If, as Democrats expect, Grassley and Enzi balk at agreeing to a bill, Baucus plans to try to continue pursuing a bipartisan agreement with Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) – Democratic sources said.
Just one liberal Republican a bill makes.
Source: http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/baucus-98-deadline-gang-6-fish-or-cut-bait
Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Diane Watson (D-CA) Praises Fidel Castro, Che Guevera, Militant Communism, Calls Republicans Racist
Also, interesting note on Council of Consevative Citizens concerning how Che Guevera felt about black people:
“The Negro is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized and intelligent.”- Che Guevara
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Why Single Payer Wouldn't Work For The U.S.
Dany Mercado, a leukemia patient from Kitchener, Ontario, is cancer-free after getting a bone marrow transplant at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.
Told by Canadian doctors in 2007 he couldn't have the procedure there, Mercado's family and doctor appealed to Ontario health officials, who agreed to let him have the transplant in Detroit in January 2008.
The Karmanos Institute is one of several Detroit health facilities that care for Canadians needing services not widely available in Canada.
Canada, for example, has waiting times for bariatric procedures to combat obesity that can stretch to more than five years, according to a June report in the Canadian Journal of Surgery.
As a result, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in April designated 13 U.S. hospitals, including five in Michigan and one more with a tentative designation, to perform bariatric surgery for Canadians.
If we had the Weiner plan, where would we go? Mexico?
Read More: http://freep.com/article/20090820/BUSINESS06/908200420/1319/
Told by Canadian doctors in 2007 he couldn't have the procedure there, Mercado's family and doctor appealed to Ontario health officials, who agreed to let him have the transplant in Detroit in January 2008.
The Karmanos Institute is one of several Detroit health facilities that care for Canadians needing services not widely available in Canada.
Canada, for example, has waiting times for bariatric procedures to combat obesity that can stretch to more than five years, according to a June report in the Canadian Journal of Surgery.
As a result, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in April designated 13 U.S. hospitals, including five in Michigan and one more with a tentative designation, to perform bariatric surgery for Canadians.
If we had the Weiner plan, where would we go? Mexico?
Read More: http://freep.com/article/20090820/BUSINESS06/908200420/1319/
Obama Uses Religion To Promote Health Care
"We are God's partners in matters of life and death"
The President said this during a call with Rabbis concerning his health care plan. The obvious question, "Isn't this what liberals got angry with Bush and Huckabee over?"
This blog had a problem with the undue self-confidence that Bush had when he was sure he was doing God's work and with Huckabee for saying that his surge was supported by God, and we certainly have a problem with this bull. Who do you think you are, Mr. President?
Also, interesting note on the rationing front: Ben Smith points out that this is from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that also says it is decided "who shall live and who shall die." Obviously not intentional, but that just walks into the hands of the Right.
The President said this during a call with Rabbis concerning his health care plan. The obvious question, "Isn't this what liberals got angry with Bush and Huckabee over?"
This blog had a problem with the undue self-confidence that Bush had when he was sure he was doing God's work and with Huckabee for saying that his surge was supported by God, and we certainly have a problem with this bull. Who do you think you are, Mr. President?
Also, interesting note on the rationing front: Ben Smith points out that this is from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that also says it is decided "who shall live and who shall die." Obviously not intentional, but that just walks into the hands of the Right.
T-Paw on Health Care
Add health care to the issues that Republican Punk loves Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, on for the 2012 election. Politico has a new article on the way the good governor has thrown himself into the health care debate as the middle ground between the Massachusetts model of Mitt Romney and the harsh rhetoric of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich:
Pawlenty said he has three major objections to Democratic plans: the public option, possible tax increases on small and medium-sized businesses and the “massive spending disaster” that would result if health care were added to a federal budget.
The Minnesota governor also supports the right to pool insurance risk across state lines, opening up private insurance markets to allow consumers to buy a policy from nearly anywhere, creating an electronic billing and prescription system, the prohibition of coverage denials based on pre-existing conditions, portability guarantees and incentivizing hospitals and patients to reduce the cost of individual visits.
His approach doesn’t always land him in the headlines, but it’s winning him notice as a serious voice in the debate without damaging his Minnesota Nice brand.
This approach is almost identical to what this blog would like to see done, and is almost certainly a middle ground that could pass through the Senate (though probably not the current House, which has too many liberals to accept giving up the public option while allowing people to buy across state lines.) The article is highly recommended reading for those who haven't already jumped on the Pawlenty band wagon.
