Dear Lunatic Right Wing: Choke on a Cock and Die, Thanks.
I'm kinda disappointed that the Democrats in this country STILL have not learned that trying to take the "high road" and ignore the utter insanity of the ignorant Right only seems to make things worse.
Sarah thankfuckingGODshe'snotmyGovernoranymore Palin babbles about government "Death Panels" killing innocent grandparents and retarded kids, and who stands up to loudly and firmly tell her how full of shit she is? Oohhhh, not much of anyone.
The "birther" movement insists Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and gets press coverage all over the place. Even after the doctor who delivered him speaks up, the birth certificate is produced. Does anyone of consequence actually stand up and decisively declare the birthers insane? Nope.
Little old ladies freaking out at town hall meetings about how they completely oppose the government running the health care system, and does Obama ask whether or not they use their Medicare benefits, and helpfully explain how THAT is government health care already? Fucking hell, no. Can't be confrontational.
Limbaugh, Beck, et al, continue spewing virulent bullshit. And I do mean bullshit. Utter and complete untruths. Beck with his fear tactic line about people being arrested for not having health insurance, and Limbaugh actually having the balls to concur with a call in commenter suggesting Ft. Hood shooter Nadil Hasan had advised President Obama during the presidential campaign. Are any big-name Democratic figures calling "bullshit" at the top of their lungs? Not that I've heard.
You know what? FUCK THAT SHIT. Seriously, we have ignorant racist mobs being whipped into a nearly homicidal frenzy by batshit insane loony-right pundits, showing up with GUNS at presidential appearances and holding ominous signs about watering the "Tree of Liberty", and the Democrats are just sitting there politely responding as though it's all inconsequential noise? What in the flying fuck would have happened if someone showed up at a Bush rally with a rifle slung over their shoulders?! He had people arrested for wearing the wrong fucking T-shirt slogan, for fuck's sake. It is WELL past fucking time when those of us on the left need to stand up and tell these assholes what's what. Here's a start:
Health Care
Before you start screeching about fictional government "Death Panels", go read your fucking insurance paperwork, mmkay? Pay special attention to things like annual and lifetime coverage limits, the list of covered procedures, and whether or not there's a clause that says the insurance company has to approve medical procedures beforehand. Pretty much everyone who tries that little exercise will discover that their precious "free market" insurance company already has a "Death Panel" built in. Yessiree. If you don't believe me, call them up and start asking about your coverage limits, asshole.
Nobody's getting arrested. The government isn't going to cancel your private healthcare plan, or take over the private insurance companies. Nobody's trying to mandate abortions for at-risk pregnancies, or euthanize, sterilize or otherwise butcher unhealthy or elderly people. Get fucking real. If you can't win the health care debate honestly, shut the fuck up and go home.
Treason
I spent Bush's entire motherfucking term being told that I am a traitor to my country who should pack up and leave, because I questioned the wisdom of the President. The President whose election results were questionable, blowing billions of dollars on a war started under false pretenses (Iraq), and signing legislation that blatantly violates my constitutional rights (the Patriot Act). Now, all of a sudden, you fucking morons can run around waving photos of the President wearing a Hitler mustache, and packing guns around at his public appearances, and claiming he's trying to engineer a communist takeover of our country, and isn't even legally our president… but YOU'RE a patriot for it?!
What exactly do we have to be loyal to, in order to qualify as "patriotic" around here? Surely not the Commander in Chief. After Bush's 8 year run, I must assume it's not the Constitution that requires our loyalty. What the fuck is it? The Republican Party didn't even exist when the US was founded, so why in the hell would they have a lock on the definition of patriotism?
Gov't Spending
You want to screech and holler about how Obama is "exploding" the national debt? Do a little research, find out what the debt was before Reagan got elected compared to what it was when Bush left office. Look up exactly how much of that was added under Reagan, Bush I and Bush II. Do the math and figure out how much money the Bushes blew in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, strain your poor underdeveloped brain trying to remember who started the massive government bailout programs (buying out AIG, for instance) at the end of GW's term. Hint: it wasn't Obama. He wasn't in office yet.
Obama's Birth Certificate
Seriously? Shut the fuck up. Just shut the fuck up, pack up your stupid protest signs, and go home. You're too ridiculous to bother with.
I understand and agree that there is value in acting like adults (unlike the hysterical cocks-for-brains on the Right). However, there is as much if not more value in recognizing when the opposition needs to be decisively dealt with. The people who would be turned off by Democrats standing up against Right-wing idiocy aren't voters the Democrats are ever going to win. I see virtually no risk in calling all these crackpots out. However, potential voters who are utterly disgusted with the ineffectual morass that is modern politics could be charmed. Voters on the fence, who are seduced by the more plausible of the loony-Right lies (and the apparent lack of counter-arguments from the Dems), could be won over.
