Interviews with Palin

[bush_cheney2004]

No, they don't get more. Clearly that's been shown. Furthermore, there are millions who get nothing and you can repeat your false claims from now until eternity and it won't change the reality.

Let's just call out your chronic bullshit for what it is...any fool knows that Americans (and Canadians) with the means to pay can/will get more sevices and they will be delivered faster. Spare me from your socialist agenda concerning "millions of people" getting nothing...there is always somebody to bring the average down!

Health care is not a right....not even in Canada.

Edited September 17, 2008 by bush_cheney2004

[Guest American Woman]

Let's just call out your chronic bullshit for what it is...

My "bullshit" is the truth, and that's why you keep trying to change the subject and/or downplay it-- because it pisses you off to have the truth out there.

[bush_cheney2004]

My "bullshit" is the truth, and that's why you keep trying to change the subject and/or downplay it-- because it pisses you off to have the truth out there.

No..your "bullshit" is the same as anybody elses...you're not special. Americans have a varied experience with health care that doesn't fit your false vanilla reality. That's why people with cash (from around the world) fly in on a regular basis. Paying customers get more...a lot more..and there is nothing you can do about it.

Edited September 17, 2008 by bush_cheney2004

[WIP]

I haven't been here for a few days but I see Gov. Palin is still a hot topic.

Thanks to you Liberals she is still in the spotlight. Barack must be beside himself thinking, "I am running for President not Sarah Palin! Talk about me - not her! Hey! I'm over here!"

There are so many reasons to make Sarah Palin a hot topic, where do you start?

If a McCain/Palin ticket wins, the odds are that, considering McCain's age and cancer history, Sarah Palin will become the most unqualified candidate to become POTUS -- since George W. Bush. And McCain isn't exactly a genius either! During one of the Republican debates, he confessed that he is more well versed in foreign affairs and military matters, than he is on economics. With what's happening now to the U.S. economy, I'm sure he wishes now that he stuck to his script and wasn't in a confessional mode of thought.

Is the average American's aversion to intellectuals that extreme that they want people who are no more intelligent and better educated than they are to serve as president? I'd rather have an elitist who was smart enough to become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, than to have a guy who still can't figure out the difference between Sunnis and Shiites; and a woman who thinks that her state's proximity to Russia makes her a foreign policy expert!

[WIP]

How much does a family pay in America for private health care insurance?

And what about those American families who have no private health insurance?

I used to think I was a conservative; but the kind of conservatism you and others here advocate would be a return to having people dying in the streets! I know how bureaucratic and costly our healthcare system is, and the waiting lists keep getting longer year after year, regardless of who's in government; but I still want some minimal safety net that guarantees a basic level of healthcare to everyone ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, than to go to an American system where the only people guaranteed government health insurance are veterans, politicians, and retirees!

[PoliticalCitizen]

No..your "bullshit" is the same as anybody elses...you're not special. Americans have a varied experience with health care that doesn't fit your false vanilla reality. That's why people with cash (from around the world) fly in on a regular basis. Paying customers get more...a lot more..and there is nothing you can do about it.

Face it, BC: the average American is getting less health care of worse quality than the average Cuban

[bush_cheney2004]

...Is the average American's aversion to intellectuals that extreme that they want people who are no more intelligent and better educated than they are to serve as president? I'd rather have an elitist who was smart enough to become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, than to have a guy who still can't figure out the difference between Sunnis and Shiites; and a woman who thinks that her state's proximity to Russia makes her a foreign policy expert!

But you are not an average American....hell...you're not an American at all, right? The more you try to tell Americans who they should or should not vote for, the more your worst (self constituted) "fears" will be realized.

And if you have to be racist about it, please be aware that Barack Obama is not "black".

[Guest American Woman]

No..your "bullshit" is the same as anybody elses...you're not special. Americans have a varied experience with health care that doesn't fit your false vanilla reality. That's why people with cash (from around the world) fly in on a regular basis. Paying customers get more...a lot more..and there is nothing you can do about it.

Never said I was special, unless knowing facts qualifies me as such. Of course Americans have had a varied experience with health care, and no one here has said any differently. That doesn't change the facts; the facts that I stated and sourced. Obviously customers who have full benefits or pay out of pocket get more, Einstein. No one here has refuted that. The issue under discussion is the millions who don't have health insurance, and the millions more who are under-insured, and the fact that we pay more in health care costs for less. And by "we" I mean the taxpayers and our government. That's why Americans fly around the world for better/cheaper health care on a regular basis.