P.S.
There is also a great one sentence description of the man I've come to adore:
“That’s Tim’s nature. He’s a quieter sort, he’s more about policy. I just don’t think it’s in his nature to use heavy rhetorical flourishes,” said Donatelli. “I think if he becomes a candidate, his message will be that he has been a successful conservative, pro-free market governor in a very blue state. That would be the one-sentence description of his political career.”
Pawlenty said he has three major objections to Democratic plans: the public option, possible tax increases on small and medium-sized businesses and the “massive spending disaster” that would result if health care were added to a federal budget.
The Minnesota governor also supports the right to pool insurance risk across state lines, opening up private insurance markets to allow consumers to buy a policy from nearly anywhere, creating an electronic billing and prescription system, the prohibition of coverage denials based on pre-existing conditions, portability guarantees and incentivizing hospitals and patients to reduce the cost of individual visits.
His approach doesn’t always land him in the headlines, but it’s winning him notice as a serious voice in the debate without damaging his Minnesota Nice brand.
This approach is almost identical to what this blog would like to see done, and is almost certainly a middle ground that could pass through the Senate (though probably not the current House, which has too many liberals to accept giving up the public option while allowing people to buy across state lines.) The article is highly recommended reading for those who haven't already jumped on the Pawlenty band wagon.
P.S.
There is also a great one sentence description of the man I've come to adore:
“That’s Tim’s nature. He’s a quieter sort, he’s more about policy. I just don’t think it’s in his nature to use heavy rhetorical flourishes,” said Donatelli. “I think if he becomes a candidate, his message will be that he has been a successful conservative, pro-free market governor in a very blue state. That would be the one-sentence description of his political career.”
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Joe Scarborough Gets Anthony Weiner (D-NY) To Admit He Doesn't Believe in Private Health Insurance
Why does anyone want Medicare, which will go bankrupt in 10 years, to be the basis for everyone's health care?
And Scarborough catches Weiner, who tries to use the populist line that the health care industry doesn't deserve its profits, by askying why any corporation deserve profits.
And Scarborough catches Weiner, who tries to use the populist line that the health care industry doesn't deserve its profits, by askying why any corporation deserve profits.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Max Baucus Has Cahones, Wants Bipartisanship
Despite Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the left being ready to force a Dem-only health reform plan on the country, Finance Committee Max Baucus continues to fly in the face of moronic liberal bloggers who want his head and will attempt to complete his negotiations:
“Bipartisan progress continues," the Montana Democrat said in a statement. "The Finance Committee is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health care reform that can pass the Senate. Our group will be meeting tomorrow and our staffs continue to meet as well. I am confident we will continue our steady progress toward health care reform that will lower costs and provide quality, affordable coverage to all Americans.”
Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican, is still down as well, despite White House and media reports that make it out that the Republicans forced the Dems to back away from the table (despite the fact that with their 40 members, they never had leverage):
“I’ve said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said in a statement. "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn’t mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support.”
Here's to hoping they work something out.
Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0809/Baucus_Bipartisan_bill_on_track.html#comments
“Bipartisan progress continues," the Montana Democrat said in a statement. "The Finance Committee is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health care reform that can pass the Senate. Our group will be meeting tomorrow and our staffs continue to meet as well. I am confident we will continue our steady progress toward health care reform that will lower costs and provide quality, affordable coverage to all Americans.”
Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican, is still down as well, despite White House and media reports that make it out that the Republicans forced the Dems to back away from the table (despite the fact that with their 40 members, they never had leverage):
“I’ve said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said in a statement. "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn’t mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support.”
Here's to hoping they work something out.
Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0809/Baucus_Bipartisan_bill_on_track.html#comments
NHS Employees Take More Sick Days Than Private Sector
Annual NHS sickness levels are 10.7 days a year per employee - higher than the public sector average of 9.7 days and 50 per cent higher than the private sector average of 6.4 days.
And before you try to blame it on infections from patients:
The review found that while NHS workers were more likely to pick up illness and infections through their work, this could not explain all of the higher rates of absence.
The infections probably represent the 1 day difference between NHS and other public sector employees, but just look at the difference between the public sector as a whole and the private sector!
These aren't bad people. They just have no incentive to NOT call in sick.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6049107/Over-45000-NHS-staff-call-in-sick-each-day.html
And before you try to blame it on infections from patients:
The review found that while NHS workers were more likely to pick up illness and infections through their work, this could not explain all of the higher rates of absence.
