The Bullshit Lies about Health Care Reform Have Got to Stop

It really disgusts me when I see what so-called conservative propaganda does to otherwise moral, compassionate human beings. The people who believe the propaganda are turned into raving lunatics who scream that the government needs to keep its hands out of their health care. Funny that these were many of the same people who screamed that the government needs to regulate abortions not so very long ago. They also don’t seem to grasp the concept that Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA are government-run programs.

Here are two quotes that I’d like you to read:

If this program passes, one of these years we will tell our children and our children’s children what it was like in American when men were free.

and…

One of the traditional methods of imposing statism, or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it.

Do these quotes sound familiar? Do they remind you of the rhetoric that the conservatives spew forth when talking about the current health care reform debate? Yes, they do sound like that, but they’re not. They are quotes of Ronald Reagan from about fifty years ago when the debate was about Medicare. Isn’t it terrible how the US quickly slid into the depths of socialism and fascism back then? Oh, wait; that didn’t happen, did it? The debate may change, but the tactics of the conservatives (with corporate interests foremost in their hearts) never do.

I’m disgusted by the sheer inhumanity of those who are screaming about things they honestly don’t understand. I’m talking about the immorality; the brutal disregard of the suffering of thousands of people in our own country, all in the name of a few talking points that the screamers can’t even explain, let alone back up with an argument. The saddest part of all is that the bulk of these people are Christian conservatives who claim the moral high ground in the first place. Hypocrites piss me the fuck off.

Hey, YOU! Yes, you with the “keep your hands off my health care” sign. Put the sign down, sit down, shut the fuck up, and open your mind for a few minutes. First: You’re being lied to by the people you’re supposed to be able to trust. Second: what you’re doing is inexcusable in the extreme. Third: If you don’t understand what the debate is really all about, you’d better do some fucking research.

What happens when you don’t have insurance in the US? What if you would like to get insurance, but the insurance companies refuse to sell it to you? Check out Stephanie’s post “The Face of Insurance Denial” where you’ll read a bit about Beatrix, the beautiful little girl in the video below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWCQh0ONSFo

If you think about Beatrix the way the insurance companies do, you’re a pathetic excuse for a human being. I keep telling people this, but many of them don’t seem to be able to grasp it: The insurance companies don’t give a shit about you! They are in the business for one reason, and one reason only: to make money. If you can’t be used to generate profit for them, they have no use for you.

There are a lot more stories out there about how health insurance, or lack thereof, affects our lives. Bethany, Beatrix’s mom, has “More on Health Care”, which she posted just yesterday.

Greg Laden told us yesterday, “I am one pissed off m@f$@#ker.” He had an encounter at the Minnesota State Fair with a couple who apparently thought it best for those who can’t afford health insurance to curl up and die in a corner somewhere. Of course, the couple really didn’t understand anything about the issue. They only memorized the word “socialism”, and know to equate that word with bad things. Greg also lets us know that “If You Get Sick, It’s Your Own Fault”. That’s right; all us people who get sick need to suck it up, and if we can’t afford to pay for health care, then curl up somewhere and die. that’s what all you conservatives are telling us, isn’t it?

Mike Haubrich reminds us that the greed of the health insurance companies is not the only thing driving up the cost of health care in this country, with his article “Would Tort Reform Fix the Problem of Health Care Costs?”. Medical malpractice insurance costs are astronomical. If you want to know why there are so many physicians associated with big clinics, but few who are actually independent practitioners, this is one of the reasons.

On Sunday, PalMD gave us all a little insight into what the conservatives would apparently like to see health care in the US become. They’re all for the free market and capitalism to keep things running smoothly, right? Check out “China—a (medical) capitalist paradise” to get a glimpse of what the conservatives (and libertarians too, it seems) are really working toward when it comes to your health, whether they know and acknowledge it or not. PalMD also has other posts about health care reform, in which he debunks lies that the astroturfers are spreading, and talks about things no one else seems to want to talk about.

