Well, a short read of the last chapters of “the body electric” will show you how radiant energy via radar systems, satellites and other flawed science is used to make us ill on purpose. I say on purpose because that is the only way possible that they ignored or represses or otherwise obfuscated the scientists warnings that the technology was flawed.

To the perpetrators it was merely blinding greed, but to the real masters, it’s a concerted effort to destroy the home world, it’s cultures, it’s history and enslave it’s life force. ignore it at your own peril.

It would appear that the same mind numbing hubris that overcame Georgie Porgie and Formad, leading them into their ill-fated adventures in the Middle East has consumed Mr. Obama and the current ‘ins.’

My own position about a healthcare plan is that it ‘makes sense,’ and is the ‘right thing’ to do. Of course, when and how become critical elements in contemplating such a move. I was/am uncomfortable that the undertaking of such a massive political project would begin in what might arguably be called, the worst economic crisis this country has faced. There’s a time and place for just about everything, but this didn’t seem the time nor place for social experimentation.

But I wasn’t against it, nor am I now. I just believe ‘first things first’ might be a prudent approach.

Too late for that. The reason this health plan is NOT going to work is exactly why our forays into Afghanistan and Iraq failed: no constituency support.

While there may have been a few ‘zealots’ eager to mete out some measure of punitive retribution to Afghanistan for 9/11, a mostly Saudi affair, by the way, it was/is hard to find anyone who seriously thought Iraq was/is a threat. So, when the going got ‘ugly,’ there was no one to turn to.

The going’s getting ‘ugly’ for Obama at the moment and, again, there’s no one to turn to. Why? Because the only segment of the population that would truly benefit from a national health plan has no political voice.

I have a feeling that savvy GOP pols backed off early on to lure Obama into a trap. And he seems to have walked into it blindly.

No matter that the arguments, NOW being voiced, against the proposed health plan are all hokum. Hokum is what this country thrives on; look at it’s taste in TV. The people who believe in ‘death panels’ are the same who believed Saddam was involved in 9/11 and that ‘mushroom clouds’ loomed on the horizon. ‘Death panels,’ ‘mushroom clouds,’ you get the picture.

You would have thought that what happened to Hillary when SHE tried to reform health care in this country would have sobered Curad (current administration) from making the same mistake. But hubris is a powerful elixir.

What is of particular note, at least from my remote perspective, is that this is all being played out in the media. I don’t get the sense there’s any grass roots objection to the plan, the RNC and the pharma-lobby seem to have trotted out the usual suspects to influence the outcome.

The media reports, ‘Objections to Obama’s Health Care Plan,’ but where are the objections? In the media. While this is not new, it’s disheartening to see good political capital being wasted when the time of need is so great.

But, just like Hillary and Bill recovered from the torching THEY received over a decade ago, so shall Obama. It’s a bump in the road, but it was a road we should never have been on.

The government doesn’t need to go to single pay to cut paperwork. The paperwork can be standardized by law without having to use a government system to oversee it. Just look at the horrible oversight mess with the cash for clunkers program. Less than 450,000 claims were made with 80% rejections and delays of claims paid because of improper paperwork and a small staff on the government side. Although Medicare and Medicaid maybe easier, claims are rejected all the time so don’t say they are not.
Also private doctors are dropping Medicaid and Medicare patients, but staying with private insurance companies. I would say that’s more than a little hate towards those government systems on the doctors’ side. On the patient side, the more wealthy also use supplemental private insurance because of the lack of options on care from Medicare and Medicaid. Eighty percent of France’s population has sublemental insurance because their single payer option sucks.

Is Medicare and Medicaid really efficent? No. Even with the lack of options and poor payouts, both are growing so massive that they will eventually break the bank as any ponzi scheme does. By some time in the 2080s Medicare and Medicaid will cost as much as Social Security and all other federal expenses combined. Sure we will all be dead by then, but the impact will be felt much sooner.

No private armies? Well there is Blackwater (under a new name now) which has been called a private army (Google has 43,900 hits when I searched for “Blackwater” “Private Army.”) The National Guard is a state run army with a history of being a private army. The Flying Tigers were basically a private air force.

Yes, the U.S. does have private police. If you go to prison, you might be sent to a private prison with private guards which have the same power as a government police officer. A Sheriff can deputize you which would make you a private cop. FedEx (the shipping company) was told to have a private police force (part of an anti-terrorism meassure) and now they do. Those FedEx cops can even get search warrents. Airports and railroads have had private police officers for years.

@ “informed scientist”
“is used to make us ill on purpose.” congratulations, I didn’t think is was possible, but you have just topped the birthers in my mind as most paranoid conspiracy theorist of the year.

Thank you Matt for being on of the few voices of reason in this entire debate, by exposing the sham. Can’t wait to pick up the piece, but if the video interviews are any indication, it will be a keeper.

I’d really like to see more people of your stature being calling this phony bill for what it really is: a health industry give away.

Also, what I don’t understand is why so many progressives are surprised by Obama’s actions. He’s doing exactly what he promised as a candidate, but I guess people were too drunk on HOPE they forgot to pay attention to what he was actually promising (or more appropriately) refusing to promise. I’m more surprised/disappointed by the House Democrats, and flabbergasted that liberals in the Senate have refused to insert themselves in the debate.

I’m not saying we would get Medicare for All if 140-150 House Dems and 30-40 liberal Senators, but it sure as hell would be interesting. We might at least get a real “Medicare Buy-In” type of option, that will eventually lead to single-payer, instead of the crap that’s being peddled as a “public option” right now. Yea, almost all of them are on the take but you’d think they’d be competent enough to know how to negotiate.

Unfortunately, I don’t share your optimism that Americans will see this as a product of our system of legalized bribery. They’re all too distracted focusing this debate blaming individuals and conservatism to see the significant blame lies in a progressive movement that is fixated on personalities and rhetoric, and refuses to make any demands.