The infections probably represent the 1 day difference between NHS and other public sector employees, but just look at the difference between the public sector as a whole and the private sector!
These aren't bad people. They just have no incentive to NOT call in sick.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6049107/Over-45000-NHS-staff-call-in-sick-each-day.html
Another Tax-Payer Funded Witch Hunt
House Democrats are probing the nation’s largest insurance companies for lavish spending, demanding reams of compensation data and schedules of retreats and conferences.
Letters sent to 52 insurance companies by Democratic leaders demand extensive documents for an examination of ‘extensive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry.” The letters set a deadline of Sept. 14 for the documents.
By Sept. 4, the firms are supposed to supply detailed compensation data for board members and top executives, as well as a “table listing all conferences, retreats, or other events held outside company facilities from January 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed, or subsidized in whole or in part by your company.”
For employees or officers making $500,000 or more, the committee wants information on salary, bonus, options and pension.
An industry source interviewed for the article got it correct:
“This is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded fishing expedition designed to silence health plans."
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26251.html#ixzz0Oe0Hz9fn
Letters sent to 52 insurance companies by Democratic leaders demand extensive documents for an examination of ‘extensive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry.” The letters set a deadline of Sept. 14 for the documents.
By Sept. 4, the firms are supposed to supply detailed compensation data for board members and top executives, as well as a “table listing all conferences, retreats, or other events held outside company facilities from January 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed, or subsidized in whole or in part by your company.”
For employees or officers making $500,000 or more, the committee wants information on salary, bonus, options and pension.
An industry source interviewed for the article got it correct:
“This is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded fishing expedition designed to silence health plans."
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26251.html#ixzz0Oe0Hz9fn
Dems Prepared To Stuff Health Care Down Our Throats
They've got 60; they're now ready to try to use it, according to Politico and Mercury News, among others.
Of course, they blame this on the Republicans, because in the Democrats world, only reform that involves government expansion is true reform, and thus Republicans, who are holding out to only support something they believe in, don't support reform.
It is still unlikely that they will be able to get a public option out of the Senate, as it no longer has popular support (44 for, 47 against, according to the new CBS News poll that continues to show a steady downward trend for the idea) and moderate-to-conservative Dems (Landreiu, Nelson, Warner, Begich, Lincoln, Bayh, etc.) probably wouldn't be able to bring themselves to support it.
The scariest possibility is that the Dems may attempt to use Budget Reconciliation rules, which would only require 50 votes and would allow them to ignore up to 10 moderates, even though those rules are meant only for direct budget-related measures (Robert Byrd, a diehard liberal, has said he would oppose this bill, if they attempted to pass it in this fashion, out of precedent). It would be a decleration of war on Republicans and could be very costly in 2010, but might get the job done. As Republican Punk has said in the past, once a public option is in, there is no getting rid of it. It is an entitlement and people don't vote away entitlements (Welfare being the one exception, and that required a perfect storm even though it only affected a small minority of the population).
We'll keep you updated as news leaks on what a Republican-less reform package out of the Senate would look like.
Of course, they blame this on the Republicans, because in the Democrats world, only reform that involves government expansion is true reform, and thus Republicans, who are holding out to only support something they believe in, don't support reform.
It is still unlikely that they will be able to get a public option out of the Senate, as it no longer has popular support (44 for, 47 against, according to the new CBS News poll that continues to show a steady downward trend for the idea) and moderate-to-conservative Dems (Landreiu, Nelson, Warner, Begich, Lincoln, Bayh, etc.) probably wouldn't be able to bring themselves to support it.
The scariest possibility is that the Dems may attempt to use Budget Reconciliation rules, which would only require 50 votes and would allow them to ignore up to 10 moderates, even though those rules are meant only for direct budget-related measures (Robert Byrd, a diehard liberal, has said he would oppose this bill, if they attempted to pass it in this fashion, out of precedent). It would be a decleration of war on Republicans and could be very costly in 2010, but might get the job done. As Republican Punk has said in the past, once a public option is in, there is no getting rid of it. It is an entitlement and people don't vote away entitlements (Welfare being the one exception, and that required a perfect storm even though it only affected a small minority of the population).
We'll keep you updated as news leaks on what a Republican-less reform package out of the Senate would look like.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Axelrod's Media Company (Which Still Pays Him) Hired By Drug Lobby
From Ben Smith:
The House Republican Conference digs in today to a fact reported recently by Bloomberg's Tim Burger: That the pharmaceutical lobby, PhRMA, has hired David Axelrod's AKPD Media — a fact that raises eyebrows because Axelrod sold the firm under an agreement that left it owing him $2 million, a lot of money for a political media company.
