Our constitution gurantees us the god given right to seek our own happiness within the bounds of the law.
We must demand only opportunity to advance ourselves without government taking from one to give to another and thereby and choosing winners and losers. Pray that we can restore true freedom and choice so that our efforts to improve ourselves receive the rewards that only competition and free enterprise can provide.
@zimstudios Where do I even begin? Do I start by reminding you that Lincoln (Republican) freed the slaves? Do I bring up the Dred Scott decision when the Democrat party used the Supreme Court to force slaves that had escaped to North to be returned to their southern slave owners? Then I guess I could point out that the KKK was founded by democrats and supported by the party. (cont)
@2DumbKidsVideo Then, when you said that they no longer had ties, I could remind you that the late senator Byrd was a former recruiter and had recruited more than 150 members of the Klan. From there I guess I could point out a long list of civil rights acts that the Democrat party voted against to keep blacks unequal. From there I might mention that the Democrat party voted against Women's suffrage (Women's voting rights, for those of us who speak in run-on sentences). (cont)
@2DumbKidsVideo Then, I dunno, maybe I'll go into the Native American removal acts, and Japanese internment camps. Jim Crow Laws? Then, maybe I'll bring up the fact that the Republican Party has put more minorities into high ranking political office in the last 10 years than the Democrats have in the last 100 years. (cont)
@2DumbKidsVideo Well, hopefully you get the point. We live in a democratic republic (not a democracy). IE: we elect people to vote for us. Therefore, I don't vote for the person, rather the political platform that person votes for. In Obama's case, the Democrat platform. I suggest you read it (& the alternative) because 1 of them has a history of tyranny and the other standing against it. Which, quite frankly makes Obama's ideas wrong in any color because he votes with that platform.
i love how the liberals try to slam these videos with petty insults because never in America's history have the liberals known what it feels like to be outnumbered. Now the silent majority is truly showing that they are the majority of this nation and that liberals are not.
@muffinmanxxx321 All they have is the race / sexist / etc card when it comes to social policy making. Take Women's wages. If Republicans don't want to force businesses to pay higher wages, which will ultimately lead to higher unemployment for women, they are somehow sexist. If Republicans don't want to force banks to lend to families with bad credit, ultimately leading to that family losing all of their principle on the house when they can't make their mortgage, they're racist.
@2DumbKidsVideo I won't even get into the moral debate that price fixing is tyrannical. I don't have to. From a purely economic standpoint, it doesn't benefit anyone but a politician's / union's own political self interest.. But thankfully, you can only play those cards so many times before they lose all meaning.
@2DumbKidsVideo I couldn't agree with you more, Liberals are constantly trying to make the Republican legislation and economics look racist, sexist, and intolerant. The reason they do this is so that it can somehow make their Liberal way of thinking seem equal, when in actuality, it truly is not and would hurt everyone but you probably knew that haha.
@muffinmanxxx321 I do indeed. I can cite economic empirical and lab evidence to prove that as well (although not fun over a text based forum). Hell, even a novice economist can debunk socialism / communism / trickle up economics in a matter of a few minutes.
Republicans are about creating an equal chance to start at the starting line together, not finish at the finish line together by breaking the legs of the better runners.
tour buses funded by republican interests groups facilitate superficial protests all around america. Somewhere in a mansion the top of the republican hierarchy are laughing their asses off.
@infodirts Where do I even begin to respond to this? Do I start by mentioning that 8 of the 10 richest congressmen are Democrats? Do I follow that by mentioning that they're also the least charitable people?
@infodirts Joe Biden's tax records indicate that he made over $300,000 last year but has donated less than $400 per year (for the last 10 years) to charity (According to USA today). Obama made more than $5 Million dollars last year, and yet he donated less than $5k... the list goes on... and yet, they are very charitable with our money aren't they?
@2DumbKidsVideo I think its pretty much common knowledge that the Republican party is the party of the rich. The previous administration gave tax cuts only to a top percentage income bracket. This current administration gave tax cuts to 95% of Americans. Corporations also favor the republican party. Health insurance companies had the backing of the republican party. The Iraq war was steered by the republican party, which benefitted corporations such as Haliburton and Blackwater.
@infodirts Did you think that you're a tax payer? Odds are that you're not. The wealthiest 5% of the people in this country pay more than 90% of all federal income tax... and the wealthiest 1% pay more than 60% of all federal income tax. The poorest 40% get more back than they put in. So when you cut taxes for the wealthiest tax bracket, you're cutting taxes for people who will use that money to create jobs and grow the economy for you and I.
@2DumbKidsVideo For the record, THIS ADMINISTRATION DID NOT GIVE TAX CUTS TO 95% OF AMERICANS... they gave tax incentives, and there's a big difference. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a small business is not going to hire an employee that costs $50k per year for a $3k tax incentive, especially in this economy. You're obviously not a small business owner.
@2DumbKidsVideo Also, don't bother quoting a bunch of Michael Moore BS here. There's only a couple of Defense contractors in this country that can handle those jobs anyway. Would you rather we use foreign contractors?
Any person who understands how free market economies function, especially those with a vested stake in the economy (IE: people who own businesses or have jobs for that matter), should support the Republican party.
@2DumbKidsVideo I'll even take this a step further... Given the progressive tax structure that I described earlier, where exactly do you think these tax incentives come from? They're not "tax cuts", they're tax incentives, which means they have to raise taxes to pay for them. Who do you think pays for that? If you think it's just some rich fat cat, think again. When businesses pay higher taxes, what effect do you think that has on the prices of their goods and services to consumers?
@infodirts I read your profile and it's very obvious from your comments that you have never attended any of these events, read the party platforms, studied voting records, or have a basic understanding of economics / poli sci for that matter.
First of all, why would rich Republicans who have a stake in their own party, support a group of people who could quite possibly loose the election for Republicans in November by supporting 3rd party candidates and dividing conservatives?
@2DumbKidsVideo Sarah Palin attends these gatherings and she's a republican. These superficial protest incite strong emotions among people and plaster them with a message, "vote in november."
