Callin' Out Liars

(cartoon by RedPlanetCartoons.com)

There's a local (state-wide) radio talk show called "Voices of Montana" where people from around the state can argue the topics of the day. I listen when I can - not often, with my work - but I happened to be doing things in the shop and heard a couple guys on there who supposedly represented a "grass-roots movement" to promote fascist (my word) health care. I had to call "bullshit" on them and did so with the following email to station's studios:

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"The guests on Monday's show were snake-oil salesmen and propagandists for the progressives, despite their protestations to the contrary.
Follow the money. (the "clickable" links take you to the cited web pages.)

First, their parent organization's website lists their Congressional supporters:
Nearly ALL of them are left-wing nut-cases with names like waxman and markey (the same fools who "authored" the "Cap 'n' Tax" economy-killing bill);
lois capps (who once sponsored a bill to have taxpayers pay to have tattoos removed for criminals);
daniel inouye (whose timely call to the Treasury made sure that the bank in Hawaii he's PERSONALLY invested in got a decision reversed and received a few million out of the bail-out money);
then there's critters like jean-françois kerrì, carl levin, debbie stabenow, jack murtha, nadler, rangel, murtha, lautenburg, ellison, conyers,
...basically it's almost ONLY left-wing, pork-spending, big-taxing idiots on Capitol Hill who SUPPORT this mis-named "grass-roots" organization.

Next, their list of "coalition organizations" - their partners - include (sit down for this one):
ACORN and the SEIU (both under investigation)
AFL/CIO, UAW, Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
La Raza (the radical illegal immigrant group)
Planned Parenthood and Physicians for Reproductive Choice (proabortion)
Center for American Progress and MoveOn.org (george soros groups)

And yet they tried to pass themselves off as NON-partisan and "grassroots"?

Those guests undoubtedly came pre-equipped and well-rehearsed with copious notes (talking-points) specifically designed to pull the wool over our eyes while they yank the rug out from under the best medical system in the world.
Just follow the money.
Those guys are FAR from "non-partisan", and should have been called on it.

They led off with the "cutting red tape" canard, while saying that a "single payer system is off the table", yet kept going back to insisting on government intrusion (masked as "oversight") and a "public option".
I ask anyone to cite me ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE where government intrusion REDUCED RED TAPE!

They made statements like, "provide more options" - when there's ALREADY a few THOUSAND insurance options available. What they did NOT relate was the fact that in the House's CURRENT BILL, there's a provision that after the first of the year the bill is enacted, private insurance companies will NOT be allowed to write any NEW policies.
...can we say "government take-over-by-attrition"?

They made excuses like, "but, we're ALREADY paying for the uninsured", while somehow "neglecting" to mention the reason is that the government MANDATES IT and it's the government MAKING it more expensive!
Some doctors don't like to take on MedicAid patients, since the government TELLS them how much they'll get paid, regardless of their expenses and overhead.
For that matter, hospitals who get paid LESS for government-paid care STILL have to pay their electric bills, the staff, the janitors, outrageous malpractice insurance premiums, et al, so where do they have to make up the difference?
BY OVER-CHARGING THE PRIVATELY INSURED PEOPLE!

And let's not talk about the annual "Late-Life Alternative" counseling that's mandated for the elderly - yes, that really DOES mean what it sounds like - doubtless with Dr. Kavorkian as a "paid-volunteer" consultant.

That "covering the uninsured" is a straw-man argument, since - and you can find the statistics at askHeritage.org - roughly one-fifth of those "47 million" uninsured are young and healthy and CHOOSE not to pay for health insurance (or car or life or property insurance, either) because they're buying motorcycles and other toys; about another fifth are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; somewhere arount 19% are wealthy enough that they realize it's cheaper to simply pay cash or check for medical treatments, since most doctors give discounts under such circumstances; another fifth are already covered under various government programs but haven't applied for it; and the remainder MIGHT actually benefit from socialist medicine.

Hardly a "crisis".

Notice that they never really said much about WHO ACTUALLY PAYS for all this!
Anyone who says "the government" will pay for anything is overlooking one fact:
The government HAS NO MONEY!
The government has to TAKE the money from US - through "taxes, fees and surcharges" - in order to HAND IT OUT to anyone else!

What part of their morality says it's okay to STEAL from ME to pay for THEIR bills???

Call your CongressCritters and remind them that THEY work for US!
For that matter, since max-tax baucus is ram-rodding this abomination through his Finance Committee, I want to know if he will personally PLEDGE to put HIS NAME on it as the FIRST fool to sign up for this plan!

If he thinks its such a hot deal, let him do like John Hancock and boldly put HIS signature on it and take ownership of the FIRST of these national insurance policies!

Should he be unwilling to opt into the system that HE is pushing, then I say that WE follow his lead.
Don't sign on to this national health care "crisis".
It's a trap America might never emerge from.

If we want real reform, start with "Loser Pays" tort reform legislation, interstate "portability" of insurance, and LESS government intrusion.

And watch out for snake-oil salesmen."

TouchStone "

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It'll be interesting to listen to any responses that email gets - if they have time to read it.
The usual host is a guy named Dave Rye (although I think he should spell it "Wry"), a former soldier and teacher and a fair-minded gentleman overall. He usually makes a good faith attempt to read emails as well as allowing people to vent whatever opinions they choose.
He's even let me on - more than once! - when I've had the chance to call......

...and yes, I know I wrote murtha twice, but that's just because that slimy EX-Marine just pisses me the hell off with the way he corn-holes our troops. There's a special place in Hell for that critter....