It's hard to imagine a situation in which, say, Karl Rove was still getting checks from a firm that was, in turn, employed by the drug lobby not drawing fire from the left, and Axelrod's arrangement is, a bit belatedly, getting that attention.
The House Republican Conference digs in today to a fact reported recently by Bloomberg's Tim Burger: That the pharmaceutical lobby, PhRMA, has hired David Axelrod's AKPD Media — a fact that raises eyebrows because Axelrod sold the firm under an agreement that left it owing him $2 million, a lot of money for a political media company.
It's hard to imagine a situation in which, say, Karl Rove was still getting checks from a firm that was, in turn, employed by the drug lobby not drawing fire from the left, and Axelrod's arrangement is, a bit belatedly, getting that attention.
Woman In Britain Refused Ambulance, Gives Birth On Sidewalk, Because She Had "9 Months To Sort Out A Lift"
This is the Government-run hospital's sensitive response:
"We are disappointed that Ms Blake was not happy with the advice and care she received and will of course investigate any complaint."
We're not just talking about long waits for surgery here, folks. Stuff like this happens when everything is standardized and needs to be figured out well in advance.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207151/Woman-gives-birth-pavement-refused-ambulance.html#ixzz0OY6dJrND
"We are disappointed that Ms Blake was not happy with the advice and care she received and will of course investigate any complaint."
We're not just talking about long waits for surgery here, folks. Stuff like this happens when everything is standardized and needs to be figured out well in advance.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207151/Woman-gives-birth-pavement-refused-ambulance.html#ixzz0OY6dJrND
Monday, August 17, 2009
A Win For Capitalism
President Barack Obama and his top aides are signaling that they’re prepared to drop a government insurance option from a final health-reform deal if that’s what’s needed to strike a compromise on Obama’s top legislative priority.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday that the public option was “not the essential element” of the overhaul. A day earlier, Obama downplayed the public option during a Colorado town hall meeting, saying it was “just one sliver” of the debate.
He even chided Democratic supporters and Republican critics for becoming “so fixated on this that they forget everything else” — a dig at some liberals in his own party who have made the public option the main rallying cry of the health reform debate.
At the same time, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of six senators involved in bipartisan Finance Committee negotiations, all but declared the public option dead in the Senate.
“Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option,” said Conrad, who has pushed an alternative proposal to create a network of consumer cooperatives, on Fox News Sunday. “There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”
It's good that reality is finally being embraced.
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26158.html
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday that the public option was “not the essential element” of the overhaul. A day earlier, Obama downplayed the public option during a Colorado town hall meeting, saying it was “just one sliver” of the debate.
He even chided Democratic supporters and Republican critics for becoming “so fixated on this that they forget everything else” — a dig at some liberals in his own party who have made the public option the main rallying cry of the health reform debate.
At the same time, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of six senators involved in bipartisan Finance Committee negotiations, all but declared the public option dead in the Senate.
“Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option,” said Conrad, who has pushed an alternative proposal to create a network of consumer cooperatives, on Fox News Sunday. “There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”
It's good that reality is finally being embraced.
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26158.html
More T-Paw Goodness
Tim Pawlenty has always counted on dry humor while still addressing the issues as a prime advantage as (likely) seeks the White House in 2012. (See him knocking the Obamacare here.) Well, at his speech to GOPAC this weekend, he has added some new strong statements to his reportoire:
“It appears that President Obama is making great progress on climate change, he is changing the political climate in the country back to Republican,” Pawlenty said during a speech to the second annual GOPAC conference in Chicago.
“He went around the country last fall promising ‘change we can believe in,’ but now we see it’s about changing what we believe in,” said Pawlenty, an anticipated 2012 Republican presidential contender. “We need to be calling out the flaws and misguided decisions of the Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration.”
“Medicaid is essentially bankrupt, Medicare is essentially bankrupt, why the heck would we give the federal government another entitlement program to manage?” asked Pawlenty.
“We had people, leaders in the Republican Party and conservative movement, saying we couldn’t talk about [health care],” the Republican governor said. “Are you kidding me? There is no other pocket book issue that directly affects people as much as this.”
“We need to be more than critics of the Obama administration,” he said. “We can’t just be critics in chiefs.”