I can't help, but think that this is a Republican party reelection campaign.
@infodirts Well, it's not. Again, your comments lead me to believe that you have never been to one. It's true, a lot of Republicans attend these events... but that doesn't mean that they're going to help elect Republicans in Nov. The people who attend these events come from every racial background and socioeconomic makeup. These are people who are simply tired on an out of control federal government that spends endlessly.
@infodirts Second of all, you say that you would like to be rich one day... but you obviously have no understanding of how people become rich. You can't make poor people richer by making rich people poor. It won't increase the standard of living for everyone, in fact it will have the opposite effect.
@infodirts What exactly is it that you think rich people do with their money? Stuff it under their mattress? They either invest it in their own business (which creates jobs and innovative goods / services to increase the standard of living for all... or they invest it in other people's businesses (either directly or by the bank in which they keep their money)... which also creates jobs and innovative goods / services.
@2DumbKidsVideo I'm pretty sure that's what an eighteen year old is thinking about once he inherits the money from his parents. As hard earned money gets passed down from generation to generation financial responsibility weakens.
@infodirts The whole "spoiled rich kid" card is not going to play here. Even if you do inherit a bunch of money, if you don't spend / invest that money wisely, you're not going to have it for long. Very few people who have money in this world inherited it... they earned it through hard work.
With that said, that money still multiplies throughout the economy in ways that government spending can not.
@infodirts When the government taxes this money, they crowd out private investment. The government DOES NOT create jobs. Only the private sector can do that.
So, rather than creating an environment that allows everyone to have a better standard of living and be self reliant, this administration is creating an environment of dependency on the government. That is what the TEA party is against.
@infodirts Additionally, you cite that 40,000 Americans die every year from lack of health insurance. Well, first of all that's only 0.0001% of Americans. Do you think that number will decrease we begin rationing health care (which will happen, it's simple supply and demand)?
@infodirts You just don't get it do you? When the government fixes price below the equilibrium price, there's an increase in demand and a decrease in supply. The gap is what's known as a shortage. It's pretty basic econ 101 kind of stuff. Just Google "The effects of government price fixing economics".
@infodirts Just look at Canada... there's a reason why they pay ridiculously high income taxes and have a VAT tax... and have waiting lists for their patients to see doctors. In fact, there's an entire industry based on bringing people across the border in Canada to have surgery here. Even their politicians do it. SO I ASK YOU AGAIN... do you really think that health care will improve / get cheaper with government intervention. (It's a rhetorical question, I already know the answer).
@infodirts In fact, Obama is already talking about bringing the VAT (nation sales tax) here to pay for the increased cost of the new health care bill.
@infodirts Do you think that government mandates forcing everyone into a smaller pool of insurance companies will reduce the cost of health care and increase competition? Do you think that we'll see more innovative health care sollutions in a command and control econmy?
Let's see. I just got finished sleeping late, my girlfriend is making eggs, bacon and pancakes while I lay here and watch DVR'd olympics. At noon, I'll go for a run in on this beautiful day. I'll come home, watch golf or olympics, maybe get some afternoon delight and just relax before I goto work, which I love, tomorrow. I'm VERY aware of my "situation" and, funny, I don't remember reading that slavery was so great! Don't be such a teabagging drama queen, enjoy my country, it's a great place!
I hear ya, it's very unfortunate that the Bush admistration's many huge mistakes will take decades and trillions of tax dollars for the government to correct.
That's like responding, "It's very unfortunate that Hitler murdered people" when someone says to you "Mao murdered people" ..... AS IF THERE ARE SIDES TO TAKE
And I will give you a nod of competence in this whole debate, 2DumbKids... aside from your 'socialist' fomenting, at least you haven't reduced yourself to the crazy 'birther' , 'death panel' , or secession rhetoric and I applaud you for that. I may not agree with your stances, at all, but at least you seem to have a brain in that noggin of yours unlike many of the people that think along those same lines. That being said, I will continue with MY side of this debate as I'm sure you will, too...
I can agree to disagree with you, and I don't think that anything I will say to you will change your mind.
But, I will leave you with this. I used to be a liberal. In high school I was vegan and was not particularly patriotic. I hated big business and I wanted to save the world. It wasn't until I became interested in Economics, graduated college, got married and bought my first house that I started paying attention to the parties and what they actually stood for.
I have read both party platforms (including federal and several state versions) and I pay close attention to how members of both parties typically vote.
The left typically tears down business, builds government, limits personal freedom & creates social welfare programs that don't usually benefit those who pay for them. The right typically tears down government, builds business and the economy, and promotes personal property, liberty & freedom.
There's a few planks in the Republican platform that I disagree with, but I can live with that because you can't base a platform on moderate views... the Democrats sure don't.
I'm not sure what point you're at in your life, I don't even know you. Just be open to new ideas as you get older. I question my ideals every day.
I'm pretty sure that neither one of us wants the worst for other people, but we will have to disagree with the best way on how to achieve socio-economic harmony.
PS: You don't need "Death Panels" to have rationing. Rationing of care will come faster from a lack of supply and an increase in demand of health care services than from any bureaucratic panel of people (that you didn't even vote for). Unfortunately, the result is often more corruption in order to obtain goods and services through an illegitimate means (IE: Bribes).
...for themselves. I was a history major and I got away from the spoon-fed education grind and started doing my own research into things that I wasn't really sure of and I was able to form my own opinions by historical facts and those facts pointed to many of the country's problems being mired in right wing politics ie McCarthyism, John Birch Society, and all other propaganda outlets that resembled Nazi Germany's rise...
Let's not take the easy road of calling either side "Nazi's"... it's just an easy-out for anyone on either side that doesn't know what's going on. I have a feeling that you're better than that.
Actually, no, the circumstances are very much the same right here in America especially since the 9/11 aftermath... and that's one of the main problems with us in America...we DON'T learn from history and are certainly oblivious to the fact that it repeats itself. Just like Nazi Germany, America had turned the way of a corporate pseudo-theocracy over these past seven years... and for the same reasons as Nazi Germany did: Greed, hunger for power, and rampant nationalism.