[bush_cheney2004]

Face it, BC: the average American is getting less health care of worse quality than the average Cuban

Right...which exlains why the Cubans drown trying to get to Florida.

[PoliticalCitizen]

Is the average American's aversion to intellectuals that extreme that they want people who are no more intelligent and better educated than they are to serve as president?

I think you struck gold, WIP

[bush_cheney2004]

....but I still want some minimal safety net that guarantees a basic level of healthcare to everyone ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, than to go to an American system where the only people guaranteed government health insurance are veterans, politicians, and retirees!

You forgot the disabled, children of income qualified families, the mentally ill, incarcerated felons, pregnant women, and abortions.

[Oleg Bach]

You forgot the disabled, children of income qualified families, the mentally ill, incarcerated felons, pregnant women, and abortions.

That false humanitaianism really irks me "especially children" - It reminds me of that stupid bumper sticker that new parents put on the car BABY ON BOARD - as if others are going to care for you because you have a child - as if babies are not to be hunted but adults are ready and legal for the slaughter. Health care - is for all - another bit of irkage is the term "child poverty" what a bunch of Orwellian nonsense - it is adult poverty that creates child poverty - as if the kids have no parents and they live under a damned bridge..? A SOCIETY IS JUDGES IN IT'S GREATNESS ON HOW WELL THEY TAKE CARE OF THEIR WEAKEST MEMBERS - AND WE WILL ALL BE WEAK IN TIME..AND IN NEED OF CARE.

[WIP]

But you are not an average American....hell...you're not an American at all, right? The more you try to tell Americans who they should or should not vote for, the more your worst (self constituted) "fears" will be realized.

And if you have to be racist about it, please be aware that Barack Obama is not "black".

After being away for a couple of days, I noticed that your posts have gone from being merely argumentative to being vindictive and insulting. Maybe cognitive dissonance is starting to set in now that trying to justify all the Neocon bullshit is becoming as difficult as arguing in favour of a flat earth!

I don't expect you to remember my family history, but for the record, I've mentioned previously that I used to have dual citizenship when I was young, and have family living in Michigan and elsewhere -- that aside, many Canadians take an active interest in what goes on south of the border, since good times or bad times determine what happens to the economy in Canada (especially here in Ontario) and since this forum has subforums dedicated to U.S. issues, we're going to be commenting about what goes on in the U.S. whether you like it or not! And for that matter, why the hell are you on a Canadian forum in the first place? YOu have nothing good to say about this country or Canadians, and have nothing constructive to offer, so why bother?

Now, I also can't help but notice that your rant did not address my main objection to the political philosophy of anti-intellectualism that pervades the religious right and the Republican Party. It doesn't matter whether you believe in more government or less government control of the economy; if you hire idiots like McCAin/Palin to run the Whitehouse, they are going to be totally dependent on discredited Neocon financial gurus like Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina! That's all America needs right now to go right down the crapper -- another dimbulb in the Whitehouse who depends on advisers to run the country!

[WIP]

You forgot the disabled, children of income qualified families, the mentally ill, incarcerated felons, pregnant women, and abortions.

And how many people fall through the cracks of the present system? Otherwise, I don't think health care would be an issue in this election! And abortion coverage could certainly be challenged on the basis of the states that refuse to extend medicare coverage for abortions. ONe of the scandals that dogged Mike Huckabee when he was being taken seriously for a brief moment in the Republican primaries, was that ten years ago, he refused to allow medicare coverage for a 15 year old girl who was impregnated by her father! If abortions in case of incest aren't covered in most of these Bible Belt states, how many others are going to qualify for funding?

[JerrySeinfeld]

All I can say is I love watching the left squirm when identity politics is used against THEM for a change.

Booo hooo! They called me a sexist!!!

Are the republicans unfairlu shutting down debate by claiming to be "offended" by "sexist" comments? Probably.

But heck, 3 decades of liberals doing it to the republicans warrants at least one or two jabs in the opposite dircetion.

MWAAAA!

[Liam]

Good thoughts, and thank you for not expressing confidence in McCain's certain death as some on the left have been doing. Her experience is light, but she seems like a quick study, one interview notwithstanding. There have been much worse choices for VP. She's been running an 18 billion budget in Alaska, Bill Clinton ran a 2 billion budget as governor.

Your initial description of Palin could very accurately describe Obama word for word. The only difference being one is running for president. She is not a perfect choice but kind of a maverick one, with risks and rewards possible. Time will tell, but as long as the MSM tries to simply smear her, little information of any value will come out.

