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ROVE was hunting nearby!!
no,
He reached out with The Force; "I find your lack of faith disturbing"
no no,
He had him declared an Unwelcome Combatant!
No no no,
... ah this is just too good!
=^D
Matt did seem awfully eager. I bet Rove did it. Mr. Lattimer may have made a BIG mistake misunderestimating ol' Turd Blossum! It was Karl in the studio with a candlestick!
Re: threw their eyes?
OOOPs I must have been thinking about the ball game last night...2 & 1/2 games out. Go Twins I meant: through!
How sad, this 'conservative' can't see why someone would try to do better without being paid more. There is just a very fundamental difference in how we see the world. Avarice becomes a virtue threw their eyes. Our values are incompatible because they demand being actively opposed to the other side when applied to public policy. It wouldn't matter if we all lived on our separate ranches. It is when their small-minded beliefs stretch past their fence lines and begin to impede their neighbors that opposition becomes necessary. You will never convince a fellow like the one that called of anything. Brute political force is the only remedy for those similarly afflicted.
That "45% of doctors would quit" study was not a scientific study. IIRC, IBD/TIPP sent out a push-poll and added up those who bothered to reply, which tends strongly towards those who agree with the object of the "push". The IBD article mentioned something like 1300 doctors "participated" but does not say whether that means they were sent to poll or they returned it; without knowing the return rate and some analysis of the returners vs. the non-returners, the poll has no real value.
In contrast, the NEJM study that finds the vast majority of American doctors favor a public option is scientific. It describes how it picked those surveyed, followed up on non-returners, analyzed returners vs. non-returners, crafted non-push questions, and so on. No doubt you've read it:
http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=1790.
Now the point for lovers of truth: When these two surveys come up with such hugely disparate results, we should favor the results of the scientific survey. Thom's guest who pushed the non-scientific poll, should be ashamed of himself.
Thom,
You just mentioned that we need to open up the education system so that we have more Primary Care Physicians who are willing to work for ONLY $150,000 per year. I think we might be missing a larger point. Is anyone else a little concerned that we are arguing over anyone making ONLY $150,000 PER YEAR?!?!?!?! There are people in this country that go to work every day of the week and make 1/10th this much. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY COUNTRY? THIS IS ABSURD! GREED IS NOT GOOD!
Rant over.
West
Money is not the sole motivator in the omniverse. Enjoyment, sense of community and the opportunity to assist others EXISTS. Vacations EXIST. The desire for excellence EXISTS. The avoidance of fear or pain EXISTS.
The acolytes of Rand and Freidman and their on-faith-only followers are insane.
Please let me know what the name of the article thom was talking about with christine earlier on the iraq war and that it was planned before 9-11 happened? I beleive he said it was daily kos but I can't seem to find it.
What was the article Thom mentioned on daily kos about the Iraq war and who was planning this before 9-11??? I would like to read it.
BTW, I actually favor a 3rd way where HealthCare DOESNT need a financial system, or anything need a financial system period.
But, C'est la vie.
This is the Big Issue we should all be talking about. Regulation.
Healthcare is important, but it still requires, 'a financial system' to begin with. So while we pass Healthcare, we cannot loose sight of the economic dangers we 'still' have.
Thanks
=^D
It becomes like Christmas morning for me when I hear that Dr. Ravi Batra will be on in the third hour. I love third hours!
Thom Hartmann: Would the following apply in the way President Obama is pushing the combination of Education and Healthcare?
"Education is the key to life and Healthcare is the key to death".
About your apology for saying "S.O.B." ....
... one day, our grandchildren will look upon our peculiar institution of profiting from the misery of the sick with a horror similar to that with which we now look at our former peculiar institution of profiting from the misery of slaves.
I used to work in a surgical dept. of a very good hospital back in the eighties. I was one of the few non-MD's allowed in their lounge. I used to sit and study in there. I enjoyed listening in on them. For every discussion of medical matters in there....there were three about various investment topics, and two about how bad lawyers were.
Your second guest answered my question very eloquently!
Message to all the doctors who will leave their profession if "Obama Care" is passed.
"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"
Thom,
Your guest says "STUCK" with the single payer. What is motivating him?
what is it with all this French speaking around here? Keep it up and we will all be branded as intellectually effete wine drinking snobs. Nest pas? Mon Dieu!
