He signed the bill, folks. Now get the f*ck over it.
The best part about writing for this blog is that I have the freedom (within reasonable limits) to say whatever the hell I want, and since nobody on the opposing side of the bill seems to have any compunction about not trying to fear-monger those in favor, I am just going to say whatever comes to mind right now.
Let’s start with the facebook page “I bet we can find 1,000,000+ people who disapprove of the healthcare bill,” which – as of this writing – is just over 744,000. First, given that the population of the United States is nearly 400,000,000, your ability to find a million people who disapprove is akin to my trying to scrape together 75 cents towards the cost of a 400 dollar television set. In the numbers game, it is a completely insignificant amount that would have no noticeable impact on the overall national sentiment towards healthcare reform. Second, where were those people when we voted back in 2008? We voted IN FAVOR back then, and we are still IN FAVOR of healthcare for the millions of Americans who aren’t able to afford it in the current healthcare structure.
I have paid my share of costly private insurance premiums, and I have also been on medicaid. Guess which insurance company took better care of me? If you can’t guess, or refuse to entertain the thought, it was MEDICAID. Yes, that’s right, my “po’folks” insurance took far better care of me than Blue Cross/Blue Shield to whom I paid thousands of dollars within the duration of my coverage, and who made me write an appeal letter every time someone got sick – including for my husband’s emergency appendectomy. In short, I had to beg the very insurance company which received my premiums to cover my family’s illnesses.
Now, I get that the entire Republican population feels exactly ZERO obligation to pick up the tab for the rest of the lowlife, lazy, scum in America who don’t make 100+ grand a year, but that is just too Goddamned bad. With greater blessing comes greater responsibility. If you are one of those anti-healthcare Republicans, don’t for one second fool yourself into believing that you work ANY harder than someone who only makes minimum wage and can’t afford insurance. You make more money, you fell into deep clover, you married well, or you received some sort of inheritance, and none of those things make you any more deserving of the very basic necessity of healthcare. If you believe that, then woe is you. When you lose your job and your savings and become sick as a f*cking dog, you can thank a democrat for making sure you don’t DIE while trying to get back on your feet.
As for all the random and barely coherent ramblings I have been reading about Nazis and Hitler and Fascism and Communism and every-other-kind-of -political-ism that ever existed. Oh, I forgot Socialism…Jesus, how could I forget THAT one…please, I implore you, shut the f*ck up and find something better to do. We VOTED for this. We asked for this and received it because the MAJORITY of us WANTED IT. The ONLY reason the Republicans managed any kind of foothold is because Ted Kennedy died…that’s it. Even with the scales tipped in your favor, the healthcare bill still got signed.
The most beautiful part is that, if it ends up sucking, we can vote AGAINST it in another election. Did you forget that? Healthcare reform is not going to strip us of our right to vote again, or change our vote later. The political structure of our country is NOT changing. We are still “the people.” You just aren’t hearing from the ones who need the healthcare the most because they are not fortunate enough to be able to kick back with their laptops and wax political on any of a number of social networking sites, while sipping their chai latte. It’s a banner f*cking month for those people if they have light or heat or hot water.
So, stew and fret all you like, it’s a done deal. At the end of the day, the rich folks will still be rich, but at least the poor-to-middle class won’t have to die of cancer because their healthcare company dropped them for neglecting to disclose a gallbladder attack from 1987. I mean, a pre-existing condition is a pre-existing condition, after all.
So, for the time being, we are going to give this a go. You certainly don’t have to like it, but you do have to deal with it, and I – for one – don’t want to hear any more of this Goddamned whining. It’s our turn, so get into the backseat and let us drive for a while.
You hit that one out of the park Katie. I am very tired of the wost-case scenario fear mongering and the elitist whining coming from the right from people who are one downsize, car accident, family death or devastating illness away from the exact same position. The unemployment rate isn’t just under 20% because our citizens are lazy. It is difficult for even the hardest working to find another job once the rug is pulled out from under them. If the average time it takes for a laid of worker to find new employment is between four to six months then I guess they just have to pray they don’t get sick or nothing bad happens in that time. It isn’t as if it is just a liberal problem. And seriously, is it so fucking bad to help out your fellow man once in awhile?
