trade have anything to due with pollution? It is an energy bill, not a pollution bill.”
When it comes to air pollution, energy has an important relationship don’t you think?

Obama is weak & the world knows it.
National Hth care=tax
Enviormntal bill =carbon tax + corprate
welfare.
The clown in office approval rating & policies are going down the drain. That is what people will remeber.

ryan c, as soon as i give you props you go and say something stupid like…”Its why Cheney and lunatics like Glen Beck are hoping we are attacked by terrorists”…. You have obviously never watched beck and spend way to much time on Olbermaniac. Well I thought you were better than that. Bye all, gotta run. oh and thanks oz.

When Bush doubled the national debt where did he think the money was going to come from? Taxes per chance? Nope, he didn’t raise them. Savings in government. Nope, he ran deficits of half a trillion dollars (on average) every year of his presidency.
Where did Bush and the Republicans think the money was going to come from? The moon?
Sad too, it just so happened the economy was in virtual free-fall collapse by the end of their administration.
Where did they think they money was going to come from?

“Is that supposed to be clever?”
It’s supposed to be (and is) accurate. If he (Obama) was going to whine about the condition of the country upon inauguration, he should have passed on nomination.
GW Bush did not blame Clinton
Clinton did not blame GHW Bush
It’s time for Obama (and his supporters) to man/woman up. It’s his country now.

“Its why Cheney and lunatics like Glen Beck are hoping we are attacked by terrorists.
The legacy of their ideology is far more important than this country.”
Nice attempt at deflection, no takers…

“When it comes to air pollution, energy has an important relationship don’t you think?”
I don’t disagree. But cap-and-tax is not targeted at reducing air pollution (although, if energy consumption is reduced – it very questionable that consumption will be reduced, see EU), reduction of pollution will be a secondary “benefit”. Cap-and-tax is targeted at raising govt. funds by taxing energy consumers.

The lady’s story represents millions of Americans ….. get real. I too have worked for 38 years of my life and now at age 57, I have no insurance and is suffering from liver failure. I don’t see a doctor because I HAVE NO MONEY, AS I CANNOT PASS A PHYSICAL. America needs to give back the taxes to the millions of Americans that has been taxed, but received nothing for their money………. that way, maybe Debbie and I can PAY for our Medical needs. If not, a Quality Affordable Healthcare system is the right thing to do. COBRA IS A JOKE………700.00 PER MONTH. LET’S SEE…1,300.00 FOR MORTGAGE AND BASIC NECCESSITIES, UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ARE 381.00 PER WEEK…. GO FIGURE. AND I’M NO LOW LIFE THAT’S LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR NOTHING! End of Story.

tjp . . . .
You have a short memory.
You can’t sweep the job Bush and the Republicans did under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen . ..
It is the prelude to everything that is happening now, and you deniers can’t change that.
We remember the way Bush and the Republicans conducted business, we remember their doubling of the national debt, we remember Bush refusing to face the media in news conferences, we remember the lies that took us into Iraq.
President Obama offered us Change from all of that phony bravado and ineptitude. We will not have history swept under the rug.
Cheers!

Posted by: danita | Jul 1, 2009 7:40:17 PM
It’s bad enough that you can do little but blame Bush for seemingly all that is wrong in the world today, but what discredits you even further (I didn’t think it was possible) is that you post the same material repeatedly.
Here’s a question for you: Where’s the money going to come from when Obama DOUBLES THE NATIONAL DEBT YET AGAIN – TWICE THE DEBT THAT BUSH INCURRED?
BTW – Bush was, is, and will forever be AWESOME!

“The major portion of the job recovery is projected into middle of 2010. Try reading up on this stuff.”
I thought that if Obama’s “stimulus” package was not passed (quickly, no doubt) that unemployment would exceed 9% this year? Try reading up on this stuff.
Bush is the best!

“He pointed out the fact he had inherited a deficit and a national debt . … reasonable enough – AND – he stated he took the job and was eager for the challenges.”
So, did he only state that he “inherited” a defict (and “financial mess” in general) on one occasion?

catman . ..
Well then you just get out your magic wand and wave it around and create jobs NOW.
Did you want to let the automotive industry and all of its subsidiary businesses go under? Good way to create jobs?

“Cap-and-tax is targeted at raising govt. funds by taxing energy consumers.”
Of course I think that’s baloney but at least you’re not trying to tell us that CO2 isn’t pollution.

danita…if you gave me a trillion dollars i think i could create alot of jobs now. i would fund every states unfunded construction projects now. obama would be alot better off if he didnt leave nancy pelosi in charge.

danita sorry but either BO or someone in his administration uses the “inherited” excuse ALOT.

“Of course I think that’s baloney but at least you’re not trying to tell us that CO2 isn’t pollution.”
It’s not! It’s a naturally occuring gas!

danita ok, we need to change our “consumerism”. Doing that overnight is not going to happen and taxing us as an excuse to do so is not the way to go. We still have plenty of oil/gas reserves on our own soil, not to mention nuclear energy so why don’t we go after that while we still look for alternatives. It’s kind of like multitasking and BO is suppose to be good at that.

People seem to forget that BO was in the senate while the (D)s controlled congress for the last 2 yrs of Bush’s term….he is part of the problem just as much as the next senator…

danita If you’re a denier of that, you’re in trouble and beyond help. ———————————————
If Bo was a prince and our king died and he “inherited” the throne then yes……….BUT HE APPLIED FOR THE JOB.

Yes, health care is such a crisis, that we need Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to write a 5000-page bill that won’t do anything except make their supporters and the unions rich. **Otherwise, why would they be excluding unions from the taxes on health benefits? Nice!!! And of course, no one will read the bill since it needs to be completed and voted on the same day! America is getting sick off this routine…..health care cannot be solved in 3 months. The Obama administration just wants to take credit for “solving” the crisis, but it will be a catastrophe if they ram it through. OH…….by the way, the media and the rest of us know that this entire town hall was “staged” with pre-selected attendees and pre-selected questions. This is getting old, fast.

“Is radon pollution?”
Is it? I don’t exhale radon.