In politics, power is shown through people and money. Can’t blame the bastards with the money for doing their part. It’s time the folk with the ability to rally the people do theirs.

jed Clampett

Can’t wait to read it, looks like you nailed it again.

Keep up the good work.

Informed Scientist should not take up space with his inane ponderings while there is meaningful dialogue underway.

Greg D

You don’t really know what you’re talking about. Medicare and Medicaid claims are being rejected? Says who? What is your documentation for that?

Doctors are dropping Medicare and Medicaid patients because of hatred of government systems? Nope. During the Bush years, Congress wrote into law a new schedule that reduced payments to doctors for those programs. At the same time, the reimbursement rates for private plans in the Medicare Advantage program went up 20% higher, despite the fact that the insurers promised that it would be cheaper than Medicare. So doctors are sticking with the higher reimbursement rates, naturally, but not because of hatred of the system – its because the system was rigged to move doctors away from Medicare and towards patients with private insurance. In fact, if nothing is done, a 20% reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates is set to take effect in the next year or so.

Ask any doctor how much easier it is to deal with Medicare vs. private insurance. Its a no brainer. Same with the private market. I’ve spent hours and hours on the phone with my insurer because of their reluctance to cover treatments my wife requires that are supposed to be covered by our policy. In the end they caved every time because I was right and they were wrong, but rejecting claims is a regular part of doing business.

Re: supplementals, Medicare doesn’t cover everything, and it was never intended to, hence the need for supplementals. That was one sliver that was left for private insurers. Same thing with France. France, contrary to what you have said, does not have a true single-payer system. It is a hybrid system. Duh.

Do some basic homework next time.

I saw Matt on Morning Joe, I think Matt is pushing this because he is holding out hope for universal dentistry, Lord knows he needs it.

Also, I’m sure the administrative paperwork will be cut in half when the federal govt runs health care directly.

Jed,

Oh, My: MSNBC Carefully Crops Shot of Black Man Carrying AR-15 at Healt Care Rally to Avoid Skin Color, So They Can Then Rant and Rave About “White People” Showing Up With Guns When a “Person of Color” is President

Heads should roll for this.

These bastards are screaming about racial tensions and they’re deliberately falsifying video in order to create more racial tension for partisan gain and ratings?

Perfect example of the issue of “health care” you get a talking head like Bartaromo[as guest on Morning Joe] tossing out “statistics” to Matt, and then Matt refutes them, and she goes to another set of stats to continue her nuanced disagreement…we need the opposing sides to sit down and instead of talking about why we can’t or won’t, talk about why we should…you know pornography when you see it, and this health care system, and to a larger extent health system in USA is pornographic!

we desperately need universal insurance because no normal american can afford to see a doctor much less stay in a hospital. so much for the quality of health care. i live in germany and although i am insured i could still pay out of pocket because it is affordable. either join the 21st century or go down slow.

we desperately need universal insurance because no normal american can afford to see a doctor much less stay in a hospital. so much for the quality of health care. i live in germany and although i am insured i could still pay out of pocket because it is affordable. either join the 21st century or go down slow.

we desperately need universal insurance because no normal american can afford to see a doctor much less stay in a hospital. so much for the quality of health care. i live in germany and although i am insured i could still pay out of pocket because it is affordable. either join the 21st century or go down slow.

DWCG aptly refers to “legalized bribery”. When this debate excludes the input of those who have an obvious profit motive, something good for the taxpayers might come around. Will I be alive for the overthrow of this system of buying America?

the “21st” century is not letting an arbitrary body of bureaucrats determine your health, healthcare, worth, etc. based on arbitrary, invisible lines of “boundary” that define a nation…it is getting out and achieving for YOURSELF the best that you can, through educating yourself, so that you can get the best jobs with the best benefits, and by attracting the best employees by offering them the best benefits, its by attracting customers to your clinic or hospital because you’ve got the most innovative equipment and doctors, etc. It’s quite ironic that someone living in the 1st century (DEAN) is lecturing others about moving into the 21st. Dean…good luck getting into that German doctor, within 5 months of scheduling an appointment

Matt, keep up the good work. It’s good to see good reporters still doing what needs to be done to keep the government honest, while much of the media is lazy and not doing its job.

Why get checked for cancer -
I DO NOT get a colonoscopy or tested for prostate cancer – BECAUSE I CAN NOT AFFORD TREATMENT – if I did have it.
Same with mamograms – why get tested if you can’t afford any treatment.
Its better NOT to know…and basically pray –
Oh even when I had insurance – I could not afford the 5K or 10K in deductables and at least 20% copay.

The for profit health care industry is running our gov`t and until we get election reform and lobbying(influence peddling)out of Washington we will only get a watered down version of what this country needs for health care.Wash. will never reform the H.C. industry because reform will still mandate people to choose a H.C. plan they can`t afford and it will still put them in the hands of the insurance companies that are going to screw them anyway shape or form.

Sigle payer will cost us $1trillion
to save about $7trillion or more over the next 10 years vs $30 trillion being spent on private pay or die insurance. H.C. insurance has doubled in ten years and the cost will double again to about $25,000 a person just in premiums alone,we can`t sustain this type of inflation in health care cost while our wages keep deflating at almost the same rates as the cost of health care rise.If the re-pukes are so busines oriented and fiscally sound you would think that they would be all over this and would want a single payer plan for this country and they would be pointing out the significant savings from single payer, that is if they were really fiscally conservative,right?Health care and wages for the CEO`s and V.P`s and officers of corporations are really hampering America in the global economy and no one wants to discuss it at all, no waonder the working middle class has lost alot od manufacturing jobs to overseas outscouring!

Great job, as always. Matt is probably the only guy out there who has a finely-tuned sense of cynicism, so he’s capable of seeing how things really are. And as far as I know, he’s the only other person who realizes that this country is not going to last much longer if the status quo doesn’t drastically change. America is on the verge of collapse, but we’re too busy watching American Idol and Screwing With the Stars to even notice.

I wonder when all you braniacs will realize that Obama and his cronies stand to make millons over this one payer system.