..the stupor...hopefully, before it is too late. This is not a left or right issue... this is an AMERICAN issue. We have, ALL of us, succumbed to a level of greed and avarice that resembles that of many fallen civilizations before us. Politics have played a significant role but ultimately the blame is on Mr. and Ms. American Citizen for not learning to curb our over-indulgence in several areas and there is NO ONE innocent in this... even our children have become somewhat corporate drones...
There is a lot that we can do to get us back on track but when you have these tea-bagger rallies and town hall disruptions, it simply speaks of people really not wanting to do their part and, ironically, these folks support the same policies that got us into this mess to begin with. And yes, no matter the denial, there is an air of racism going on in this country right now (again, history repeating itself) that is being fueled by right-wing pundits and their sheep so what you're seeing going on
is a white christian identity movement being disguised as a 'patriotic' movement. We've seen this before and just because it's not as blatant as it has been in the past doesn't mean that it's not there or isn't one of the major driving factors. You'll have to excuse my frequent references to history... it's my field of study, after all, but I'm never at a point where I don't keep learning. What I DO know at this point is that we Americans are experiencing a historical shift and, hopefully,
if we do the right thing, we'll be able to look on this time in history, kicking back with a cold beer, and be able to have a "Remember when...?" conversation regarding this. But it's going to take ALL of us to put aside political, racial, religious, and fiscal differences, come together as a nation, and get our country, once again, leading the world by positive example.
History is a debatable subject. It's usually told by one point of view and often written by those who have the most to gain from it. You seem to be referring to an American History that I learned in high school, a very leftist "let's open the wound so it can be healed" kind of history.
The ironic thing is, I agree with you about history repeating... but I see your side carrying out most of the events that you have described...
I'll take corporate drones over government drones any day.
"I'll take corporate drones over government drones any day."
So you'd rather an entity of greedy companies dictate policy over a government created by the people, of the people, and for the people? This whole 'big government' nonsense is nothing but a cop out. Our government is what WE have made of it and because we have handed off the say-so of how things are run to the corporations and we have no one to blame but ourselves. People are so quick to point fingers instead of mirror-viewing...
On the contrary. I'm strongly against corporate influence on politicians. But I believe taxing those corporations is not the way to solve the problem, in fact I believe that it will make problems worse. People will have to obtain things through an illegitimate means (bribes).
Czars and government run organizations that have no elected officials / leaders like the EPA, FDA, IRS etc... are not "of the people, for the people, or by the people".
I don't think either party stands for ANYTHING anymore. But trying to lump together being a vegan and not being patriotic with being a liberal really doesn't tip any hat to rational thought. I actually had the opposite dynamic in my life... I was a military brat living in the world abroad, brought up on the Red Scare and Reaganomics, graduated college and then something changed... I realized that the republican party doesn't give a damn about civil rights and that the democrats don't stand up
I'm not tipping a hat to anyone, I'm just explaining who I once was and which party I once associated with.
I don't think that the Republican party is dead... but we need to throw the progressives & moderates out. The party needs to be re-born with a younger generation of Fiscal Conservatives.
The Republican party does care about Civil Rights... but again, they disagree with the left on how to reach a socio-economic harmony.
What we don't need right now is another Ross Perot.
Well, I think the republican party is dying BECAUSE there are no moderates or progressives stepping up from within that are bringing anything new to the table. What you've got in the republican party is a slew of christian pseudo-fundamentalists that have hijacked the party that still use political tactics that were used in the late '40s/early '50s...smear-through-fear...again, history repeating itself, even today. People believe that crap for just a minute and then usually break out from...
Disclaimer: These people DO NOT speak for all Texans. They are a fringe element of throwback shitkickers that wouldn't know freedom if it smacked them right in the face. And don't let the buzzwords like 'socialism' fool you... if that was the case, these simps would have been out protesting when Bush meted out the first bailout packages... ironic how they wait for Obama to get elected. The only notice I'm taking is that Texas needs education reform...immediately!
You're right, we need education reform immediately so our kids can learn how to elegantly throw words like "shitkickers" & "simps" into their debates to get their point across.
The fact is, I WAS protesting the Bush Bailouts as they did not represent conservative values.
This whole movement has been brewing since that time and will continue to grow. Every TEA party has been bigger than the one before it. I'm sorry that we weren't as organized during the last month of Bush's presidency.
Had you actually attended the event, you would have known that a majority of the speeches afterward were about the bailouts. These speeches can be seen in our other videos.
I guess it's just easier to criticize from the bench and believe everything you hear about us on MSNBC without understanding what's really going on.
I would also like to take this time to thank you for your continued efforts at making our great state a national punchline. Your synopsis mentions something about rejecting all forms of socialism yet Texas ranks #1 in the nation, percentage-wise, of money received for 'socialist programs'... OUCH!
If by national punchline you mean that other states are making fun of us for having the largest growing / strongest economy, lowest unemployment rate, and a budget surplus despite the recession and the millions of illegal immigrants who take advantage of free education and E.R. visits that my tax dollars / premiums pay for... then laugh it up.
You're also delusional, too, I see. This state's economy is not growing and that's been confirmed by several sources not to mention how Rick Perry bowed down and took federal stimulus money... why would he do that if Texas wasn't feeling the effects of the recession?... hmmm! You kind of already shot down your synopsis when you tried to bring illegal immigrants into the picture.
Not wanting illegal immigrants (who don't pay taxes) to enjoy the fruits of my labor does not make me a racists. They are very much a part of the bigger picture.
Someone who makes $10 an hour and pays taxes only makes about $7 an hour while an illegal immigrant doing the same job makes $10 per hour. Not to mention, you can knock an extra couple of bucks an hour off of that pay check to pay for the extra health care and educational benefits that the illegal immigrant are stealing as well.
