Last 60 Comments

Tax Incentives For Me, But Not For Thee
(5 total, Last @ 05:19)
Technomad: The Moore has had some new stuff up on his site---are you going to comment on it?

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 10:43)
Mr.Sinister: You are a fucking moron. You son of a bitch. i dont care if you block me out of this site or you do not post this comment but i just want you to know this that you are a son of a bitch. Yes you are… A SON OF A BITCH. Period.

Tax Incentives For Me, But Not For Thee
(5 total, Last @ 10:42)
Mr.Sinister: You are a fucking moron. You son of a bitch. i dont care if you block me out of this site or you do not post this comment but i just want you to know this that you are a son of a bitch. Yes you are... A SON OF A BITCH. Period.

Tax Incentives For Me, But Not For Thee
(5 total, Last @ 10:29)
Scuzzy: Just thought this might be worth noting. Of course, two days later... Thank you.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 05:44)
gitarcarver: This comment by simone 19 needs to be addressed:That was the case with Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland. Not surprisingly, the rest of that story was omitted. He CHOSE to go to a US hospital rather than travel to Edmonton, and he is now in the process of petitioning the province to reimburse his costs - he will most likely succeed. According to the article 'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery Williams confirms that he traveled to the US for the surgery. His defense is, ""I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics." How can that be? How can the evil American system be providing better care than the more "compassionate" Canadian system? The quote must be a misprint. It must be taken out of context. He further defends his decision by saying, "I would've been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. ... I accept that. That's public life." Waiting list? Lines for care? Surely this cannot be. Simone 19 has repeatedly said that the wait times in Canada are shorter than that in the US. Then there is this little gem hidden in the article as well, "He said he spoke with and provided his medical information to a leading cardiac surgeon in New Jersey who is also from Newfoundland and Labrador." So the doctor he felt was the best and most qualified to advise on the procedure and care had left the Canadian health care system to live and work in the US? Simone 19 seems to take some sort of satisfaction in the idea that whatever costs that are recoverable from this procedure will be paid for by the Canadian system. This simply comes down to a citizen, looking for the best possible care, from the best facilities, and by the best doctors, came to the US to get that care, and Canadians will pay for it.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 08:48)
simone19: Mikey,I live in the Kootenay/Rocky mountains area of BC, and yes, its beautiful. What i've not included in any of my posts is that I am also a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed years ago, and like your daughter, received rounds of chemo/radiation, every cancer drug you can imagine, the list goes on. What I found was that the cure was worst than the disease, so I quit and decided to try holistic medicine. Because BC recognizes many types of alternative medicine as legitimate and covers them under our MSP, I decided to try my luck with homeopathic and traditional Chinese medicine as well as massage therapy and counseling, to name a few. I've been cancer free for a few years. I'm now a mountain guide and a member of the local search and rescue team, and I heli-ski, climb and kayak for fun.You are right, we tend to be a pretty healthy bunch out here. I know that the people of Ontario (and many doctors) are fighting to add different forms of holistic medicine into OHIP coverage, and I wish you all the best of luck. It took years of fighting and browbeating, but it worked out for us.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 07:30)
mikey: I noticed from your post, simone that you're from the interior of BC. We got the chance to travel to the rain forest on the north coast last summer, I think its called the Queen Charlotte Islands. I was taken with the beauty of your province and couldn't help but notice the lack of "obesity" anywhere I went - I would have to say the healthiest people seem to be there! I guess with a back yard like that, there's no shortage of activities. I also noticed how clean and fresh the air was, I think we may consider moving there!!