Duh

Matt,
You hacks on the left believe equally asinine things. Bush did 9-11, Palin had her kids baby, government is the key to a utopia. You don’t make any headway except to reveal yourself as a lefty partisan when you only talk about false beliefs of one side. Makes you look like a real jerk actually.

Jed Clampett

One of the main problems with our system of care is the fact that it’s monopolized by the established methodology and it’s supporters whom make the equipment employed. This monopoly is enforced and maintained by the cronies of the respective industries within regulating bodies like the American Medical Association. The entity has as it’s charter the protection of the American public and promotion of good health in the population, however, time and time again they obfuscate technologies and methods that have proven benefits and ease of use, relegating those technologies to ‘fringe’ medicine.

Read ‘The Cancer Cure That Worked’ to understand a little of how the regulatory apparatus is used to impede progress and maintain a status quo that provides the established oligarchy the impetus to continue to charge higher and higher prices.
Also read some of Wilhelm Reich’s books to understand what actually would be a more sane way of dealing with health care. ‘Murder of the Christ’ is an interesting read.

oh yea!! The pattern makes itself evident once again.

mikeo, ever use the internet? It took me 1 minute to find Florida’s rejection percentage and the number of claims filed for Medicaid (which is a joint state and federal program). It depends on the plan (Florida has 13) but first attempt has a rejection rate of .01% to 75.2% and a final attempt of 0% to 11.01%. These are 2008 numbers.

Another site has Emdeon Services, for 2008, with an average rejection rate of 6% for Medicare and 4% for Medicaid. When the new NPI rules changed the rejection rate jumped to 24% for Medicaid and 26% for Medicare.

These numbers do not reflect denial of care, just the paperwork denials.

And Matt, treating YOUR political opponents (because you are a lefty) like toddlers and smearing them instead of explaining your political ideas will get you nowhere. How don’t you know that from history?

Mark E,
Are you sure your not describing the tactics of the right? This is one of the reason the right has lost the last few elections because the smear instead of coming up with solutions. Taibbi provides the right with a small dose of their own medicine, with one big difference: what he says makes logical sense.

Plus, this isn’t about right and left so much as its about the failure of the left to make the radical changes necessary to benefit the American people.

Jed Clampett

One of the main problems with our system of care is the fact that it’s mono.pol.ized by the established meth.o.do.logy and it’s sup.por.ters whom make the equipment employed. This mon.o.pol.y is enforced and maintained by the cronies of the respective industries within regulating bodies like the American Medical Association. The entity has as it’s charter the protection of the American public and promotion of good health in the population, however, time and time again they ob.fus.cate technologies and methods that have proven benefits and ease of use, relegating those technologies to ‘fringe’ medicine.

Read ‘The Cancer Cure That Worked’ to understand a little of how the regulatory ap.par.atus is used to impede progress and maintain a status quo that provides the established oligarchy the im.pet.us to continue to charge higher and higher prices.
Also read some of Wilhelm Reich’s books to understand what actually would be a more sane way of dealing with health care. ‘Mur.der of the Christ’ is an interesting read.

What you’ll get in the end when they pass a medical insurance bill, is a limp-dick quadruple-loophole infested political fart praised by a choir of paid off congressional blowhards singing how it was a heroic compromise inspired by god himself. Your gangsters in congress know that a corporation will give them a cushy job when they leave.

They will hope that the majority of ill informed schmucks will leave the theatre satisfied. The rulers of this country are a crime syndicate.

The USA is a casket case.

Bartiromo defended insurance with the claim of “innovation”. Well, where is it? Where is the value increases, where is the disruptive technology? All the scholars familiar with insurance say that we have no “system”. It is wasteful, inefficient and has poor outcomes.

What has insurance done to innovate? Did they fund Watson and Crick, do they grant our schools funding, or do they invest in new molecules? No. They rip value from the economy – all with the blessing of bought influence and regulation on the state and federal level.

The zombies at CNBC will blab about “innovation” in the financial economy too. Just cause you stare at libor and drop a bunch of arbitrary mush into a big inflated bubble of credit don’t make it innovation – it is still a casino.

Matt thank you for exposing Maria Bartiromo stupidity on the Joe show 8/20/09. It took this long for someone to do it.
She is suffering from the American syndrome of too much information and no intelligence to organize it. Shame on CNBC to still keep her on.

Matt Taibbi does a great job pointing out the flaws in the US healthcare system. I hope he’s wrong about these flaws being fatal though. It is a source of amazement to me that the people who scream loudest against health care reform are the VERY PEOPLE who stand to benefit from reform. Why is that?? The really curious thing is when(not if)more Americans lose their sacred employer based healthcare, who will they look to? The government! Taibbi is right; right now, the whole system of government is dysfunctional.

Matt said exactly what I have been telling my Republican and Democrat friends, If Walmart and Big Pharma/Drug Companies are behind this Administrations Health Care Reform plan, then you KNOW it is very, very bad. I don’t think anyone can argue with this arguement.

The economy is not going to recover if we don’t repair our broken sickness care system.
Costs have shot up way beyond what makes sense, as more and more expensive “treatments” are devised with no evidence that they are superior to older cheaper and in fact more effective therapies.
Obama and Howard Dean both emphasize the need to control costs and Obama is not going to settle for less.

Janet Gilles, Obama has no intention of controlling costs. In the first 10 years he plans to suck $1 trillion out of the U.S. economy and dump it into health care while causing a system to deny care to others. So people that will be paying for this new health care will be paying more and getting less. The people that can pay will be competing with lazy people that refuse to move to Canada (why not suck them dry?) for hospitals, doctors and insurance money which would be greatly hoarded by the government.

Also you have to understand this about a single pay system. The government raided Social Security to pay for general funded stuff. The government turned California’s lotto from being used for extra school stuff to being used to pay the general fund.

