Interesting that the French are pulling back on their socialized system and making it more open to private practitioners these days and rationing the healthcare itself as are the Brits and the Canadians and the Danes and the Germans. I was reading that the Chinese are also starting to ration their healthcare and the Japanese as well. So while Zero is trying to get us into a socialized medicine plan those who already have one are pulling back on it and cutting the benefits. Strange how you can read all about this in the British papers but our media just seems not to see it happening and doesn't mention it at all.
plainolamerican wrote: > The French have the > health-care system that Americans desperately want: it combines > private > providers and patient choice with a large and generous public > insurance > system > ---- > hogwash > this is what the socialists among us want > > Reihan Salam doesn't have a fucking clue what Americans want. > > On Aug 10, 8:59 pm, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > >> *Democrats tried to turn around the health-care debate this weekend, with >> Obama criticizing opponents** on his weekly address** and Pelosi labeling >> them "un-American." But Reihan Salam says the protests will only grow.* >> >> Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have harsh words for the protesters who have >> been turning up at town halls across the country. After highlighting a >> handful of extreme tactics—in Maryland, protesters hanged a member of >> Congress in effigy—Pelosi and Hoyer proceeded to accuse the protesters of >> engaging in >> “un-American”<http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/unamerican-attacks-cant-derail...>behavior, >> perhaps forgetting that the far more extreme tarring and feathering of >> British officials was a favorite pastime of America’s pro-independence >> radicals. >> >> Whether the House Democratic leadership likes it or not, the so-called "town >> brawls" are a sign of things to come. The left has accused conservative >> activists of manufacturing outrage over President Obama's health-reform >> efforts. Conservatives in turn have argued that the AFL-CIO, SEIU, >> Organizing for America and other left-leaning groups have been just as >> active in rallying their supporters. What is clear is that both sides have >> had a fairly easy time finding riled-up citizens who are more than happy to >> wave incendiary signs and scream like banshees. Could this have something to >> do with the lackluster quality of prime-time television? *Mad Men* won't be >> back on until August 16th, and bullying some chump congressperson might be >> preferable to enduring yet another episode of *The Real Housewives of >> Atlanta*. >> >> If Obamacare eventually passes in some form, I'll make you a guarantee: >> these ferocious protests will keep getting bigger and louder. >> >> Actually, the people who've been raising a ruckus at town halls are not >> there because they have nothing better to do: they're acting out because >> they are intensely ideological, and they are eager to fight for their >> beliefs. Liberals insist that the anti-Obamacare protesters represent an >> extreme and intemperate minority, and they're absolutely right. But the same >> was true of those who protested for abolition and women's suffrage and >> temperance and civil rights for African Americans and for gays and lesbians. >> I don't believe that Obamacare is a grave evil that should be bitterly >> opposed, like Jim Crow. Rather, I think it's an ill-conceived mish-mash that >> will quickly fall apart, leaving the next president to pick up the pieces. >> If I did think Obamacare was evil, though, I'd angrily attend a dozen town >> halls, shaking my fists and playing the kazoo at every one. And if Obamacare >> eventually passes in some form, I'll make you a guarantee: these ferocious >> protests will keep getting bigger and louder. >> >> To get a glimpse of America’s future, consider France. The French have the >> health-care system that Americans desperately want: it combines private >> providers and patient choice with a large and generous public insurance >> system, one that keeps out-of-pocket costs extremely low for working >> families. The French system is also dramatically cheaper than our own. But >> whenever there's a move to tweak the system in some way—say, to gently nudge >> patients to get the approval of a general practitioner before seeing a >> specialist—the French go absolutely mad with rage. Doctors go on strike, >> massive street protests ensue, the riot police come out: it's a crazy scene. >> >> And it makes perfect sense: as more life and death decisions are placed in >> the hands of democratically elected legislators, politics become more than >> an occasional nuisance. When your wages are stagnant or your health >> insurance premiums are zooming skyward, you don't blame your boss or bad >> luck; instead, you blame the knuckleheads running, or rather ruining, the >> country. You come to feel as though you can't just wait until the next >> election: You need to make your voice heard now—even if that means taking to >> the streets or throwing a punch. We can call the protesters “un-American.” >> Yet America has gone through long periods of roiling unrest before and it >> can happen again. >> >> *Reihan Salam is a fellow at the New America Foundation and the co-author >> of *Grand New >> Party<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307277801/thedaibea-20/> >> . >> > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