And the respect of many, many voters like myself, who vote third party half the time because the Democrats have turned us off completely, by acting like a spineless herd of Republican-lite sellouts? Our respect, and our votes, could be rallied against the crazies.
Plenty of votes to gain, very few (if any) to lose. What are you all waiting for? Grow a spine, you sad bastards.
I think there's a distinction between taking the high road and not being confrontational. The high road just means you don't stoop to the blatantly false, or careful insinuations. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't call bullshit. In fact, I think taking the high road obliges one to call bullshit. Not doing so isn't 'high road', it's just being a fucking pussy.
15th November 2009 at 10:15 pm | permalink |Interesting point. I think the common perception of the "high road" here is that you don't engage an opponent who's "beneath you". I think it's a misguided interpretation of the "don't sink to their level" idea.
But yeah, I've been calling the Democrats spineless bastards for… oh, I think since Clinton got elected, and the Democrats in Congress managed to accomplish fuckall anyway.
15th November 2009 at 10:29 pm | permalink |Yes, I think that they need to be engaged the way Barney Frank did by saying that talking to them would be like trying to talk to his dining room table…or something like that. But, at least acknowledging that they are completely insane instead of ignoring they exist.
15th November 2009 at 11:03 pm | permalink |Missing in all of their delirious ravings is the fact that the "public option" DOES NOT equate to government run health care:
The public option will not outlaw private insurers.
The public option will not make doctors employees of the government.
The public option will not let government take ownership of hospitals.
The public option will not let the government decide about medical procedures.
These fucking morons are too stupid to understand that the public option IS one available OPTION out of all options available.
The public option WILL let those who are otherwise uninsurable (under the current system) have access to health insurance so they can get access to proper medical care.
But these tea-bagging, motherfucking idiots are too god-damned stupid to grasp any of that. They are hell bent on ensuring that the status quo is maintained. Their apparent motto is: "Fuck your fellow human being so long as you can remain ideologically pure."
16th November 2009 at 1:15 am | permalink |Even though I'm uninsured, and it would be great to have insurance, I'm against government run healthcare for the simple fact of giving the government more control over the states is exactly what our forefathers were trying to prohibit. That's why they made the Federalists sit down and actually write out a bill of rights, instead of doing what England does, just make it up as they go along. First medicare, then section 8, then food stamps, then welfare, now government health care? It's like saying to the people, you don't have to work, because we'll take up the slack if you're a lazy sonofabitch.
16th November 2009 at 6:37 am | permalink |@ Mentholized: What part of "the 'public option' DOES NOT equate to government run health care" do you not understand?
For the record, the Bill of Rights has fuck-all to do with state's rights and the federal government's ability to intervene in their affairs. In fact, until the 14th Amendment, the Bill of Rights were held to only apply to the federal government and have no bearing on the ability of the states to violate the same. The 14th Amendment changed that by incorporating the U.S. Constitution to apply to the states as well.
The Bill of Rights is about establishing individual rights. The 10th Amendment is the only amendment in the Bill of Rights that says anything about the states, and defers all other issues to the states, or to the people.
Also, I'm getting fairly sick and tired of listening to every mouth-breathing, shirt-drooling retard from the tea-bag wing of the asshole party bitching about how anyone who doesn't have their nose to the grindstone for 40 hours a week is a lazy sonofabitch.
Tell you what–you're a lazy sonofabitch. Because you're too fucking lazy to actually read the U.S. Constitution (which you claim to love) and have absolutely no idea what it actually fucking says. Get a clue. Take a course in constitutional law and understand what the hell you're talking about before you go show-boating your stupidity on the public stage.
16th November 2009 at 7:33 am | permalink |"instead of doing what England does, just make it up as they go along"
Really? Isn't making it up as you go along what the myriad amendments to the constitution have been? Aside from anything else, it's all that 'making it up as they go along' that provided the base for the US system of government.
16th November 2009 at 4:35 pm | permalink |there seem to be too many people afraid of a confrontation. I am of the opinion that confrontation is not a bad thing.
16th November 2009 at 5:15 pm | permalink |Perhaps what is really at the core of this is TRUTH. someone once told me that your true friends are the ones that will tell you when you have a boogie hanging out of your nose…perhaps the same could be said about a real friend telling you when you sound like a jack ass. I think the republican right wingers need a true friend.*nods*
I've worked as a health insurance broker for 3 years and in the health insurance industry for 6. I agree there's a lot that needs changing, but there is a lot that is done right by the private insurance industry. As it is my job, I actually HAVE read all 1,990 pages of the House bill that just passed. Just like Medicare (already the public option), there's a lot that's good. But there's still a ways to go.