Medicare raiding has been talked about for the past 20 years and a single player plan is going to be used as a secret tax where all the government officals will be dead or retired when the mud hits the fan, but eventually Medicare, Medicaid and the single player plan will be too much for the economy and bust. That’s what Ponzi schemes do and that’s all they will be. A person in 2080 will be paying over $30,000 a year just for Medicare and Medicaid plus another $30,000 a year for general federal funds and Social Security. Of course we will be dead when it gets that big, but we will start seeing the increased costs as the wages stay low (they haven’t beat inflation since the late 1980s) and the taxes go up. Increasing wages won’t help, because compared to the rest of the world, they are way too high. The only way to prevent that is to cut government.

Paolo7219, that’s not true. The Co-opts like in Wisconsin are not tied to jobs, but use a pool of consumers to compete with insurance companies. As i have said before, Wisconsin is ranked 49th in medical expenses according to one co-op which covers over 88% of its citizens (the highest the national average is around 84%) and according to the governor, 98% of Wisconsin’s citizens have access to health care which is the highest in the nation. The Co-op prices are a lot lower (I already talked about one co-ops pricing) that of Medicaid yet offer more care because they are always bidding for services while Medicaid is trying to cut costs yet can’t seem too in 2008 the cost was ($4,163 per person compared to my payment into a Wisconsin co-opt of $3,072 a year with a $2,500. A 60+ year old woman would be paying $4,884 a year with a $5,000 deductable or $11,520 with a $1,000 deductable while the government’s Medicare system spent $11,311 per 65+ year old person in 2008 and that doesn’t include deductables in its confusing web of choices. Also with Medicare, you might be paying more for supplemental insurance if you actually want care you think you should be getting such as in home care instead of being stuck in a resthome for the rest of your life.

Isn’t it ironic to have a Smirnoff trailer on that video?

Matt Taibbi has made a clarion call in the healthcare reform debate akin to “sicko”.When the same paymasters pay for the programming of both political parties,the difference between the distance of the hotdog stands on the boardwalk becomes very close and the quality of the hot dogs becomr indistinguishable.Single payer is the only answer.

Matt,
I ripped off my son’s Rolling Stone to read the piece after seeing your teaser on Rachel Maddow.

There’s ANOTHER STORY behind this: Why we don’t have 5 million Americans marching in the streets? It’s NOT an accident that NONE of the progressive groups isn’t mobilizing.

I assert the White House leadership has specifically told them to shut up.

MoveOn is silent. Completely silent. They aren’t interested in pushing for public option, much less single payer.

Imagine if people spoke of “Would you be interested in saving $3.5 TRILLION?” Rather than CBO talk of raising taxes $1 trillion people would be curious.

When the answer is Single Payer, more people will pay attention.

I assert that if we can get the votes in congress to invade a country that didn’t attack us, spend $200 billion a year on doing it for 6 years without blinking, they can get the votes to pass single payer.

But of course, I can do math even if I can’t count votes.

puuuuuulease…. stop bitching about “Big Pharma”. If it wasn’t for these companies, sooner or later you (or your parents or worse your kids) would be rotting in a hospital at a much higher expense. I have yet to see anyone in remission ever complain about the cost of their meds.

You saw some of it in the Goldman Sachs expose and your seeing it more on here. Taibbi now realizes that it wasn’t just Bush and Cheney and the rest of his admin that sucked. Its all of them. Republicans, Democrats, House, Senate, lobbyists, bankers, special interests. The whole mess of them.

The real lesson to be learned in this article, when taken in context with his last years worth of articles, is this: Don’t trust Governement to fix your problems, it will only serve to magnify them. Help yourself, or don’t expect to be helped at all. Good night America, it’s been a slice.

Thank you for the informative article Mr. Taibbi! The article confirmed to me that it doesn’t matter if Democrats or Republicans control congress or the presedency because the lobbiest/special interest have the final say!

I don’t understand why Presdient Obama (whome I voted for) made healthcare reform a top issue last year. Considering he was a Senator he knew healthcare reform with single-payer or public option would never get through.

I think the prostesters at the townhalls are wasting there time! It seems the real problem is that special interest has really taken over this country. Of course this has been going on for years but apprently those groups have become so powerful that they don’t hide it.

Is Kaarl Rove a student of hitler’s propaganda minister? Check the historical similarities.

Taibbi’s article is one of the best pieces I’ve read on the health care debacle. Regrettably, Rolling Stone’s policy of presenting only a synopsis online means that it is getting far less coverage than it would if your magazine pursued a policy that is similar to other major publications that achieve more than a niche audience by providing free online access to their articles.

You guys are supposed to be ahead of the curve. If you really want to be about more than just rock-and-roll, and influence social policy among a broader and more diverse audience (and ostensibly attract a broader base of advertisers), you really should reconsider your policies. Welcome to the 21st Century!

Jed Clampett

Those guys from the family are all students of the tactics of the German old guard, the Mao regime and Stalin’s brutality.
Without even realizing, or perhaps quite deliberately as I recognize while watching Scar.borough’s performance on MTP this weekend, they use the tactics of the most evil men in history… those that worked to make the human condition one of squalor, anguish, hate and strife rather than prosperity, enlightenment, abundance and tranquility for all. They do this to make themselves important and enrich themselves at the expense of their compatriots. The tactics they use, as shown by Joe Scar.borough, are steeped in the qualities of humans that most of us have rejected and reviled and they seem to consider ‘entertaining’ and acceptable. Their noses may not grow when they lie, but you will notice they are lying even to themselves when they open their mouths, take a close look at Scar’s performance on MTP and you may notice the keywords used and the tactics employed to squelch the opponents position. This guy is a master of the Dark Side, working to aggrandize himself and his cronies, their intention is merely to ‘dominate’ and divide so it will be easier for them to pillage.

Peace, because in a calm lake, it’s easy to see the source of the ripples.

YOU ALL SEEM TO FORGET, THE SAME
PEOPLE ARE STILL IN CHARGE OF THIS
COUNTRY, DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY
ARE GOING TO ALLOW HIM TO REALLY
BE THE PRESIDENT AND DO THE JOB HE
WAS ELECTED TO DO.