I think your response identifies the point at which our opinions diverge.

I do not disagree that Obama is perhaps the least "experienced" person the Dems have nominated, certainly in chronological terms, but I think any attempt to compare Palin's kind of experience and Obama's is a false comparison. I honestly don't think you can point to two individuals, even with identical terms of service, and say that they are equally experienced. I don't think you can even point to someone who has been in a job for 20 years and say he's more experienced than someone who's been there for 10. One could have been killing time while the other was absorbing detail, nuance, developing ideas, etc.

I'm not saying Palin was killing time, but I think in the rough and tumble world of Chicago and Illinois politics and then a few years in the Senate and on Senate committees followed up with a masterful race against the biggest brand name in US politics, Obama has a much higher experience level. In addition, he has been exposed to politics and policy on a much broader spectrum and has shown not only a greater mastery of them but an infintely greater interest in them. She has not. (She only knew about the surge by hearing about it on the news and when asked her opinion, she offered an opinion directly opposite that of McCain's.) His experience level (and certainly the quality of his experience in those areas) is greater than hers by leaps and bounds. You can't even compare the two.

(As an aside, let's face it, Alaska is a podunk state and she was governor for 18 months when selected. Her greatest accomplishment was "standing up to the old boys' network" and taking credit for a gas pipeline that was largely in the bag of voter support by the time she was sworn in. And, contrary to her campaign trail "claims" (euphemism for "lies") that her work on the pipeline is making America more energy independent, the pipeline has not even been submitted to the federal government for environmental approval yet. Yes, her biggest accomplishment hasn't even entered the application phase.)

I would submit, and again this is purely my opinion, that Obama's experiences have shown that he has developed a greater depth of certain qualities needed in leaders and that he has honed greater skills that make him the better choice. Miles ahead of Palin. And nothing I've said about the relative experience levels of Obama and Palin diminishes my criticism of McCain's terrible and reckless lack of judgment.

Edited September 17, 2008 by Liam

[Black Dog]

All I can say is I love watching the left squirm when identity politics is used against THEM for a change.

Booo hooo! They called me a sexist!!!

Are the republicans unfairlu shutting down debate by claiming to be "offended" by "sexist" comments? Probably.

But heck, 3 decades of liberals doing it to the republicans warrants at least one or two jabs in the opposite dircetion.

MWAAAA!

The idea that right wingers are traditionally adverse to identity politics is as mythical as their aversion to big government. Hate to break it to y'all, but anytime one of you trundles out the "average American" trope (you know, the one about real Americans who drive trucks and shoot guns versus those Mac-using, latte-drinking coastal elites), you are engaging in crass identity politics.

[Liam]

The idea that right wingers are traditionally adverse to identity politics is as mythical as their aversion to big government. Hate to break it to y'all, but anytime one of you trundles out the "average American" trope (you know, the one about real Americans who drive trucks and shoot guns versus those Mac-using, latte-drinking coastal elites), you are engaging in crass identity politics.

And anyone who runs on "Christian values" is similarly engaging in identity politics. The GOP's been doing it for decades.

[JerrySeinfeld]

The idea that right wingers are traditionally adverse to identity politics is as mythical as their aversion to big government. Hate to break it to y'all, but anytime one of you trundles out the "average American" trope (you know, the one about real Americans who drive trucks and shoot guns versus those Mac-using, latte-drinking coastal elites), you are engaging in crass identity politics.

Nice try.

Now for a dose of reality:

The NDP's position is to ultimately have an equal make up of men and women in the house of commons.

How's that for crass?

[PoliticalCitizen]

You guys are debating this Palin woman so feverishly AS IF she would be qualified for the VP title...

She's a nobody from a nowhere and was taken for the ride just because the smart startegists behind McCain's campaign wanted to woo the disenchanted Hilary women-voters...

Edited September 17, 2008 by PoliticalCitizen

[JerrySeinfeld]

You guys are debating this Palin woman so feverishly AS IF she would be qualified for the VP title...

She's a nobody from a nowhere and was taken for the ride just because the smart startegists behind McCain's campaign wanted to woo the disenchanted Hilary women-voters...

A nobody from nowhere? So is Obama.

I love Palin's line: "Here's a guy who has written TWO memoirs and not a sinlge major piece of legislation."

By the way, don't look now but...if that's their strategy, it's working.

