Support the Blog — Buy This Book!
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
Put this ad on your blog!
Syndicate
Subscribe to Main Blog feed here:
Subscribe to Comments too (below):
Junk Email Filter
Oooo do the fine folks on the right side of the aisle hate when logic and fact support an argument. Why can’t *everyone* base decisions on emotion and allegation?
Al Franken is impressing me as a Senator so far. We need more people like that in government. This country needs term limits at the Federal level.
Wow, as big a dick as this guy has been he is looking like a great addition. As a real middle of the road guy I was afraid he was just another ultra left idiot. Seems he has some brains.
Don’t pee in the pool, Dr Phibes. The people on the left base more of their arguments on emotion and feelings than the right does. That’s not the problem, though.
The problem is that the powers within BOTH parties do not have agendas that are based upon serving the public good. There are a few individuals who do, and Franklin seems to be one of them. But whistleblowers tend to get drowned out or dislodged. Let’s see if MN re-elects him during the next round.
I really love these videos. I would watch CSPAN all the time if all they showed was him verbally putting people in their place.
Best senator yet.
Compare him to the Joe Wilson republican tool that disgraced the Congress to score points with the Jerry Springer voters.
Israel has highest cancer survival rate. Has been for years.
Which bankruptcy would you rather risk? Be financially bankrupt or bankrupt of your liberties?
I forgot to ask the question of how many bankruptcies were filed in North Korea last year? Cuba? Mainland China?
Bankruptcy rates is the absolute dumbest thing to look at when deciding health care policy.
This health reform in the US is becoming, like almost everything in the US, spinned to the point of incomprehension.
Look people, it’s oh so simple:
Everybody should have access to medical care.
No society can afford to let people die or suffer out of improper care, otherwise it is NOT a society, it’s just a bunch of people.
The social costs of having reams of people not qualified to get medical care because they are deemed not “profitable” or even the fact that health care cost has risen to the point that some self-employed individuals are, de facto, out of the system, is undermining the liberties, not only of the few, but of the all.
There must be a public health system, not only for those that can’t get coverage, but also for those that can, but it’s simply pinning them down.
Sure this will not be Health nirvana. Sure it will be slow and sometimes injust. But the way things are now, it’s a shame for a 1st world, 21st century country.
If we are worried about access to health care the answer is simple. Use the McDonald’s model. There doesn’t seem to be any lack of access to fast food. There are no fast food consumption created bankruptcies. The poorest of the poor in this country can afford the dollar menu.
Medical care is a service like any other. If we open it up to a more free market system then there will be more than enough for all at every price level. Bringing it under the control of the federal government will only ensure the same level of service we get from every other government entity.
Crap spread out equally is still crap.
#14 “#12 The “dollar menu is one of the reasons why American are fat and unhealthy.
Great example…NOT!”
Great example… YES!
The point of the example is that there is no shortage and no barrier to access. You want health care for all at low prices then look to our distribution of food.
You want a burger for a dollar you can have it. You want a steak for thirty dollars you can have it. There isn’t even insurance involved!
Most senators back away from using heavy-handed rhetoric against corporate shills like this one. It was nice to see her attempt to deflect attention away from the outrageous cost of medical care slapped down by someone able to stand up and think on his feet. Bravo !
Franken talks about not cherry picking data and does exactly that?
The real question is will the quality and speed of care be in jeopardy with the public option?
The answer is yes.
And just for the record – dead people in Switzerland, France and Germany aren’t counted as a medical bankruptcy.
Dodd…how many estates in those countries get sued for medical costs after the patient dies?
In Europe the mortality rate is 100% !!!!!!!!!!!
yes he cherry picks..
the SUBJECT is cost of medical in the USA and how many have filed bankruptcy AFTER treatment.
Think about 10% of those that got medical attention had bills over $10,000.
That could be allot of money that DIDNT get into the system. Sooo..we change the system for medical.
gee Al…how many of those same Govt. agencies are in the positive budget numbers when it comes to their health care depts. can they claim bankruptcy… likely not…they just get more money from a govt. that has no more money… we wouldnt have any medical bankruptcies if the general public could print money and pay form medical cost either….