Thank you, Patrick. And let’s not forget that part of the reason that we have the unemployment rate that we do is that those at the top of the money pile chose to take jobs from Americans and outsource them to countries where the “same work” (read: barely intelligable script reading as opposed to coherent customer service) is available for pennies on the dollar. Something’s got to give.
All these people bitching because there are so many people living off of the system (AHCCCS, “Nutrition Assistance…) This bill is going to help those same people get off of “access” and get jobs and real health insurance…but no, the Republicans don’t want THAT either…I don’t think they know what the fuck they want…anything as long as nobody touches their precious money…well wake up people – you can’t take it with you so you might as well put it to good use and help out your fellow AMERICANS.
the few things this bill has accomplishe are:
Increase in premiums
increase in waiting time for healthcare
increase in taxes for the middle class
increase in unemployment
increase in the political divide
decrease in quality of care
decrease in the amount of doctors
decrease in democrats in the House and Senate
Well, increase in political divide, for SURE. Here’s another point: I don’t think any democrat will say this is medical utopia, but it’s SOMETHING. A starting point. An acknowledgement that there is a need, and an attempt to meet that need. The rest of it remains to be seen. We don’t KNOW that there will be any decrease in care or increase in waiting time. If a doctor is going to bail because of this bill, then he isn’t a doctor for the right reasons, and I am willing to wait for someone who WANTS to help me get well.
I also don’t think that anyone has considered this point: Let me just be the devil’s advocate for one second and say that this is going to just be a big, fat, loser waste of money, time, and resources (which, I obviously don’t believe, but for the sake of argument)…doesn’t the tiny margin of difference between the “Fors” and the “Againsts” provide at least a tiny measure of comfort knowing that there is a built in system of checks and balances? I mean, we DID vote for this with a majority of votes, so there is nothing unconstitutional about it, and I believe those opposed are so for strictly financial reasons, but at least we still have the power to vote. None of this “Chicken Little” foolishness.
Before I begin, I would like to state clearly that I am not, nor have I ever considered myself to be, Republican.
With that said, I would like to say that your type of far left ranting and raving is no better than the fear mongering that comes from the right. We are all allowing ourselves to be lead into division by two parties of politicians that care nothing for the people they represent. We’ll never come together on anything because the majority of people can’t think for themselves and insist on organizing themselves into groups that hate one another.
My argument against far right conservatism is best left for another day because it isn’t relevant here. But I’ll try and relate my argument against your brand of far left liberal thinking. And I hope that you will read it and understand that I am not trying to upset you or start an argument.
The biggest problem that I have with your points above (and those of the people who commented in agreement) is the idea that the government should be allowed (even empowered) to forcibly take from someone else to help another. You and the folks who have commented above have made it clear that if people need help, then others should be forced to help them. This is the simplest interpretation of your argument, but yet you dislike when people relate it to Socialism or Communism or Fascism. I don’t think people are trying to be insulting by invoking those terms. As a student of history, it’s hard for me to understand how people can have such short memories. Do you think that our government is above becoming what others who have gone down this path have become?
Patrick says, “And seriously, is it so fucking bad to help out your fellow man once in awhile?”
Mikal says, “I don’t think they know what the fuck they want…anything as long as nobody touches their precious money…well wake up people – you can’t take it with you so you might as well put it to good use and help out your fellow AMERICANS.”
Don’t you think that charity and good will should be allowed to come from free will? How far do you want to take this line of thought? And Mikal, exactly what good comes of the types of social welfare that you described above? How have these programs helped people (entire cultures even) in the long run? By making them slaves of the system that has taught them nothing but how to put out their hand?
I am not rich. Far from it. In fact, my wife is out of a job. Times are tough. But we push through. Things could be worse, and I know that. I do want health care reform. I do think things could be cheaper. I don’t think things are perfect. I do think that greedy corporations have hurt this nation, and continue to do so. But I don’t think that your brand of health care is any better. I say one more time in case I haven’t been clear. The thing that I (and MANY other Americans) dislike the most about this type of thought is that the GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO FORCIBLY TAKE FROM ONE PERSON AND GIVE TO ANOTHER. And please don’t deny that you have implied if not outright said that this is what you think should happen. Because one person seems better off than another, they should be forced to give of what they have earned to someone less fortunate. What is that, if not Socialism?
Finally, I would caution you (and others who have commented above) against your quickness to curses and insults. It only damages the arguments for charity and good will that you are so quick to accuse others of lacking.