Zuska is often a bitter pill to swallow. I admit that I’m not often fond of her posts, but when she’s absolutely right, I feel compelled to tell the world that Zuska is absolutely fucking right! She talks about covered benefits that aren’t. She asks the question, “Who Needs Health Insurance When You Can Sponsor A Car Wash?!?!” when a young woman who was shot by some sick fuck at a health club had to have her medical bills paid by funds raised at a car wash by friends and family because she didn’t have insurance. She lets us know that “The Young and Healthy Don’t Need to Waste Their Money On Health Insurance!!!!” She even lets us know about her Car Wash article being picked up by Change.org, providing still more insight into the issue. With each article, she’s hitting the nail on the fucking head.

Not quite two weeks ago, Roger Ebert posted an excellent entry in his own journal, entitled “I’m safe on board. Pull up the life rope”. In his post, Roger explains that yes, it is socialized medicine, and that yes, it is socialism, and that no, those words are not anathema to life in these United States.

In essence, I’d like for those who think health care doesn’t need reforming to pull their heads out of their collective asses for at least a few minutes so they can get enough oxygen to their brains. Now use a few of those brain cells to actually think about the issue. Don’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh spew off about how evil President Obama is, and how the administration wants to kill off the elderly with their “death panels”. That’s bullshit, and I, for one, have seen and smelled enough of it.

14 comments

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  1. Thank you, Dan.

  2. Wow! What a heck of a Health Coverage Carnival! Great links, and thanks, Dan.

    • Terry on 2009/09/17 at 23:32
    • Reply

    I am so sorry to see that you cannot even see the truth. You sir, are as blind as a bat

  3. The only entities that benefit from not having healthcare reform are insurance companies. They make money from patients (who aren’t denied coverage) and doctors and have nothing to do with the actual practice of healthcare. Universal healthcare is important. This is a moral issue and should be removed from the realm of economics.

    • Kyle on 2009/10/15 at 00:42
    • Reply

    Haha I find your last reply about compassion ironic compared to your reply to Terry.

    1. Please enlighten me, then as to what the fuck Terry’s reply had to add to the conversation, and what relevance my reply had to compassion or a lack thereof?

    • Kyle on 2009/10/15 at 00:43
    • Reply

    Oh and by the way I found your site by typing “malpractice insurance bullshit” into google haha

    1. By the way, you can find all kinds of shit on Google by typing in all kinds of words. Did you know that? What was your fucking point?

      And Kyle: If you want to be sort of “anonymous”, you don’t have to put in a URL for a web site. The fake AOL address is fine, but you can leave it at that.

      And to think that you’re a fucking college student here in town. I thought UIUC students were a little brighter than that. Then again; who the fuck am I trying to kid? Most of the students I see on campus don’t even know how to cross the fucking street.

    • mike on 2009/10/23 at 15:49
    • Reply

    Thanks Dan I just 2 min. ago, found this sight Thanks its great!!!!!!!!!

    • John M. T. on 2009/12/12 at 23:12
    • Reply

    Thanks Dan. It could not be explained any better. The rage is long over due and not expressed enough. It has been long proven that these people have no interest oin working together for the betterment of the people. Their hatred of the ‘liberal agenda’ is far stronger than wanting to “insure domestic tranquility” or “promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.” The obstructionists have had the floor for too long. Every day they delay progress it means the unecessary suffering or death for someone. Sadly, I fear, something drastic like another ‘civil war’ might be needed to shut their BS machine down. (Republicans need not reply to this. I don’t have the stomach for it.)

    • Dan Leaman on 2009/12/12 at 23:39
    • Reply

    I work at a large VA hospital in Indianapolis. We offer simple healthcare to eligible veterans who are often poor and cannot afford insurance. We don’t have have all the fancy things that other Indianapolis hospitals have such as leather bound menus, Playstations in every room, wireless internet, big fountains in the lobby, or concierge services. Someone will have to explain to me what that has to do with healthcare. One of the things we do have is a Homeless Outreach Team that tries to help those veterans who are sleeping on the steam grates downtown.

    1. Champaign-Urbana is a pretty small community compared to Indianapolis, but I see very similar things going on here. One of the local hospitals, set up as a non-profit operation, has spent untold millions in the last few years building new complexes with huge, impressive entrances that have massive staircases just inside, etc. What about the health care? Where is all this money coming from, and where is the rest of it going?

      Why are we, the people of the United States, spending a much higher percentage of our income on health care than people in any other industrialized nation? That money is going somewhere, folks, and I can tell you that it isn’t going in to my pocket. Follow where it is going, and you’ll find out where the biggest problem in health care resides.

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