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 03:14)
Dbug: Mikey, we can swap personal stories until we're blue in the face, but it really doesn't prove much. I had to spend over $300 on standard tests once just to be told I was perfectly healthy. I was pissed! Definitely a flaw in our system. On the other hand, my mom was in a severe car accident years ago and the out of pocket was around the same. Go figure. But the system worked. Though I've never lived in Canada, I did work with a semi-professional hockey team for a couple years. No surprise many of the players were Canadian. (And I can honestly say some of the nicest, friendliest guys I've ever met.) I'm not going to exaggerate and make it sound like these players were awed by our medical system. It's not like they were coming from caves and using leeches. But all of them were very impressed. And most were surprised at how quickly they could see a specialist. Note: Feelings were mixed on ER visits as some of them said they didn't experience long waits at home for that either - but rehab, brain specialists (because of a concussion) and a spine specialist (brutal check from behind against the boards that thankfully looked worse than it wound up being) - yeah, they couldn't believe how quickly they got in. The problem is in both countries were dealing with millions of people. No matter what we're talking about - health, education, tax audits, used car sales, whatever - there are going to be major successes and major failures. There are stories of a mix up in paperwork resulting in a living person being believed dead, and that person having to go through all kinds of legal crap to prove he wasn't. My point is your situation isn't the norm, though still tragic, and you have my sympathy. But you guys are refusing to believe tragedies don't happen in Canada and other social care systems. That's in addition to the blatant dismissals of gitarcarver's well-documented sources above. Again, I tell you both almost all of America wants to make changes to our health care. We want costs brought down, and something in place to help those who truly (key word) cannot help themselves. We're divided on the best way to do that. You've sided with the "govt run social system" crowd. I'm into the "reform and retool what…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 12:10)
gitarcarver: I think the first thing we need to do is throw out all of these studies, so-called facts and whatever other nonsense that has been used here Why? Because it contradicts what you believe? Nothing beats good old fashioned experience. I agree. My father had 21 operations at a world renowned hospital over 7 years for cancer. His treatments included in home care, supplies, chemo, etc. In 7 years, we paid a little less than $200, and that was for some supplies we wanted, not that were required. A couple of months ago, I damaged my hip. Went to the doctor, got it looked at, got referred to a specialist, got the hip taken care of all for my $100 deductible. My mother, the week before Christmas, fell on ice and broke her pelvis. She was in a great hospital for 10 days, then transferred to a re-had facility for 6 weeks. Cost? Nothing. but what I don’t see is any mention of the poor, uninsured or the under insured. Then you haven't read all of the discussions on health care. Even worse, the poor and disadvantaged receive less quality care in Canada than in the US. In your case, the company was wrong to deny coverage. I am very surprised that they did. Yet the fact of the matter is that Medicare and Medicaid turn down a far higher percentage of claims than private insurers. One thing that you will hear constantly from us on "the other side" is to have the government fix what is wrong in the sector of health care they control now before messing with the section that does work. (I am thrilled to hear your daughter is doing well. I sincerely mean that.) Now to be fair, I read your comment gitarver and I have to say that not once did I see simone demand that you change your system. Sorry, but I believe that this from a post on 02/10/2010 at 06:49 AM is a demand to change the system: I think what most Americans need to ask themselves is how can they allow a group of people whose only interest is making money the power to decide who lives and dies?? How can any of you sit back and do nothing while your fellow citizens suffer and lose their lives?? It is just disgusting - I think what many of you need…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 08:16)
mikey: I was reading through the last few posts again, and I thought I would add my two-cents. I think the first thing we need to do is throw out all of these studies, so-called facts and whatever other nonsense that has been used here. The fact of the matter is that anyone can write anything they want, add a few phony stats and post it. For every "study", there's a million more out there to contradict it. Nothing beats good old fashioned experience. I've lived in both the US and Canada and have been in both systems. I find it interesting that there has been so much discussion on the availability, short wait lists and general good health of Americans and the American healthcare system, but what I don't see is any mention of the poor, uninsured or the under insured.The fact that I had to leave the US to receive any , much less quality treatment for my daughter is telling. Is the system in trouble, yes. Has it failed the people, hell yes! Anyone that denies it is either a liar, or is trying to sell something. Now to be fair, I read your comment gitarver and I have to say that not once did I see simone demand that you change your system. I also read claim after claim from you without anything to back it up. As far as the "10 surprising facts about American health care" you gave, this is according to whom? What's your source? Is this yet another bogus study? About this quality treatment you boast about, I have to agree with you. My daughter received great treatment, until my money ran out. With a $400,00 bill, no insurance and the loss of my house and facing bankruptcy, this superior care was nowhere to be found. I spent hours, days and months fighting, sitting in government clinics hoping to see someone and continue treatment while I watched my baby waste away. What simone said is true-when you don't get a bill in the mail after doctors visits, hospital stays and treatments, that usually means its free. Of course the fact that everyone pays taxes to cover this, is quite obvious. I'm pretty sure she gets that. Believe it or not, the average Canadian is not as stupid as you would have us believe. Now before you get all huffy and self-righteous, they don't…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 11:01)
gitarcarver: Now I understand how this works. When I challenge your “facts” (which, by the way, still don’t include any studies/sources/websites) there is suddenly a laundry list of reasons why they don’t count. I guess you missed the sourced article on the "10 Surprising Things About American Health Care." You didn't answer a single one of those other than to say "cancer has a lot of different factors." The WHO study is flawed. I am sorry that you refuse to see that. It does not escape anyone's notice that you didn't answer those flaws, but only dismiss them. One can only surmise that you dismiss them because they run contrary to what you choose to believe, rather than the facts. When I said that cancer stats were dependent on many variables, there was no one single country that was superior to another in treatment - and types of cancer also depends on the environment - that’s just plain old common sense. No, it is not common sense. If you were talking about rates of cancer, you might have a point. (Even there you are contradicting yourself, but I am used to that from people like yourself.) However, we are talking about cancer treatments and the success rate of those treatments. Once a cancer is detected, the effectiveness of the treatment is measurable and quantitative. US outcomes in the treatment of cancer is far greater than the rest of the world. Now that we’ve concluded that studies are inherently flawed therefore irrelevant, I would have to assume this knowledge comes from your extensive experience in our system, after all, how can you base an opinion much less a fact on something you know absolutely nothing about?? Get back to me after you have actually read some of the works and studies on this subject. Until you do, you are simply trolling. Wait Times For Medical Care Statistics Show Canadian Health Care System Inferior to American System Canada Health Care Wait Times Comparrison of Canadian and US Health Care Systems - Wait Times I also read that no one has ever been turned away for medical treatment, does that mean treatment is free? Are you doctors visits also free? What about tests and procedures - are they also free? I’ve obviously been mistaken! Of course you are mistaken. I have demonstrated that several times here. That is the point of this whole conversation.…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 07:19)
mikey: Let me start by saying that I am a very proud American and until several years ago, thought we had the greatest healthcare in the world. Then my world came crashing down around me. In 1999, my wife and I had a baby girl, we both had great jobs and we lived in a modest home. Unfortunately, when our daughter was 1, my wife was killed by a drunk driver. I picked up the pieces and concentrated on raising my daughter. In 2003 my daughter became sick. After months of test after test, she was finally diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, or ALL. At first, my insurance company was great, so we continued with chemotherapy and a variety of drug treatments. Then one day I got a phone call saying that upon further investigation, they found that this type of condition was genetic and they would no longer pay my daughter's claim. For Simone, this is what they mean by a preexisting condition - Anyway,I had a fair amount of saving and a good job, for awhile I struggled but managed to make it work. Then she started to get more and more ill. I was forced to quit my job, and soon the money ran out, I was desperate. I was talking to a close friend one day who was Canadian and she suggested we marry and my daughter and I could move to Canada. To make a long story short, we moved and within a few weeks we were enrolled in ohip, which is the Ontario health insurance plan. We got in to see a specialist and 24 hrs later, my daughter was admitted to the Toronto hospital for sick children. We lived a few hours away, but our plan covered our driving costs and we stayed in a few places, which was also covered. I was amazed by the care she got and how quickly we were welcomed into our community. When we finally brought her home, a nurse came to live in our home and again we didn't have to pay anything.People we didn't even know were helping us. We had meals brought to us by our neighbors, and a fund was set up to help us pay for our costs like utilities and rent. My daughter is now doing well and is healthy. I have to admit how ignorant and cynical I was, lets face…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 03:10)
simone19: (it seems my latest post did not work) Now I understand how this works. When I challenge your "facts" (which, by the way, still don't include any studies/sources/websites) there is suddenly a laundry list of reasons why they don't count. When I said that cancer stats were dependent on many variables, there was no one single country that was superior to another in treatment - and types of cancer also depends on the environment - that's just plain old common sense. For example, the incidents on lung and stomach cancers were higher in urban areas because of things like smog, pollution, water contamination from air pollution, etc, etc., but studies and reports are always flawed and inaccurate so what does it matter?? To answer yet another assumption, my brother was born with severe asthma and would have several attacks in our travels throughout the US. My Grandmother was a US citizen who immigrated to Canada years ago, met and married my Grandfather and when they retired they lived in Florida during the winter months. We would stay with them several weeks every year. They both suffered from heart conditions and chose to have all of their treatments/tests performed here. Apparently their health insurance company said that because they were considered pre-existing conditions, medical costs were not covered. (I still don't understand what that has to do with anything). "Personal anecdotes are interesting, but studies (again, what studies??) still indicate that for actual procedures and care, Canadians wait much longer than Americans for those procedures and care". Now that we've concluded that studies are inherently flawed therefore irrelevant, I would have to assume this knowledge comes from your extensive experience in our system, after all, how can you base an opinion much less a fact on something you know absolutely nothing about?? I also read that no one has ever been turned away for medical treatment, does that mean treatment is free? Are you doctors visits also free? What about tests and procedures - are they also free? I've obviously been mistaken! I just love this comment; "Why not take care of the mote in your own eye before addressing the one in your neighbor's" - are you serious? We all know Canada is known to invade other countries and force our beliefs and style of government on the population, and killing anyone that gets in our way! Ya, that's the…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 10:56)
gitarcarver: I still have a hard time understanding the dismissal of not only a Harvard report, but story after story on your own news programs. I am still having a hard time figuring out how you dismissed the cancer stats saying that there are too many variables, and yet promoting a study done by a group with a definite agenda and conclusions based upon even more variables. How could any of you not feel compelled to demand the truth? Of course we demand the truth. That is why we actually look at and read the studies. We refuse to blindly accept, as you have done, flawed studies and press releases. We look at the truth. You look at propaganda. 1. Countries with the best health care - #1 France, #2 Italy, ... #30 Canada, # 37 US (above Slovenia #38 and Cuba #39, but below Costa Rica #36) Now, take the time to look at the underlying data attempting to support those claims. Tell me, do you believe that the amount of money a government throws into a heath care system is any way to judge the quality of health care in a country? The WHO report did so right off the bat with their "Fairness Factor" which counted for 25% of a country's overall "score." A country with mostly private health care system was ranked lower because the WHO believes that governments are the answer. We can debate whether governments are the answers to health care issues, but what is clear is that using government as a factor in ranking heath care is patently ridiculous. When you remove all the political influence from the WHO report, and look at outcome based health care, the US ranks first or second in all categories. The truth that you say we are avoiding is that the US system when examined without political factors, is much better than you believe. 2. Healthy life expectancy - average for both males and females - Canada ranks at #12 (72.0), US #24 (70.0) Once again, look at the data. The US has a problem with homicides and accidental deaths. We lead or come close to the top in those categories. If someone is speeding at 120 miles an hour and is killed upon impact with a wall, how does that reflect on the quality of health care in that country? If a person is shot and killed,…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:10)
bismarck: Ah, yes, the infamous WHO report that even WHO admitted was flawed... Simone, it was only a matter of time before you "dscovered" that report -- you are not the first to bring it up on this forum. You should further research WHO elsewhere on this site, for more information on that highly-flawed report. Perhaps then you'll be compelled to quotation-mark the WHO "facts" as well. I still have a hard time understanding the dismissal of not only a Harvard report, but story after story on your own news programs. Should I, for instance, listen to everything NBC has to say on health care -- the network owned by GE, which has a huge stake in health care reform (and is a huge promoter of synergy)? The situation is so bad that your own President feels compelled to reform it. This is why we are happy that we have a president instead of a king or other despot. We can disagree with and even fight against his ideas. Finally, I have to address this line: No one ever said that your country needs to adopt the same system as ours, but it is quite obvious yours is in serious need of an overhaul. To the contrary, I believe your system is in serious need of an overhaul. Why not take care of the mote in your own eye before addressing the one in your neighbor's?