What I can’t comprehend is the same people that complain about our government being dysfunctional turn right around and defend the politicians that have had control the last eight years! Can you name one thing Bush did to make government more efficient? You have to be accountable for your action, that applies to Obama and also to the eight years of Bush. Anyone that thinks this economy can be turned around in five months must be smoking/drinking something.
Speaking of being held responsible it was repubs that refused to let Medicare negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies on part D (prescription meds). When the democrats took over control in 07 they tried to fix that and when it got to Bush he vetoed it. That is costing the taxpayers billions of dollars a year!
For all of you that continue with the “Socialism” rant where were you during the Bush years. One of the first things he did was create “Faith-based” initiative to hand out your tax dollars. Simply put he taxed you and then donated your tax dollars. Even though judges have said it was unconstitutional to give tax dollars to non-profit organizations that didn’t stop him. Bush knows best where your hard earned money should be donated.
Then you have Bush poking his nose where it doesn’t belong with “Oregon Death with Dignity Act”. Apparently he does not believe in states making their own laws. Finally the Supreme Court told him to stay out of Oregon’s business!
Or how would you like your wife telling you that she (Terry Schiavo) does not want to live if she became brain dead. But then Repub politicians do everything they can to stop you from fulfilling her wishes.
I could go on and on so when you talk socialism remember Bush and Repubs!

danita securing loans for reactors is not the problem, never has been. Try building one and see how many environmentalists and their lawyers start filing suits and briefs against its construction before the paperwork is even submitted to the government for its construction.

“It is often forgotten that Bush “inherited” a recession from Clinton (burst of dot.com bubble).”
I see, gdp down 0.5% for the 3rd quarter of 2000 is a recession when its Clinton.
Of course it was at 2.1% for the 4th Quarter of 2000 so what did Bush inherit?
“He also had economic downturn after 9/11.”
Gee if only he had listened to Richard Clarke instead of clearing brush during Aug.
“The U.S. then experienced ~50 consecutive months of job growth (that’s 4+ years for you).”
If you look at the U6 stats you will that was mostly by overqualified people taking menial jobs just to make ends meet.

“What I can’t comprehend is the same people that complain about our government being dysfunctional turn right around and defend the politicians that have had control the last eight years!”
If you are referring to me, I am not defending Bush – I am mere stating that it is Obama’s job now and he (and his believers) need to man/woman up and accept responsibility for managing the country moving forward. He wanted the job, he got it. His supporters voted for, he won. Let’s move on.

“Can you name one thing Bush did to make government more efficient?”
Good question ricky. Although they might be able to dig out one thing.
Like for instance, Bush refused to hold news conferences so the people could never question him – surely that was more efficient.
He lied to the people about Iraq to make the attack and invasion easier.
Anything else I wonder?

tjp: Keep blaming Bush all you want, the only people listening are those who don’t want to face the truth…like the media. National Healthcare will be a disaster, just like it is in Britain and Canada. The big difference with Britain and Canada is that the media isn’t in bed with one political party, they have maintained their dignity as journalists and report the truth. I think most people forget we have a government run healthcare plan called Medicaid which is bankrupt and completely inefficient. Did you see the lady today who told the President she didn’t have healthcare and she had kidney cancer? Guess what, if she is unemployed, she qualifies for medicaid…so why aren’t her medical bills being paid? Sounds like this is an example of how government has failed already!

A good evening to all.
p.s. Bush is awesome! (for you, danita)

It must really annoy people with Republican leanings that President Obama makes himself available so often and so smartly.
The last guy hid from the media, and this guy makes himself as available as humanly possible.
It’s a major step forward in terms of people available and accountable.

To answer one of the people on here. I’m not republican or democrat leaning and find Obama irritating. He does nothing but grandstanding. As to press conferences, he hasn’t had one yet. He just uses reporters’ questions to make ten minute speaches, usually not fully answering the question. I didn’t vote for him, but it was people like me who got him elected, people in the middle. I hope he doesn’t expect a second term.

Doctors and politicians are 2 different people. Doctors will “kiss your ###” to make you feel better and politicians will “kiss your cheek” so you feel better. NOW YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

Boxcar . .
Sure for you that works . . used car salesman.
But you know, most people think the man is actually very decent, available and smart. And they approve of him.
Your perceptions are just that.

danita But you know, most people think the man is actually very decent, available and smart. And they approve of him.++++++You havent looked at the polls lately have you? More people now disagree with the way he is handling key issues now than agree with him. Even his personal popularity is now starting to slip, even ABC reported on that topic.

danita history is usually a good indicator, like it or not. Are you old enough to have been around during the Carter years?

danita i sure hope people don’t forget what a mess the country was left in after the last lying administration.——————————————-
Dont worry your boogie man Bush/Cheney have had their day in the sun (8 years is the limit)and cannot be president again.

Boxcar . . .
I’m sorry, Bush and Cheney were Republicans, put forward by Republicans and part of the Republican system.
I’m not interested in seeing them, or anyone of their kind in office again.

I think the premise that the health care system is broken may not be reasonable basis to fix it with an unknown untested reform. If 85% of the people are happy with the health care they have, if all those on medicare and medicaid are happy with what they have then the system needs to be fixed for the uninsured and those who do not wish to buy insurance because it is exorbitantly expensive for them. So Obama needs to just focus on providing health coverage for those uninsured 15% above the age of 50 and provide basic health maintenance and disease prevention coverage for every American who does not have any insurance currently and is under 50. My estimate for the immediate focus on the 15% of the uninsured 45 million is 100 billion far less than the 1 trillion that is being estimated or requested by congress. Just because I not a blind follower who does not just accept a spending proposal and have a different view and would not like to extend the deficit does not mean I automatically become a naysayer. As a tax payer, I have every right to question spending and offer my alternative view. It is how a healthy debate should work.

WASHINGTON – A new national poll indicates that President Barack Obama’s approval rating among Americans remains steady.
Sixty-one percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say they approve of how Obama’s handling his duties as president. Thirty-seven percent disapprove.
The 61 percent approval rating is down one point from May.

danita check out an independent poll like Rasmussen and then their is ABC’s (All Barack Channel)own BO cheerleader (George Stephanopoulos)who about a week ago reported the same thing. I could care less about his personal popularity, a nice suit and a pretty speech will get you only so far. His job approval rating is in the 40 percentile and thats a fact. His personal popularity is starting to follow his job approval ratings

danita using CNN and the Washington Post as a gauge for BO is like using FOX as a gauge for Bush.

danita troop withdrawl discussions had already started before the elections, thats a fact, look it up.Bo rode that wave and said he would speed it up to a year which he has now back down to 16 months then 19 months and now 50,000 troops will still be there at 2012

Anybody able to tell me where I can see the entire town hall meeting?