You have better words to describe a group of organized traitors? It's quite easy to see what's REALLY going on just by looking at the signs, the demographic majority of these throwbacks, and by listening to the redundant rhetoric. Funny how you mention a cable news channel when your ragtag organization, itself, was a conjuring of a cable news station. Nice try, though!
trai·tor (trtr) n. - One who holds up a sign denouncing an out of control federal government that wants to steal my money and give it to someone else who didn't earn it.
Well I'll be damned... I guess we are traitors.
Did you attend the event or not? I'm guessing you just took what was shown to you on TV at face value.
BTW: I wouldn't consider millions of people peacefully protesting in the streets all across the nation to be "rag-tag".
Why would I attend such a hatefest for any other reason than to laugh right in their faces? HaHa! I have better things to do which is to call out the lies, slander, and rhetoric of the people that attend these watered-down Klan rallies. Millions of people, huh? So you're also a number-cruncher, too, huh? Rich! But I do have to give you credit where credit is due... at least you DO follow the redundant protocol of what talking points to use even if they're straight up lies and/or spin...
So what you're saying is that you don't really want to see what's going on for yourself. You just want to make assumptions. I didn't hear anyone say one racist comment during the entire event.
Yes, MILLIONS of people showed up to these events all across the nation. Over 1 million people flooded the streets of Washington D.C alone. You can bury your head in the sand all you want, but we're out there like it or not.
PS: Democrats founded the Klan... nice try though. :)
Hey, you're right! Democrats DID start the Klan... but seeing how you automatically assume that I'm one (I'm not) just goes to show the REAL agenda behind these rallies. Oh, and it was confirmed that no more than 70, 000 (that's only four zeroes, btw) tea-bagged in D.C... so you're not even close! But since you seem to be such an expert on history, you should know that a republican and democrat ideology shift occurred during the height of the Cold War when the republican party took on....
...the religious right as a major source of voting clout and became a party more aligned with the 'Dixie-crats' of that time. and just for future reference: Anytime you put in disclaimer form that "We are not racists..." you've already raised your red flag or, in the case of these tea-bagger fests, your Confederate flag... just so you know for the future. Don't tentatively defend yourself from something if it TRULY wasn't your intention... A lesson that we ALL should learn...
If you're so against socialism, I implore you to stop driving on Texas highways (federal subsidized-socialism). If you went to a public high school (tax-payer funded) in Texas, I implore you to renounce your high school diploma. If your house catches on fire, I implore you not to call the fire department (tax-payer funded) and put it out all by yourself. I can keep going on if you need more items to consider whether you're a socialist or not...
Actually, two of the (actual) jobs of the federal government are to promote interstate trade and support national defense. Interstate highways were built to move military vehicles across the US and they let us use them because they promote interstate trade.
The rest of your arguments are common rhetoric of the left and show a complete lack of understanding of distribution of powers given to local, state, and federal government.
We're talking about the federal government here, stay on subject.
Hmmm.... you conveniently left out "promote the general welfare" as one of those jobs but I can see how that wouldn't fit your agenda in this case. And since you haven't said whether or not you attended a public high school or whether or not you drive on Texas highways, I will just assume you as a closet socialist. Socialism is socialism no matter whether it is state or federal mandated. Again, nice try!
To be honest, I'm not a fan of publicly funded education at all. I think it costs property tax payers (whether you live in an apartment or a house... you pay for it) way to much. Most apartment dwellers don't even know it because they don't see the tax bill in their hands, it's just included in rent.
The average private school would cost me way less than what my property taxes would for a year (the portion that goes to the school district) and I don't even have kids.
while it's fair to say that most of the people at the tea parties were misinformed at best and wrongfully mislead at worst, it's not fair to smear that that republicans are all idiots. the thing is, how many people at these events make more than $250,000 a year? anyone else there were protesting that they were receiving middle class tax cuts. that's misinformation. while i believe in fiscal responsibility why would i protest my taxes being lowered? a chance to yell and hold signs?
the stimulus is successful and that 40% of the $775 billion package was in the form of tax cuts. And those tax cuts were higher than any single tax cut both Reagan or Bush enacted.
These same brain dead retards form organizations and protests demanding that our president's high taxes are turning us into the Nazis.
I know so very few republicans that can debate politics or economics with any sort of realistic knowledge. Their minds are full of shit they pick up from Glenn Beck and Limbaugh.
"I know so very few republicans that can debate politics or economics with any sort of realistic knowledge."
Really? Go on... please enlighten me.
Also, are the words "shit" and "retards" really necessary for such an enlightened 42 year old adult to get their point across? (Assuming that is your real age).
good point. i can agree that some level of tort reform may be good, it has to be extremely limited. it's a fact that most of the doctors up in arms over tort reform are indeed the ones who faced malpractice suits for screwing up.
there is an extent that frivolous lawsuits should be brought under control, but in healthcare i really doubt there are that many frivolous suits vs. genuine ones. i mean, you royally screw up my surgery, you misdiagnose me causing harm or threat to life? cut and dry
The people that attempt to discredit the very reasons we are protesting. I would almost bet they haven't read the healthcare bill, or read any bill that the current administration is trying to pass for that matter. Here's a tip Janeane, why don't you lend some support and "mouth" to the farms in California that are drying up in favor of saving a tiny fish. That's what your precious Obama Administration is doing right now! Do that instead of trying to discredit taxpaying US Citizens.
maybe you can help me understand. what are the tea parties about? is it healthcare reform, the economy, or taxation? taxed enough already seems to be the slogan, and that is why i found them kind of silly. personally, i make less than 250k a year so i'm receiving tax cuts. if it's the economy, we should have been taking to the streets in 2007 and 2008 and not now...though i don't like that obama chose to continue to side with wall street continuing bush's bad bailout policies.
People are finally reaching their breaking point. It takes time to wake a nation up. The movement encompasses all three of the things you mentioned because all 3 are intertwined.
That 250k per year will rapidly get lower. People making less and less money will grow more and more evil in the "statists" eyes.
Also, you may not be taxed directly, but I can assure you that those people who do make more than 250k per year will pass their extra costs on to you in the form of higher priced goods.
thanks for taking the time to answer my question. i can't say that i necessarily agree with the statement about higher taxes trickling into the middle class, though i can understand why you would feel that way.
i still believe the timing of these protests is wrong and the pretenses leave them open for attacks on validity, but sometimes it is better late than never.