Re: Informed Scientist.
I never finished Robert Becker’s ” The Body Electric”. What I did read was fascinating and the book is oft-quoted especially on the subject of healing. I must read the chapters you recommend in order to truly have an informed opinion.
Thanks for the reminder.

GregD: “In the first 10 years he plans to suck $1 trillion out of the U.S. economy and dump it into health care while causing a system to deny care to others.”

That is absolute mularkey and you know it. But, what’s more telling is this: One trillion over ten years? And you’re upset about that?
But, it was okay for Bush to suck out a trillion for a war against an alleged enemy that had nothing to do with 9/11?
And, what did that war against Iraq get us? At least health care is giving us something…..

The Repuglicans talk about “principled opposition”. That means that they are opposed on general principles to any idea put forth by the Democrats. Welcome to our dysfunctional country, where one party no longer has the interests of the country in mind.

Coach that number came from Obama himself and Obama also wanted a stimulus plan even though he said this war has literally bankrupt our economy. So using his logic, how is a trillion dollar in spending in the next ten years going to stimulate the economy like he said it would even though that $1 trillion stimulus package called the Iraqi war is bankrupting the nation? That’s a couple of major contradictions he is making. He is basically saying spending $1 trillion in any form by his opponent is bad, spending $2 trillion (stimulus plus added cost of health care) is good when he spends it.

Jed Clampett

That Obama must be one very busy guy, I tend to think he must really be Godlike, considering how the Reich Wingers attribute all their ills upon him. It’s difficult to determine whether to admire the guy for all the consternation he’s causing them, or really despise him out of pure jealousy for all the apparent power he wields.
I’m just sayin’… once he starts swinging the swords in all his hands, ain’t no Hydra gonna have a chance to understand which head to protect… just sayin’.

Because Greg, and this is simple: With the trillion dollars going into health care, WE (personally, and nationally) WILL SPEND LESS MONEY ON HEALTH CARE. How is spending less going to bankrupt us?

The trillion spent in Iraq did NOT “pay for itself”. We’ll never see that money again. The only people that will are the oil servicers, and we know they don’t give anything back.

~ WHO LET $ATAN THROUGH THE BACK DOOR OF OUR U.$ CONGRE$$ ~

THIS OLD WORLD ORDER OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF OUR POORER AMERICANS NEEDS ENLIGHTENED POLITICAL MINDS AND HEARTS TO VIEW GOD DIFFERENTLY THEN $$$… NO MATTER WHAT THEIR POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION ???

WHEN WILL OUR WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS ABATE THEIR ASSAULT ON POORER AMERICANS WITH THEIR MONETARY CONTROL OF OUR IVORY TOWER U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER ???

THERE ARE NOT MANY MORE DISTRACTIONS LEFT WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FOR OUR WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS TO HIDE BEHIND IN NOT TAKING PROPER CARE OF ALL OUR AMERICANS IN A HUMANE FASHION !!!

RALPH NADER ATTEMPTED TO EDUCATE AMERICAN VOTERS ABOUT U.S. CORPORATE POWER IN AMERICA AND HOW THEY CONTROL OUR CONGRESSIONAL PEOPLE THROUGH THEIR POCKET BOOK (POLITICAL DONATIONS). WITHOUT THE DOUGH $$$ THESE U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD DO NOT GET RE~ELECTED TO CONGRESS.
TO STAY IN POLITICAL OFFICE IN AMERICA,ONE HAS TO BARTER YOUR VOTES IN CONGRESS AND REPRESENT POWER INTERESTS IN RETURN FOR THE BUCK$.

POORER AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HAD THE $$$ LOBBY TO INFLUENCE THIS CORRUPT POLITICAL CONCEPT (of horse trading political votes for political contributions) TO ACHIEVE PROPER HEALTH ~CARE OR LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR ALL OUR MIDDLE ~ CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS.

AMERICAN IVORY TOWER U.S.CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD HAVE PASSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION IN WASHINGTON DC TO SPEND 50 BILLION AMERICAN TAX $$$ ON THE INTERNATIONAL FIGHT AGAINST AIDS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WHILE THEIR OWN AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING TOLD BY THIS SAME U.S.CONGRESS THAT NATIONAL HEALTH CARE AND PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR CITIZENS IS UNAFFORDABLE.

*** WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS (WHO ARE ONLY 1% OF OUR USA POPULATION) SADLY ALSO CONTROL HOW OUR U.S.CONGRESS SPENDS THEIR BUDGET TRILLION$ AND HAVE OBVIOUSLY FOUND MORE WORTHY INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS THEN OUR OWN DESPERATE AND NEEDY POOR TO ASSIST !!!

~Poorer Americans Nationwide only get 400 million $$$ per year for legal representation allocated them by CONGRESS~

Middle Class and Working Poor Americans are unable to afford proper legal representation in their Civil, Criminal and Family Courts of law all across America causing tremendous hardships nationwide,but these great minds and callous hearts in our American Congress have found others Worldwide more needy then their own citizens who are being falsely incarcerated,wrongfuly executed,losing their homes or apartments,losing child custody or visitation with their children etc…

Not being afforded proper legal representation by our U.S. Congress has created a total breakdown of the American judicial system for our poorer Americans because the our U.S. Courts punish all of us little people if we are not assisted with proprer legal counsel.it is a known fact that our average Middle Class and Working Poor Americans without proper legal representation in all of our American Courts of law lose their legal cases to the better financed who are able to afford lawyers.

Lawyers For Poor Americans is now actively in the hunt for International Countries and Leaders Worldwide to help raise 5 Billion Dollar$ for our slighted poorer Americans who have had their own American Congress turn their backs on their desperate needs in not affording them proper legal representation.