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, July 2 — Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday morning, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military’s new counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
I hope this goes well, and wish the best to all who are fighting on the side of freedom and truth.

July 1, 2009
“The new president of the American Medical Association, which represents the interests of the nation’s doctors, said Wednesday the group is open to a government-funded health insurance option for people without coverage.
Dr. J. James Rohack told CNN that the AMA supports an “American model” that includes both “a private system and a public system, working together.”

Boxcar . .. .
I’m a little suspicious . .. you’re not able to provide ABC’s job approval ratings for President Obama? I have . ..
Obama’s job approval rating trend from ABC’s poll this year has been 68 percent (February), 66 (March), 69 (April), and 65 (June).

oh Boxcar . . ..
I see you refused to post the job approval ratings for President Obama. It’s a very specific ‘job approval rating’. Why is it that you haven’t posted those numbers?

Ryan, what wagon? Where’s I fall? I must have missed something along the way.
Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.

danita…You have to understand that in these tough economic times and after the ‘honeymoon’ period, the numbers are EXPECTED to drop! +++People are starting to realize he hasn’t a clue, nice spin though.

Boxcar . . .
What you don’t seem to understand is that 58% approval rating at this time is EXCEPTIONALLY good. You can call this his ‘lowest’ rating, but it’s still excellent.
“People are starting to realize he (President Obama) hasn’t a clue” posted by Boxcar . . .
Now I know where you’re coming from and have a much better insight into your lack of understanding of the numbers.

danita Now I know where you’re coming from and have a much better insight into your lack of understanding of the numbers.+++++Right back at you.

“You have to understand that in these tough economic times and after the ‘honeymoon’ period, the numbers are EXPECTED to drop!”
Boxcar . . .. this is not spin and if you had an iota of knowledge about the historical ‘honeymoon’ effect and then a falling off of numbers, you’d know this.
But you don’t.
Cheers.

rickyt1234 Also Terri Schivo did not eat by mouth she had a G-Tube, inserted into her stomach and was fed thru that. Her husband stopped her tube feedings. Just because someone has severe brain damage does not mean they are not worthy to live. Do you think you are God and should decide who should live and who should die? You take a responsibility you will have to answere for.

“So what makes BO’s 59% so special?”
Well for one thing 4 to 8% – you may not think it’s much but it is and Bush was not dealing with the extreme economic situation President Obama is dealing with. 4 to 8% is – for one thing – lots to win an election. Elections can be decided on much less.
Some polls had Bush as low as 53% by early July of 2001 and he had basicaly nothing contentious to deal with and was already vacationing on his ranch.
59% to 61% for President Obama is excellent.

How could our taxes not go up? He’s outspent every President before him in a very short amount of time. We’re in bigger trouble every day he’s in office.

danita Well for one thing 4 to 8% – you may not think it’s much but it is and Bush was not dealing with the extreme economic situation President Obama is dealing with+++++++++++++++++++++++++and right at 9/11 Bush’s approval rating shot to 90%. You guys were touting his high numbers after BO’s election and now they are slipping you have to come up with excuses.

ABC News-Washington Post Poll: Two-Thirds Approve of Obama but Fewer Think Stimulus Is Helping
ANALYSIS By GARY LANGER
June 22, 2009
President Obama remains on his honeymoon — but with a hint of clouds over the beach. The president has a high approval rating, but faith in the stimulus plan fades.
They signal economic impatience. A still-impressive 65 percent of Americans in this new ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama’s job performance. But there’s been a retrenchment in the expectation that his stimulus plan will improve the economy — and, consequently, a halt in what had been steadily improving views of the nation’s direction.
A narrow majority, 52 percent, now thinks Obama’s stimulus program has helped or will help the nation’s economy — down from 59 percent in late April. While he’s vulnerable elsewhere as well, it’s the economy that’s his make-or-break issue — and his advantage over the Republicans in trust to handle it, while still broad, has narrowed from a record 37 points, 61-24 percent, in April, to 24 points, 55-31 percent, today.

“The war is lost.” – Harry Reid, Democratic Senate Majority Leader from Nevada

“In the early 1970s the Peoples Temple opened other branches in California, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the mid-1970s, the Temple moved its headquarters to San Francisco.
“After the Temple’s move to San Francisco, it became more politically active. After Peoples Temple participation proved instrumental in the mayoral election victory of George Moscone in 1975, Moscone appointed Jones as the Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission. Unlike other figures considered as cult leaders, Jones enjoyed public support and contact with some of the highest level politicians in the United States. For example, Jones met with Vice Presidential Candidate Walter Mondale and Rosalynn Carter several times.[11] Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and Assemblyman Willie Brown, among others, attended a large testimonial dinner in honor of Jones in September 1976.” – Wiki

Several taxes could hit the middle class people under this administration. One is the cap and trade tax which could mean doubling the electric bill, and higher commodity prices. The other is to make medical expense paid by employers as taxable income of the individual who receive the medical service. How do you like it ?

austin . ..
The Bush administration doubled the national debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion.
Where did Bush think this money would come from? Taxes – heavens no, he lowered taxes. Saving on Government programs – heavens no, he overspent his budgets by half a trillion a year even with a Republican Congress for 6 of those 8 years.
Where did Bush think the money was going to come from?

The Democrats are self destructing before our very eyes. The SNAKE OIL SALESMAN IN CHIEF is taking the country toward a total financial collapse and he will not be able to hide behind his polished rhetoric as inflation sky rockets and unemployment grows to around 20 percent. At that point in time, the democrats will be totally destroyed not by the republicans but the entire country that will have grown totally fed up with them.

We’ve been taken by a snake oil salesman and his merry band of idiots (congress). WE are in deep trouble.

