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Comment on Rosette Time and stay off that dirty box....
sheech! Leave sea world alone - yes a Whale trainer becomes the "victim" to a KILLER whale - however this trainer is the same as a pet owner to Tiger, cheetah or some other wild animal that instinct is to kill.... Sea world should not be punished because an animal did what was instinct.....
End of story!
28 comments I miss the good old POLITICS.COM days - (you know when people commented on news stories) Submissions are great but only if they interest people or they get comments that invoke othe thoughts.
Please become more interested in politics people and make comments....the "what's bubbling tab" used to have more streaming information and streaming comments. Not from 3 hours ago
I know Patriot Watch posted a blog like this previously but I don't remember it being this bad. There were much more interesting stoies and more interesting. Come on people- Comment on more stories everyone.
In the old politics.com days - they didn't do a "daily most active" - it was the active all time users - maybe that is a factor that has lessened motivation.
34 comments Please tell me why you hate these men. I find that whenever there is a racial issue, I as a black woman, listen to others, not them. The Jena 6, I didn't go searchig for those two voices. I was trying earlier to hear Jesse Jackson speak on CNN at work but the volume was too low. So I asked myself, why haven't I heard them before. I am educated; so why haven't I seeked out there voices?
I cannot answer this question at this moment in time. But what I can say is, maybe I have heard them, and just don't remember it. Who is worth listening to with injustice? Who isn't? Tell me why. Don't tell me because you find them crooked or you just don't like them. They are human. No one is perfect. (Yet a bribe has nothing to do with this mission.) That is a scapegoat. Don't give me that. It isn't enough. Give me something substantial, something substantive.
Tell me why in detail that you don't like Jesse Jackson Jr. and/or Al Sharpton. What have these men said or done in detail that goes against their mission.
5 comments A woman at Baylor Medical was on conscience on life support and had maxed out her insurance. Under Texas law, a so-called "ethics committee" that contains 3 doctors that the patient cannot choose to all agree that a patient will die within 6 months. They conclude this to save the hospital money. They yell in the patients ear to open their mouth in order to remove the tubing for them to breathe.
They then sue someone close to her for her bill. This is MURDER. Yes, murder. Under the legal term as defined by the government, this wouldn't fall under the same definiton. The law is called, "Texas Futile Care Law"
Don't claim to be Christian and be for killing someone while they are in the hospital and need medical attention like this. This is murder for PROFIT. Why don't people care.
She was biting on the tube so they couldn't remove it from her mouth. They yelled in her ear over and over and then screamed in her ear one last time before removing the tube. The woman finally opened her mouth and they yanked out her breathing support - SHE immediately flailed about unable to breathe until she died b/c the hospital tortured her in order so that they could murder her/kill her.
2 comments Dear President Obama,
George W. Bush decided that the original bailouts that had gone all year for him was just not enough. He needed to offer an 85 billion dollar one for AIG. Then offer a huge package of 700 billion. It was originally voted down due to voters contacting their legislators not to pass. Then the stocks plumeted the next day. Neither you nor McCain was against the bill. So the second time it went through. Yes, this was during Bush's term as well. This new, "700 billion dollar bill" in which it had been named actually was 1.5 trillion or so. Now the media is telling you that if you are a democrat that you are for the bill and if you are republica then you are against it. We are being told, that this is the only option in the entire universe. WOW! I had no idea. The only option?
Well, Mr. President Obama, this letter is written just to say this: "UP YOURS!" You are just as phony, convining, and belligerent as any other bozo that has sat in the white house. Why won't you serve the citizens of this country that youare supposed to protect? Why won't you uphold our constitution? How can a company be free to become a part of the new big 3 if you hold them down by stealing money from them and giving it to a top producer/competitior? What that means is this: Giving a top company money like Chrysler doesn't give another car company that didn't bring this upon themself to become a top producer/competitor and take their spot? They should be free to fail and another company should have been free to take his spot. You didn't inherit this mess. You asked for it. You didn't talk against the bailouts during your campaign against McCain. Yes, this started during the end of the Bush era. But now it is your reign. You have only acted just the same. Mr. Presiden Barack Hussein Obama. My sister wrote a poem when she was a child. It went....