Troy Davis and Mumia Abu – Jamal are 2 perfect examples of American citizens who never had proper legal representation afforded them by our U.S. Congressional Leaders Of The Free World in their initial criminal trials in (Georgia and Pennsylvania) who might very well have to pay the ultimate price of possibly being completely innocent and falsely executed in the near future.
These two poor Americans are perfect examples of the tens of thousands of legal cases nationwide that never were afforded proper legal representation or proper defense investigations at their initial trials.
We the public really have no idea if these men TROY DAVIS AND MUMIA ABU~JAMAL are even innocent or guilty until they both are given fair legal representation at their new future trials.

Improper murder trials and needless health related deaths take place in third world countries all the time,but why should average Middle~Class and Working Poor Americans
in the Wealthiest Country Of The World also be treated as if they are living a Third World Life Style ???

This is the first of many www International pleas by Lawyers For Poor Americans for other leaders and countries to help raise the needed monie$ to correct these blatant injustices that have been inflicted on poorer Americans for the last few decades.

Lawyers For Poor Americans has many other written articles that can be viewed with any www search engine by our name or our telephone number.

Lawyers For Poor Americans is a www lobby group of volunteers that sing out about the decades old neglect,abuse and injustices being inflicted on our poorer Americans that have become Crimes Against Humanity issues for the International World Court to investigate.

lawyersforpooreramericans@
yahoo.com

(424-247-2013)

I am so tired of hearing about how much everything costs. The biggest cost of the entire century was the overt and covert bailouts to Goldman Sachs and co. Several trillion dollars were printed by the Fed for no reason other than to help their buddies, meanwhile we “can’t afford” to take care of sick people?

In other news, UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley was found tortured to death in his vacation home. He made several billion-dollar wire transfers in the final moments of his life, likely a futile attempt to appease his assassins. CEOs around the world condemned the act and quietly beefed up security details. Several controversial websites applauded the killing, claiming that Hemsley was responsible for countless deaths of patients denied care by UnitedHealth’s policies.

I am so tired of hearing about how much everything costs. The biggest cost of the entire century was the overt and covert bailouts to Goldman Sachs and co. Several trillion dollars were printed by the Fed for no reason other than to help their buddies, meanwhile we “can’t afford” to take care of sick people?

In other news, UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley was found tortured to death in his vacation home. He made several billion-dollar wire transfers in the final moments of his life, likely a futile attempt to appease his assassins. CEOs around the world condemned the act and quietly beefed up security details. Several controversial websites applauded the killing, claiming that Hemsley was responsible for countless deaths of patients denied care by UnitedHealth’s policies.

Coach

“Because Greg, and this is simple: With the trillion dollars going into health care, WE (personally, and nationally) WILL SPEND LESS MONEY ON HEALTH CARE. How is spending less going to bankrupt us?”

Spending a $Trillion is going save us money. Well hell, if that`s the case why stop there? Why not $10 Trillion, $20 Trillion?

Coach, can you name any Govt program that has saved us money or that has even stayed within it`s original budget estimates? Until you can, spare us your pie in the sky goofy math.
Do you know how crazy you sound?

Great story and well told. But I challenge one of Matt’s assumptions that it requires a single payer system to consolidate all the paperwork and administrative costs in today’s system. An alternative is for the government, or the insurance industry itself, to mandate one national standard for insurance claim reimbursement such as Medicare’s, without having to run the system itself. That would take a big wack at the waste in today’s system.

Crashed, we spend 2.4 trillion dollars a year on health care. Another trillion over ten sounds like a drop in the bucket doesn’t it? And, by saving money, I meant WE, YOU AND ME will save money by not having to pay overbloated premiums. Think for a minute before you go into some rage.

Now who sounds goofy, you steaming pile?

Why Don’t We Insure?
Why don’t we insure shoes? They wear out and fail.
Why don’t we insure pants? They wear out and get torn.
Why don’t we insure underwear? It can be a messy situation.
Why don’t we insure curtain cleaning?
Why don’t we insure window cleaning?
Why don’t we insure carpet cleaning?
Why don’t we insure car washing?
Why don’t we insure car oil changes?
Why don’t we insure car tune-ups?
Could it be that insurance is not always the answer? Could it be that basic health needs are necessary and are not subject to insurance?

Re: PartyCrasher

Cash for Clunkers just came in under budget, while expediting the sales of just under 700k automobiles, which has helped keep the auto industry (jobs, remember) alive.

Any questions?

I’m Canadian. I have free healthcare. I do not understand how it’s possible that you do not. It’s so simple. I go to the doctor. It’s free. I go to the hospital. It’s free. ??? How can this be a bad thing?

For those Canadians, and frankly anyone else who states health care is “free” really needs to go see a doctor. Nothing is free, and its patently absurd to think it and just lying to say it. Your gas is not free, and you don’t use insurance to fill your car’s tank nor do you expect the government to pay for it. Start thinking about who is paying for health insurance before you decide what the solution is. Its not the government, and its not your employer, its all of us.

How does it make the delivery of timely healthcare of a better quality and more efficient if somehow an insurance company is supposed to get a return on investment for shareholders every time I see the doctor? How can the physician make the best medical decisions if the system is designed to provide medical care only as an adjunct to it’s major obligation which is profit for investors?

come on now , surely a gov’t that could spend trillions of money in a “War on Terror’, millions of dollars creating a color coded system to inform us about the terror threat level,and billions of our dollars nation building can do the right thing for it’s citizens that are footing the bill for these endeavours. after all the gov’t is for the people and by the people…i don’t think there is one citizen among us that doesn’t want health care. To quote our beloved Teddy; “health care is a right not a privilege”. those of our citizens that are fortunate to have coverage do not turn a blind eye on those less fortunate because in the end you will end up footing the bill for catastrophic illness that may have been avoided with less costly prevention.then the for profit insurance companies will be coming after yours and there will be no one left to speak up on your behalf. wake up; what happens to your neighbor happens to us all.

The story today is Obama wants to cut $1.4 billion from Medicare on cancer and heart disease payments, which the doctors in the article are threatening denial of services.