Edited September 17, 2008 by JerrySeinfeld

[bush_cheney2004]

After being away for a couple of days, I noticed that your posts have gone from being merely argumentative to being vindictive and insulting. Maybe cognitive dissonance is starting to set in now that trying to justify all the Neocon bullshit is becoming as difficult as arguing in favour of a flat earth!

I have noticed that your posts are the same....uniformly without merit.

I don't expect you to remember my family history, but for the record, I've mentioned previously that I used to have dual citizenship when I was young, and have family living in Michigan and elsewhere -- that aside, many Canadians take an active interest in what goes on south of the border, since good times or bad times determine what happens to the economy in Canada (especially here in Ontario) and since this forum has subforums dedicated to U.S. issues, we're going to be commenting about what goes on in the U.S. whether you like it or not! And for that matter, why the hell are you on a Canadian forum in the first place?

I am not telling any Canadians, average or otherwise, how they should vote in their next election. Nor am I expressing opinions about how average Canadians should think. As for your citizenship, if you are an American then just say so...don't offer up the usual half-baked BS about being a member of the club because your uncle Rufus lives in Kentucky.

YOu have nothing good to say about this country or Canadians, and have nothing constructive to offer, so why bother?

Because I am not here to kiss your ass. Your racist observation about Barack Obama's "achievement" as a "black" did not go unnoticed.

Now, I also can't help but notice that your rant did not address my main objection to the political philosophy of anti-intellectualism that pervades the religious right and the Republican Party. It doesn't matter whether you believe in more government or less government control of the economy; if you hire idiots like McCAin/Palin to run the Whitehouse, they are going to be totally dependent on discredited Neocon financial gurus like Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina! That's all America needs right now to go right down the crapper -- another dimbulb in the Whitehouse who depends on advisers to run the country!

And if we do, it will be our choice...not yours. You have your own crapper to worry about, but seem to spend more time sitting on ours.

[Black Dog]

Nice try.

Now for a dose of reality:

The NDP's position is to ultimately have an equal make up of men and women in the house of commons.

How's that for crass?

How's that for irrelevant? Since you have such a hard time understanding the concept, I'll explain. No one says the left doesn't dabble in identity politics. But to suggest as you have that it is the exclusive domain of the left is just plain wrong. Identity politics is a staple of the "us versus them" political culture of the right.

[stevoh]

From "60 Minutes":

Hospitals get certain accounting and public-relations benefits even when they don't collect from the uninsured. For-profit hospitals get a tax write-off on uncollected debts. Non-profit hospitals (85 percent of U.S. hospitals are non-profit) cite their uncollected debts in fund-raising efforts and to the government in arguing for higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement payments.

That doesn't sound as if the government reimburses them.

Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement payments come from the government. This money does not just cover those on Medicaid or Medicare, it also covers un-insured people who don't pay their bills. More on this below.

The hospital industry made near-record $26.3 billion in profits in 2004 (the last year for which figures are available), according to the American Hospitals Association. As many as 25 percent of hospitals – particularly municipal hospitals which handle mostly the poor – lose money, the AHA claims. But other hospitals – both non-profit and for-profit hospitals – make handsome profits. According to the AHA, the average hospital's profit margin is 5.2 percent, the highest in six years.

That doesn't sound as if most hospitals are in danger of going broke, and it doesn't sound as if the government is stepping in and preventing the hospitals that handle mostly the poor from losing money.

That is because, in many cases, the profit levels of hospitals INCLUDE the government funding they receive. Its only after the various reimbursements, grants, and tax breaks are included that the "profit level" of the hospital is measured.

On the federal level, the Medicaid "Disproportionate Share Payment" helps finance hospitals who process an above average number of patients who have Medicaid, Medicare or no health insurance. There are lots of other municipal, state, and federal funding and tax break measures that ensure that hospitals never go broke. The american taxpayer is paying for these breaks and funding, either through less tax revenue through tax breaks, or direct funding from programs such as the Disproportionate Share Payment program.

The sad fact is (and the reason I believe that a sole "for profit" medical system is a bad idea) that the only hospitals that are truly profitable and would be able to survive in a free market situation are those that cater to the higher income fully insured segment of the american population. The hospitals that have lower income catchment areas would simply not survive without additional tax breaks and funding.

Edited September 17, 2008 by stevoh

[Carinthia]

Barack Obama is not "black"./quote]

You go tell that to all those folks who live in Appalachia.

Edited September 18, 2008 by Carinthia