I guess I can speak as a professional on health care reform and the proposed public option: like anything else, if you seek out competent advice and do your proper due diligence, you can make a good health care decision from day one. What you cannot do is simply say, "this plan is offered by [the Government, Blue Cross, etc.] so it must be the best." Everyone's health care needs are different. I ASSURE you when the dust clears, there will be a suitable plan of some type for everyone, of all health statuses and incomes.
The Medicare Advantage program is really screwed up for many people, with record numbers of complaints going to Medicare because people never asked the questions necessary to determine if that plan would meet their needs. Every plan is great for some, but not others. And if someone (like me) is trying to sell you a health plan, you better ask questions, and if the sales person isn't giving you a straight answer: RUN! Don't buy from a seminar because they gave you a free meal, SIT DOWN with someone and find a plan. I also wouldn't recommend getting literature and making your own decision from it. The literature you will get are ads and disclaimers. Both are necessary, none will answer your questions.
We're in for the same few years of massive complaints, consumer dissatisfaction, and unethical sales conduct when the public options come up that first appeared when Medicare Advantage began, because people are going to take any plan presented to them at first until they realize it isn't in their best interests, and then consumers will get wise and start asking the questions they need to. It is very unfortunate way to learn, and people will be harmed because of it. It will give insurance, even PUBLIC insurance, a bad wrap, but eventually it will get cleared up.
Remember all this once the new plans come out (and make no mistake about it, this WILL happen), and you'll do fine.
16th November 2009 at 5:42 pm | permalink |Here's an idea: Why don't we make a list of all the government run institutions that have been efficient and successful……nope….not a one. Hey, but we'll start a new trend if the government takes over healthcare. Right?
Maybe you can start another website, st*pid f*cking c*nts.
16th November 2009 at 5:51 pm | permalink |@Becca: You really should stop holding back. Just say how you really feel.
@Elie: Now that YOU'VE ASSURED us everything will be fine, I feel completely relieved of the need to worry.
@reality check: I doubt that any list would make it past the brick wall of belligerence that you've surrounded yourself with. Nonetheless, I would like to offer the US military as one example of a successful government run institution.
I agree with AB on this, the democrats are a bunch of simpering wimps, unwilling to fight fire with fire. Right-wing mouthpieces, like Beck & Limbaugh, are full of shit, & any elected representative who repeats the rantings of these ratings whores as fact, should be called out for it. That they are not, leaves the gullible (read, most Americans) to believe that they are telling the truth!
16th November 2009 at 8:02 pm | permalink |@ reality check: As Zeke noted, there's always the Dept. of Defense. But then there's also these other government run institutions:
* Dept. of State
* Dept. of Agriculture
* Dept. Veterans Affairs
* NOAA
* USGS
* Dept. of Justice
* Police departments
* Fire departments
* FAA
* FDA
* EPA
* Medicare/Medicaid
… oh hell, let's just get out the Wash. D.C. phone book.
But that wouldn't satisfy you, would it? In your mind, no government program can work well, and there is nothing the government can do which the private sector cannot do better. In your mind, you think the world exists solely for yourself (or you and your merry band of idiots) and no one else.
16th November 2009 at 10:26 pm | permalink |@Mentholized & reality check: OK, just for good measure, I'm going to throw this out there one more time:
THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. The Democrats are trying to offer an alternative health insurance plan which would be administered by the government.
Not that either of you will read that and actually comprehend it… but thanks for showing up and giving an example of exactly the kind of "fact-proof" reasoning favored by the Lunatic Right Wing to which I am referring.
@akshelby: I'd argue we need to engage more than that. There are people out there who believe right-wing bullshit (like Mentholized and reality check) such as the government is trying to "take over" the healthcare industry. However, SOME of the people out there who believe right wing falsehoods like that are also open to hearing the actual facts and having their minds changed by them.
I think we need to be a bit more proactive in trying to reach people like that.
@Muffy: "I think the republican right wingers need a true friend.*nods*"
ROFLROFL … let's all do our part to be their friends!
@Elie: I hope you're right about suitable plans for everyone appearing out of the dust of this ridiculous fight.
@Becca: I have some serious issues with the FDA and EPA. hehe Oh, and I have problems with the entire Justice System in the US. But certainly, the gov't isn't as horrendously worthless as a great many people seem to want everyone to think.