Who’s the babe sitting behind Franken?
How a Republican Senator makes a decision:
listens carefully to whatever lobbyist pays him the most and does exactly what he’s told.
How a Democrat Senator makes a decision:
listens carefully to the facts and arguments, doesn’t understand any of it, flips a coin and votes accordingly.
26,
DUH!!
Those that know better then to get into politics, tend to be LED by those with less knowledge that WANT the job.
#12
That’s a great example! McDonalds “job” is to serve the public food.
They make shitloads of money on serving crapfood to the poor/uneducated and only the rich/educated can afford healthy food which are expensice to make.
In norway we have universal healthcare, government pays for treatment abroad if they can not provide the treatment needed, our government taxes unhealthy food, tobacco, alcohol, and has low/zero tax on healthy food (vegetables etc). If this is taking away our right so fu*k it, I don’t want a right to kill my self slowly and cheaply.
Even a moron can see that these government regulations are not hurting him. It’s hurting Mc’Donalds though 🙂
#25
Yes Pedro, but my point is:
If you have an ALL private system, not everyone will be able to get Health service. And the price would go up, and up.
You see, here we realize this: Private health care is good if you have an urgent situation, and the diagnostic tools are better. But if you have a complicated, long recovery or dangerous situation they hand you over to the Public system.
Also, the private sector is focusing on comfort, speed and conveniency, not on heavy duty surgery or life support equipement. These are things that only can be bought on public budget because they are not “profitable”.
All I’m saying is that you need a Public system to establish a base, or a reference of service that the private enterprise can build upon: be it more efficient, faster or more convenient. Otherwise the private, profit oriented system will not care for the general population.
But are the European health care ‘companies’ all quasi government industries? And as such are immune to bankruptcy since the government will just give them more money?
This guy knows how to direct his research assistants and read up on their reports before entering the arena. Qualities that will take him far. Unless he has a Zionist agenda, Al Franken will become the President of the USA one day.
>> Dr Dodd said, on October 24th, 2009 at 8:13 am
>> The real question is will the quality and speed of care be in jeopardy with the public option?
>> The answer is yes.
And from which orifice did you just pull that answer?
>> And just for the record – dead people in Switzerland, France and Germany aren’t counted as a medical bankruptcy.
We know the body-county of dead Americans every year because the conservative health care system denies them treatment: 45,000. (Every year! And the conservatives want to keep it that way.)
Do you know how many Swiss, Germans or Canadians die every year for lack of treatment?
Al Franken probably knows!
#25
Don’t be so obtuse. It’s the principle.
Utopia doesn’t exist. Human nature takes care of that fantasy.
Gotta agree with Joe. The really important item is the librarian hottie in the background!
Seeings people kept bring up Germany, France, & Switzerland. Lets look at a few key facts like life expectancy and health care cost.
Life expectancy first CIA data
France 80.98 yrr. ranked # 9
Switzerland 80.25 yrs. ranked #10
Germany 79.26 yrs. ranked #32
United States 78.11 yrs. ranked #50
Now Health care Costs as % of GDP(2004)
United States 15.4% ranked # 1
Switzerland 11.5% ranked # 6
Germany 10.6% ranked # 9
France 10.5% ranked # 10
So lets see Switzerland, Germany, & France spend significantly less money on health care then we do and get better results.
But of course our system is better because everyone knows that spending more money to get worse results is better.
Bull Shit.
Cherry picking of cancer survivability rates? WTF? That should be apples to apples. Testicular cancer survival rate in the U.S. versus in France. What is so incomprehensible about that?
The whole question sounds like it is silly to begin with. There are no bankruptcies in France due to medical costs because the government pays for them all. And EVERYONE knows that governments can’t go bankrupt. Right?
A socialized government run health care system won’t “go” bankrupt because the government already IS bankrupt. What a time saver.