You win. Your flooding of this forum has completely changed my mind. I want bigger government, higher taxes, and fewer personal choices and freedom. I think people who don't want those things are racists. I no longer mind that illegal immigrants have more take home pay at the end of the day than I do because they don't pay taxes. I'm applying for food stamps online as I type. I've already made a Dr. appt. for my wife to have in-vitro tomorrow. Maybe we'll strike it rich like the octo-mom.
I mean, that's the response you wanted isn't it? That's why you've been hovering over this forum for the last 2 days isn't it?
If I give him any more time, who knows how far it will go?
Also, you have made no distinctions between local, state, and federal powers. There's a big difference between allowing your state to have these powers and handing them over to the federal government. There are already states that have these experimental programs and they're having garage sales to raise $.
The federal governments job is not to provide health care to all of its citizens, run car companies, or hand out TV converter boxes. The federal governments job is to Protect It's Borders, Maintain its Currency, Manage National Defense and Promote Interstate Trade.
It can't even get those things right. What makes you think it will do any better with our health care? In fact, its arguable that the reason health care is so expensive is because it does a terrible job at 3 of those things.
Reject socialism? Yeah, I'm sure that goes over well with the age 65+ crowd that is such a large portion behind the outraged teabaggers. Try to tell them you would like to take away their subsidized medical coverage. Do it.
That's the whole problem with these protests, there is NO MESSAGE AT ALL. You hear it. They're chanting "USA!" like it means something. Yes, USA, we live in it, so... ok? Thanks for yelling it.
Ask a real protester from the previous 8 years what you're really fighting.
icky1961: Your comments are nothing short of an attempt to flood this comment board. I can hardly hear myself think over the sound of plucked heart strings. You give nothing but one size fits all scenarios as evidence and claim that I do the same.
Insurance is a numbers game. It's not an inalienable right that you're born with. If you think you can have a sustainable public funded option that's actually cheaper than a private option then you're thinking with your heart and not your head.
Insurance companies evaluate risk... and they're ridiculously good at it. I would expect nothing more than for my rates to go up because just like a 16 year old kid behind the wheel of a corvette, I pose a greater risk to them.
Do me a favor, if you want to continue to post here. Do so in a fashion that encourages good debate and not flooding. Keep your responses small and cite your sources whenever possible.
"Ridiculously good at it"? This is sheer nonsense - they're incredibly, childishly crude at it while being remarkably obfuscatory with the end results so that you can't figure out what's covered and what isn't and so that you can't comparison-shop between policies. Their actuarial analyses are designed for marketing purposes, not for accurately and efficiently allocating health-care costs within society.
An example: the increasing proclivity of auto insurance companies to base premiums on credit ratings despite the fact that it doesn't take much more than the brains of a chimp to understand that there's no credit relationship involved when buying insurance - you pay for it up front. Insurance companies might as well base their premiums on astrological signs, which I have no doubt they would do if they could sell more insurance doing things that way, sanity be damned.
No, it's on account of the fact that I don't write in sound bites for the benefit of those with short attention spans, but YouTube will only allow you to post 500 characters at a time; I can spend 500 characters describing my haircut, to say nothing of the current state of healthcare in this country.
(....continued) Other countries do not allow these things to happen to their citizens. We need drastic change to keep it from continuing to happen here; anyone who says otherwise does so because they don't care about anybody or anything other than their their own short-sighted grossly materialistic interests.
(....continued) Even if you choose COBRA, after 18 months of that you'll be kicked off.
So now you're unemployed, uninsured, with a serious illness and no income. What do you do? You file for bankruptcy while you still have some money left to hire a lawyer for that and move into your mom's basement until things get better, if they ever do and if you still have a mom. This happens to thousands of Americans every year. (continued....)
Try this on: even if you're employed at a place that provides health insurance, if you get a lengthy illness that prevents you from working beyond the limits of your accumulated sick leave your employer will most likely terminate you. At such a point you will have a choice: 1) pay your own insurance premium (not just the employee share - you'll now also have to start paying the share your employer used to pay too; the combination is referred to as "COBRA"), or 2) do without. (continued....)
Icky1961: I have a chronic illness & my insurance only pays for dr visits, labs and some medication. They don't pay for the more expensive IV's, chelation or vitamin IV's. Therefore I am paying a large amount out of my pocket BUT I would never, ever want the federal government controlling my healthcare. Yes, we need HEALTHCARE REFORM, we don't need GOVT OWNED healthcare. #1 states need tort reform. Texas gained 7,000 NEW doctors by passing tort reform.
Not to mention, the Federal Government could work on doing what it's actually supposed to do and promote some interstate trade. Maybe remove restrictions keeping consumers from taking their health care plan across state lines and between employers. A little competition never hurt anyone.
Any American that thinks the health insurance they currently have needs is worth a damn needs to guess again.
A huge share if not the majority of people filing bankruptcy in this country do so because they're overwhelmed by unanticipated medical charges that they though they had insurance to cover.
The healthcare "system" that we have in this country is no system at all - it's an illusory house of cards that primarily benefits profiteering for-profit insurance companies and providers at the expense of Americans' wallets and health.
If we are going to remain competitive as a nation this must change. The fraudulent profiteering gangster private insurance companies know this but don't care. All they care about are profits for there shareholders - that's why they fight so hard against change.
There's no substance to the accusation that rising health care prices are due to the tired "taxes and regulations" line - a large segment of the healthcare field is occupied by tax-exempt organizations and their charges increase just as fast as with the for-profit gangsters.
Your remark that you equate freedom with your wallet pretty much proves my point: your crowd has an ultra-materialistic and illusory view of freedom that most people in this country do not share.
Medicare is run very efficiently; it's budgetary problems stem from an increasing number of people being eligible for it, fewer people required to pay for it, and the exorbitantly ever-increasing costs of the private for-profit-rendered services it's obligated to cover.
