By 49%-40% those surveyed say it was "a good thing" rather than a bad one that Congress passed the bill. Half describe their reaction in positive terms, as "enthusiastic" or "pleased," while about four in 10 describe it in negative ways, as "disappointed" or "angry."I'm willing to bet there are a significant number of people in that 49% who did not support the Bill yesterday. Then there are likely a significant number of people who have a lets wait and see attitude. Others who were "opposed" to the Bill were progressives who didn't think it went far enough. There is still a large group of people who bought into the lies and misconceptions about the Bill. Many of them will soon see that there are no death panels. In any case, some people just love being on the winning side and I expect support of the passage of HCR will continue to rise.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Everyone Loves a Winner
Yesterday a sizeable number of people did not support the health care reform bill. Today, there is a whole new picture.
Are Federal Taxes Too High?
Complaints about taxes are everywhere. But are Federal taxes too high? According to the Tax Policy Center only 4 countries had taxes lower than the USA in 2006: Japan, Korea, Turkey and Mexico. All taxes, collected in the USA, accounted for about 28% of GDP compared with 36% of OECD countries. Many countries in Europe exceed 40% of GDP in taxes. Those are the countries that provide lot's of services to their citizens. The difference seems to be in how taxes are levied. Personal income taxes comprise 36% of US tax revenues. Most other countries use a "consumption tax" as a source of federal revenue. Surprisingly, corporate taxes in the USA account for only 12% of tax revenue in the US, only 1% more than most members of the OECD.
Where Were the Republicans?
Richard Cohen, not one of my favorites, writes this:
Anger comes from fear. What was once a white Protestant nation is changing hue and religion. It is no accident that racial epithets were yelled at black lawmakers on Saturday in Washington and a kind of venom even gets exclaimed from the floor of the Congress: "You lie!" "Baby killer!" The protesters were protesting health-care legislation. But they feared they were losing their country.
I think this is right. The tea party is a perfect example of the above. They are mostly white, middle-aged to older individuals who are fearful of change. Our nation is changing and persons of a conservative bent take change poorly.
Social security was passed with 81 republican votes in the House and 16 votes in the Senate. Only 6 republican senators voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Medicare was supported by 13 republican senators. The health care reform act passed without the support of a single republican.
So what was different in that vote? The answer is pretty simple. There are no longer republicans in the GOP like those that voted for SS, or Civil Rights, or Medicare. Those were RINO (republicans in name only) republicans. The Republican party today is made up of fearmongers, doomsayers, and politicians who care more about getting re-elected than doing the right thing.
See the post immediately below. Republicans have decided that the way to regain control of government is to obstruct every Democratic proposal, then run a campaign on how Democrats were unable to pass any legislation. It may work in the short run. But remember, the nation is getting less white, less racist, less religious (albeit very slowly) and more tolerant.
Republicans only need to keep using current tactics to eventually destroy their party.
Anger comes from fear. What was once a white Protestant nation is changing hue and religion. It is no accident that racial epithets were yelled at black lawmakers on Saturday in Washington and a kind of venom even gets exclaimed from the floor of the Congress: "You lie!" "Baby killer!" The protesters were protesting health-care legislation. But they feared they were losing their country.
I think this is right. The tea party is a perfect example of the above. They are mostly white, middle-aged to older individuals who are fearful of change. Our nation is changing and persons of a conservative bent take change poorly.
Social security was passed with 81 republican votes in the House and 16 votes in the Senate. Only 6 republican senators voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Medicare was supported by 13 republican senators. The health care reform act passed without the support of a single republican.
So what was different in that vote? The answer is pretty simple. There are no longer republicans in the GOP like those that voted for SS, or Civil Rights, or Medicare. Those were RINO (republicans in name only) republicans. The Republican party today is made up of fearmongers, doomsayers, and politicians who care more about getting re-elected than doing the right thing.
See the post immediately below. Republicans have decided that the way to regain control of government is to obstruct every Democratic proposal, then run a campaign on how Democrats were unable to pass any legislation. It may work in the short run. But remember, the nation is getting less white, less racist, less religious (albeit very slowly) and more tolerant.