Most media polls are always skewed in favor of Democrats. Both times, Bush was suppose to lose. BO was suppose to win by a bigger margin. I would put BO’s approval in the low to mid 50′s. I think Rasmussen has him at 54%. ABC, Gallup, CBS are all biased. After the employment numbers tomorrow, I have a feeling he’ll have a tough time keeping it at 50%. There was already some bad exployment numbers today.

I think there should be healthcare reform. Costs are going to get worse. I don’t agree with BO’s plan though. I’ve heard there’s a decent bipartisan plan, but BO and his arrogant Congressional friends don’t even want to look at it. Can’t even get it in front of a committee.

BK-1970 wrote: “I’ve heard there’s a decent bipartisan plan, but BO and his arrogant Congressional friends don’t even want to look at it. Can’t even get it in front of a committee.”
That’s because the ultimate agenda is to control every aspect of our lives. The Left’s womb-to-tomb universal healthcare with a single payer system controlled by the federal government is one means to that end.

Obama says “Watch my lips…” as he slowly slides the blade of a knife into the small of your back….

“Obama says “Watch my lips…” as he slowly slides the blade of a knife into the small of your back….”
Posted by: Fiercely__Independent | Jul 2, 2009 2:11:29 AM
What a cheap shot attempting to equate the President with some sleazy murderer ready to kill you with a knife.
Pathetic and a small-minded smear attempt . .. and way too transparent.
Cheers

I am curious were in the constitution does it give the power to the federal goverment to take money from those who have worked for it and give it to those who have not (ie socialism)?

and as for the financial crisis the last 2 years of bush the dems were in control and the repubs tried to pass laws to reform freddy and fannie but were blocked by the dems many of whom had direct ties to those who ran freddy and fanny like dodd who got a dream loan from mozillo who is now under indictment as should dodd be. this could have been avoided if the dems had not stood in the way

July 1, 2009
The new president of the American Medical Association, which represents the interests of the nation’s doctors, said Wednesday the group is open to a government-funded health insurance option for people without coverage.
Dr. J. James Rohack told CNN that the AMA supports an “American model” that includes both “a private system and a public system, working together.”

So what danita I work in a hospital and I can tell you that 9 out or 10 doctors think it is the STUPIDIST thing we could do. The head of an organization is usually a patsy. before you go around saying doctors are for it talk to the rank and file. And by the way almost every nurse is against it. SO is history just look at countries that have socialized medicine they have some of the poorest outcomes and highest mortality rates for deseases that are normally not terminal. Thats becuase they look at a cost benefit ratio and if the cost to treat is not beneficail then they provide comfort care till you die.

It is not the administrator of the American Medical Association who has made this statement of support for a mixed public and private system. It is the Association itself which is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States.\
They’ve been having ongoing meetings and workshops about this issue.

What would you like to see done to the system Skalarg?

Whatever benefits the rich benefits us all. Let the rich go free.

Skalgag . ..
Yes, but the current system is bankrupting the country and will continue to do so at an increasing rate.

Yes, Skalag but the current medical system is bankrupting the country. It can’t remain the same – what can be changed before it bankrupts the country?

Current estimates put U.S. health care spending at approximately 15.2% of GDP, second only to the tiny Marshall Islands among all United Nations member nations. The health share of GDP is expected to continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017. Of each dollar spent on health care in the United States 31% goes to hospital care, 21% goes to physician services, 10% to pharmaceuticals, 8% to nursing homes, 7% to administrative costs, and 23% to all other categories(diagnostic laboratory services, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers, etc.
In 2007, the U.S. spent $2.26 trillion on health care, or $7,439 per person.
Growth in spending is projected to average 6.7% annually over the period 2007 through 2017. Health insurance costs are rising faster than wages or inflation.

the other thing bankrupting the system is the well meaning but misguided people who want to have a program for everthing for everyone. I mean the child health issurance program was a good idea but now anyone making up to 60,000 dollars qualifies. If someone makeing that much doesnt have insurance for their kid TOO BAD they are not spending their money right. and that type of thing happens every were. Go down to your local welfare office and you will see alot of women who weight 300 lbs wearing over 400 dollars in clothes with 3 to 6 kids all wearing name brand clothes saying life is so tuff and taking welfare moeny. What about personal responsibility. One child I can see MAYBE two after that they should be told your on your own. Why is it my fault they cant stop having kids?

I am amazed at the compassion Obama has. What a man!
Poor Debby (not Debbie). Debby Smith, that is, a volunteer for “Organizing for America.” It’s “Obama’s political operation within the Democratic National Committee.”
And where in the world do you find “Organizing for America?”
Debby Smith received tickets through his White House staff.
Come on journalists… do we have to do all the work for you?

Ray .. ..
Did you watch all of the town hall? There was an amazing amount of information put across. A very detaile quick studies odf current medical system problems

Yes, but illness often plays a role in job loss.

I’m still not sure what your answer is Scalgark . . . as to how to change the health care system. By all reports, its a huge part of the government deficits – and will get worse over the next few years.

the anwer is simple END ENTITLEMENTS stop stealing from those who work and giving to those who dont. These deficits have come from the welfare programs. And that relates to the question I just asked you. WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISFORTUNE OR WHY SHOULD THEY PAY FOR MINE/

The town hall provided a quick and detailed sketch of the problems President Obama sees with the current situation.
The main problems is the health care system is costing too much and not serving many people.
Seriously, a huge amount of health care money is in each deficit we see – and its’ getting worse. Also people’s premiums have been rising at substantially.

The reason they wont address that is because they are almost all lawyers and dont want to cut their oun throats.

President talked for a breif bit about ‘overtesting’ done under health care, duplication of testing – and electronic health records and better coordination of patient treatment.

There is so much more to attorneys that the public doesn’t have the slightest clue. Medical equipment is sky high because of how it must be built. In your doctor’s office he might use a cheap BP machine he picked up at the pharmacy. In a hospital environment you don’t see those brands… you see $1,000.00 NIBPs.
A 9 volt medical grade battery will cost you 5 times as much as one you pick up at wall mart. Used in telemetries and changed each day, good or bad.
It’s all about lawsuits. I have millions of examples and could write for days on specific instanced of medical equipment.