I would also like to state that you ARE allowed to speak freely, and that is a good thing. But while I am allowed to still choose in this country, I am exerting that free will by canceling my subscription to your blog. I found some things funny and worth visiting for. But I can’t support the types of arguments made above.
I hope something that I’ve said here will make some kind of sense to you and others. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll think about how aligning yourself with one of the two parties in power only serves to divide us as a nation even further.
Good night and good luck to you.
Kris,
I appreciate your viewpoint and your even tone with your response, but the argument about “forcibly taking” is one that can be applied to Social Security, as well…how about Medicare? These are things that are deducted from my paycheck but may not be available to me at such time when I am eligible to receive them. Is that not the same thing?
I do not apologize for the tone I take and the words I use. I have been on the receiving end of that same tone a number of times because I have the opinions that I have. If it has offended you in the crossfire, don’t take it personally.
Everyone wants to say “forcibly take.” I am not forcibly taking anything from anyone. Healthcare should not be considered a privilege, nor should it only be made available to the privileged. At no point did I say, nor has anyone said that this is a perfect solution. It IS a start. It’s a foundation.
If you have not already disowned this blog, exactly what is being taken and by whom?
If you have unsubscribed and are no longer willing to read my response, then…BYE!
I did unsubscribe, but I came back for your response. Your point on SS and Medicare is one that is well made. And I assure you that I think that SS is a Ponzi scheme that will collapse before I am eligible to receive any of the money that I have donated to that ill-conceived plan. But I also think things like the Post Office and the War on Drugs are totally wasteful uses of tax payer money and should be abandoned as soon as humanly possible. I think that the Fed is unlawful and that the IRS is a sham and a drain on the American people.
Bureaucracy and more bureaucracy kills nations. It is a historical fact that everyone in the here-and-now always thinks they are exempt from. We are allowing lazy, stupid, fat politicians to bring this country to its knees, and I don’t see anything being done about it. Instead we bicker and fight amongst one another while they steal our inheritance and laugh in their ivory towers.
You can dismiss outright the “taken forcibly” notion. That’s your right. But honestly, what exactly are you trying to suggest with this statement, “Now, I get that the entire Republican population feels exactly ZERO obligation to pick up the tab for the rest of the lowlife, lazy, scum in America who don’t make 100+ grand a year, but that is just too Goddamned bad”?
Pick up the tab? Not all rich people became rich by virtue of birth and inheritance. People come to this country to BECOME rich. And if you believe that there isn’t a significant portion of American society who are a drain on the rest of us because of their poor choices in life, come to any Austin street corner and bare witness to some folks that have been begging for money for a decade. What about the countless single women that have child after child on the taxpayer’s dime because neither they nor the irresponsible men they choose to be with will use a condom? What about the people that I see in line at the grocery store who buy bags full of junk food and sodas on food stamps? Do you think they’ll have health problems that are passed on to you and me because they made poor choices?
I GREW UP POOR. I educated myself, raised a child that I made when I was still in high school, and I have managed to make something of my life. I haven’t always made the best choices, and those have landed me in some hot spots. But I at least tried to learn my lesson. Have I had it better than some of the people in this country? Of course! I am lucky and have much to be thankful for. But I also own up to my decisions. I take credit for the good and thank God for it as well. But I also accept responsibility for my failures and recognize that I have myself to blame for them. Not my parents or my employer.
And quite honestly, this post makes me sound so much colder than I really am. I am much better at preaching this stuff than I am at living it. I have taken food to homeless people. I have volunteered for Blue Santa. I believe in taking care of people less fortunate than I am. But I DO NOT believe in legislating that. And I don’t believe in legislating charity. And I suppose this is the crux of my argument. When the government gets involved, it is no longer charity and it is no longer in our hands.
I agree that health care needs to be reformed. As I said above. I think my biggest problem with all of this and all social programs that liberals love is the entitlement air they put on. We have two right while we exist in this plane; to be born and to die. Everything else is artificial.