Republicans only need to keep using current tactics to eventually destroy their party.
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Republican Plan to Destroy President Obama
You can read the whole thing here, but this is what stands out:
The GOP game is as simple as it is hypocritical. First: Reject every Democratic proposal — including some of the exact same initiatives that Republicans championed under Bush — while branding the consensus-seeking Obama as a radical leftist. Second: Stoke populist fury over exploding deficits, even though they're the fallout of eight catastrophic years of Republican rule. (President Bush inherited a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion and left behind a forecasted deficit of $3 trillion.) Three: Promise to fix what's wrong with Washington — despite having waged an all-out war to make government appear as broken as possible.
Wait for the Senate reconciliation vote on health care reform. All of a sudden Republicans are going to start supporting ideas that Democrats want removed from the Senate version of the health care bill. Republicans now want to make sure those items in the bill they were complaining about last week.....remain in the bill. The whole idea, of course, is to keep those special handouts to Florida and Nebraska in the Bill, so they can continue to complain about them.
Disgusting.
The GOP game is as simple as it is hypocritical. First: Reject every Democratic proposal — including some of the exact same initiatives that Republicans championed under Bush — while branding the consensus-seeking Obama as a radical leftist. Second: Stoke populist fury over exploding deficits, even though they're the fallout of eight catastrophic years of Republican rule. (President Bush inherited a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion and left behind a forecasted deficit of $3 trillion.) Three: Promise to fix what's wrong with Washington — despite having waged an all-out war to make government appear as broken as possible.
Wait for the Senate reconciliation vote on health care reform. All of a sudden Republicans are going to start supporting ideas that Democrats want removed from the Senate version of the health care bill. Republicans now want to make sure those items in the bill they were complaining about last week.....remain in the bill. The whole idea, of course, is to keep those special handouts to Florida and Nebraska in the Bill, so they can continue to complain about them.
Disgusting.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Why Do Americans Have So Much Hate?
Here are the tea baggers upset with a man with Parkinson's disease. No hand outs here, you have to work for what everything you "git". No compassion whatsoever.
Teabaggers kind of remind me of the residents of South Park.
Teabaggers kind of remind me of the residents of South Park.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mumps
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by infection with a virus which belongs to the genus Paramyxovirus. The most common symptom of mumps is swollen parotid glands which are the large salivary glands located anterior and inferior to the ear. The mumps virus can be transmitted via the respiratory route (coughing), kissing, and contact with saliva. The virus also survives for short period on surfaces and can be spread by contact.
The incubation period for the mumps virus is 14-25 days with a 3-5 day prodromal period. Involvement of the of the central nervous system is common, but often asymptomatic in children. CNS involvement rarely manifests itself as encephalitis in adults. Shedding of virus in the saliva begins about 6 days prior to onset of symptoms and continues for another 5-9 days.
In postpubertal males, inflammation of the testicles occurs in about 50% of those infected. Sterility rarely results but testicular atrophy is more common.
The mumps virus can also infect the pancreas resulting in the disturbance of endocrine and exocrine functions. This can result in diabetic manifestations and has been hypothesized to be a cause of juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
The mumps paramyxovirus is enveloped and consists of a single negative sense segment of RNA, 15-19 kb in length containing 6-10 genes. More information on the genome of the mumps virus can be found here.
Mumps can be serologically diagnosed using ELISA to detect mumps-specific antibodies or using RT polymerase chain reaction to detect viral particles in the saliva.
Treatment consists of bed rest and over-the-counter drugs to relieve pain. Aspirin should not be taken, especially in those below the age of 20 due to a link to Reye Syndrome.
The incubation period for the mumps virus is 14-25 days with a 3-5 day prodromal period. Involvement of the of the central nervous system is common, but often asymptomatic in children. CNS involvement rarely manifests itself as encephalitis in adults. Shedding of virus in the saliva begins about 6 days prior to onset of symptoms and continues for another 5-9 days.