And what's wrong with the federal government having a primary role in health care? It runs medicare very efficiently - it's administrative costs are in the neighborhood of 4%, a hit that would put lost low-budget non-profits to shame, to say nothing of the criminal enterprises known as private for-profit health insurance companies, the gross redundancy of which causes their administrative costs - typically upwards of 30% - to careen ever skyward.
Of course, the paranoid frequently perceive threats from the "illuminati"/"trilateral commission"/"one-world-government" and various other imaginary tyrants any time people tell them they're expected to pay a reasonable amount of taxes for the privilege of living in an advanced secure country.
I personally am not seeing much in the way of threats to my freedom on the horizon. A threat to my wallet, maybe - but that's not anywhere close to freedom now, is it? And I'll take a periodic hit in my wallet if it means FREEDOM from the threat of being bankrupted by medical bills. But I sure as hell don't want to pay that monthly dent to the fraudulent gangsters otherwise known as private for-profit health insurance companies.
Freedom = Free Markets = Personal Property = My Wallet.
To prop up medicare with a variety of disguised tax vehicles and to attribute rising private health care prices with profits and not government taxes and regulations that are passed along to the consumer is a little one sided too... don't you think?
Those profits don't go into a coffee can in the back yard. They get re-invested into the economy and making life better for all of us... which is more than I can say for government spending.
The primary drivers with ever-increasing healthcare costs in this country are 1) an idolatry of redundant technology think every hospital thinking it has to have an MRI machine for competitive reasons i.e. to attract patients/customers, which leads to every hospital putting pressure on their docs to refer people for unnecessary MRI's so the damn things can be paid for; and 2) an excessive portion of medical charges attributable to incompatible and redundant charges and forms. (continued....)
(....continued) Does it make sense to you that your doctor and hospital has to hire an entire staff whose sole reason for existence is to sort through the myriad redundant forms and charge schedules used by the different private gangster insurance companies, and to respond to these companies' incessant bogus requests for "more detailed information" that is really just a stalling effort in disguise?
(....continued) The payment for these idiotic costs comes out of your wallet; they do not make us healthier than the residents of other countries who've found ways to do things differently.
Furthermore, that we have these absurd, pointless costs while other countries don't drags us down in that, since the majority of healthcare costs are borne by employers, these costs become part of the costs of products we sell and therefore makes them less competitive.
Furthermore, to suggest that all responsible. hard-working people will have up to $2,000/year laying around to spend on illnesses above and beyond life's other obligations is nothing short of fatuous.
The scenario I just described doesn't happen in countries with national health insurance i.e. the rest of the developed world. But hey, 2DumnbKids - it if happens to you here in America, where you're currently FREE to have it happen to you - feel FREE to look me up: I'll be glad to tell you "Tough luck, bud - you should've shown more personal responsibility. Here's a quarter".
These kinds of disasters I just described happen all the time in America, regardless of whether you anybody it's happened to; over half of the people filing for bankruptcy are people who thought they had health insurance until a) they found out it didn't cover nearly what they thought it did or b) they lost their job and their insurance coverage along with it (forget COBRA - it's worthless).
This video isn't real useful for crowd-size- estimating purposes but, such as it is, I'd say 2,000 would be a highish estimate, 3,000 at the absolute highest - nowhere near the "10,000 - 20,000" put out by the event producers in the Sta-Telegram.
Next time try keeping the camera aimed at the same spot where the number of people passing by can be counted accurately.
Search for the one posted by "BrianLuenser". for a birds eye view.
Not sure if you're from around here or not... but the march was 4 lanes wide and went all the way from the convention center to Sundance square and back again without thinning out. That's about .9 miles round trip.
Most average high school auditoriums hold 5,000 to 10,000... I'd say their estimates were rather low actually. You're not fooling anyone who was there by downplaying our numbers.
Checked out BrianLuenser; while I was impressed with the quality of his camera, in his short under-two-minute video there isn't - again - any evidence of a crowd of more than 2,000 people nor one extending any thirteen city blocks.
the New England Journal of Medicine showed, a single-payer reform could save about $400 billion annually by shrinking health care bureaucracy — enough to cover the uninsured and to provide first dollar coverage for all Americans. A single-payer system would also include effective cost-containment mechanisms like bulk purchasing. As a result, everyone would be covered with no net increase in U.S. health spending. But these savings arent available unless we go all the way to single payer.
This doesn't have anything to do with Obama's skin color... so deal with it.
Why do you have to pull the race card every time you have trouble defending your utopian socialist ideals. BTW, siting some bogus article in the NEJM does not count as a rational argument in a debate.
ALL of the border states are the most uninsured states in the US... and why do you think that is? The answer probably somehow makes me a racist.
Can you honestly look someone in the eye and tell them you believe it will be cheaper... knowing perfectly well that every other country that has socialized medicine pays nearly half of their income to the government and 15%+ sales taxes.
I'll bet you think it only costs you $0.44 cents to mail a letter at the post office too. How are the wait times there?
I guest hosted a podcast with a guy from Canada a couple of days ago and he just kept saying that he wanted to move here.
He waited 4 months to see a physician when he hurt his back on the job... they gave him pain killers so he could continue to work with an injured back.
I'm not citing this as an end-all example of their health care system, I just thought he had some good info.
ADDIS ABABA (CDN) — A convert from Islam who has led a push for Muslim-Christian understanding in Ethiopia has been in jail for nearly four months since his arrest for "malicious" distribution of Bibles.
Christian sources in Ethiopia said that, contrary to Ethiopian law, 39-year-old Bashir Musa Ahmed has not been formally charged since his arrest on May 23 in Jijiga, capital of Somali Region Zone Five, a predominantly Muslim area in eastern Ethiopia. Zonal police arrested him after he was
Really? I didn't see one person mention anything about race... I did however see thousands of people who were extremely concerned about paying the kinds of taxes that the Canadians and Europeans do for crappy socialized health care.
The liberal strategy of calling conservatives "racists" is a poor one (and ironic given this nations history, feel free to read my post below). If you can throw us into that category, you don't have to listen to what we're actually saying. It's not going to hold up.
