Sen. Franken Questions Panel on Dental Conditions on Indian Reservations

[SarahRosehawk]

So Much for "Change"..Now Obama wants to Cut Low Income Heating Assistance Programs...

[samten10a]

I don’t like the senator as a comic. The few videos that are here. I don’t like his politics in general.

He seem to get the people he is questioning sound like they are lying and/or the fool and unqualified to the point that person should be removed from the job.

I suspect that the videos that are here are cherry picked to paint him in that light. To reflect that he is some one that wants the true facts and nothing but the facts. I suspect that other congress people do the same.

[CriticalHammer007]

@samten10a Maybe but point me to a senator who doesn't do this when they want to get a point across? I don't support most of Franken's views but what I like about him is he is willing to put himself out there, buck the status quo, and support what he believes is good. The only other politician I see doing this is Ron Paul.

[GetMeThere1]

I comment Franken for this. This is BORING, MINOR crap--and it's just the kind of stuff that senators SHOULD be working on: we need GOVERNMENT SERVANTS willing to grind through this kind of stuff, rather than trying to grandstand for reporters while actually doing nothing constructive.

Franken OBVIOUSLY is there to try to do a good job and be responsible. Given that, I care much less about his actually political ideology. At least he's not a lazy bastard.

[nickrambus]

Al Fraken is a pathetic small swill of a man

[mstaff657]

Simple Al

[mstaff657]

Simpleton Franken

blocked me

[Priam66]

this is the 3rd post i have seen you spamming the same message that really does nothing. I don't blame anyone who blocks your nonsense.

Trust me, no one cares about your opinion.

[HeyPopRox]

if you don't like him, don't watch the video. or if you must, don't leave inane comments. if you're going to comment negatively, at least have it be a criticism with some validity. not some dumb insult.

[mstaff657]

Simpleton Al Franken

That title fits much better than Senator !

[mstaff657]

Al Franken

One pathetic excuse for a human/

[Meatpieandtatters]

Al, you're a chowder head and embarrassment to a once honorable institution.

[mstaff657]

Al Franken -

living with herpes ?

Al - is that kind of like living with your wife ?

[mstaff657]

I will not visit the state of Minnesota until Al Franken is voted out of public office.

[tully40]

@mstaff657 It's OK they don;t want you there anyway. He's really popular there.

[mstaff657]

Al Franken why don't you and your Cronies impose a draft on dentists.

smart guy -

exactly who or what entity charges you as a senator with the responsibility to ensure that children or others don't have rotting teeth.

Al Franken - I would not trust you with responsibility to ensure that my dogs teeth were not rotting.

Al Franken - you are a typical Government Parasite.

[Choctawu]

It would be nice to abolish the Military Commission Act.

The laws of Occupation are to restore the inhabitants but that

just has not been the cause. As you can see the inadequate care given by those which are to serve, us. Thank you for all the help you give Senator Franken, eventhough it has not reached the Choctaws Indians in Florida.

[gumpydoood]

We STOLE the indians land: that is simply FACT. We fucking stole it, killing off whole tribes, marching the remainders off to Oklahoma and then, taking even that land from them.

The very least we can do is provide these poor people dental care.

Al Franken is a national treasure!

[donveill]

your responsibility is to not make sure kids on indian reservations dont have rotting teeth, its their fucking parents responsibility or their primary care giver, not fucking al franken. im sorry for ranting, but i hate this man with every inch of my body.

[majinspy]

So I guess you're the new compassionate conservatism. If you listened to this video you would have heard how dentists are hundreds of miles away from patients. It's fairly hard for a poor person to take off work, have a vehicle, fill it up, spend a day going to a place, hope to get care, and drive back, much less pay for the care. Franken is showing passion and drive in an area that is both neccessary and often overlooked. To be honest, I can't see where your vitriol is coming from.

[donveill]

hey man, im all for helping people out. i just think people should do it on their own, if dentists want to organize groups and go donw there, then fine, thats cool. Let them do it on their own accord. i cannot speak to someone who agrees with al franken on any level. im sorry.

[donveill]

has nothing to do with conservatism, why dont you majinspy, organize a charity event and raise money to fund dentist visits to reservations if it means that much to you. but we both know that you wont do a damn thing about, why? to reason, you really dont care that much and you think that the government should do it, and if they dont you think they are evil. well if they dont, get up off your ass and make something happen. and this doesnt just apply to the dentist bullshit.

[majinspy]

You can say that this has nothing to do with conservatism but your arguments are standard fare. I'm a liberal; at least I admit it. You don't address the problems at all. I'm not a dentist, nor do I have access to large amounts of money. I do have a government that I fund. You say in one sentence you want to help people out, and the next they should do it on their own. Which is it? What part of hoping some dentists go down there on their own accord is you wanting to help them?

[donveill]

hey man, i volunteer all the time. spent all day at toys for tots. I think people should be helped, but not by people who are told or forced to do it. again it is people like you who sit under rainbows and write poems about trees and shit, but you wont do anytihng to contribute because you really dont care that much about it. you expect the govt to do it, it is one of those, oh, someone else will take care of it, let dentist volunteer on their own to go down their.

[donveill]

you not having alot of money has nothing to do with anything. i am wasting my time with this.