If Obama really wanted single payer system, he could combine Medicare, Medicaid, and the Departmnent of Health and Human Services (a total of $821.7 billion for 2010) then dump the 30 million uninsured people making under $50,000 in that. Since some of those uninsured are already using Medicaid (including illegal aliens) the rationing might be equal to the other countries claiming to have universal healthcare, but really have a high rate of rationing and long term waits.

Should be easy to do if we cut out the 20%+ in ADMINISTRATIVE costs we now give insurance conglomerates.
I wonder how much of that is Executive Compensation.

Matt Taibbi should be recognized and awarded for his journalism. His honesty and clear and concise prose does more to educate the public than anything else I have read. His non-partisan assessment of the bribe-takers of both parties is very refreshing

Since the enactment of Medicare, Congress has created one health coverage plan after another, each with its own bureaucracy. If we repealed everyone of these programs–i.e. Medicare, Medicaid, sChip, Native American Health Plan, TRICARE, Federal Employee’s Health Plan, etc., and replaced them all with a single-payer, comprehensive health plan that covered EVERY citizen from conception to death, we could actually save money.

I just we lock the House and Senate in their chambers, give them one working drinking fountain, two working toilets, and cut the telephones (land and cell), and tell them they can go home when they provide us with a working reform bill. And, oh yes, tell them they can sign over the millions in contributions they received from the health-pharma industrial complex to write bills favorable to the health-pharma lobby to the US Treasury to help fund the new health plan.

We pay for it with a 15% surcharge on our federal income tax. In 1999, if the “Universal Health Care Plan of 1999″ had passed, it would have saved my family approximately $5,000 a year in premiums.

Just a reminder to those of you still fuming about the “Wall Street Bailouts”, a lot of them were already paid back and our government got a nice return on LENDING them the money. Sure some we may never see back but most of us won’t see anything back from the cash for clunkers program or the “rebates” for appliances. As for healthcare, I have no problem with the present coverage I have. The current system needs to be upgraded but not completely nixed. As for a government run program-forget it. They couldn’t even run a cash for clunkers without all the red tape and paperwork.

~ WHO LET $ATAN $NEAK INTO OUR U.$. CONGRE$$ ~

**THIS OLD WORLD ORDER OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF OUR POORER AMERICANS NEEDS ENLIGHTENED POLITICAL MINDS AND HEARTS TO VIEW GOD DIFFERENTLY THEN $$$… NO MATTER WHAT THEIR POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION ???

**WHEN WILL OUR WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS ABATE THEIR ASSAULT ON POORER AMERICANS WITH THEIR MONETARY CONTROL OF OUR IVORY TOWER U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER ???

**THERE ARE NOT MANY MORE DISTRACTIONS LEFT WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FOR OUR WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS TO HIDE BEHIND IN NOT TAKING PROPER CARE OF ALL OUR AMERICANS IN A HUMANE FASHION !!!

**RALPH NADER ATTEMPTED TO EDUCATE AMERICAN VOTERS ABOUT U.S. CORPORATE POWER IN AMERICA AND HOW THEY CONTROL OUR CONGRESSIONAL PEOPLE THROUGH THEIR POCKET BOOK (POLITICAL DONATIONS). WITHOUT THE DOUGH $$$ THESE U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD DO NOT GET RE~ELECTED TO CONGRESS.TO STAY IN POLITICAL OFFICE IN AMERICA,ONE HAS TO BARTER YOUR VOTES IN CONGRESS AND REPRESENT POWER INTERESTS IN RETURN FOR THE BUCK$.

**POORER AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HAD THE $$$ LOBBY TO INFLUENCE THIS CORRUPT POLITICAL CONCEPT (of horse trading political votes for political contributions) TO ACHIEVE PROPER HEALTH ~CARE OR LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR ALL OUR MIDDLE ~ CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS.

**AMERICAN IVORY TOWER U.S.CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD HAVE PASSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION IN WASHINGTON DC TO SPEND 50 BILLION AMERICAN TAX $$$ ON THE INTERNATIONAL FIGHT AGAINST AIDS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WHILE THEIR OWN AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING TOLD BY THIS SAME U.S.CONGRESS THAT NATIONAL HEALTH CARE AND PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR CITIZENS IS UNAFFORDABLE.

*** WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS (WHO ARE ONLY 1% OF OUR USA POPULATION) SADLY ALSO CONTROL HOW OUR U.S.CONGRESS SPENDS THEIR BUDGET TRILLION$ AND HAVE OBVIOUSLY FOUND MORE WORTHY INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS THEN OUR OWN DESPERATE AND NEEDY POOR TO ASSIST !!!

~Poorer Americans Nationwide only get 400 million $$$ per year for legal representation allocated them by CONGRESS~

**Middle Class and Working Poor Americans are unable to afford proper legal representation in their Civil, Criminal and Family Courts of law all across America causing tremendous hardships nationwide,but these great minds and callous hearts in our American Congress have found others Worldwide more needy then their own citizens who are being falsely incarcerated,wrongfuly executed,losing their homes or apartments,losing child custody or visitation with their children etc?

**Not being afforded proper legal representation by our U.S. Congress has created a total breakdown of the American judicial system for our poorer Americans because our U.S. Courts punish all of us little people if we are not assisted with proprer legal counsel.

**It is a known fact that our average Middle Class and Working Poor Americans without proper legal representation in all of our American Courts of law lose their legal cases to the better financed who are able to afford lawyers.

**Lawyers For Poor Americans is now actively in the hunt for International Countries and Leaders Worldwide to help raise 5 Billion Dollar$ for our slighted poorer Americans who have had their own American Congress turn their backs on their desperate needs in not affording them proper legal representation.

**Troy Davis and Mumia Abu ~Jamal are 2 perfect examples of American citizens who never had proper legal representation or defense investigations afforded them by our U.S. Congressional Leaders Of The Free World in their initial criminal trials in (Georgia and Pennsylvania) who might very well have to pay the ultimate price of possibly being completely innocent and falsely executed in the near future.