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 03:39)
simone19: I still have a hard time understanding the dismissal of not only a Harvard report, but story after story on your own news programs. The situation is so bad that your own President feels compelled to reform it. Is it an example of "if we don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist"? Do these people even matter? How could any of you not feel compelled to demand the truth? I read your "facts", gitarcarver, and decided to some research on these claims, and discovered some interesting facts of my own; (these were found at WHO as well as forbes.com websites) 1. Countries with the best health care - #1 France, #2 Italy, ... #30 Canada, # 37 US (above Slovenia #38 and Cuba #39, but below Costa Rica #36) 2. Healthy life expectancy - average for both males and females - Canada ranks at #12 (72.0), US #24 (70.0) 3. Preventable deaths per 100,000 population lowest to highest - #1 France (65), ... #4 Canada (77), #14 US (110) 4. Infant mortality per 1000 live births - #23 Canada (4.8), #33 US (6.3) and finally, the top 10 healthiest countries in the world - 1.Iceland, 2.Sweden, 3.Finland, 4.Germany, 5.Switzerland, 6.Australia, 7.Denmark, 8.Canada, 9.Austria, 10.Netherlands - the US did not make the list as it is #11. I tried to find cancer stats, however there are too many variable to consider. No country has the market cornered on cancer treatments - it depends on the type of cancer. Incidents of cancer per capita also depends on such things as poor air quality, contaminated drinking water, consumption of processed foods, obesity, stress, the list goes on. To answer your question, my family traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe. My parents encouraged us to learn all we could about different countries, saying that there was an entire world out there to explore - and not to be restricted to the little box we live in.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 08:02)
gitarcarver: “A lack of coverage can be tied to about 45,000 deaths a year in the United States”. That was the headline of the study which was funded by a group that wants universal health care. Does that mean that the study is wrong? Of course not. Yet the fact of the matter is that no one knows and cannot know that the lack of health care kills anyone. There seems to be so many misconceptions about our system - our wait-times are actually better than yours (i’ve visited quite a few US hospitals, and the average time in my experience was between 8-12 hours). Of course I wonder why you, who are so proud of your system, would be in am US hospital, but that is another discussion. The fact of the matter is that wait times for PROCEDURES are much longer in Canada than in the US. That is documented and cannot be dismissed. If anything, you seem intent on relying on misconceptions of health care in the US. Here are ten things for you to ponder: Fact No. 1: Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers. Fact No. 2: Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians. Fact No. 3: Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries. Fact No. 4: Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians. Fact No. 5: Lower income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians. Fact No. 6: Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada and the U.K. Canadian and British patients wait about twice as long - sometimes more than a year - to see a specialist, to have elective surgery like hip replacements or to get radiation treatment for cancer. Fact No. 7: People in countries with more government control of health care are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed. Fact No. 8: Americans are more satisfied with the care they receive than Canadians. Fact No. 9: Americans have much better access to important new technologies like medical imaging than patients in Canada or the U.K. Fact No. 10: Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations. Source:10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care I was also asked, in so many words, if I mind paying a premium if I can afford it, my answer is a big…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:33)
Belcatar: When I see a leftist screed, I call it a leftist screed. This is a leftist screed: I think what most Americans need to ask themselves is how can they allow a group of people whose only interest is making money the power to decide who lives and dies?? How can any of you sit back and do nothing while your fellow citizens suffer and lose their lives?? It is just disgusting - I think what many of you need is a wake-up call,you ought to be ashamed of yourselves!! If this were the playground, I would have attacked the writer personally, instead of pointing out that what was written was a leftist screed. Health care will be a "right" in Canada as long as the Canadian government can squeeze enough money out of the people to provide it. Here in America, we think of rights as protections against arbitrary use of power. Entitlements are when the government takes money from one person and then gives it to another person. For example, let's look at Social Security. The SSA takes money from me, gives some of it to old people who can't work, and lends the rest of the money to the Federal Government to buy things like bombs and food stamps and booze for Nancy Pelosi. That leaves exactly zero left over in savings for when it's my turn to mooch. By the time I'm too old to work, there won't be anything but IOUs for me. Welcome to socialism in America. When we wake up, as you so eloquently asked us to do, what we should be asking is why we should let government nitwits squander our hard-earned wealth when they obviously can't financially manage a lemonade stand, let alone an entire country.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:31)
simone19: Wow, so many comments!! First to belcatar,"leftist screed", lets save the name-calling for the playground, shall we?? I recently read a story posted in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health co-authored by Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor of medicine at Harvard. According to the report, "A lack of coverage can be tied to about 45,000 deaths a year in the United States". Now, our system is not perfect (and I never claimed it was), but we just don't understand your complacency with this. These are your friends, neighbors and family! There seems to be so many misconceptions about our system - our wait-times are actually better than yours (i've visited quite a few US hospitals, and the average time in my experience was between 8-12 hours). As far as the gov. controlling any aspect of our care/treatment, what you have to realize is that health care is a basic right for us - our doctors are the law, just as the police decide what calls they respond to. I was also asked, in so many words, if I mind paying a premium if I can afford it, my answer is a big yes!! I live in the interior of British Columbia and with a area of 364,800 sq miles, and a population of just 4,419,974, assistance is required. (keep in mind this also helps to pay for travel, accommodations, meals, etc). As most of Canada is rural and we have very few cities, travel is sometimes necessary. That was the case with Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland. Not surprisingly, the rest of that story was omitted. He CHOSE to go to a US hospital rather than travel to Edmonton, and he is now in the process of petitioning the province to reimburse his costs - he will most likely succeed. No one ever said that your country needs to adopt the same system as ours, but it is quite obvious yours is in serious need of an overhaul. *just to clarify the premium comment - my husbands employer offers a benefit package. For $70/mo, our basic premium is covered, as well as full dental, extended medical (prescription, travel insurance, etc), massage therapy, Optometrists including glasses, extended disability, etc, etc. Keep in mind most of this is not needed for our children as government programs automatically cover everyone under the age of 18.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:24)
gitarcarver: I think what most Americans need to ask themselves is how can they allow a group of people whose only interest is making money the power to decide who lives and dies?? We do ask ourselves that all the time. We believe that before demanding that we ask ourselves that question, Canadians should ask themselves the same question. You see insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, drug companies and health care providers as all being evil and only concerned with money. What do you think the government is doing? They certainly are not as efficient in anything as most private entities, so why would you allow a governmental person that is miles away control your health care options and decisions? How can any of you sit back and do nothing while your fellow citizens suffer and lose their lives?? It is just disgusting - I think what many of you need is a wake-up call,you ought to be ashamed of yourselves!! How can you allow your fellow citizens to deal with substandard care which requires long waits for care, at a higher cost, with less outcome? It’s time for all Americans to get their heads of of the sand and say we, the people will finally start taking care of our own first!! You first. Why is it that people that come here talking about "the people" always demand that the government is the answer and not the people? Why is it that "we the people" means "the government taking more money from us" for a system that is less cost effective and efficient? Oh, and by the way.... Some provinces do charge a premium, ours is $130/month, but only if your annual income is above a certain amount. I just want to make sure that I understand this correctly. You have people in your country that you feel can and should pay more for the same product or service than others? Would that be an accurate assessment of this "premium?" If that is the case, then please answer this hypothetical: You walk into a McDonalds looking to order a burger. The guy in front of you orders a burger and the clerk takes his dollar and the guy gets his burger. You order the same burger and the clerk says "that will be three dollars, please." When you ask why the discrepancy in the price, the clerk says "because you make…