"U.S.A. We are number one.
U.S.A. We get the job done
U.S.A. Take it to the bank.
U.S.A. We have the best bank.
(then I added to the poem)
U.S.A. Saddam Hussein
U.S.A. That's the name of their game. "
It was more of a chant after desert storm. We spoke out each letter of (you, essss, A) and it was awesome. Who are you but one individual who will fight to take more from us. Yes, I scrutinize and I am sure your people have placed me on some list just for utilizing something that I am suppose to have like freedom of speech. But I suppose if I use the freedom of speech then that must mean in some unwritten law that I must surrender my right to due process? Ron Paul supporters on a terror watch list just for being a Ron Paul supporter is insane? Yes, it has been reported that if you supported Ron Paul you are a potential threat to this country. I should say that everyone is a threat. If you are not rich, ever been laid off, ever voted for a candidate that didn't win, you somehow must be a threat to this country. They should make it universal; all across the board and not just this one time - for any Ron Paul supporter. If you have ever been denied credit, you should have to pay this loss to due process. If you have ever been injured by anyone, been a victim of a crime or victim of a routine police traffic stop and received a ticket. (You should all be on some list) If you have ever paid a bill even one day late, you should be on a terror threat list.
And President Obama, even those with abnormally much more power than the average man should be on the terror threat list. For they are the ones most likely to abuse such powers. They are the evil doers. Oh, I guess that would include you, but don't worry - I was also thinking of - I mean, actually (wink wink) thinking of the CEO's who abuse their power.
So far - not liking the new format......they of course must attempt to make money off of the google ads, etc - through our news settings....what if you wrote the news story?
Politics.com just has a bunch of usernames but only a handful of us use it!
discussion is open to talk up or talk down any part of what "politics team" has recently altered to the current site
9 comments So, the initial thoughts after watching the film are located in my part 1 blog. (http://www.politics.com/blog/7114/after-watching-micheal-moores-film-sicko-part-1/) Now that a near month has gone by and people have brought the subject up to me, where am I with this issue? I will get back to that in a minute, but first here is what happened in the first blog.
To sum it up: In the 1st blog I brought up, how the current system is broken with insurance companies that deny payment for life threatening surgeries. They do this for profit. They create pre-existing conditions whether you have them or not just by looking at your past medical records. For example, because you said you had headaches, they will call a tumor pre-existing condition. I also brought up the current forms of socialism that we have such as schools or libraries. I discussed Hillary who wanted to regulate the industry. We've regulated the power companies, the water companies, the phone companies, etc. Yet people in general don't want to treat this as a needed utility. We need energy, water, and communication services. Are we not equal in our need for healthcare?
The response in the first blog: Mostly attacks Micheal Moore instead of going after the issue intact. People attempt to call him a propagandist as a negative term, like an insult. People do this when they call someone liberal or conservative in this culture as well.
In my daily life after watching the film: When I've discussed politics with people and then they bring up an opposition against Universal Healthcare without a why. So I ask and and ask and ask. And only one person had a good answer which was a financial motivation to do well in school. He said he knew someone that put up 145k on his dorm room which was the average first year starting salary for students out of his medical program. So my question to him was, do you really want a doctor who is motivated by money rather than motivated by helping the person that is sick? He brought up law school and lawyers as an example as well. I responded to him. People go to law school for different reasons. I have seen a few surveys ranging financial motivation between 9-14% which isn't a lot. If you were innocent of crime, you wouldn't want the lawyer defending you to have been part of that 9-14%. Yet his reasoning is the only one that is pro-privatized healthcare with at least some guts.
