She Sees Dead People...

Palin's ignorant rants, tweets and FB postings continue to garner the attention of the 'mainstream' media, Faux News as a credible opinion, everyone else as the intellectual equivalent of a Seth Rogan film. If it weren't so tragic, it would be comedic.

The author in the article below makes an excellent point, while I certainly don't agree with anything Newt Gingrich has ever done/said, he is relatively intelligent and well spoken. The fact that he, amongst his other opportunistic cronies, even gives this the slightest attention further tips the weak Republican hand. Their strategy continues to be let the loony-bin far right Birthers/Death Panel-ers spew their ignorant tripe (i.e. Palin, Beck, Limbaugh) while more 'centrist' spokespeople like Gingrich and Bohner sound relatively sane...relatively. This has the effect of whipping up the ignorant masses, as seen in the town hall meetings, while trying to have some skin in the game. Unfortunately for them, they are holding offsuit 3-5 while the Obama administration has bullets...



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16dowd.html?_r=1&hpw

Dear Mama, I can hear you a cryin'...

...You're so scared and all alone
Hangman is comin' down from the galllows
And I don't have very long...Sytx

Yes, 'mama', I'm going before a 'Death Panel' to see if I can get that surgery that I need and I know that the the hangman is going to turn me thumbs-down. No life-saving surgery for me.

WTF!?!?!

My blog has been on hiatus for a while but needed to be revived for this. What kind of asinine Jackassery is being spouted by the Republicans and their crony mouthpieces? Death Panels? Really? We just buried my beloved Uncle after a very long illness. At the end, he was asking about end-of-life decisions and heading for hospice care - this had nothing to do with his insurance or availability of care - only that he was very ill and tired and ready to go. What the hell does this have to do with at 'Death Panel'? Do Americans understand that they live in a rationed society for healthcare now if they have private insurance? Medicare and Medicaid are the only insurance providers that DON'T ration. Private insurers make your healthcare coverage decisions all the time now. At least decisions could/would be made based on a fair panel of physicians rather than a for profit ghoul who could care less about your well being. Sigh. Ignorance is a poison to intelligent dialogue.

If you really want to know more, read this primer. Better yet, read the bill itself. Nothing in there is about rationing, 'death panels' or any of the other bugbears being trotted out by the Far Right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/health/policy/10facts.html?_r=1&em

Let's face facts. We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the best in the world - we rank about 14th. Our problem is that there are so many uninsured and under-insured that chronic health problems go unmanaged until they present as a crisis. THIS costs a fortune. I just came home from Huntington, WV which has been declared the most unhealthy city in the nation - their uninsured population is enormous. You do the math. We cannot afford to keep our current system - we need much more aggressive preventative care. We can't afford to give everyone everything forever - its untenable. Decisions must eventually be made - let them be made sensibly and in a not-for-profit manner rather than a catch-as-catch can and for-profit one.

Let's take the debate away from histrionics and put it back into a real foundation so we can have an honest debate on the issues. Please.