Tax Incentives For Me, But Not For Thee
(5 total, Last @ 05:33)
rickdouglas85: Haha, that's freaking hilarious. What a hypocrite!

Tax Incentives For Me, But Not For Thee
(5 total, Last @ 11:21)
Belcatar: He's a caricature of himself. It's not just the way he looks (although that's certainly a big part) it's the way he behaves.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 12:38)
Belcatar: All Canadians are equal and have a right to medical care...except for Danny Williams. He has the right to medical care in the United States. Is he more equal than other Canadians who perhaps can't afford to just skip off to America for a little cardiac quickie? It's very easy to pass judgments on other people or nations. Unfortunately, most of those judgments are misinformed or simply wrong. You're comparing the United States to Canada without taking into account the tremendous differences between our countries. Most of your population lives fairly close to the U.S. border. We have a much higher population spread out over a much larger area, which makes centrally run government programs hard to administer without a lot of waste, fraud and abuse. We have millions of illegal aliens who parade across our southern border. I live a few miles from the Canadian border, and I don't see hordes of people sneaking around looking for a way to cross. Your health care paradise of Unicorns and Meadows might be working fine for you, but America needs a much different model to be successful. So far, the model that delivers the highest quality goods and services for the lowest price is the free market. It's pretty clear that government-run models are impractical for a country as populous and large as the United States. If you want shame for America, you'll have to look elsewhere. Just watch the news...whenever President Obama lands on foreign soil, there's bound to be an apology soon after. I've never been turned away for being poor, and I pretty much live on the edge of poverty in terms of income. Of course, I doubt you'll be back even to read our replies to your leftist screed, so my words are probably falling on blind eyes, yet again.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 09:24)
Dbug: Hello, Simone. I have also never heard of a citizen losing his or her life because treatment was refused. Something the people of other countries can't seem to get is anyone in our country who shows up at a hospital with an emergency is treated - end of story - without the request of "how are you going to pay?" The idea dying people are turned away by US hospitals is a myth. And I don't doubt you have a friend quite content and proud to work in your health care system. But I trust you won't doubt there are plenty of doctors from Canada (and other countries) who come to the US because they do earn a stronger living. Right or wrong, the best and brightest do come here. And I also trust you are honest enough to admit the Canadian system has many of their own problems, which you touched on above. Wait times have allegedly led to unnecessary deaths in your country. (I don't have personal knowledge or insight into the accusations any more than you have insight into the accusations you throw at the US so I'll stick with "allegedly.") Universal health care does cause well-documented financial strains on governments, however, and coverage does get cut. Ours is not a perfect system, and because we're talking about health care specifically, it means those whom the system fails could die. But before you point fingers, recognize the exact same shortcomings are true in your neck of the woods even if they take on different forms. I'd say the difference is most Americans recognize it, but we disagree how to best fix (or at least improve) what we have. Just because you read a thread here indicating we're against universal health care, don't assume we are FOR status quo. We want to change our health care; we just don't want to change it to yours.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:49)
simone19: Hi there! I'm a first-time visitor to this site, and was reading several comments and felt compelled to post my own. As a Canadian citizen, I, like so many others were unaware until recently that a lack of universal health care existed in any industrialized nation. I decided to do a little research on countries without this system, and was quite surprised by what I found. Interestingly enough,the list included China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq (now the US provides their health care), most third-world countries and the US. I've seen many posts discussing the evils of such a system, including "allowing the government to control our health", to wait times, etc, etc. Let me start by saying that unlike the US, we do consider medical care a basic right as all Canadians are equal, from the wealthiest to the poorest. I have never heard of a fellow citizen losing their lives because treatment was refused for any reason(at least not in my lifetime!). Some provinces do charge a premium, ours is $130/month, but only if your annual income is above a certain amount. I also have a great GP (who also happens to be a close friend), and contrary to what most Americans have been told, she makes a great living and is very proud to work in a system where she can provide care based on need, not money!! I think what most Americans need to ask themselves is how can they allow a group of people whose only interest is making money the power to decide who lives and dies?? How can any of you sit back and do nothing while your fellow citizens suffer and lose their lives?? It is just disgusting - I think what many of you need is a wake-up call,you ought to be ashamed of yourselves!! It's time for all Americans to get their heads of of the sand and say we, the people will finally start taking care of our own first!!