Gerald Socha,
Please take a look at yesterday's post from brian a. hayes:
"thom just want to share this with you, my mentor is Dr. daisaku ikeda there is a daisaku ikeda website daisakuikeda.org think you might find it interesting"
Here's the first thing I noticed on that website:
"A great human revolution in just a single individual...will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind."
Gerald, 'sounds like you are on the right track.
Breaking news on MSNBC:
Paul Kirk, longtime aide to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, has been chosen to take his senate seat in the interim until the next election.
Info on Kirk:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/09/gov_patrick_likely_to_n...
Gerald Socha,
Re: Your post yesterday:
'As Cyrano said, “One doesn’t fight in the hope of winning” (Mais on ne se bat pas dans l’espoir du succès).
I believe that Cyrano is speaking for me. I am 70 years old and in poor health. The people who are important to me will never have the clout or money to defeat the American fascist-Nazi powerbrokers. I carry on because I cannot and I will not remain silent or become complicit in the killing of God’s children on either side of the pond. When I meet my creator in judgment, I hope that I can say, “I TRIED TO MAKE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE.”'
I have long believed that the world changes ONE PERSON AT A TIME. One person --- you --- is all you really have control over. I carry on because I cannot do otherwise. That is the only way I can live.
Bless you, Gerald. 'Wish I could give you a hug in solidarity...
DDay,
Re: Your Molly Ivins quote regarding bringing joy to the "fight" (paraphrase), It reminded me of how surprised/startled I was the first time I heard belly laughs from Buddhist monks. (So unlike so many of our "Hellfire and brimstone" western religious leaders.) (Life isn't supposed to be about FUN, is it?!)
Mark,
Ditto on the gloom and doom.
While I understand and agree with most of your thoughtful writings, I don't agree with your bleak assessment of "most people". I believe you are conflating the approximately 30%, (one third?), who really are too stupid, too afraid, or too mean and selfish to bother with. I believe another third of people are too preoccupied with their own lives or too apathetic at the moment to engage as they should. (This is our target and is where the "gold" lies) The final group are those of good intentions who are engaged; whether on the left or the right.
One thing history has demonstrated time and time again is that Americans have an unfortunate tendency to wait until they are at the edge of the cliff before they act. I'm unsure what can be done to counter this truth. Thom has been talking for sometime about movements. If you think about it, that is what most of us are struggling to accomplish; a movement. How do we identify what form of movement to promote and what is the "hook" which will inspire others to join together uniting their energies behind a cause or movement? Once you get significant enough numbers to attract attention, even the polluted media has to take note. The Internet is a powerful vehicle to spread the word, but only if it sparks real action. One may be able to spark a revolution from a keypad, but, that revolution must move to the streets to be effective.
Another problem from my perspective is that too many of us are too grandiose in our aims. We want to rock the Administration, or, rock the system etc. Perhaps if we lowered our sights and start by picking off the low hanging fruit, we could build upon success. For example, what if we were to target a few specific and especially egregious right-wing nut-cases and help to remove them from the stage? Do a test project. Bring the border-less power of the Internet and it's ability to pool funds down on a specific locale. What if the left wing progressives targeted a slimy blue dog Democrat? That would send a message to the DCCC and Rahm. Put a shot across their bow, so to speak.
Or...take out a real thorn in everyone's side like Michele Bachmann for example. The DCCC has been unable to be effective against her. Do it without their input. Gain the credit for the left. Here is the hard part. It takes money. It will take money to get money out of our political system. It will take a steely eyed pragmatism, an intelligent strategy and real effort, but it is doable. The key is to select the less expensive fights first. That is what the lobbyists have done. It is no mystery why they go after the Kent Conrads, Max Baucaus's, and Blanche Lincoln's. They come from cheap markets. We should do the same, maybe even start with State Legislators. 50K could turn two seats in a State race. We need to show the too often corrupted and spineless Dems how to do it. Many rank and file Dems are waiting for a savior and would arise behind this kind of movement.
Thus endith my rant. Sorry I'll sit down and shut up...for a while.
Gerald Socha,
Re: Your last posts yesterday and your posts today...
I feel compelled to share a quote which may brighten your outlook:
"Keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
Molly Ivins...RIP
DDay says: You don't want to emulate Ralph Nader in all things. Laughter is the music of the soul. A happy warrior is an effective warrior for good. Never go around with a pickle taped under your nose. Remember Molly. You have more friends than you know.