[majinspy]

I can't solve every problem I care about. I sub-contract it out to my government. I can't build roads or single-handedly defend The US either. I also don't write poems (at all) but especially not about "trees and shit". The fact that we disagree over what the government should pay for doesn't mean I'm some spaced out hippy.

You have yet to address how your world view actually SOLVES problems. Kids on Indian reservation need dental care. There are few dentists around. Solve it your way, please.

[brutalbaron]

greetings, majinspy. i was reading through your spat with donveill. normally i give a wide berth to folks when they're arguing but, i wanted to pick your brain on one of your comments..."I sub-contract it out to my government". i'll be a man here and admit that when i suit-up, my jersey reads CONSERVATIVE. building interstate highways & fighting wars are indeed massive efforts suited to the federal government. we both agree on that. i have a question for you, though. do you think ...

[brutalbaron]

... (damned character limits) do you think that there are any issues/problems/situations that the US federal government is not suited to handle? do you think there are any issues/problems/situations that the US federal government could handle but should not? if so, give an example. i wave the conservative flag. and, in this case, i think Franken has a big heart. i just don't think politicians should be dealing with this. your thoughts?

[majinspy]

I think the vast, overwhelming majority of issues should have little government interference. I don't think the government should interfere with movies, lobster dinners, luxury cars, yachts, or anything that isn't vitally important. If someone doesn't have a lamborghini, that's ok. If they don't have access to dentists, that isn't. This is admittedly objective. Pure communism doesn't work. It kills the "greed" that drives human achievement. That greed, while important, isn't the only thing IMO.

[majinspy]

I want the government involved in basic quality of life issues. I think we can take a relatively small amount from the upper echelons of capitalism and use it on the poorest amongst us, increasing their happiness far more than the minute happiness lost to taxes. Utilitarian ethics drive my philosophy, which in turn drives my politics. I'm not a communist because I realize that greed that makes the world turn. I support (regulated) capitalism because it can produce what I wish to "redistribute".

[donveill]

if there is lack of dental care on indian reservations then the residents need to get up off their asses and take a ride to where a dentist is. that is their problem. give me a fucking break. god i hate al franken. he is such a dick.  franken just seems to like causing bullshit. people say, oh he just is speaking the truth. he can go fuck himself. why doesnt franken become a dentist and go live on a fucking reservation. maybe he would become a meth addict and die.

[themena12361107]

We as dentists, have an obligation to close this gap of underserved areas by going out to these places and providing care to those that need it. This, I feel, is where we have failed.

By the way, we've had classes dedicated to fluoridation. It's absolutely harmless. Every significant study agrees with this statement

[themena12361107]

As a dental student, I can tell you that amalgam (mercury) fillings have been proven by study after study to be safe and effective. The amount of mercury released from them is too small to cause the neurotoxic effects that are associated with mercury.

As far as the mid-level provider, it is important to note that while some claim they merely want to provide to underserved areas, where do these providers end up? The big cities just like everyone else. They just want a piece of the pie.

[TheGiantRobot]

I didn't really follow this, but I know the ADA are bad actors and always have been, since the day they were formed.

[threadysparrow]

do you people rail against any organization that requires education higher than a GED?

[TheGiantRobot]

You should probably follow all recommends of the ADA to protect yourself from us people. Make sure you get your mercury fillings, they are perfectly safe, and consume several glasses of fluoridated water a day, maybe get some fluoride tablets while you're at it. And don't read the history of the ADA or any of the sticky details of their "scientific" theories.

[threadysparrow]

first of all they stopped putting mercury in fillings a long time ago. secondly if you have mercury poisoning it is a quick sickness, meaning that its not like a little bit over time will hurt you, it is acute sickness. the amount you have hurts you at the exact time of ingestion or absorption. also fluoridated water never hurt anyone... EVER. have you ever heard of someone getting sick from drinking tap water? are there thousands and thousands of people dieing every day from tap water? no. stfu

[TheGiantRobot]

Your ignorance is truly astounding.

[threadysparrow]

oh yeah im ignorant. me and almost every dentist out there who agrees must be stupid. tell me where did you graduate dentist school? what are your qualifications? do you have any empriical evidence to show that you are right?

[TheGiantRobot]

Absolutely. Any dentist who agreed with your previous post would be stupid. In fact, I don't think you'll find a dentist that stupid.

They still use mercury fillings. Mercury is a cumulative neurotoxin and every dentist knows that. There's no debate about fluoridation having hurt and killed people, the debate is whether the good outweighs the harm.

You also seem to think that dentists have degrees in toxicology or nutrition - they don't. You're on Youtube, information is all around you.

[threadysparrow]

why would they need a degree in nutrition? and they are trained in toxicology. do you honestly think that you are smarter than them? do you think you are more qualified in this area than a dentist? you honestly think that you could handle the training needed to do what they do? oh and btw mercury isn't cumulative.

[killgoretrout81]

i love that there is the raw video for reference so no one can take any statements out of context... keep up the great work senator franken... the government needs more rational and reasonable people like you... and most importantly... people as empathetic as you.

[iamafractal]

when posting please always post uncut entire clips, even if you always also post a short clip as well.

[AgentMulder3667]

Five * for Franken