One more thing about what you said in the initial article and then I’ll shut up and leave you alone. You said that we all voted for this because this is what we wanted. I do not agree. We, as a majority, voted for a man who got elected on a fantasy. Hope and change. Obama is a politician like any other. He isn’t Buddha or Jesus, and he isn’t the answer to all of our problems. I don’t hate the man or think that he is any better or worse than Bush, Clinton or Nixon. He simply is a politician. And that’s bad enough in and of itself. As far as the health care bill goes, our elected officials voted for that bill. That’s why it is called a representative democracy. So to say we voted for it as citizens is misleading. I don’t feel like the democrats nor the republicans have our best interests in mind, and I think they vote however they feel will best help them get elected again. Period.
Nice fencing with you. I don’t for a second think that you are an evil or bad person because you’re liberal. I just can’t come on board with the basic views you have on other people’s money.
Adieu.
Kris,
I am sorry you aren’t coming back. Your response is, frankly, the least argumentative that I have heard. I find that when one thinks strongly in one direction, there are a lot of tomatoes thrown by the other side who are as equally opposed. If everyone could state their thoughts as you have, we might not be engaged in this healthcare pissing contest. I will be the first to admit that my tone is a direct reaction to shots I’ve taken from the far right side.
I find your last response refreshing, and although we may not agree on everything, I bet if we sat down in Starbucks and chatted, we’d have more that we agreed on than disagreed.
I hope you come back, even if it’s just to read the non-political stuff.
Peace out.
Quid pro quo, Katie. Click my name and you can chat at me all you want in the comments section of my blog posts. It’s not Starbucks, but their coffee is shit anyway.
Thanks for the polite reply. It’s hard for us as people to be passionate AND level headed at the same time. But we also are a side taking species. We MUST take sides at any cost. If there is an issue, we must find what side we are on. What we need to do is identify the common enemy (power mongering politicians who are really just highfalutin wards of the state) and turn our anger and passion on them. Kinda like how the world came together in Independence Day against the alien invaders.
We will never stop the types of people who drift towards political positions from mucking up the works until we set term limits. And even then, it should be the people’s ongoing goal to constantly review how best to make public offices the least glamorous, least paid, least appreciated positions so that only those who wish to SERVE will run for them. That is the most basic virtue of public office. TO SERVE the people’s best interest. Not to get fat on our hard work and sweat. Public office should come with a salary that would allow those passionate about affecting real change in this country to be elected to those offices, and provide an adequate living for their families. Perhaps something on par with the pay of police, fire fighters, and military personnel. After they have served out their limited term, they MOVE ON TO A REAL JOB. Term limits, in my mind, would stop the greedy, and power hungry types from running for these offices, and they would also dampen the affect that lobbyists have on the ones that enter office with good intentions. How hard is it to imagine even the good- intentioned souring after so many years working within a corrupt system where the whole process of getting elected and remaining in office is based around the idea of how much money you can squeeze out of special interest groups? I dare any of us to try to resist that temptation. The difference between me and them? I don’t run for office because I KNOW that I’m not above the temptation. Let the pure of heart run for those offices and do the good that this world NEEDS so badly.
I also think that politicians should no longer be able to advertise on TV. It costs too much and is a wasteful way for good money to be spent. That may sound like a liberal notion, and perhaps it is. Those millions of dollars could be donated to causes that would do actual good with them, rather than them floating away on useless celluloid and empty promises. This would have another side effect, though. It would force politicians to run for office the old way; by engaging the people in their local districts. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but maybe we would get more involved with the people we are supposed to be electing if we thought we had a more direct connection with them. But probably not. We are all so wrapped up in Dancing With the Stars and Sandra Bullocks dissolving marriage to be aware of anything so silly as our rights!
Jesus. Every time I think I am going to come back and just read your reply I wind up throwing up all over the page.
Peace out to you as well, Katie. Perhaps we’ve turned an argument into a friendship?
Kris,
I am so glad you didn’t mention American Idol or Glee, because then I would have had to sheepishly slink away from the discussion…
I think you make many, many valid points, and you are absolutely right that we are a “side choosing” society. I KNOW that a lot of what I say is fueled by personal shots taken at me by people who are just nasty and spiteful, ANYWAY, so I really use this blog as a tool to release that frustration.
In fact, I fear that all the political discussion has totally given me writer’s block. It’s like mental cheese – it completely stops up the works. I need to find my “funny.” I am missing it terribly.
Quick! Gimme a topic to blog about!! (also, this blog isn’t sending me responses to my email, which is weird, so I don’t even know that I am getting them…)