**These two poor Americans are among tens of thousands of legal cases nationwide that never were afforded proper legal representation or proper defense investigations at their initial trials. **We the public really have no idea if these men are innocent or guilty until they both are given fair legal representation at their new future trials.

**Improper murder trials and needless deaths due to lack of healthcare take place in Third World Countries all the time.*** Why should average Middle~Class and Working Poor Americans in the Wealthiest Country Of The World be treated as if they are living a Third World Life Style ??

**lawyersforpooreramerican s@yahoo.com
(424-247-2013)

To every person here who wants to claim the government is setting up a “death panel” to deny coverage: please provide a source. I think that the process of attempting to find said source and coming up empty handed might actually help you realize how bat sh1t crazy you sound. Only the right could take a program designed to give every American health care coverage and turn it into a “death panel.”

62% of all bankruptcies last year were caused by medical catastrophes. And of those 62%, 78% of the people had insurance. Think about that for a moment. The majority of Americans are either underinsured, or completely uninsured. But the former group doesn’t know this is the case until they become seriously ill. What is a life-time cap on benefits? What is recission? These policies are destroying American lives, but it’s the government, who wants to insure everyone, that is trying to kill people? You have to be kidding me.

Please inform yourself before so egregiously placing your ignorance on display.

Bottom line is:

The system is broken and needs to be fixed.

Too many ignorant talking heads are allowing their blood to boil without truly understanding (or caring) about the facts.

Educate people!

So what can we do as citizens in this circumstance? Anything? We complain, debate amongst ourselves,vote, but in the end what is the point. Without loads of money the individual loses.

To Greg D. So France’ single payer system “sucks?” According to a Gallup poll, the French have a 77% satisfaction rate with their health care system, compared to 56% for the U.S.

As for how their insurance works, 75% of all expenditures are covered by public insurance. Supplmentary insurance covers co-pays such as dental care and eyewear. It SUPPLEMENTS and does not supplant their basic health insurance. I know research is painful for you, but you might want to Google “How does the quality of U.S. health care compare internationally Urban Institute.” “Greg D” Let me guess what the “D” stands for: Dumb?

Once again, we see that liberal writers have to resort to the ad hominem, becuase they can’t argue a case strictly on the facts. If this didn’t destroy Mark’s alleged credibility, the fact that he discusses the public option up front as a fait accompli certainly does. For anyone interested in the facts of this debate, seek out the Alan Reynolds article in the Sept 7 edition of Forbes. Open your minds (what liberals say they are good at); you might learn something, and the truth will set you free!

I don’t think that half the French pay no income taxes like the US. The reality is that the US does not have enough rich people to support universal government run healthcase for everyone without imposing high taxes on all those who pay none.

To Gordan Hall.

France (as well as Germany) has less state regulation of health insurance than we do in the U.S.– you can also purchase health insurance across regional lines. In the U.S. a federal law allows states to ban interstate commerce in health insurance.

As Dems run for cover has anyone pointed out to them the PUBLIC OPTION Already exists in 23 states.
A number of states have Public Option state worker compensation insurance funds. We talked to one on them .See ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ZLgAuJTC7vA

My son was diagnosed with psychotic depression and bi polar disorder four years ago. It’s been a long arduous road to recovery, but he’s getting there. After missing a year and a half of school, he was able to graduate on time and has begun college. My son is covered under my ex-husband’s health care insurance. My ex is a surgeon at Kaiser and has the best insurance policy they have to offer. However, when my son became ill, I was told he could not see a doctor for weeks unless he was suicidal I told them he wasn’t suicidal yet, I hoped, but certainly would be if we waited. They were not sympathetic. I took him to a private doctor. He had to see the doctor five times a week for the first two years. Sessions were $200 each. Kaiser agreed to pay 80 % of 40 sessions/years, capping at $175.00. That meant they would pay for about 2 months out of the year. It took forever to get his prescriptions transferred to the Kaiser system, so for many months, I was paying over $1000/month out of pocket for his medication. It’s a little better now, because my son is going only twice a week. However, I am in such debt that when the child support ends, I will lose my house. I am going to try and use my retirement 401k to pay for the debt, but not sure if I can. I work full time. I am 56. I don’t see me retiring any time soon.

Hey Anne, the US already pays twice as much as anyone in the world. Here’s a example, California would save 7.6 billion dollars a year and cover everyone in the state. This is not the public option this is HR 676 medicare for all. The nation would save 286 billion dollars and everyone would be covered. No premiums, no co-pays, no deductibles, go to any doctor, any hospital. Lose your job you’re covered, move across the country you’re covered. Taxes? Yes just a payroll tax of 3.3%. Get cancer, YOU’RE COVERED!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s something that’s flying under the radar, states enacting single payer health care at state level. Single payer is the most cost effective system for health care.

“The New York State Assembly last year passed a similar resolution in support of HR 676 sponsored by Assemblymembers Ortiz and Gottfried. New York is the second state after Maine to have both houses of the State legislature pass a resolution in favor of a federal single payer health care program. Several other states have had at least one state legislative chamber pass such a resolution. The California state legislature has twice passed bills to create a state single payer system only to have it vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.” Google single payer at the state level, or single payer cost studies.

BTW, California’s AG Jerry Brown is running for Gov. in 2010 and is ahead in polls, he supports single payer and will sign the bill if it hits his desk. Once single payer finds a home in one state it will spread like wildfire. This is how Canada’s system got started not at the federal level. So support your state’s right to have single payer universal health care, HR 676 medicare for all.

Just read Matt’s book “The Great Derangement” – looks like things have not changed – Obama’s faking change and the Republicans are caterwauling all the while both parties spend our money and pick our pockets.

When will we wake up as a people ?

Just read Matt’s book “The Great Derangement” – looks like things have not changed – Obama’s faking change and the Republicans are caterwauling all the while both parties spend our money and pick our pockets.

When will we wake up as a people ?