Some problems are considered ‘common problems’ I guess . .. depends how you define common interest.
A good example would be drug laws – you pay for drug enforcement where there are laws that criminalize all drug activity hence huge numbers of people to be paid for in jails, policing, shoot outs between rival drug gangs, turf competition, poor drug education in school where ‘all drugs are bad’ . ..
Anyhow, a complete mess . .. but a common interest unless you don’t mind paying for the jails and/or getting mugged downtown by a crack addict.
right?

Ray . . yeah, Obama talked a bit about doctors ‘overpractising’ in order to avoid lawsuits — sounds similar to this ‘over equipment’ you describe.

The drug laws are another way they control. If someone wants to blow their mind let them they should be prosecuted for driving on them or stuff like that but if you legalize them the price goes donw to almost nothing. No one has to rob or anythig to get them just like prohibition. and we save the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS wasted trying to stop something that people want.

Jails for real criminals benifit EVERUONE and that follows what the constitution lays out but welfare does not and is against everything the founding fathers believed because they knew it would lead us right to were we are. IF someone deserves healthcare, what about a house, a car, a job, a tv, ac. cable. a computer, ect ect ect were does it end? they deserve what they work for and earn but that is not the fact in this country because we are taxed beyond belief,

If you eliminate welfare and health care for everybody who can’t afford it, you’re gonna see police cost soar out of control, and jail cost.

I answered your question in no absolute sense , but rather with the beginning of the discussion what all constitutes our ‘common interest’.
And we already discovered that having the government change the drug laws and the drug wars is a good idea.
I’m saying if welfare and health care for those destitute are removed – our policing and jailing costs go way up and danger to our person does the same.

i think you agree that constitution says spend for the good of all, or in other words common interest.

The main thing driving people is the will to survive and to prosper. If people find they can survive on welfare and not do anything then they have no incentive or drive to improve. it is a self perpetuating cycle and I think that is another method of control the goverment uses. The only welfare I would support would be the very minimum that would allow someone to survive but not be comfotable so they would have a reason to move up and out. I am not talking cruel but not comfortable. and not for ever there has to be a limit were you say hey we tried to help you sorry no more. like a boot camp kind of thing that included training. but all the entittelment we have now are due to cost this country 65 TRILLION dollars by 2017 there is not way to get that money unless we print it (which they are already doing) and that will destroy this country just like the Wiemar republic.

You have to be careful , cause if you cut welfare down too far you get crime increase, violence, rebellion and all the policing and jailing costs plus a dangerous society.
you have to think of stuff like that – you want a police state?

and we cant make any more entitelments like this healthcare which the CBO said will cost 1.7 TRILLION in 5 or 10 years dont remember which. we just dont have any money for it or anything else. People are going to have to go without that is just the realities of life. that is what we have to face. the founders knew this. The cure for our problems is going back to a strict constitutional republic. Even before all these programs people made it and there werent people starving in the street, it wasnt easy but life isnt the problem is americans want to have everything and not have to suffer that is not possible.

First and formost tax cuts benefit everyone. When taxes are cut there is much more investment which leads to more and better jobs ect ect. I have no problem with people getting rich for the most part they worked hard for it and those that didnt got lucky. As long as they are working within the law I have no problem with any one getting rich because everyone benifits. I am not part of the middle class I make enough to live IF I work alot of overtime which is ok with me. I have a HUGE problem with taking money from someone who earned it and giving it eto someone who didnt. The main problem I had with the repubs was they said they were for less spending and smaller goverment then they spent like druken dems. these days there isnt much different between them. I am for what this country was founded on the constitution and redistribution of wealth is the antithesis of that. and one more thing history has shown if you raise taxes the tax reciept GO DOWN and if you lower taxes they go UP. THe reason we have the highest standard of living is because we have more right people and that does work its way down. Just look at what Reagan did in a similar situation he lowered taxes and that lead to the longest run of prosperity this country has ever seen.

$10 trillion in national debt, effectively double from $5 trillion

Danita I agree about bush, and about obams but he is changing the FOUNDATION of this country. He is turning us into a european socialist nation and I and many others see that as a betrayal of the constitution. Lets look at energy, Spain tried the green energy thing and found that for every job it created 2 were lost it wont work. As for the enviroment trying to say that CO2 is a pollutant is stupid that is what plants use to make oxegen the more CO2 the better plants grow. And if it was causeing global warming then why has the last decade be COOLING, also at one time in history both pools were rain forests, that was before man and I would hazard a guess before SUVs. that just shows the planet goes through natural cycles so the energy thing is nothing more than a tax and another way to control us. I dont like 95% of the politicians and think if they were investigated they would be in jail including bush and obama. That is why we have go back to the constitution because IT WORKED.

Rule number 1: You do not raise taxes in a recession. No economist would do anything but agree with that one. So, when we are still in this recession in 2015 – guess who we need to blame?
We have to cut the programs that Obama has added in the past 6 months. Of course we have to raise taxes! We can’t go on printing money forever. We have already opened the doors for inflation in a big way. If we borrow much more, our national credit ration will drop and we will be begging for cash from anyone.
Lets talk about all of these programs when we have spending under control. Just because Bush spent a fortune, it doesn’t mean that’s OK for Obama to spend even more. We get chastised for running up credit card bills and home equity loans – but the federal government is doing exactly the same thing!

forgot to mention in my last posting that news outlets are reporting that after touching obama the lady is now cancer free!

American people to obama, get out of our lives you are messing up our country. That is right dems are only smart thieves not good people.

What’s the old saying about the government saying it’s here to help you?

WHEN ARE AMERICANS GOING TO WAKE UP TO THIS CHARADE CALLED TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
THE WHOLE EVENT IS STAGED AND THE QUESTIONS ARE SCREENED OR ARE WRITTEN AND PASSED OUT FOR THE PARTICIPANTS TO ASK. WHERE IS THE OPENESS AND TRANSPARENCY THAT OBAMA TALKED ABOUT THIS NOTHING MORE THAN A HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION WITH THE SCRIPT WRITTEN BEFORE HAND.

I am a bit skeptical of this “touching hug” with the cancer patient….it appears to be a very staged moment. President Obama is in campaign mode, 24-7. Enough with the town hall meetings, everyday press conferences and prime time specials.