Sometimes, I'd bring up Micheal Moore's film "Sicko" and then someone would respond, "You know that film isn't true" And I'd tell them to please tell me which parts so that I could go back and re-watch it. Yet the scare tactics get people to not watch the film.
Where was I on this issue before I watched this film? I didn't like the idea of loads of insurance company workers being out of work. That was my sole reason for being against universal healthcare. They are legalized crime. They murder people for profit. End of story.
What happens when it is you? Half of the families in 2005 that filed bankruptcy had filed at the onset of a serious medical problem or accident. Many of you might say, so what that they didn't have insurance? 75% of those families who had filed bankruptcy had medical insurance at the time of the serious medical problem or accident. They played by the rules, had education, had a mortgage, and even had health insurance.
A doctor, Elizabeth, from India, here in America for quite some time called what insurance companies do as inhuman. She is the first person and only person that I have invited into that issue. Out of everything she said, my favorite quote, "You can't have too many ethics and still be a millionaire." It makes sense.
These millionaire and billionaire CEO's are murdering people. Yet the middle class proponents of privatized healthcare don't see that this this could be them filing bankruptcy or dying as a result of these crimes against humanity. You could lose everything. This isn't an argument for the uninsured. The film is about you, who have played by the rules the entire time. This film is about you, who have insurance. Don't criticize the film about being inacurate until you can pin point exact points of the film just because you don't want to watch it.
Micheal Moore brings this discussion to the fore front and does it well. A Harvard Professor said that there are two myths in healthcare in the USA today, one is, "I have health insurance, so that means I'm safe" (or really safe if I pay a lot) The other is that universal healthcare doesn't work. She says, "there is some really embarrassing data....." According to the film, the system is NOT being altered to fit the needs of the people; but, the people are being changed to fit the needs of the system.
They say, people grow conservative. - well, maybe those are thoughts for (part 3)
My initial response after watching this film is that universal healthcare in America is necessary. I think that Hillary's idea was great to keep the health insurance companies at the table, but now they had their chance. This film made me angry, SICK! It really is common sick. A human life is priceless. What would you pay to save your life? What amount would you pay to save your life? It is infinite. They know this and yet you don't act on it.
We have socialized fire department. We have a socialized school system - A socialized library. The view that you might want to argue: Why should I pay for someone else? Well that is a rather individualistic view. Is it not. I would say that the individualistic view is selfish. You want a child to not receive a surgery because the health insurance company doesn't want to pay for it? This film isn't about the child without health insurance. It shows stories about those that do have health insurance. It is people's jobs to deny claims. Then if you are not somehow denied, after the health company is paid, they look for reasons to retroactively take their money from you. (by looking at your medical records and creating a pre-existing condition) - that means if you had a headache ever so now and then that you reported to your doctor, prior to coverage, they could say that your brain surgery was a pre-existing condition and retro-actively cancel your health insurance.
The current system is broken. I have spoken with a person here on politics via email. Yes, there is something wrong with profiteering off of people. These employees that work for these health insurance companies get bonuses for denying claims that could save your life. Meaning, chemotherapy for cancer. The health insurance company could deny your claim if you have cancer and say that it isn't terminal yet. The film Sicko is filled with people who have health insurance.
Basically to quote the film, "If they weren't able to weed you out in the application process or deny you the care your doctor said you needed and somehow ended up paying for the operation, they send in Lee. [Lee's] job is to get the company's money back any way he can. All he has to do is find one slip up on the application or a pre-existing condition you didn't know you had." - They go through your health history for the last five years and look for stuff that you may of concealed or jack the rates so high that you couldn't pay them. Lee says, "They're supposed to be fair and even handed, but with an insurance company, it's their freaking money. So it's not un-intentional. It's not a mistake. It's not an oversight. You're not slipping through the cracks. Somebody made that crack and swept you towards it. And the intent is to maximize profits." People this is
Folks this is unacceptable! What health insurance companies are doing...The idea not to cover pre-existing conditions are ridiculous. Do you breathe? Exist? Are you mortal? The film showed an airing on CSPAN on May 30th 1996. Dr. Linda Peeno, former medical reviwer at Humana, testified before US Congress, "I am here today to make a public cnnfession. In the Spring of 1987, as a physician, I denied a man a necessary operation that would have saved his life, and thus caused his death. No person and no group has held me accountable for this, because, in fact, what I did was I saved the company a half a milion dollars for this. And furthermore, this particular act secured my reputation as a good medical director, and it insured my continued advancement in the healthcare field." 4 times as many healthcare lobbyist than congressman.