And, oddly, a great many of these people who argue that the gov't can't do anything right, and holy crap gov't healthcare would be the WORST THING EVER were the exact same people telling me I should "love it or leave it" when Bush was in office.
I wish they'd make up their minds as to whether this country sucks shit or not.
17th November 2009 at 12:19 am | permalink |@reality check
Apparently, you didn't bother to actually read this before commenting, so I'll remind you that Medicare already is a Government run healthcare system, that seems fairly efficient and successful. Oh, and so is the healthcare system for the US military. And given that you live in a country with one of the highest standards of living and per capita income in the world, maybe the US Government does do a few things right.
It's not perfect, sure, but it has many fewer imperfections than most of Africa, say, or pretty much the entire continent of Asia. And even if you don't agree with that, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT TAKING OVER HEALTHCARE! They want to provide some cover for those who currently have none, and are thus currently totally dependant on charity
17th November 2009 at 2:45 am | permalink |Against better judgement, I'll tap this one last time.
@becca
It's obvious you have not experience or intent to do one thing for yourself. The government is the be-all end-all to anything and everything. Hey, I bet you were on the top of the bitch list when Katrina took out the previous bastion of government-worship losers. But, you're more than happy to let the same decide how/when you're going to get treatment for, say, breast cancer. Good thinking.
@troll
The One has admitted that Medicare is broken to the tune of fixing it will pay for The Plan. You must not be paying attention. If there's any truth to that, then let's fix Medicare first. Why not put The Plan to that kind of test. Heck, even I'd be on board with that idea. IF Medicare gets run efficiently, without so much associated fraud and at reasonable costs, THEN we can expand the plan to more of the population at a reasonable rate of growth to accommodate the needed number of healthcare providers for the increase in patients. It's apparent to anyone with a brain that the smoke and mirrors of the proposals you're all genuflecting to have no such common sense measures.
I'm not against fixing how our healthcare is handled, but the methods on the table are ridiculous, no ludicrous.
BTW, I love the quote by Blake.
17th November 2009 at 2:29 pm | permalink |Yeah, cos leaving the decision about your cancer treatment to someone who gets a bonus if you don't get treatment is a much better idea. Right?
To answer 'why not wait and see?', well… because the longer you wait and see, the worse state the whole healthcare industry will be in. You do know about spiralling healthcare costs, right? The longer the government waits to put a cap on that bullshit, the more *everyone* has to pay.
17th November 2009 at 7:45 pm | permalink |@Americans
18th November 2009 at 2:56 am | permalink |How come y’all are willing to pay a shitload of money to private companies for healthcare, but a tiny increase in your income taxes scares the living shit out of you? I really don't get that.
Wait & see…hmmm. Isn't that what congress has been doing for the last few decades? That hasn't quite fixed anything.
18th November 2009 at 4:09 am | permalink |@reality check
Seriously, what? I'm not even a US citizen, and *I* know you are talking crap.
>> The One has admitted that Medicare is broken to the tune of fixing it will pay for The Plan
Medicare is broken is it? Would that be anything to do with the Medicare Advantage program introduced by Your Glorious Leader? Oh, yes it would
Does is suffer from fraud? Why, yes it does. Would that be in some way connected with the fact that under the US healthcare system, hospitals and doctors are paid for performing procedures, rather than making people better? And that both are usually run on a for-profit basis, where meeting targets and attaining bonus thresholds are given more weight than patient outcomes? Why, yes, maybe it is
Until Dubya got involved, Medicare *was* one of the the most cost efficient healthcare systems in the US – it is *private*, subsidised Medicare that sucks the taxpayer dollars, not the traditional public, socialised version.
I have significant, personal and second hand experience as a consumer of the UKs socialised healthcare system. Nope, it isn't perfect, no argument there. Waiting for appointments can be a real drag. Treatment can occasionally be spotty. But my family receives a minimum of £30,000 worth of ongoing medical care per year, and our lifetime consumption of medical care is many millions of pounds, mostly due to inherited, unavoidable conditions.
Myself and my father are treated by one of the top 3 or 4 authorities (worldwide) for our shared condition – for free (at point of use – we both have contributed to the system via our National Insurance contributions). If anyone in the family was diagnosed with something expensive tomorrow, we wouldn't have to worry about whether we could afford to seek treatment, we'd just go. If my son is sick all day, I don't have to think "Can I afford to take him to hospital? Will I be covered?" I just go
18th November 2009 at 4:18 am | permalink |@reality check: Fucking christ, you really don't process anything anyone says to you, do you?