I do not want the GOVERNMENT CONTROLLING AND RUNNING EVRY FACET OF MY LIFE. I AM A BIG GIRL AND CAN TAKE CARE OF MY OWN BUSINESS, DETERMINE WHERE CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD GO, AND BE A GOOD STEWARD OF THE EARTH. ALL THIS WITHOUT BIG BROTHER TELLING ME HOW, WHEN, WHERE.

All—-Regarding Debby Smith, the recipient of the hug: “Smith said after the town hall meeting that she had been invited to attend the session by the White House. But while the former accountant said she was working for Organizing for America — a pro-Obama group pushing healthcare overhaul — she had been advised she would probably not have the chance to ask a question,” The Boston Globe’s Susan Milligan reports. “The exchange with Smith was vividly reminiscent of many encounters then-candidate Bill Clinton had in 1992 on the campaign trail, when scores of patients told sad stories of being denied coverage or treatment for illnesses, despite having been once employed and insured.”
“The questions posed from social media networks were selected by White House staffers, and the three people he called on from the audience all were affiliated with advocacy groups that support Obama,” USA Today’s Susan Page reports.
“White House officials said that was a coincidence,” per The Washington Post’s Michael D. Shear and Jose Antonio Vargas.

There is much to like in the health plans floating around. However, the single payer system is a BAD IDEA.
Lets look at how the government treats our veterans in their federally operatined VA Hospital system. They deserve so much more, but our red tape entranced bureacracy seems unable to fix it.
The party and people in power now, will not always be in power. the Bush Adminstration reorganization of FEMA, placing a politcal hack/crony to run it, caused more devastation on top of that already wrough by Katrina.
As Americans, do we want our most personal care to be placed at the mercy of the Big Brother Burecracy and whose friedns, contributors, lobbyists are in power at the time. In 10 years when you need the care, there will be a very different team in Washington. It very well could be some of the same ex-Bushies running things again.
The Single Payer, Public Options plans are a bad idea and one that is not needed now or perhaps ever.

When Helen Thomas questions the info-commercial about the Pres. Obama health-care that only pre-screened questions and only from persons who support Pres. Obama can ask the questions, then finaly the media is catching on to the continuous commercial and doomsday predictions out of the White House.

The woman was a DNC volunteer. Now, my heart goes out to her, it really does. But when you’re talking about reorganizing 20% of the US economy and adding more government control over our health care decisions, I think we need to see how all this will be paid for and what devil is in the details.

We up america take control of you Health!

Why is it that she can work for Organizing for America but not as an accountant?
She gets food stamps and is obese.
Surely she has many other health issues related to her obesity. Obesity is one of the major drains on universal health care programs.
She also made the personal decision to not have surgery and remove her first tumor, and chose to have radiation because of her fathers health at the time.
She also says she can’t afford $100 to go to the doctor? Not to be an ass, but it sounds like there were some bad choices made a long the way.
I don’t understand how she can work for Obama, but not in a job that pays.

I did not see the “townhall” but many Americans spend 40 years treating their bodies like sewers and then the rest of their lives waddling around in pain. It’s so much more fun to run to the local mini-mart for a pack of smokes and some Twinkies than it is to send an HMO a check. We all pay for their bad choices.
My wife wants desperately to retire but she keeps working for the benefits. We all have tough choices to make. Responsible people make responsible choices. The majority of the rest rely on the government.

July 2 (Bloomberg) — “Employers in the U.S. cut 467,000 jobs in June, the unemployment rate rose and hourly earnings stagnated, offering little evidence the Obama administration’s stimulus package is shoring up the labor market.”
“Experts” are saying it’s not all bad news. They note that the rate of job losses is slowing. Well duh. companies are running out of employees to lay off!

President Obama is is shining with is inexperience and choices. He is a coward and every way including picking out his guests in the townhall meeting. He wants everyone to believe that anyone was invited. Speak up President Obama..stop being a coward and let the public ask questions; not the ones you chose. Why not a a television viewed debate regarding views of a healthcare reform…. and not have your office choice the people on the cons of your reform.

Is this Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro or Ahmadinejad in the photo? Oh, sorry. That’s BO. I was fooled by the staged conference and photo-op like dictators do.

The whole thing was staged, ala Dictatorship. The press was manipulated. Just ask the most liberal reporter ever, Helen Thomas. No president in U.S. history has tried to control the press the way B.O. is doing. I’m glad they are waking up to it. Why is there nothing on ABC news about the press conference where Helen said this very thing? Wake up America. This guy hates our way of life and wants us to be a socialist country.

“Lets look at how the government treats our veterans in their federally operatined VA Hospital system.”
What do you expect with a Republican run Congress that thinks of veteran’s care as just another entitlement.
“President Obama is drawing high praise from veterans’ service organizations for proposing a Department of Veterans Affairs budget that would exceed by $1.3 billion what even VSOs suggested be spent next year.
No president before ever offered a VA spending plan that surpassed in size the “Independent Budget” presented to Congress by major veterans groups. Obama seeks to fulfill several high-profile promises made to veterans during his presidential campaign including a big increase in VA healthcare budgets. “

Judging from the nature of comments made here, there is a lack of understanding and a wide measure of misinformation concerning what the Health Care plan is actually all about. It would be so much more helpful if comments were researched before submittal. If it is too much trouble to dig for more information before commenting on a subject, any “rebuttal” will be feeble and shallow. The specter of presumed “government” health care is NOT applicable. Obama has offered optional programs that individuals can select at their discretion or keep any existent health plan one is content with. I don’t think this is a “federal program” as much as it is being made to look by detractors.
The most disturbing thing about the ABC presentation was the short time span allocated to a complex and sensitive issue, and having frequent advertising interruptions!!

“President Obama is drawing high praise from veterans’ service organizations for proposing a Department of Veterans Affairs budget that would exceed by $1.3 billion what even VSOs suggested be spent next year. Posted by: Ryan C | Jul 2, 2009 1:50:42 PM
The Leftie pledge: No Government Job Left Behind

“Judging from the nature of comments made here, there is a lack of understanding and a wide measure of misinformation concerning what the Health Care plan is actually all about. It would be so much more helpful if comments were researched before submittal.”
Research?
Right wingers don’t do research.
They rely upon fear and ignorance.