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 06:04)
Dbug: No can do - I'm from Missouri. Actually, if I use Mikey Logic, I'm from the Midwest which entails both MO and MI. When I look at it that way, I'm as much from Michigan as he is from Flint. Filling out those forms will give me something to do as I continue to wait for an honest response from our new-found friends.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 11:49)
Belcatar: That's what we get for giving away our ideas for free. Michael Moore gets 7.50 a pop to spout his. Maybe we should apply to the Michigan Film Board for a tax break.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 08:59)
Dbug: Well here we are on Feb. 2 and I guess our friend didn't receive any emails. No word on if the $40 went to Haitian relief, his buddy "Face" or was spent on booze and strip clubs. Amazingly, they haven't answered any of the legitimate questions posed to them. Color me "shocked."

The Declining Influence of Moore
(5 total, Last @ 08:54)
Dbug: I'll try to snag one from the library (I refuse to add one nickel to that man's sizable coffers) to refresh my memory later on as well. That said, I'm sure folks here noted the Oscar nominations have come out, and we have further evidence how far the "mighty" have fallen. A few years removed from deciding if he just wanted to take the "gimmie" Oscar for Best Doc or go "all in" for a shot at Best Picture, Mikey can't even get his latest tripe nominated. Man, that's gotta hurt.

Sanjay Gupta, Superstar
(5 total, Last @ 03:00)
Belcatar: Update 3: Michael Moore applies for Michigan Tax Credit for his movie "Capitalsim: A Love Story" After publicly denouncing the program, while he sits on an advisory aboard that offers counsel to the people who award the tax credit. Are there even five people who still take this man seriously?

Sanjay Gupta, Superstar
(5 total, Last @ 08:32)
Neodad: I've been enjoying reading this site. I think it is valuable and will continue to read. But on this story, I must ask, is CNN considered an infallible source of information. I respect this site for asking questions and poking its nose where some do not believe it belongs. More power to ya. So, because CNN says it's so, is that good enough, even when self-serving. Just asking with all due respect, as I had not even heard this story until today.

The Declining Influence of Moore
(5 total, Last @ 03:31)
DonnaK: Has there been a public fleecing of Capitalism yet? Have any of the owners/main contributors of this site seen it? Neither Jim nor I got the chance to see it. It was only in theaters in our area for a couple of weeks and we weren't able to find a copy online. I totally wanted to go through it with a fine toothed comb but I never got the chance. I did watch "The Corportion" in preparation for it - if you haven't seen that yet watch it... it's... eye opening. And familiar. ;) As soon as it comes out on DVD I'll watch it and give thoughts then. :)

The Declining Influence of Moore
(5 total, Last @ 04:01)
Dbug: Not sure where else to post this, so bear with me. Has there been a public fleecing of Capitalism yet? Have any of the owners/main contributors of this site seen it? I did see the "documentary" a while back and recall most of it was, as you'd expect, based purely on emotion. ("How could they throw out these poor, innocent families?") Indeed, the end of the film mentioned one family of squatters was still living in a home despite not having paid rent/mortgage for months. You got the feeling we were supposed to praise them. But there were some facts thrown around I wondered if anyone had debunked. Sadly, I really don't recall what I wanted to know as it's been a while. Something that went through it, though, would certainly refresh my memory. Does anyone know if this exists? I know not too many people saw this hard-hitting piece of journalistic integrity, but I'm hoping some of the folks here did. Thanks!

Sanjay Gupta, Superstar
(5 total, Last @ 05:58)
Technomad: I'm waiting with baited breath (as the cheese-eating cat said, sitting at the mousehole) for Moore to say something about the Massachusetts election. I'd expect him to let loose an "open letter" to the people of the Commonwealth, castigating them for not doing as Darth Michael commands, and promising his hordes' unholy vengeance on them for rejecting Coakley, the Dolores Umbridge of New England, in favor of Barabbas---er, I mean, Brown.

Moore manages to confound one reporter
(150 total, Last @ 04:33)
DonnaK: Why, thank you, gitarcarver. There's just one thing you missed. I DIDN'T WRITE THIS ARTICLE. The ONLY part of this article I wrote was the first paragraph. Here, I'll quote it for everyone so they don't have to scroll up: I just got this article in my mail and I thought it was so entirely brilliant that I feel the need to republish it in its entirety. It’s from a site named The Shotgun and it counts twelve ways Moore managed to make inane remarks in a two and a half minute interview clip. Watch the clip while you read the post - it’s a really great deconstruction of Moore’s words. Please note the part I bolded. I republished this article IN ITS ENTIRETY. It's not mine. I liked it so I linked to it and republished it here. I only wrote the intro. I fail to see how anyone wtih more than two brain cells could miss the fact that I didn't write this article, but apparently they have. So, one more time for the cheap seats. I DIDN'T WRITE THIS. If you want to argue the points, argue the points... just don't direct your arguments at me. Thank you, please drive though....

Moore manages to confound one reporter
(150 total, Last @ 02:25)
gitarcarver: To the person seeking to criticize DonnaK: If you are going to attack another person's writing or choice of words, perhaps you shouldn't live in a literary glass house. First, when quoting someone, one should use quotation marks, not apostrophes as you did. Secondly, punctuation such as commas are contained within the quotes, rather than outside of them as you have done. (We won't even go into the fact that your use of a comma is unnecessary and faulty grammar.) The backhanded swipe at DonnaK's intelligence is a nice touch, albeit even there you completely screwed up the punctuation and the spelling of the word "thereof." (We won't even go into the extra comma following "of" being unnecessary.) Of course, you also failed to capitalize "i" in your last sentence, but we will put that down to a typographic error. In case you haven't grasped the overall meaning of this post, your attack on someone's intelligence and choice of a word in a post riddled with literary errors has resulted in the proverbial "egg on your face." However, in order to be fair, let's address the actual points you seem to be making. First, you seem to be upset with the use of the word "stupid" to describe Moore's comments to an interviewer. The definition of "stupid" is: 1. lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull. 2. characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish; senseless: a stupid question. 3. tediously dull, esp. due to lack of meaning or sense; inane; pointless: a stupid party. 4. annoying or irritating; troublesome: If you actually took the time to read the point by point analysis of Moore's remarks, you would find that "stupid" is a correct and apt description. If the actual word "stupid" offends you, please feel free to choose from one of the following that come close, but do not quite capture the essence of "stupid:" brainless, dazed, deficient, dense, dim, doltish, dopey, dull, dumb, dummy, foolish, futile, gullible, half-baked, half-witted, idiotic, ill-advised, imbecilic, inane, indiscreet, insensate, irrelevant, laughable, loser, ludicrous, meaningless, mindless, moronic, naive, nonsensical, obtuse, out to lunch, pointless, puerile, rash, senseless, shortsighted, simple, simpleminded, slow, sluggish, stolid, stupefied, thick, thick-headed, trivial, unintelligent, unthinking, witless, batty, campy, crazy, daffy, dippy, flaky, fooling around, foolish, for grins, freaky, gagged up, goofy, idiotic, illogical, inane, incongruous, irrational, jokey, joshing, laughable, loony, ludicrous, nonsensical, nutty, off the wall, preposterous, sappy,…

Moore manages to confound one reporter
(150 total, Last @ 10:50)
arj.: To the writer of this original post, DonnaK: Please use what little imagination you have to think of a better word than 'Stupid', if you feel the need to criticise Moore's work. You're only insulting your own intelligence.. or lack there of, perhaps? I'm both unaware and apathetic as to what you yourself do for a living, but i highly doubt your ability to inspire, inform and influence as many people as Michael Moore does.