“We have an educational system in the United States that isn’t cash for clunkers, it’s clash for flunkers,” he said. “This idea in this country that anyone is forced to go to a bad school is disgraceful.”
“This is the civil rights issue of our time,” he said, describing the plight of inner city schools and urging the state lawmakers in the crowd to address the lower performances of schools in some of their states more depressed areas. “It is a disgrace and it is a moral imperative…we need to rise up and fix this.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26138.html#ixzz0OSI6rsaw
“It appears that President Obama is making great progress on climate change, he is changing the political climate in the country back to Republican,” Pawlenty said during a speech to the second annual GOPAC conference in Chicago.
“He went around the country last fall promising ‘change we can believe in,’ but now we see it’s about changing what we believe in,” said Pawlenty, an anticipated 2012 Republican presidential contender. “We need to be calling out the flaws and misguided decisions of the Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration.”
“Medicaid is essentially bankrupt, Medicare is essentially bankrupt, why the heck would we give the federal government another entitlement program to manage?” asked Pawlenty.
“We had people, leaders in the Republican Party and conservative movement, saying we couldn’t talk about [health care],” the Republican governor said. “Are you kidding me? There is no other pocket book issue that directly affects people as much as this.”
“We need to be more than critics of the Obama administration,” he said. “We can’t just be critics in chiefs.”
“We have an educational system in the United States that isn’t cash for clunkers, it’s clash for flunkers,” he said. “This idea in this country that anyone is forced to go to a bad school is disgraceful.”
“This is the civil rights issue of our time,” he said, describing the plight of inner city schools and urging the state lawmakers in the crowd to address the lower performances of schools in some of their states more depressed areas. “It is a disgrace and it is a moral imperative…we need to rise up and fix this.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26138.html#ixzz0OSI6rsaw
Canada Also Needs Health Care Reform
Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.
"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
His thoughts on the issue are already clear. Ouellet has been saying since his return that "a health-care revolution has passed us by," that it's possible to make wait lists disappear while maintaining universal coverage and "that competition should be welcomed, not feared."
In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system.
Doig says there are some "very good things" about Canada's health-care system, but she points out that many people have stories about times when things didn't go well for them or their family.
"(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable," said Doig.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jbjzPEY0Y3bvRD335rGu_Z3KXoQw
"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
His thoughts on the issue are already clear. Ouellet has been saying since his return that "a health-care revolution has passed us by," that it's possible to make wait lists disappear while maintaining universal coverage and "that competition should be welcomed, not feared."
In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system.
Doig says there are some "very good things" about Canada's health-care system, but she points out that many people have stories about times when things didn't go well for them or their family.
"(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable," said Doig.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jbjzPEY0Y3bvRD335rGu_Z3KXoQw
Friday, August 14, 2009
Haley Barbour's Got A Great Campaign Line
It took Obama six months to pick out a family dog.
Cramming health care reform down the country's throat in a fraction of that time scares people who have been told, accurately, the various bills contain a billion-dollar combination of tax increases and Medicare spending cuts.
Hat Tip: GOP 12
Cramming health care reform down the country's throat in a fraction of that time scares people who have been told, accurately, the various bills contain a billion-dollar combination of tax increases and Medicare spending cuts.
Hat Tip: GOP 12
Jim Clyburn Compares Protestors To Racists
"I have seen this kind of hate before. I have seen this discussion before," he said. "I have seen snarling dogs going after people who were trying to peacefully assemble. I have seen the eyes of people who were being spat upon.
"This is all about activity trying to deny the establishment of a civil right. And I do believe that health care for all is — a civil right," the House Majority Whip argued. "And I think that is why you see this kind of activity. This is an attempt on the part of some to deny the establishment of a civil right."
NRCC spokesman Ken Spain has jumped on Clyburn's comments, saying they "smack of bigotry and elitism."
"When anti-war activists were assembling and comparing the president of the United States to Hitler, it was ‘patriotic,’ but now that middle class Americans are standing up to a government takeover of health care, it is somehow steeped in racism and reminiscent of those who denied civil rights to African-Americans," Spain added.
Disgusting.
Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0809/Clyburn_likens_town_hall_behavior_to_civil_rights_era.html
"This is all about activity trying to deny the establishment of a civil right. And I do believe that health care for all is — a civil right," the House Majority Whip argued. "And I think that is why you see this kind of activity. This is an attempt on the part of some to deny the establishment of a civil right."
NRCC spokesman Ken Spain has jumped on Clyburn's comments, saying they "smack of bigotry and elitism."