“but then I’ve gotta go”
You should crawl back under your rock after throwing vets under the bus.
“President Obama is drawing high praise from veterans’ service organizations for proposing a Department of Veterans Affairs budget that would exceed by $1.3 billion what even VSOs suggested be spent next year”
Let’s see Veteran’s Service organizations make recommendations, Obama exceeds them.
Obama’s VA budget outline, with full details promised by late April, would raise VA spending to $112.8 billion in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. That’s an increase of $15 billion, or 15 percent, over the current budget.
“This is the largest dollar and percentage increase ever requested by a President for veterans,” Shinseki told lawmakers.
Right winger then whines about government expansion for the CARE of our VETERANS!

Nataline Sarkisyan was not denied treatment, she was denied a specific treatment.
That incident has been one of the most misleading and disgusting low points of the campaign for universal coverage. Her case was used by single-payer activists and John Edwards to illustrate the evilness of insurance company decision-making. At the time of the rallies, they didn’t even tell people poor Nataline was in a coma.
If anybody thinks under government health care, everybody with cancer and willing doctors will get all the organ transplants their family wants, they are kidding themselves.

“Doctors at the UCLA Medical Center actually signed a letter urging Cigna to review its decision. Nataline Sarkisyan was sedated into a coma to stabilize her as the family filed appeals in the case.”
Don’t repeat the right wing lies maybee.
They are beneath you.
=======
There was absolutely no lie in what I said, Ryan.
As long as someone besides the patient is paying for the care, doctors will never be given free reign to perform whatever procedures they want.
Not with private insurance plans, and not with government-provided insurance.

Your implication was that she was in a coma and therefore beyond help when in fact the coma had been induced to stabilize her while they appealed the insurance companies decision.
===========
She was on life support, Ryan. She died almost immediately after the rally.
CNA and the other activists did not tell this to the people they asked to protest.
I will add that not all accounts say her coma was medically induced, and her physicians do not discuss it.
That’s beside the point, though. She was gravely ill when her family’s request to have insurance pay for the transplant was denied. The doctors at UCLA opted not to go ahead and perform the surgery without money from the insurance company or the family.
This will happen whether there is government funded insurance or private insurance. If anybody is for government health care because they think things like this won’t happen, they must be disabused of that notion BEFORE such a program comes to pass.

You should crawl back under your rock after throwing vets under the bus.
Right winger then whines about government expansion for the CARE of our VETERANS!
Posted by: Ryan C | Jul 2, 2009 2:29:38 PM
That’s a boldfaced lie and you know it. Ignore my posts on this subject and tell lies about me if you wish. Having participated in this blog for a couple of weeks now, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. I can now add your name to the growing list of those I’ll be ignoring.

Actually, the sad Nataline Sarkisyan case can be used to illustrate two things:
1)The absolute failure of the single payer activists using her case to acknowledge the exact same situation will happen in a single payer system.
2)The reason the doctor at the ABC forum tried to get President Obama to vow he would abide by any best practices formulations the government would use to determine coverage. If the Sarkisyans were independently wealthy, they could have paid for any procedure they’d like (that the organ transplant board approved). They would not have had to worry about what CIGNA or the government insurance plan would cover.

Ryan C wrote: “She was a cancer patient denied a treatment in the United States.”
First of all, I find it deplorable that Nataline Sarkisyan was originally denied a liver transplant. Even more so due to the reason that CIGNA gave: Because her plan did not cover “experimental, investigational and unproven services.” What is experimental, investigational or unproven regarding liver transplants?
Now then as to your comment, yes Nataline was a cancer patient. But she was denied a liver transplant not cancer treatment. Her liver began to fail when complications set in following the bone-marrow transplant that she received from her brother.
Should the federal government ever become the sole provider of healthcare in America, healthcare WILL BE RATIONED in order to cut costs. And then at some point, a federal bureaucrat will likely become the decision maker as to whether a senior citizen or a severely handicapped infant be given treatment or just allowed to die. Or worse! Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands and Belgium, while other European countries are having a very heated debate on whether to legalize euthanasia. So don’t say it can’t happen here once the federal government has full control of our healthcare.

“So don’t say it can’t happen here once the federal government has full control of our healthcare.”
“Full” government controlled healthcare is not being proposed. No worries James.

ALSO, President Obama has already stated that there will be changes in the rules for offering insurance. These changes will drive up the prices that private insurers charge to even greater levels–making the federal government’s public option even more desireable.

“The debate over health care reform in the United States centers around questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, the quality achieved for the high sums spent, and the sustainability of expenditures that have been rising faster than the level of general inflation and the growth in the economy. The mixed public-private health care system in the United States is the most expensive in the world.”

Mike Shunney, you are so right. Of course health care is more expensive with private health care companies paying their CEO’s big bucks.
While Medicare only has a 3% overhead, private insurance averages 31% on their administrative costs and profit. Think about the billions of dollars that represents. That amount of money could go a long way to insuring more people.
A public health insurance option is the only way the private insurance companies will have true competition and thus be forced to lessen their expensive administrative costs and profits or lose a lot of customers.
We spend the most on health care but are ranked 37th in the world. We need real change on this issue.

If you want to take Robert Reich’s word for it, that private health insurance companies will just trim their profits and coexist with the public option go right ahead. The problem is that private health insurance companies are in business to make money. If they can’t make money–and lots of it–there is no incentive to stay in business.
The Left’s agenda is to control every aspect of our lives. And the leading roadblocks to that end are Corporate America, the Free Market/Capitalism and Individual Freedom. So the Left will do whatever it takes to destroy private enterprise. One step towards that end is to eliminate private healthcare insurers.

“So don’t say it can’t happen here once the federal government has full control of our healthcare.”
“Full” government controlled healthcare is not being proposed. No worries James.
Posted by: Paige | Jul 2, 2009 6:26:06 PM
And he doesn’t want to run a car company but he is. And he doesn’t want to run a healthcare company but he will. You are being duped and you don’t even realize it or you don’t want to. How do you think the term KoolAid drinker got started?
The good news is the sun keeps coming up and before we know it 2012 will be here and we’ll have 4 years of Obama to look back on and judge. No claiming ignorance, like he was just a guy in the neighborhood or he was my spiritual mentor but he never said those things when I was around. We will all get to see where the dust has settled. I’m looking forward to it actually.