In postpubertal males, inflammation of the testicles occurs in about 50% of those infected. Sterility rarely results but testicular atrophy is more common.
The mumps virus can also infect the pancreas resulting in the disturbance of endocrine and exocrine functions. This can result in diabetic manifestations and has been hypothesized to be a cause of juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
The mumps paramyxovirus is enveloped and consists of a single negative sense segment of RNA, 15-19 kb in length containing 6-10 genes. More information on the genome of the mumps virus can be found here.
Mumps can be serologically diagnosed using ELISA to detect mumps-specific antibodies or using RT polymerase chain reaction to detect viral particles in the saliva.
Treatment consists of bed rest and over-the-counter drugs to relieve pain. Aspirin should not be taken, especially in those below the age of 20 due to a link to Reye Syndrome.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Good Question for Journalists
Why has our profession, through its general silence -- or only spasmodic protest -- helped Fox legitimize a style of journalism that is dishonest in its intellectual process, untrustworthy in its conclusions and biased in its gestalt?Howell Raines
Thursday, March 11, 2010
My Proposed Budget Plans
You have to admire the courage of Rep. Paul Ryan's roadmap to fiscal sanity. The guy is actually willing to propose privatizing social security, cutting medicare and cutting taxes (mostly for the rich...see above chart). No wonder other Republicans aren't coming out of the woodwork supporting his propsals. But, he sort of has the right idea.
Here are my budget proposals. First, cut the defense budget 100 billion dollars a year. We spend more on defense than most of the rest of the world combined.
Second, institute a war tax to pay for our ongoing wars. It should be a tax that completely covers waging two wars. Then let's see how much support American's have for those wars.
Third, raise the retirement age at which you can draw full social security. It was raised some time ago to 66. If that one year age increase made such a big difference, an increase to age 67 should be helpful. Also, increase the amount of salary that is taxed for social security.
Fourth, Medicare.....Institute Medicare for all (single-payer). Most of the developed (and even some of the undeveloped) world has done this sucessfully. Why spend so much money on defending our fearful population from terrorist attacks when thousands are dying every year from lack of adequate health care.
Fifth, institute an immediate program to increase the number of college graduates in the USA. Our country is rapidly falling behind as the "go to" country for science and engineering. We need a plan like those put in place after WWII and after the Soviets launched Sputnik.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Conservative Dictionary
It's been pretty clear, the last few years, that there are things conservative lawmakers are allowed to do which democratic lawmakers are not allowed to do. Maybe making and adding to a consevative political lexicon would be fun.
Steve Benen at Washington Monthly's "Political Animal" helps gets us started.
Steve Benen at Washington Monthly's "Political Animal" helps gets us started.
"Obstructionism," for example, only refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.
"Tyranny" is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.
"Reconciliation" describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic "obstructionism."
"Terrorism" refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.
"Bipartisanship" is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.
"Big government" describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating reproductive rights or gays.
"Treason" refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.
"Patriotism" refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.
"Fiscal responsibility" is a national priority related to keeping our budget in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.
"Parliamentarian" is a seemingly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his/her rulings.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Charles Krauthammer - Smart, but a liar
My favorite disingenuous conservative editorial opinion writer is at it again today. I didn't realize, until this morning, that Charles Krauthammer is actually a Harvard Medical school grad and is board certified in psychiatry. So he has the training to lie convincingly to his readers.
In "Onward with Obamacare, regardless", Krauthammer spews his conservative version of the facts on healthcare reform. "...a Blair House "summit" with Republicans, followed five days later with a few concessions tossed the Republicans' way."
A "few" concessions? The current HCR Bill is more Republican than it is progressive. Over 160 Republican amendments were accepted in the Senate version of the HCR Bill. Remember "single-payer health care"? Gone. Remember the "public option"? Gone. Remember "death panels"? Gone. A majority of people dislike the HCR Bill for two reasons. First, many progressives think the Bill doesn't go far enough, so they oppose it. Second, many, many people have bought into the Republican lies about the Bill so, of course, they oppose it.