32 comments 18,000 people die each year due to lack of health insurance. That is six 9/11’s each year. So what should be done about it since an estimated 45 million Americans lack health insurance? Should a crappy health insurance plan with low rates be offered? Many health insurance plans I come across have an 80/20 offer when it comes to health insurance. But 20% of any hospital bill is still a lot of money. It isn’t that people can’t afford to go to the doctor; I think that many of us can afford that if we scrap up the money. They say the number one cause of bankruptcy is lack of health insurance. There goes some bailout monies. Well, we have a pay or die healthcare system. That is just what it is and so to conclude that we should have universal healthcare is RIDICULOUS. Wait a minute, a lot of what I said, would help those points. Well, rich people from other countries come to America for healthcare because we have the “best” healthcare system in the world. Best, being relative to the highest customer satisfaction. [Okay we don’t have the most customers because of financial issues] Whatever! What do I mean by customer? "The word customer dehumanizes the poor" because you can't be a patient at a hospital without being a customer first.
So, there are several industries that depend on Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc for them to exist and live. The customer service representatives that work for these companies have to spend their money somewhere. Along with the analyst, managers, secretary’s, assistants, and so on, that work for these insurance companies have to spend there money on industries that the rest of us work in. We are dependent in part that they get to keep their jobs so we NEED the commercialism in the healthcare system. We need the discussion not to be universal healthcare for all, but an option to make it more affordable. We need the individuals working in the healthcare field to have a financial incentive as well. When dealing with a solution to this problem is difficult because it comes down to one thing and one thing only; it is called, greed. We could offer more medical clinics in cities and charge based on income, yet that is a band-aid to the issue and not a solution. More medical clinics would give less incentive for people to get their own health insurance, while others would use it for what it actually should be, a temporary solution.
So we can force a temporary solution on to each issue, like unemployment or welfare, but it doesn’t work; people will take the hand-outs because it is less effort and more reward. Not as much reward as it would be if people strived for their own. Hmmm..now there is an idea. Let’s take that greed and use it against them. Everyone by law has car insurance in Texas. I have seen rates as low as $29.99 a month. That is pretty normal, only liability, but pretty normal to see a side bar street offer of insurance rates like that. So, if they required everyone to have some minimal form of insurance, ideally they would want to go to a higher rate later on. If they made the field of insurance less stringent for business to get into then that could help. Greed in this case would be a wonderful thing. People open up a small shop on the street corner wit a sign that reads: (Liability health Insurance for hospital only - no doctor visits included - buy 1 get 1 free for six months at 39.99. )Maybe offer an incentive to provide health insurance to yourself since the tax code is so messed up anyway. How’s a 5% write off?
But on the opposition to a profit based healthcare system, if you prefer to pay or die healthcare system because you will always be lucky enough to afford insurance or if you prefer this system because everyone you care about and will care about in the future will always be lucky enough to afford insurance, then by all means, support the $600 bucks a month or more insurance costs. Former mayor of Cincinnati said on the health insurance issue, “How can you claim to love America, if you can’t bring yourself to love Americans?”
(This is simply a discovery process that I wrote 95% before researching further on the issue of the healthcare industry killing people for profit or the domineering force against saving people, that includes that 2 year old child that never did anything wrong because the healthcare industry wanted to call it a pre-existing condition. )
3 comments 