Is there any way possible to let the Tea Party & 912 folks that there is no left, there is no right?
Sure at the street level there's a *difference*, but no matter who's elected left/right demo/repub, the same agenda seems to be being pushed. An agenda of the erosion of civil liberties and the exponential growth of government at all levels.
There is an agenda, and it has a number. 21. Now brought to you by the warm & fuzzy name of: Sustainable Development...
Actually, It does matter who is elected. The real problem is that republicans have allowed other republicans (in name only) who don't hold their conservative values to stay in office with unchecked voting records. As Americans, we tend to focus on the presidential race every 4 years and not who represents us in the other 2 branches, let alone at the state and local levels.
Hopefully the Tea Party movement will help people realize that.
No one put the words in these people's mouth. I am not one bit surprised what I'm hearing. These are the Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck decibels. I am more than embarrassed I am mortified that these people are Americans. How could so many stupid uninformed sheep be herded in one area?
This is what AM talk radio and Fox news produces. This is why Sara Palin was so popular among them. This is what the dumbing down of America really means.
We don't want to pay 45% of what we make in a year (work 6 months a year for $0) and pay 5% x # OF LEVELS OF PRODUCTION + another 8% sales tax like the Europeans and Canadians do for crappy health care.
Ask a Canadian after they have sat in a waiting from for 5 hours if they like their "Free" health care.
Honestly, I've never been around a more well informed bunch of people in my life. But then again most of my friends are liberals.
BTW, I spent the weekend in one of our terrible "free market" hospitals after I nearly died of meningitis. I saw an ER doctor within 30 min. Within another 30 min I had a CT scan of my brain to disprove a hemorrhage. Within another 30 min I had a spinal tap which confirmed meningitis. Within another 30 min. I had a private hospital bed.
My $2000 deductible / premium pales in comparison to paying an additional 15% of my annual income, like it does for the other 85%+ of Americans.
For the largest documented march on Washington in the the history of the United States?
You're probably right, I'm sure that the amount of people who marched in every major city in the US pales in comparison to the amount of people that were in the White House mall the day of the inauguration.
wow. i cashed my check today given to me by the republican party and by the insurance companies.between myself, my wife , and 3 kids we really raked it in!!!!
i think i can retire now. that's why we went as a family... for for cash, of course.
what??? you didn't sign up for the cash at the rent a mob booth?
all that cash made it worth putting up with the littering, racism, violence and all the hate spewing. i just hope my kids aren't traumatized.
If Al Gore's Dad (and the democratic majority in congress) had their way when they voted against the civil rights act of 1964 Rosa Parks would still be sitting on the back of the bus.
Andrew Jackson (Democrat) spear headed a little thing called the trail of tears... the largest Native American removal in US history.
You ignore the fact that the constituencies of the two dominant political parties in this country have pretty much turned around 180° between the nineteenth century and the last one.
Up to the first part of the last century the Republicans represented eastern upper-crust reformers and liberals - Teddy Roosevelt was pretty much the prototype and most of this country's environmental successes to that point were due to their efforts. Then in 1964 came Barry Goldwater.
hahahaha you are insane!!!! to compare party affiliation to what it was during the civil war or at any time is absolutely ludicrous.
The phrase "southern democrat" should tip you off to that.
Hey... heres an idea.... lets not worry about what happened. There is plenty of blame to go around on either party as to what happened before now. It's completely irrelevant.
Bottom line.
The cost of no reform far outweighs the cost of reform.
Actually, I disagree. This kind of reform far outweighs the cost of doing nothing.
Here's an even better idea. If President Obama believes that he can pay for the cost of a government health care program by finding efficiencies in current programs... let's do that first. Show me the savings of these incredible efficiencies and then we'll talk rather than passing a 1200 page bill that even a lawyer can't read.
Also, if you're going to call Republican's Nazi's and racists... be prepared to cite instances to back it up and not some regurgitated crap you heard from Janeane Garofalo or Rachael Maddow.
ANY legislation is long and drawn out thats how it works. Especially something this important. Just because its not in terms that the average person cant decipher doesn't mean its a bad bill.
Look.... healthcare spending is expected to reach 2.5 trillion this year. On the track to cost 4.4 trillion by 2018.
This is coming from the National Coalition on Health Care website.
underlinedbluetext: You seem like a reasonable person (which is more than I can say for most).
I am indeed eagerly awaiting this bill so that I can read it. But, for the time being I believe I am perfectly rational in my concern for a socialized piece of tripe based on a cacophony of speeches given by this administration.
I also don't believe that this bill is by any means long and drawn out. I believe we are moving far too quickly.
There are plenty of things that we can do to make health care less expensive and all of them require less government intervention.
BTW, the news media is calling us racists. We are calling this administration Marxist and socialist because the US communist party is supporting him for a reason. Taking money from those who earn it and giving it to those who don't is socialism.
BTW, I did complain when Bush supported bailing out AIG... because I am a conservative.
because if you are agaist something like that your racist because evreything Obama is thrying Give you we have it in Canada and we have it and more... Shit ! Cuba and Mexico have public health care they may be poor but they care ... Stop think if Canada,Mexico,Cuba,UK,France can do it ,why can you people do it and make us jealous ...
Are you asking a question or making a statement? If you're French Canadian I can understand... if English is your first language you're a perfect example of why public education should be privatized.
Anyway, it comes down to this. There's a reason that most (and it's a overwhelming most) of the world's innovation comes from the US. There's a reason why more people in the US own homes.
You should read up on the "Money Multiplier Effect". You'll be able to understand better wealth distribution between capitalist and socialist societies. I might also suggest a classic book called "The Wealth of Nations". A link can be found on our site.
Socialized medicine in any form will equate to the following. Higher Taxes, Shortages / Rationing (in various forms that aren't necessarily by bureaucracies), and less competition which equals less innovation and poor quality.
Have you ever lived in the U.S? It's certainly not the best thing for me. I'm 26 and I'm probably considered poor by Barack's status quo definition. I chose to buy my own health care instead of buying other more desirable things to people my age.