Moore manages to confound one reporter
(150 total, Last @ 10:53)
gitarcarver: I know that there are people who confuse tax funded entitlements with free, but I’m also quite sure that you, me or nor anyone else here confuses the two. Yet you did just that. You were the one promoting the idea that free education has no costs. You then tried to say that health care would be free as well. These programs cost. The question is whether the government can do something better and cheaper than the private sector. Clearly they cannot. Most of your numbers seems to come from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), an insurance industry group. Hardly un-biased. I have never heard of this group. Not once. I am always amazed at how people dismiss those who disagree with them as being "biased" without any proof of that bias. According to the CBO the House healthcare bill is now deficit neutral. Clearly you do not understand the analysis of the bill. The CBO says the bill in its current form is deficit neutral. The only problem is that by statute, the CBO can only look at something for 10 years. What they looked at therefore was the bill's cost projecting out only for ten years. The problem is that in those ten years of increased taxes, increased spending, etc, there are only 6 years of benefits. Are you really willing to say that means when there are 10 years of benefits that the bill will be deficit neutral? If you are, I have have a couple of bridges in New York I would love to sell you. I’m a universal healthcare proponent. But I’m not a proponent of the current bill, nor any other bill. Nor am I against it. I am for some form of universal healthcare. The specific form you want (or in your case, don’t want) to adopt in the US is up to you guys to decide on. I’ll chime in with my opinion of course. After all, I am a liberal (US meaning of the word) euro elitist. It’s what we do… ;) Oh, I understand what you are. You are a person that says "look at the problem" and cannot offer a solution. You are a person that condemns what they do not understand. We here in the US believe in free speech, especially free political speech so I personally believe that you have the right to say what you want.…

Sanjay Gupta, Superstar
(5 total, Last @ 11:12)
Belcatar: Uptade 2: Moore announced that Cuba has sent 300 doctors to help out in Haiti, which is nice, except that he's only using the announcement as a way of bashing the U.S. health care system. He also conveniently omits the GIANT AMERICAN HOSPITAL SHIP sitting off the coast of Haiti. He also skips over Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts, which could end up killing Obamacare.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 10:54)
Belcatar: Dbug, Here's a good list that gives you an idea of what to include in an emergency kit. I'm not shilling for the company, nor am I affiliated with it. I just think they have a good selection of emergency preparedness items. http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_K7%20B350_A_name_E_3-Day%20Lite%20Emergency%20Kit

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 10:10)
Dbug: With regards to your challenge, I'll follow Belcatar's lead and simply put it here. I volunteer at an organization which reads magazines and books to the blind and print-handicapped over closed-circuit radios. I love doing it, more than I would building a home via Habitat for Humanity, serving food at a shelter or being a Big Brother. However, all of them are excellent organizations. So my advice is not just volunteer, but to find one that lets you do something you enjoy. Not only are you giving back, you're having a blast doing it. At that point, it's not charity - it's simply community. Belcatar, if you'd be so kind, provide a link of some of the recommendations on keeping emergency packs nearby. I'm already doing the first on your list, and will gladly take you up on the second. (No backyard and a brown thumb prohibit me from jumping on your last suggestion, though.) My comments are free, too. Give your $40 to Haitian relief.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 10:07)
Dbug: But here we are, trying to make a difference in the world anyway. I have to side with Face on this one. I just wish I could have made it into the discussion a few days sooner. Re-read the posts, George - Face was the one arguing doctors are only in it for the greed, not me. My point was, and still is, doctors get high reward because of all that goes into being a doctor. I won't ask if you would do it for a specific salary because you'll likely say yes, and we don't know if you're completely honest or not. Instead, let me ask this - how much is your student loan sum going to be by the time you actually graduate? The follow-up question - how exactly would you be able to pay it off if you made $35,000 a year instead of $140,000? You've already explained your wife can barely cover her own student loans. So how would that work if she had to pay off yours? Doctors deserve the money they get. Also, I was the one who reminded Face a common motivation for doctors was actually the want to do good, not the other way around. As far as the teaching profession, my mother not only taught high school throughout my life, but in a very difficult district (East St. Louis, IL). Growing up, I was surrounded by teachers, adminitrators and counselors. I stay in contact with a few of them even today. In addition, two of my best friends are currently teachers, one specializing in hard-of-hearing classrooms. I have other (not as close) friends who teach as well. Yes, they love teaching. Yes, they want to do good. But yes, they appreciate the competitive salary. And yes, they love the fact they have the summer off (especially those with children - I was blessed to have mom around during days off from school). And yes, they enjoy the benefits, days off during semesters, good retirement packages and set schedules. You married a teacher and have (at most) a few years personal experience with the teaching profession. Please don't think I'm trying to trivialize or diminish that. But I have four decades of personal experience with those in the teaching profession. I feel very comfortable in my earlier statements, and I stand by them.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 02:56)
bismarck: jaydenj, I just heard the bell ring. It's time for you to go back in from recess.

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 12:08)
gitarcarver: Sounds like the product of global warming to me. Really? What part of global warming does it sound like to you? The part where we have just learned that the hysteria over the retreating Himalayan glaciers retreating had been faked? http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6991177.ece Or the part where NASA and NOAA manipulated the data to fit a preconceived conclusion? http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/40749822.html Oh that’s right - conservatives don’t believe in that type of science! You're right. We don't want to believe in science that is faked, manipulated, incorrect and politically motivated. The question then becomes, "why do you want to believe in 'science' that is not, by definition, scientific?" It must have been Socialism killing those people in the Cuban Psychiatric Hospital. No, it was the state of the Cuban health care system that helped kill those people. That is the very health care that Moore used as a shining example of how health care should be. In other words, that shining example let people die for a lack of blankets in weather that was not freezing. Meanwhile the Capitalism that energy companies and HMO’s enjoy is destroying the lives of millions through poor health care, embargos and oh yes… POLUTION! I am sure that companies do not have the power or authority to place embargoes on anything, or didn't you realize that? I am always curious when people make statements such as your that are clearly based on ignorance, what would be the motivation? Is it that you abhor the truth? Is is that you are such of a moral coward that you choose to ignore facts that are contradict your ideas and not just say "ooops! I made a mistake." Is that not within you? Your post was just another ill fated attempt at shifting the goalposts away from the topic at hand. It failed miserably, but you won't see that as your "I hate capitalism and conservatives" syndrome seems to have taken contol of your life. Maybe you should go to Cuba and get someone to look at that. Be sure to take a blanket with you.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 09:35)
jaydenj: Posted by Rann Aridorn on 12/17/2009 at 10:59 AM (Link to this comment | ) Oh Jiminy Christmas, Michael Moore went to Japan to render judgment on Akihabara. I guess it’s true… some fat, white Americans just can’t keep themselves from going to other countries and trying to tell them what’s what. That's right! A bunch of fat americans have been going to other countries for years and imposing their will! Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba, Vietnam, Korea.... should i continue? I may just be that Moore has the interests of humanity at heart whilst the others have had the interests of big business and the industrial military complex to keep happy! xoxo The pleasant Skippy!