Assuming you have private insurance, I kinda hope one of these days you file a claim for something expensive, and the insurance company finds a way to declare it a "pre-existing condition" and tells you to get fucked.
But of course, if the health care legislation currently being hashed out actually passes, it's unlikely your insurer would be able to fuck you like that.
@bill: I often wonder the same thing.
Apparently it's OK to pay for other people's health care as long as you're both shelling out at least some money to the same private insurance company. And it's OK for your medical expenses to go up because poor people have to resort to going to the emergency room and getting acute care they can't afford to pay for… but it's not OK to pay for someone else's health care if you're subsidizing preventative care that will actually decrease their long-term health care needs, if they're poor enough they can't afford for-profit health insurance.
It really makes no sense whatsoever.
@Zeke: But don't you see? There was nothing wrong with anything, until the troublemakers we've got in office brought it up. If we just "wait and see" how long it takes for Obama to leave office, everything will be OK again!
@TallTroll: Srsly, it's a bit embarrassing that foreigners understand our domestic policy issues better than most US citizens do. *sigh*
18th November 2009 at 10:39 pm | permalink |Only a bit?
19th November 2009 at 5:11 pm | permalink |@Alpha: Don't worry, I guarantee you there's going to be a way for companies to screw over people that deserve it
That being said, for the past year or so, I've seen companies being all but altruistic towards their policyholders, paying for procedures they have no business paying for and allowing people to get in-network-only services out of network. Depends on the company and the situation, of course, but there are some people: normal, hard–working people–not the rich and famous, who have been treated quite nicely by their insurance companies. Sign of the times changing.
I wrote a little about some of the issues consumers have from my point of view on my blog. Part 1 is:http://bit.ly/sy0dR Even though it could have a negative affect on my business, I'm not against a public option for health care. Medicare is a public option now and it works really well for people. What I am against, is this one-sided rhetoric going on right now that the American system of health care is horrible. Like everything else, it is worse than some places, and not as good as others. Definitely room for improvement, but 100% of the problem lays neither at the feet of the insurance companies, nor the consumers, nor the government. There's plenty of blame to go around, and a government option will simply be that: an option.
19th November 2009 at 6:52 pm | permalink |Someone has that same poster hanging off their balcony here in Savannah. MEEEEH.
22nd November 2009 at 3:07 pm | permalink |Alpha, having debated with pieces of furniture (like Mr. Reality Check), I've taken to stating the facts once, then upon the furniture's predictable non-sequitor response, I merely inform them to go find a cock, choke on it and die. Or, if I'm feely particularly civil, I simply inform them that they need to get their treasonous asses out of my fucking country.
31st December 2009 at 2:18 pm | permalink |@Dr. Atomix: If you've actually used the "choke on a cock and die" line up close and personal with people, I am so terribly proud. LOL
@Elie: Well, looks like the public option is choking and dying instead of the lunatics. Kinda squashes the "good option for everyone" we were hoping for. :-\
31st December 2009 at 6:33 pm | permalink |Government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, the EPA, the FDA, Social Security worked Great, until the federal government was seeded with antigovernment employees and little Bush actually made antigovernment people, and unqualified, antigovernment people the heads of such agencies! Since then, these agencies have been starved and hampered to the point of impotency. The only reason Medicare isn't working anymore is because the payments are so low physicians won't accept it anymore, but it's a government program and it has Never dictated what providers a patient must see or what medical care must be prescribed. Same with Medicaid.
Fund them again appropriately and stop putting people in charge who really work for corporate interests instead of the people's interests (and remember, these agencies belong to the people to benefit the people!) and they will work well again.
In the meantime, even those of us still lucky enough to have employer provided insurance plans are paying more out of pocket every year, in our share of the premiums, copayments, and deductibles, and I mean A Lot more than just five years ago, are put through interminable rounds of appeals to get the plans to just friggin' pay for what Is covered in our plans, and we have now have more limits, including lifetime limits! Plus, employers have come up with such complicated plans for reimbursing parts of deductibles and how to use the FLEX program, that they are hard to understand and create even more piles of paperwork! Not to mention, because the insurance companies require so much of our private healthcare information before they will reimburse providers, it has to compromise employees with employers to some extent. I don't believe a company doesn't keep track of which employees are costing them more in healthcare. Just wait for the wholesale age discrimination against babyboomers to set in over healthcare costs.
22nd January 2010 at 1:58 am | permalink |To Alphabitch:
Finally, someone on the left is saying the things that need to be said in the way that they need to be said.
We may have to say it more forcefully, though, as time goes on…
10th March 2010 at 1:38 am | permalink |