Krauthammer goes on to write, "Unfortunately for Democrats, that seven-hour televised exercise had the unintended consequence of showing the Republicans to be not only highly informed on the subject, but also, as even Obama was forced to admit, possessed of principled objections..." Highly informed? Did Krauthammer even watch any of the health care summit? President Obama had to correct conservative "misconceptions" and "talking points" (let's face it...lies), time and time again.
For example, conservatives want health insurance to be sold across State lines. A good idea, but it wouldn't work without strong Federal insurance standards. Instead, we would get a race to the bottom in health care benefits. Besides, conservatives are opposed to interference of the Federal goverment with States rights.
Or how about the lie spewed by Rep. Joe Barton that "tort reform" would save us $150 billion a year? The Congressional Budget Office puts the figure closer to $5 billion. I'm sure Joe has a staffer that can find this article.
Krauthammer goes on to talk about ice cream, steaks and roses leading to the next conservative talking point. MEDICARE IS GOING TO BE CUT! This would be laughable if it weren't so sad. A conservative worried about cutting medicare. Sure, the Bill would take away $177 billion of government subsidies to insurance companies that participate in Medicare Advantage. But let's say there are cuts that are going to hurt Medicare. Haven't conservatives been telling us for years that we have to reduce government spending? Aren't conservatives opposed to "entitlements"? Were not conservatives initially opposed to the Medicare Bill?
Here's a good one from Krauthammer. "Well, yes. That has generally been the problem with democratic governance: cost. The disagreeable absence of a free lunch." Yep, you know those Democrats, they love to spend money. Unlike the years from 2000-2008 where we borrowed money to support fighting 2 wars, borrowed money to fund a huge Medicare drug benefit, borrowed money to fund "No child left behind" and borrowed money to fund 2 large tax cuts, mostly for the rich. And, let's not forget squandering a large budget surplus. Yes, you've convinced me that Democrats are the big spenders.
So the bastardized health care reform bill is going to cost $100 billion a year. But it's going to insure an additional 30 million people. It's going to prevent insurance company denying coverage to those with "pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies will not be able to drop you when you get sick. It does away with annual and lifetime limits on coverage. It requires that insurance companies spend at least 80% of every premium dollar on medical care. According to the CBO it would reduce the deficit (but remember, Reagan proved deficits don't matter).
In "Onward with Obamacare, regardless", Krauthammer spews his conservative version of the facts on healthcare reform. "...a Blair House "summit" with Republicans, followed five days later with a few concessions tossed the Republicans' way."
A "few" concessions? The current HCR Bill is more Republican than it is progressive. Over 160 Republican amendments were accepted in the Senate version of the HCR Bill. Remember "single-payer health care"? Gone. Remember the "public option"? Gone. Remember "death panels"? Gone. A majority of people dislike the HCR Bill for two reasons. First, many progressives think the Bill doesn't go far enough, so they oppose it. Second, many, many people have bought into the Republican lies about the Bill so, of course, they oppose it.
Krauthammer goes on to write, "Unfortunately for Democrats, that seven-hour televised exercise had the unintended consequence of showing the Republicans to be not only highly informed on the subject, but also, as even Obama was forced to admit, possessed of principled objections..." Highly informed? Did Krauthammer even watch any of the health care summit? President Obama had to correct conservative "misconceptions" and "talking points" (let's face it...lies), time and time again.
For example, conservatives want health insurance to be sold across State lines. A good idea, but it wouldn't work without strong Federal insurance standards. Instead, we would get a race to the bottom in health care benefits. Besides, conservatives are opposed to interference of the Federal goverment with States rights.
Or how about the lie spewed by Rep. Joe Barton that "tort reform" would save us $150 billion a year? The Congressional Budget Office puts the figure closer to $5 billion. I'm sure Joe has a staffer that can find this article.