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 09:29)
jaydenj: Cold snap weather in a Tropical country? Hmmmmm.... Sounds like the product of global warming to me. Oh that's right - conservatives don't believe in that type of science! It must have been Socialism killing those people in the Cuban Psychiatric Hospital. Meanwhile the Capitalism that energy companies and HMO's enjoy is destroying the lives of millions through poor health care, embargos and oh yes... POLUTION!

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 03:34)
CaptCBleu: How about this solution gsmith, how about the people be responsible for their own problems for a change and keep the government out of our personal affairs. Do I get the $40? Probably not as this is not good enough for you. There is only one person that is responsible for handling my health care and that is me, not the government, not society, not you, not the others that make suggestions for a solution. If those that die in the streets from hunger, bad health, and/or the cold, died because they were not responsible to themselves. They did not seek out and take advantage of the programs that exist to help them currently. This sounds cruel, but doom on them. I am sorry sir, but you would be better off saving your "hard earned money" and spend it on grammar lessons.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 12:45)
Belcatar: Here, I'll put my idea right here on the page so that everyone can see it. Vote for people who promise to lower taxes and reduce the size of government. Reducing the size and authority of government would spur innovation, prevent corruption, enable the free exchange of ideas necessary for progress, and generally make the country a better place for everyone. Here's another idea, and you can have this one for free: Foster a culture of self-sufficiency by maintaining food and water storage, having an emergency pack ready, and avoiding unnecessary debt. Self-sufficient people are the backbone of any free society. The more self sufficient people we have, the stronger we are as a nation, regardless of how many guns are pointed at our enemies. You can start fostering a culture of self-sufficiency by planting a backyard garden in the spring. Get your friends and neighbors to do the same. You don't need much space, a 4' x 4' area will yield more than you might expect if you do it right. Regardless of who wins your mighty bounty, I fully intend to take action on both of my ideas.

Sanjay Gupta, Superstar
(5 total, Last @ 11:41)
Belcatar: I doubt even Moore would argue with that. Edit: Actually, he might. I glanced at his page. At the top there's a thing about Martin Luther King and Haiti in which he uses quotes to indirectly accuse the United States of being responsible for the destruction. Then he indirectly blames Bush for the speed of the U.S. response (because of the Iraq and Afghan wars. Nothing on there noting that Americans are down there pulling people out of the rubble.Nothing on there about American reporters forgetting that they're reporters and just becoming people caught up in a horrendous situation. Nothing about Gupta. He also disparages the efforts of former presidents Clinton and Bush, using the headline, "The Nation That Kills Together Goodwills Together." Almost as an afterthought, he provides links to OXFAM and other aid groups. You would think that a person who fights for the little guy might be able to put his ridiculous leftist agenda aside for one minute and just try to help. Everything he does lowers him farther and farther in my sight. I'm hoping that soon he'll be so low that I'll no longer be able to discover his whereabouts or his activities.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 10:43)
gsmith: To Debug and Face... Debug, I can actually speak for both the groups you are talking about. I'm a Medical student and my Wife is in fact a teacher. While I can assure you that neither of us went into these professions for the money I'm sure you will not believe me. But let me say this, if it was money I wanted I would have remained a Business finance major and would be working 1/2 the hours for 2x the money! But I have this underlying need to help others. And while the prospect of making about 140,000 (avg. doctors income) leaves me and my family comfortable at night, it really doesn't say anything to the shear enjoyment I get from really helping people on a daily basis. I know what you are thinking...And yes, my wife was a teacher before she married me and we both knew that she would barely make enough to cover her student loans. But here we are, trying to make a difference in the world anyway. I have to side with Face on this one. I just wish I could have made it into the discussion a few days sooner. But here is why I really commented on this post... I have issued a challenge and I hope both of you will participate. And I am copying and pasting here but I hope both of you will get the idea... "In Fact. If some of you out there want to make it interesting!!! I’ll give $40 of my hard earned cash to the best idea… Just email georgesmith827@yahoo.com by feb/1/2010 and the best idea about helping your fellow US citizen gets 40 bucks (cash, no strings attached). Some thing that is a small contribution to a small community would be preferred. And I will also give $30 to the admin. of this site for helping promote this idea. There is just one catch, I will email everyone with the winning idea and everyone has to put there actions were there mouth is, I expect everyone to actually take part and preform the winning idea. So there it is... If you are both so smart... it should be easy to win. Lets be part of the solution, not the problem. -George S

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 10:10)
gsmith: Look, I'm not a moore-on or anything but lets be realistic here. 100's of people die in the US streets every night due to everything from hunger and cold to treatable infections. So it's hard to start bashing Cuba until we fix our own issues with preventable death. The government is well aware of our plight in this country and they are not rushing in to help, so lets be serous. We all could help out our fellow man a little more. Instead of wasting time making pointless comments to one another, lets thing of some real life solutions and really get these chat forums interesting. In Fact. If some of you out there want to make it interesting!!! I'll give $40 of my hard earned cash to the best idea... Just email georgesmith827@yahoo.com by feb/1/2010 and the best idea about helping your fellow US citizen gets 40 bucks (cash, no strings attached). Some thing that is a small contribution to a small community would be preferred. And I will also give $30 to the admin. of this site for helping promote this idea. There is just one catch, I will email everyone with the winning idea and everyone has to put there actions were there mouth is, I expect everyone to actually take part and preform the winning idea. Lets be part of the solution, not the problem. -George S

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 04:49)
Dbug: Though it looks like our new friends are gone, an update for Guy if he wanders back into the waters - I did look through your links. For the record, all but one of his "anti-Universal health care" links is dead. The one that isn't is a dated 1994 publication. A few of the "pro-Universal health care" links are also dead, but most are active. They use the same projected costs, projected savings and projected health care quality that are, at best, under debate from others. They use the numbers, but offer nothing to prove their numbers are valid. I won't get into who is right or wrong. I will just say it is without question there is a debate about which numbers out there are accurate. They do have some numbers, such as the amount of money used in administration costs in our current system, which may be right. Don't know. It assign $350 billion as that cost, and assumes those expenditures would simply disappear under a single-payer system run by the govt. Thus the system would pay for itself! Govt run systems will drastically REDUCE administrative and red-tape costs...now that's a good one!

Cold Water on the Cuban Myth
(6 total, Last @ 05:53)
Technomad: Cubans love to blame the embargo for everything that's gone wrong in their country; AFAIK the embargo does not forbid them to trade with the rest of the world. And they could get rid of it in a heartbeat by compensating the American firms that were confiscated and nationalized in 1959 with real money. That's what set off the embargo in the first place.