Federal Health care
Cradle to grave, no worries
Others pay my bills

“How do you think the term KoolAid drinker got started?”
It refers to followers of Jim Jones which dates back to 1978.
He founded a Temple group, which became synonymous with group suicide after the November 1978 mass murder/suicide of over 900 people by poison in their community of Jonestown.
It’s probably in one of your history books from school.

Also in Canada many hospitals (run by the government) refuse to pay overtime to nurses as a cost cutting measure. Sound sensible? On the surface maybe, but let’s say you need surgery. The surgeon books your surgery for 3:30pm and tells the hospital the surgery will take approx. 3.5 hours. Unfortunately, earlier surgeries took longer than expected so the surgeon is unable to get to you until 4:00 pm. This means you surgery will not be complete until 7:30pm. The nurses shift is over at 7:00pm and because the hospital refuses to pay the nurses overtime that means yor sugery will not be completed by the time their shift is over. Therefore, your surgery is postponed and you have 2 or 3 sugerical nurses sitting around doing nothing for 3 hours instead of paying them to work an extra 30 minutes.
Welcome to the efficiency of government run health care.

“Actually I offer up that story because right wingers swear that denial of care will happen with government insurance under the guise that it doesn’t happen currently in our system.
Much like right wingers scream about wait times as if they don’t exist here.”
————————————
LOL, Ryan_c…your about as good at exaggerating as Biden!
I dont ever recall anyone EVER saying there were not waits in our system. Only someone as foolish and someone looking at all the problems we have with Obamaglasses would say what you say. With well over 300 million people in this country, why would anyone suggest there are not waits at times. At least TRY to be credible once in while with your lies.
The point is liberals like yourselves refuse to admit that in many countries where the govt runs healthcare, There are more and longer waits. People have put forth examples. Strange though you always doubt those who are critical of this idea when they releate their own stories, but you buy right into the idea that programs like those in other countries would work so well here.
I would love to see these commitees/studies/surveys from all parts of the political spectrum focusing more on understanding the how & why of our current costs instead of waving around overblown plans that have no details on how to get from the rhetoric to actual plan I can compare to my current one.

BTW – I spent last Friday visiting the mother of a close friend (from country with nationalized health care) who passed away from cancer three years. Where did he receive his care? Houston, TX (USA).
BTW2 – While some on this blog are quick to point to how sub-standard our healthcare system is relative to other “more advanced” countries with nationalized care, wanna guess where the overwhelming majority of medical advances and discoveries are realized? Hint: the country has 50 states (or, 57 according to its current president).

Obama is a lawyer, so I have to assume he is purposely using the words “health care” when he is really talking about health insurance. This is a deliberate attempt to mislead the people – health insurance does not provide health care. That’s one of the main problems.
Obama claims that we currently have a free-market system. He is either willfully ignorant or lying. Over 94% of health insurance markets are non-competitive. We do not have a free market system, we do not have choice in health insurance.
Obama claims that we can’t have a single payer system because it would be “disruptive”. ALL change is disruptive. The people voted for change, and now Obama is standing in the way of change.

tjp612,
Your facts are wrong.
Even if you look at medical advances in patents issued only in the US by the Patent and Trademark Office, the majority of them originate elsewhere. That doesn’t even count ones from Cuba, which has a cutting-edge biotech industry. Cuba produces enough medical innovation that it would almost rank in the top ten of DEVELOPED counties in medical advances. Of course, none of them would be available to you, except illegally, including their cure for the skin disease M. Jackson suffered from, and their cancer therapies.
In sum, there is no evidence to support your claim.

Paige,
I’m sure your intentions are good, but as you know the road to hell is paved with good intentions. A government option will most certainly subvert the free market system, creating an unequal playing field. If one company government option) can undercut the competition by charging artificially low prices and generate additional revenue from the federal budget to balance the books it won’t take long for the others to go out of business. I would say the nearest thing to a success story in the single payer world is with the Swiss. But even their system is burning out doctors and nurses and they’re losing talent at an unsustainable rate.
The most unnerving part of Obamacare is the very idea of some beaurocrat deciding who is worthy of care and who isn’t (see UK). It’s all part of the plan eventually. Don’t be so naive.

MEDICARE IS BELLY UP. SOCIAL SECURITY IS ALMOST BELLY UP. WE OWE BILLIONS TO CHINA WHICH WE CANNOT PAY. OBAMA HAS TOSSED BILLIONS ON WORTHLESS BAILOUT AND STIMULUS PROGRAMS WHICH OUR CHILDREN ALSO WILL HAVE TO PAY. AND NOW GOV SPONSORED HEALTH CARE? MAKES REAL SENSE?? IF THIS ALL GOES DOWN, WE COULD EASILY BECAME A NATION OF HUNTERS, TRAPPERS AND FISHERMEN – WITHOUT SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE OR ANYTHING ELSE.

“The most unnerving part of Obamacare is the very idea of some beaurocrat deciding who is worthy of care and who isn’t”
Are you actually serious? WHile it’s true most modern day insurance companies use computers to deny your coverage – sometimes they get “beaurocrats” involved when they really have to deny them. LMAO – and you call me naive.

While we spend the most money, except for the worlds best trauma care, The World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, ranked the US health care system 37th in overall performance and 72nd by overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study). Why we are so low is that we are the only nation that ignores wellness care! We have been brainwashed into thinking that toxic drugs can “heal” us. There is not one cure available today for any condition or disease using DRUGS. When will Americans wake up to see we must take personal responsibility. A Health Plan needs to include payments for preventative health care, for quality nutritional support and rewards for both Doctors and Patients who improve health and healing. This would give Americans an incentive to lower weight, eat better, get more exercise. Improving health will decrease costs.
Auto-Immune disease today is a major expence and often endless, repeated testing is done with out a diagnosis and yet large amounts of drugs with adverse side effects are given out in the PRACTICE of medicine.

This Pamala D Seay,wants Single Payer,The other Seay must work for the health care Inc.