LikeTheDew.com

S. Baggett says:

Will we continue to let these people not only thwart the legislative process but also diminish our part in that process? If we are to be taken seriously, as Southerners, we must take a stand. Although this is a wonderful place to start, change must to take place outside of a website where we all hover together.
“On this site, we explore some of the reasons for those differences. We single out for praise the best aspects of our region’s culture and politics, and we quite openly advocate changing our region’s worst attributes.”

The time has come.

Diane says:

Here’s what I don’t understand. Why are we all so outraged about this outburst, when the right has been doing pretty much the same thing in other ways? Town hall meetings, editorials, on the radio. It’s NOT okay to call the president a liar in the dignified Capitol building, but we can question everything he does, right down to the validity of his birth certificate, and that’s just peachy keen? The right wing supposedly represents personal responsibility, but they opposed letting a Demcorat preach those same virtues to our children? My right-wing friends tend to descend into schoolyard taunts when I try to engage them in serious discussion about stuff. So many of them never read a newspaper and seem to rely on right-wing radio for most of their information. Facts seem to have little place in their world view.
I desperately want to see that there is some hope for civil discussion and compromise, but I cannot find the evidence out there.

Brenden says:

So, yes, Obama lied. He lied because his measure does nothing to address the problem of illegal immigration healthcare. Illegals call 911 because they know hospitals will not deny them care if a hospital admits them from an ambulance. Consequently, our medical infrastructure bears the additional cost of indigent illegals obtaining the most expensive trauma care for routine medical problems. We the people pay more and wait longer for our justifiable emergency procedures.

I won’t blame Barry for this problem but I will say Joe Wilson accurately points out Obama’s measures that proport to solve this problem are intentionally reported to be false, that is, a pack of lies.

The solution, of course, is to admit the illegals to hospitals, treat them until they are stable — then detain them, deport them and seize all recoverable assets to pay for their care. Of course, neither party will support this measure because it makes too much sense.

Cliff Green says:

Brendan: Deep in the night, when there is no one around and the stereo is quiet, all televisions and computers are off and there is no book or magazine in your hands, do you really believe in your heart that the quest for racial equality in health care will cause businesses to shutter, capital to flee from the United States, the dollar to crash, inflation to soar, prices for food, gas and utilities to rocket and for unemployment to jump to 26 percent?
Forget all this give-and-take on The Dew. Just level with me: Honest to Jesus God, do you really believe that?

Brenden says:

“the quest for racial equality in health care”

Please elaborate

Cliff Green says:

Brendan: See Race, Health Care and the Southern Strategy posted on August 20.

Brenden says:

Cliff,

You and your comrades keep pounding away on the theory that healthcare “reform” opposition is just a cracker conspiracy to keep minorities down. I think you will find that line of argumentation is inherently limiting. I don’t think a majority of folks want to get on that bus because they don’t want to involve themselves in a racial grudge match that only divides us further.

How come nobody on this site ever wants to talk about how to actually pay for any of the programs for which you advocate? Isn’t that the essence of responsible gov’t?

Brenden says:

I really don’t understand this petulant line of argumentation. Because Bush wasted X dollars on Y failed gov’t initiative, Obama has the right to match that failed expenditure and regulation on another failed program. Too many of you here think I come to this site to defend George W. Bush’s legislative record. I do not. He did a lot of bad stuff. I think the time is right to roll up the carpets in Afghanistan and Iraq if the political leadership is not willing to suffer the bad publicity that it will take for the job to be done correctly; if you want to win the war sometimes you must bomb the village. End the war on drugs, OK by me. Let’s pass those free trade deals to Columbia while we’re at it.

But in light of all the mismanagement you referenced, why do you think now is the time for an expensive and intrusive gov’t misadventure into our bodies? What about the history of gov’t welfare programs leads you to the conclusion that this will costlessly benefit the entire country? What about Obama’s college lecturer and community organizer past leads you to believe he has any expertise in healthcare? What about the Democrat plundering Congressional leadership leads you to believe they could be honest brokers of anything? What is their record on exposing and preventing waste, fraud and abuse? Your utter faith in the honest of Democrat leadership seems to me based entirely on the partisan label — the GOP is no better, most likely. This strikes me as painfully naive. I’m not here crying partisan foul play. I just don’t want the federal gov’t under any administration controlling the healthcare system in this country.

You’re absolutely wrong about this: “Also, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if private insurance companies endured lower profit margins by making access to their products available to more people (people who will be paying premiums), a portion of those who are considered a potential drag to the bottom line.” The gov’t allows these monopolies to exist by preventing interstate competition. If you take away their monopolist profit, then they will simply go out of business and force all their policy holders onto the public system.

That’s where you all are so far off on the opposition movement in this country. It’s about Constitutional limits, promoting free enterprise and the private relationship between patients and doctors. It’s not an entirely partisan movement. It’s about fundemental principles of right and wrong.