The Declining Influence of Moore
(5 total, Last @ 04:31)
Technomad: Mikey's thrashing around like a gaffed fish, trying to recapture those dear dead days when he seemed to be at the head of American left-wing activism. Unfortunately, he's now got a President that all but made him cream his trousers, and that President's numbers are falling like a stone kite---and Mikey's followers are increasingly disillusioned and remembering the wisdom of being careful what you wish for, for you may get it.

The Declining Influence of Moore
(5 total, Last @ 02:28)
chrisbg99: The only thing layered that makes sense to Moore is cake.

The Surrender Letter
(2 total, Last @ 02:34)
seasmoke70: I'm a first time poster here. Been reading this site for at least 3 years. Thought that I would write a letter to Mikey like the one that he wrote to Obama. It reads: Part I Dear Mr. Moore, Do you really want to be the new "documentarian"? If you go to any college tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than decreasing, the truth in your movies and blather , you are the new age documentarian. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do -- destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in your bullshit ramblings. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campus visits into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they've always heard is true -- that all documentarians are alike. I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn't so. It is not your job to do what the general public tells you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the movie makers what to do, not the other way around. That's the way United Artists insisted it must be. That's what the CEO of MGM told Ken Burns when Ken wanted to make a documentary on WWII’s invasion of China. "You're fired!," said the CEO, and that was that. And you should have fired any other film maker when they went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our college kids in the armed services, but we f*#∈' hate these CEO’s, from Eisner in Disneyland to, yes, even Colin Firth for lying to the Greeks with his made-up drawings of his lost love on Mamma Mia! (he has since sought redemption). So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the people at Mother Goose had a cool idea -- "Let's interview Charlston Heston!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the documentary coffin. (cameras only from one angle, then, wow, from two angles) There's a reason they don't call Mother Goose’s bay area the "Garden State" (though they probably should, seeing how the corrupt Nancy Pelosi, whom we back, has…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 04:32)
gitarcarver: Man, I tell ya.... go away for a few months and all heck breaks out here. :) On "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." The assertion by GuyFawkes is that the above from the Declaration of Independence should now mean that health care is a basic human right. That assertion falls on several counts. First, GuyFawkes must believe that "life" and "health care" were the intended meanings of the founding fathers. As there was no formal "health care" system as GuyFawkes wants in that day, clearly the founding fathers were not saying that "life" and "health care" were one in the same. Furthermore, GuyFawkes tries the slight of hand trick in equating "health" and "health care." The two are not the same. One relates to the state of wellness in a person, and the other relates to a system. It is important to note that Jefferson was relying on earlier writings of philosophers and the phrase "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" was originally "life, liberty and the pursuit of property." The founding fathers equating happiness with property defeats one of the very foundations that GuyFawkes and Facepalming put forth - the idea that working for money, a goal, or property is somehow a horrible idea. Unless either of those fine posters are willing to say that they would go to work, do a job, and not get paid, their cries of "too much money" fall on deaf ears. But even deaf ears can still kick the snot out of an argument. One of the new regulations that is about to come down on Medicare payments is a reduction in payments for cardiologists who are called in to the hospital during their time off. The new old rate was about $225 to come in, examine, review, etc. The new rate is $127. That is less than a plumber charges for an emergency call. That means that the government now is telling you that a specialist with 8 years of training is worth less than a plumber. On "Well… the current system is not resulting in a better quality of life for most people." This is one assertion that always makes me chuckle. If one looks at outcome based rankings, and quality of health care, the US leads or is in the top 3 of every category. Clearly those who assert such a thing have only bought into the headlines…

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 11:49)
Belcatar: Why should only doctors have their wages dictated? We're talking about fairness here, right? So let's make sure we're fair to everyone. Doctors shouldn't have BMWs and big houses and stuff, so neither should anyone else. Let's look around the economic landscape and decide what a fair salary is for the following professions: Garbage collector Game designer Actor, Film Heating/Plumbing Specialist Actor, Television Advertising Executive Engineer Architect Professional Basketball Player Speech/Language Pathologist Dental Hygienist Auto Mechanic Conservative Talk Radio Host All of these people work in order to earn money. Let's make sure they don't make more than is "fair." So Facepalm, tell us what a "fair" wage is for these professions.

Boycott The Voters
(74 total, Last @ 08:14)
Dbug: Actually, Face, I do know people who have gone into teaching for money. Just because they're not going to make doctor salaries doesn't mean they consider teacher salaries a pittance. And let's be perfectly honest - if you ask a lot of teachers why they went into that profession, they'll tell you "Three reasons - June, July and August." (And if money is so low of a factor, explain why teachers often want to be transferred to the higher paying districts which may not necessarily be the most affluent communities.) But what you're completely ignoring is the time, cost, pressure and difficulty it takes to be a doctor. There is high reward, but high risk and high cost first. Take away the high reward, and why would anyone want to go into it? Those who really want to do good for other people (a career motivation for doctors you're conveniently neglecting) may simply choose to be cops, teachers or nurses and not cough up the ungodly amounts of money it takes for medical school. Those in it for the money only will go to law school. With regards to greed, I would argue the people who invented cars, computers, etc. did so to make a buck. Would you rather go without? Sounds to me like it helped this planet immensely. I would also argue the current system actually does work fine for the majority of people, not the minority as you stated. That said, a large enough percentage of the population is not well-enough served. But if it's the minority, does that mean we need to overhaul the entire system, or improve the current? Moore's fans (like those over at Daily Kos) scream until they're blue in the face folks like me are for status quo, don't want change and are willing to screw the little guy. Wrong. We're saying if status quo is Plan A, and universal is Plan B, we like Plan C - reform and revamp what we've got. To tweak your analogy, the car won't start so you argue we need to buy a new BMW. We're asking "Can't we just buy a new battery?" Finally, "Moore-ons" is an obvious pun on the name. Let's not blow this out of proportion. Unless you really are that deeply offended by such juvenile "flaming" in which case I'm sure you always side with the conservatives on Daily Kos…

The World Is Ending
(8 total, Last @ 06:27)
Tuvok: He also doesn’t understand the concept of opportunity cost: the reason Europeans don’t mind big government is because they see the visible benefits of it—“free” healthcare and college—and miss the invisible costs—the full employment and booming economies they would otherwise have. I hate to burst your bubble, of course we in europe do see the visible benefits, and as someone else mentioned we are not blind to the much higher taxes we pay. That said, does it really matter that much to you if it's a private company that takes (just an example figure) 10% of your income or the government? And missing booming economy and full employment? Here in Denmark unemployment were in practice nil until the recession, a recession which by the way have hit Denmark a lot less harder than i.e. the US. And indeed the economy was booming big time, and todays "bad times" aren't really as bad, and certainly nothing in comparison to the US's. The argument that some brings that big and strong government equals bad government is, to put it bluntly, ludicrous. But governments need to be held accountable, sadly too many politicians have lived in politics for too long, this is a global problem, not unique to any country. Unfortunately the US suffers greatly under this problem as they have a disproportionate amount of these people in power. Yes MM makes some funny and/or silly blunders, but it's a shame to hang solely on his blunders and totally miss the point he's trying to bring across.