"When anti-war activists were assembling and comparing the president of the United States to Hitler, it was ‘patriotic,’ but now that middle class Americans are standing up to a government takeover of health care, it is somehow steeped in racism and reminiscent of those who denied civil rights to African-Americans," Spain added.
Disgusting.
Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0809/Clyburn_likens_town_hall_behavior_to_civil_rights_era.html
Whole Foods Customers To Boycott Because CEO Opposes Obamacare
The op-ed piece, which begins with a Margaret Thatcher quote, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money," has left some Whole Foods loyalists enraged. Many say Mackey was out of line to opine against the liberal base that has made his fortune possible.
Christine Taylor, a 34-year-old New Jersey shopper, vowed never to step foot in another Whole Foods again.
"I will no longer be shopping at Whole Foods," Taylor told ABCNews.com. "I think a CEO should take care that if he speaks about politics, that his beliefs reflect at least the majority of his clients."
While Mackey reduced his annual salary to one dollar in 2007, after explaining to employees he was "no longer interested in working for money," Mackey is still the head of the 10th largest food and drug store in the U.S.
In his op-ed, "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare," published Tuesday, Mackey criticized President Barack Obama's health care plan.
Mackey provided eight "reforms" he argued the U.S. can do to improve health care without increasing the deficit. He suggested that tax forms be revised to "make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance."
In the op-ed, Mackey outlines Whole Foods' employee health insurance policy. According to Mackey, Whole Foods pays 100 percent of the premiums for all employees who work 30 hours or more per week -- about 89 percent of his workforce.
Additionally, the company gives each employee $1,800 per year in "health-care dollars," says Mackey, that they can use at their own discretion for health and wellness expenses. This money can be put toward the $2,500 annual deductible that must be covered before Mackey says the company's "insurance plan kicks in."
It's absolutely their right to boycott, cause that's how the market works and Mackey should have thought that one out...but god forbid somebody has opinions of their own.
It also offends me how these (likely upper-class) "progressives" probably didn't even read the op-ed and see that Mackey, a man who is well-known for coining the term "conscious capitalism" for his progressive views about corporate governance and altruism, has huge plans to fix the health care system.
Baaaaa Baaaaa....
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8322658&page=1
Christine Taylor, a 34-year-old New Jersey shopper, vowed never to step foot in another Whole Foods again.
"I will no longer be shopping at Whole Foods," Taylor told ABCNews.com. "I think a CEO should take care that if he speaks about politics, that his beliefs reflect at least the majority of his clients."
While Mackey reduced his annual salary to one dollar in 2007, after explaining to employees he was "no longer interested in working for money," Mackey is still the head of the 10th largest food and drug store in the U.S.
In his op-ed, "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare," published Tuesday, Mackey criticized President Barack Obama's health care plan.
Mackey provided eight "reforms" he argued the U.S. can do to improve health care without increasing the deficit. He suggested that tax forms be revised to "make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance."
In the op-ed, Mackey outlines Whole Foods' employee health insurance policy. According to Mackey, Whole Foods pays 100 percent of the premiums for all employees who work 30 hours or more per week -- about 89 percent of his workforce.
Additionally, the company gives each employee $1,800 per year in "health-care dollars," says Mackey, that they can use at their own discretion for health and wellness expenses. This money can be put toward the $2,500 annual deductible that must be covered before Mackey says the company's "insurance plan kicks in."
It's absolutely their right to boycott, cause that's how the market works and Mackey should have thought that one out...but god forbid somebody has opinions of their own.
It also offends me how these (likely upper-class) "progressives" probably didn't even read the op-ed and see that Mackey, a man who is well-known for coining the term "conscious capitalism" for his progressive views about corporate governance and altruism, has huge plans to fix the health care system.
Baaaaa Baaaaa....
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8322658&page=1
Ronald Reagan Speaking Out Against Socialized Health Care
"The socialists said that America would never vote for socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they would vote for every plank of it."
"They say that once this is passed, this nation will be provided with a mechanism for socialized medicine, capable of expansion in every direction until everything is taken in...we can't say they didn't warn us"
"They say that once this is passed, this nation will be provided with a mechanism for socialized medicine, capable of expansion in every direction until everything is taken in...we can't say they didn't warn us"
Fortune Lays Out The Ideal Health Care System
http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/14/news/economy/health_care_solution.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009081410
They even explain why people are scared of it.
They even explain why people are scared of it.
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