Krauthammer goes on to talk about ice cream, steaks and roses leading to the next conservative talking point. MEDICARE IS GOING TO BE CUT! This would be laughable if it weren't so sad. A conservative worried about cutting medicare. Sure, the Bill would take away $177 billion of government subsidies to insurance companies that participate in Medicare Advantage. But let's say there are cuts that are going to hurt Medicare. Haven't conservatives been telling us for years that we have to reduce government spending? Aren't conservatives opposed to "entitlements"? Were not conservatives initially opposed to the Medicare Bill?
Here's a good one from Krauthammer. "Well, yes. That has generally been the problem with democratic governance: cost. The disagreeable absence of a free lunch." Yep, you know those Democrats, they love to spend money. Unlike the years from 2000-2008 where we borrowed money to support fighting 2 wars, borrowed money to fund a huge Medicare drug benefit, borrowed money to fund "No child left behind" and borrowed money to fund 2 large tax cuts, mostly for the rich. And, let's not forget squandering a large budget surplus. Yes, you've convinced me that Democrats are the big spenders.
So the bastardized health care reform bill is going to cost $100 billion a year. But it's going to insure an additional 30 million people. It's going to prevent insurance company denying coverage to those with "pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies will not be able to drop you when you get sick. It does away with annual and lifetime limits on coverage. It requires that insurance companies spend at least 80% of every premium dollar on medical care. According to the CBO it would reduce the deficit (but remember, Reagan proved deficits don't matter).
Friday, February 26, 2010
Medical Malpractice and Republican Lies
Dick Durban sets Republicans straight on medical malpractice. He then asks those present if Federal health insurance and benefits are good enough for them, why aren't they good enough for the rest of the country?
I can answer that. If everyone was given the health insurance our congressional reps have.....someone, somewhere in the USA would be getting a benefit they don't deserve.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The US Spends Too Much on Foreign Aid
Ask any conservative and they will tell you that the USA spends too much on foreign aid. At 26 billion dollars, the US spends about twice as much as the United Kingdom or Germany. But the USA is a wealthy country, so where do we stand in amount of foreign aid as a percentage of GNP? Actually, not so great.
We Need Serious People
Remember the below quote? Seems pretty relevant to today's political gridlock.
We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it.Just replace "Bob Rumson" with Mitch McConnell or John Boehner.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Party of Yes now Party of NO
How Republicans vote depends on who is President.
Increase budget deficit: under Bush vote Yes; now....No.
Increase government spending: under Bush vote Yes; now...No.
Pork is good: under Bush Yes; now No.
Increase government spending on Medicare: under Bush vote Yes; now...No.
Increase size of government: under Bush Yes; now...No.
Tax cuts for the average Joe: under Bush Yes (but mostly for the rich); now...No.
Increase budget deficit: under Bush vote Yes; now....No.
Increase government spending: under Bush vote Yes; now...No.
Pork is good: under Bush Yes; now No.
Increase government spending on Medicare: under Bush vote Yes; now...No.
Increase size of government: under Bush Yes; now...No.
Tax cuts for the average Joe: under Bush Yes (but mostly for the rich); now...No.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Let's Balance Your Sphenobasilar Junction!
I've recently learned about 2 types of "energy medicine". BodyTalk and Polarity Therapy.
Both of these "woo-based" scams involve "healing treatments" by manipulating some undetectible "energy field" in your body. I especially like Body Talk because it uses a gentle tapping on your body to "reestablish lines of communication" within your body. And, it looks like you can treat yourself. See the guy above rebalancing his sphenobasilar junction? And how, exactly, does your sphenobasilar junction get out of balance? How does the tapping rebalance the sphenobasilar junction?
Body Talk was discovered (invented?) by "Dr." John Veltheim, an Australian chiropractor (what a surprise). Dr. John is awarded "10 canards" on the Quackometer.
Body Talk, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Therapeutic touch...there is not a dime's worth of difference among them. They all involve the practitioner manipulating undetectible body "energy fields" that science cannot measure. But training in just a few short sessions in the above techniques allows you to "see", "measure" or "manipulate" these fields to restore the health of the mark.
What in the world is happening to our country that we have a population of people who actually fall for this crap.
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