Drug Crazed Rush Limbaugh Slams the Symbol of Medicine

[Hal_Crawford]

Brent, Dan:

Your both right. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track

 

US headed in the right direction: 35%. Data is current.

 

Context: Up 2% from last week. Up 8% since the inauguration.

 

Yep, context is everything.

 

Hal

[DanKroh]

Thanks, Hal, for the link. btw, it was scoutldr who quoted that study, not Brent.

[BrentAllen]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8306580

[scoutingagain]

"However, if the man were within the law, he has a right not to be harassed, regardless of how nervous it makes people."

 

 

Is this the fine upstanding gun owner being discussed? Or is this a different gun owner? Wonder how many gun toting liberals showed up a Bush appearances? Hmm, maybe they were required to check their guns at the door when they turned in their loyalty cards to enter the meetings.

 

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A man arrested at the site of President Barack Obama's New Hampshire town hall Tuesday was carrying an unlicensed loaded gun, police said.

 

Richard Terry Young, 62, was arrested inside Portsmouth High School at about 9:40 a.m., long before the president arrived in Portsmouth, Seacoastline.com reported. He faces misdemeanor charges, including trespass and a weapons charge.

 

 

SA

[DanKroh]

Thanks, Brent. I had also found a reference for it at PolitiFact (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite sources, because they don't seem to hesitate to call bull on anyone) and they have more details about the confusion:

 

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/12/barack-obama/obama-goes-too-far-when-he-says-health-reform-bill/

 

"Just a few weeks ago, on July 14, the AARP issued a press release gushing about the introduction of the House health care reform bill saying, "This bill would make great strides for all of our members and their families." The group said it was pleased with the legislation for giving "every American has access to affordable, quality health care choices.""

 

So it sure seems like they were for it before they were against it. So, yeah, this is a prime example of how misinformation can be generated. Thanks, Brent.

 

SA, no, the man I was talking about was William Kostric, who was in compliance with the letter of the law in NH. But I'm not at all surprised that there were more.

 

 

[scoutldr]

As I said...if the law was broken, then arrest and take them to trial. Even in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, possession of weapons on school grounds is illegal, as it is in establishments which serve alcohol. We have an annual "Harbor Fest" here, and a man was arrested for legally open carrying a weapon, which made people nervous. He was subsequently released, and issued a profound apology from the city, and presumably the police officers were sent for remedial training.

[scoutldr]

I wouldn't call 35% a "mandate for change", even if it is "up" from before. That means that 65% think we are NOT going in the right direction. That's the context.

[eisely]

It is not necessary to totally screw up the system to fix a few relatively simple problems.

 

The first problem is that people look at health insurance as a benefit of employment, not as true insurance.

 

The second problem is the waste generated by the tort lawyers lobby in the form of defensive medicine.

 

The third problem is the distortions resulting from current tax treatment of health care benefit programs offered by employers. This creates a disconnect between the payors of health care costs and consumers of health care.

 

A few simple suggestions:

 

Radically reform the liability law requiring arbitration and drastically reducing damages for pain and suffering.

 

Eliminate the distortion of current tax law which allows tax deductibility to employers for all health benefit program costs while treating this as a non taxed fringe benefit to employees.

 

Replace the tax deductibility distortion with tax free medical savings accounts for everyone. For those who are employed, this could be largely funded by employers paying employees the amounts that employers currently pay for health benefit programs.

 

Allow employers to offer group coverage for true catastrophic events with a fairly high deductible. Get the insurance companies out of the busines of administering benefits for every routine office visit, routine prescriptions,routine tests, and even minor surgical procedures. Put patients in charge of their health care decisions by empowering them with medical savings accounts to fund these routine things.

 

Establish patient cooperatives to preserve competitive balance between patients and suppliers of medical services. These cooperatives would have the ability to negotiate pricing for a huge range of things, reducing the ability of suppliers to take advantage of their bargaining power against individuals. The price negotiations currently carried on routinely by insurance companies is one benefit that they provide to insured persons for which the companies get no credit.

 

Possibly increase resources available to the truly indigent, thus addressing the problems of the relatively small number of people who have little access to health care and no insurance. (The claim of 40+ million un insured is a canard.)

 

Modest sensible proposals. The only difficulty is that these keep the government largely out the picture, thus eliminating the thrust for more power exercised by politicians and their agents intended to create greater dependency on government by everybody.

[GernBlansten]

Eisley, excellent ideas. I've heard them before, from both sides of the aisle. Single payer (the one solution that IS NOT in Obama's proposal) solves all your issues too.

 

However, they are not modest. They are radical and will never see the light of day. Lobbyists from all sides will not allow it. Lawyers, insurance companies, the Chamber of Commerce all enjoy the existing situation and will buy out our politicians to keep status quo.

If we are to have real reform, first we need campaign finance reform and get big business and lobbyists out of our policy debates. But of course, the ones who benefit most from the existing campaign finance laws would be the ones who would be tasked to change it. Snowball's chance in Guam.

[JoeBob]

Eisley,

 

I'm with you, plus one. Right now the states regulate a minimum type of coverage that has to be included in every policy sold in that state. In my state, men and post-menopausal women are paying for pregnancy coverage; eveybody has to pay for mental health and alcoholism. That's one reason why insurance in one state can be twice as high as in another state. Either let consumers buy insurance ala carte or allow purchases across state lines.

 

Tangent subject:

What is with the trial lawyers? If the Dems succeed in getting a 'Public Option' health insurance company, and it does evolve into a single payer system run by the government, who are the trial lawyers gonna sue? The government has Sovereign Immunity, and can't be sued.

Unless the Dems are going to waive Sovereign Immunity for health care, and the trial sharks can feed on the US Treasury for pain and suffering....

[packsaddle]

I guess it's OK for states to restrict 2nd Amendment 'rights'. It does vary by state but even persons with concealed carry permits are often restricted from schools, churches, and establishments which serve alcohol, not to mention any establishment that posts its own restriction, like malls, etc. And possession at a school is more serious than a misdemeanor in many places.

[BrentAllen]

JoeBob,

In malpractice, they are still going to sue the doctor, not the insurance provider.

 

packsaddle,

In Georgia, you can carry on school property with a concealed carry permit - in a limited manner. If you are dropping off or picking up your child, you can carry while on school property. You can't carry while attending a program or meeting with a teacher, etc.