Politics – Page 85 – Doug's Views

July 20, 2009April 18, 2020

Don’t believe the Republican view on health care reform

Republicans are all a gasp about President Obama and the Democrats plan to reform health care in this country. They claim that the Democrats want to take over the industry and get between the person and their Doctor. Once again the truth is totally different than the Republican talking points.

Anyone of us “regular people” who don’t have our own tax payer supported health plan – like the members of Congress – know that there is someone who stands between us and the Doctor now. We call them the insurance company. It was set rules on what is or isn’t covered and specific rules to follow or you won’t have something covered.

Insurance companies don’t want you to use your plan and make it as hard as possible to do so. They make a profit off your premiums but not if they have to pay out money – so they nickle and dime you. The most recent health care product is called the “Consumer Directed Health Plan”. Basically the there are little rules on coverage but you are forced to pay a $1500 to $4000 deductible upfront before the plan pays anything. If you are a healthy person then you get a nice suprise should you ever need to use your CDH plan.

Then there are plans where they have something called “managed care” where they won’t pay for something unless you have tried something else that is less expensive.

Basically most private insurance companies are not your friends and never will be. They like their profit too much. They will be working with their friends in the Republican party to make Obama’s health care reform seem as scary as possible.

The fact is our health care system is broken and needs to be fixed so that more people are covered and a majority of Americans feel the same way.

85% of Americans support “fundamental changes” to or a “complete rebuild” of the health care system. 64% believe the government should guarantee insurance for all Americans and 72% think the government should offer a public option styled after Medicare to compete with private insurers.

July 19, 2009April 18, 2020

What we really should be looking at since the death of Walter Cronkite

Uncle Walter passed away on Friday and so this weekend the press corp have been celebrating the anchorman who set the standard of what the press is suppose to be. It is ironic that as they celebrate the icon of TV news, current TV news is nothing like what Cronkite stood for or broadcast back in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The current members of the press commented on objective and tough Cronkite was in his reporting. He told us all what we needed to hear and sometimes what we didn’t want to hear. That doesn’t happen today.

Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com says it better:

Despite that, media stars will spend ample time flamboyantly commemorating Cronkite’s death as though he reflects well on what they do (though probably not nearly as much time as they spent dwelling on the death of Tim Russert, whose sycophantic servitude to Beltway power and “accommodating head waiter”-like, mindless stenography did indeed represent quite accurately what today’s media stars actually do). In fact, within Cronkite’s most important moments one finds the essence of journalism that today’s modern media stars not only fail to exhibit, but explicitly disclaim as their responsibility.
Celebrating Cronkite while ignoring what he did

Too bad it is all true.

July 16, 2009April 18, 2020

Man who shot dogs is fired from his job

Back on July 12th I had a blog post stating that a Columbus Firefighter shouldn’t lose his job because he had shot his dogs so he wouldn’t have to pay for boarding them while on vacation. My point was that the crime really had nothing to do with his job and was just another way people seem to want to draw and quarter anyone who does something they find abhorrent. Today it was announced the man was fired but shooting his dogs wasn’t the only reason for the termination.

It seems the idiot sent text messages about the incident and in one message seemed to threaten a police officer:

[Mitchell] Brown said that a major factor behind his decision was that investigators found text messages that were sent from Santuomo’s phone that detailed killing the dogs, including shooting one of them eight times before it died.
[David] Santuomo also had suspicions that a female Columbus police officer tipped off humane society agents, Kocot reported.
One of the text messages allegedly threatened the officer, Kocot reported.
“(You) realize (sic.) that there is a funeral in (Columbus Police department’s) future,” a text message read.
Fired Firefighter Allegedly Threatened Police

In another message he texted that he had done 3 stupid things – shooting the dogs, telling people about it, and not burying the dogs in the ground.

Add a fourth stupid thing – threatening the police.

July 12, 2009April 18, 2020

Why should man who shot dogs lose his job?

I strongly believe in the right to privacy. What people do at home on their own time – as long as nothing is being harmed – is none of my business. Those actions also shouldn’t affect ones job either unless the action was part of the job. That’s why I don’t agree that a firefighter who shot his dogs so he wouldn’t have to pay a boarding fee should be fired from his job.

The thousands of people who e-mailed and called about a firefighter who shot his two dogs got the attention of Chief Ned Pettus Jr. Yesterday, Pettus recommended that Firefighter David Santuomo be fired.
Santuomo appeared in his dress uniform on Wednesday for a 30-minute meeting with Pettus at Fire Division headquarters, said Battalion Chief David Whiting, a division spokesman. A union representative was present to make sure Santuomo was treated fairly per the firefighters’ contract.
Pettus issued a one-page memo to Safety Director Mitchell Brown yesterday, recommending that Santuomo be fired.
Public may get its wish on firefighter

Santuomo, a 13-year veteran of the Fire Division, had pleaded guilty to three criminal misdemeanors — two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possessing a criminal tool — in June for the killing of the dogs.

I agree that the guy is a nut job and should be called out for his actions – and he did answer the charges – but unless the crime involved his job I don’t think he should lose his job.

I get tired of people wanting to draw and quarter anyone who does a despicable thing. It just doesn’t seem enough for the justice system to do its thing and some people want to return to the days of the public stocks and scarlet letters.

July 12, 2009April 18, 2020

Conservatives losing the debate makes them show their ass

You would think that when a political debate involved adults, that there would be a civil debate about issues. If either side resorts to name calling then they have lost the debate. Conservatives know they have lost the debate on many current issues like the upcoming health care reform, so they resort to name calling and basic racist banter. Then when you call them on it they cry about “freedom of speech”. I agree they should be allowed to say what they want – even when it shows how much of an ass they really are.

A good example was a recent e-mail that was sent out with a picture of President Obama with a bone in his nose:

And then this morning someone forwarded me this email, which as far as I know is unrelated to the Malkin contest BUT follows a similar vein AND has been “making the rounds,” as the kids say, under the subject line Obamacare Healthcare is coming soon!
That’s right, folks! Barack Obama will tax your health benefits and then flee with the money to Africa, where he will convert all the tribespeople to Socialism and become their king after developing inhumanly muscular calves.
The Health Care Debate is Unleashing Creativity from Every Crevice of America

Then there was this:

“A typical street whore.” “A bunch of ghetto thugs.” “Ghetto street trash.” “Wonder when she will get her first abortion.”
These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative ‘Free Republic’ blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama’s 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a T-shirt with a peace sign on the front.
The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, “To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds.”
Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children

And that happened after Conservatives basically accused comedian David Letterman of being a pedophile for telling a bad joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter – never mind that the joke was about the 18 year old daughter and not the 14 year old daughter the Conservatives tried to pin it on.

But like I said when you have no real answers to the policy debate it is easier just to call people names. I mean it worked in school – right?