There is no such thing as equality.
Our constitution gurantees us the god given right to seek our own happiness within the bounds of the law.
We must demand only opportunity to advance ourselves without government taking from one to give to another and thereby and choosing winners and losers. Pray that we can restore true freedom and choice so that our efforts to improve ourselves receive the rewards that only competition and free enterprise can provide.
fred00111 2 months ago
you racist basterds all you do it try not to help people and make obama look bad because he is black
zimstudios 1 year ago
@zimstudios Where do I even begin? Do I start by reminding you that Lincoln (Republican) freed the slaves? Do I bring up the Dred Scott decision when the Democrat party used the Supreme Court to force slaves that had escaped to North to be returned to their southern slave owners? Then I guess I could point out that the KKK was founded by democrats and supported by the party. (cont)
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Then, when you said that they no longer had ties, I could remind you that the late senator Byrd was a former recruiter and had recruited more than 150 members of the Klan. From there I guess I could point out a long list of civil rights acts that the Democrat party voted against to keep blacks unequal. From there I might mention that the Democrat party voted against Women's suffrage (Women's voting rights, for those of us who speak in run-on sentences). (cont)
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Then, I dunno, maybe I'll go into the Native American removal acts, and Japanese internment camps. Jim Crow Laws? Then, maybe I'll bring up the fact that the Republican Party has put more minorities into high ranking political office in the last 10 years than the Democrats have in the last 100 years. (cont)
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Well, hopefully you get the point. We live in a democratic republic (not a democracy). IE: we elect people to vote for us. Therefore, I don't vote for the person, rather the political platform that person votes for. In Obama's case, the Democrat platform. I suggest you read it (& the alternative) because 1 of them has a history of tyranny and the other standing against it. Which, quite frankly makes Obama's ideas wrong in any color because he votes with that platform.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
i love how the liberals try to slam these videos with petty insults because never in America's history have the liberals known what it feels like to be outnumbered. Now the silent majority is truly showing that they are the majority of this nation and that liberals are not.
muffinmanxxx321 1 year ago
@muffinmanxxx321 All they have is the race / sexist / etc card when it comes to social policy making. Take Women's wages. If Republicans don't want to force businesses to pay higher wages, which will ultimately lead to higher unemployment for women, they are somehow sexist. If Republicans don't want to force banks to lend to families with bad credit, ultimately leading to that family losing all of their principle on the house when they can't make their mortgage, they're racist.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo I won't even get into the moral debate that price fixing is tyrannical. I don't have to. From a purely economic standpoint, it doesn't benefit anyone but a politician's / union's own political self interest.. But thankfully, you can only play those cards so many times before they lose all meaning.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo I couldn't agree with you more, Liberals are constantly trying to make the Republican legislation and economics look racist, sexist, and intolerant. The reason they do this is so that it can somehow make their Liberal way of thinking seem equal, when in actuality, it truly is not and would hurt everyone but you probably knew that haha.
muffinmanxxx321 1 year ago
@muffinmanxxx321 I do indeed. I can cite economic empirical and lab evidence to prove that as well (although not fun over a text based forum). Hell, even a novice economist can debunk socialism / communism / trickle up economics in a matter of a few minutes.
Republicans are about creating an equal chance to start at the starting line together, not finish at the finish line together by breaking the legs of the better runners.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo You're absolutely right, keep up the good work!
muffinmanxxx321 1 year ago
tour buses funded by republican interests groups facilitate superficial protests all around america. Somewhere in a mansion the top of the republican hierarchy are laughing their asses off.
infodirts 1 year ago
@infodirts Where do I even begin to respond to this? Do I start by mentioning that 8 of the 10 richest congressmen are Democrats? Do I follow that by mentioning that they're also the least charitable people?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts Joe Biden's tax records indicate that he made over $300,000 last year but has donated less than $400 per year (for the last 10 years) to charity (According to USA today). Obama made more than $5 Million dollars last year, and yet he donated less than $5k... the list goes on... and yet, they are very charitable with our money aren't they?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo I think its pretty much common knowledge that the Republican party is the party of the rich. The previous administration gave tax cuts only to a top percentage income bracket. This current administration gave tax cuts to 95% of Americans. Corporations also favor the republican party. Health insurance companies had the backing of the republican party. The Iraq war was steered by the republican party, which benefitted corporations such as Haliburton and Blackwater.
infodirts 1 year ago
@infodirts Did you think that you're a tax payer? Odds are that you're not. The wealthiest 5% of the people in this country pay more than 90% of all federal income tax... and the wealthiest 1% pay more than 60% of all federal income tax. The poorest 40% get more back than they put in. So when you cut taxes for the wealthiest tax bracket, you're cutting taxes for people who will use that money to create jobs and grow the economy for you and I.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo For the record, THIS ADMINISTRATION DID NOT GIVE TAX CUTS TO 95% OF AMERICANS... they gave tax incentives, and there's a big difference. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a small business is not going to hire an employee that costs $50k per year for a $3k tax incentive, especially in this economy. You're obviously not a small business owner.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Also, don't bother quoting a bunch of Michael Moore BS here. There's only a couple of Defense contractors in this country that can handle those jobs anyway. Would you rather we use foreign contractors?
Any person who understands how free market economies function, especially those with a vested stake in the economy (IE: people who own businesses or have jobs for that matter), should support the Republican party.
PS: Don't change the subject.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo I'll even take this a step further... Given the progressive tax structure that I described earlier, where exactly do you think these tax incentives come from? They're not "tax cuts", they're tax incentives, which means they have to raise taxes to pay for them. Who do you think pays for that? If you think it's just some rich fat cat, think again. When businesses pay higher taxes, what effect do you think that has on the prices of their goods and services to consumers?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts I read your profile and it's very obvious from your comments that you have never attended any of these events, read the party platforms, studied voting records, or have a basic understanding of economics / poli sci for that matter.
First of all, why would rich Republicans who have a stake in their own party, support a group of people who could quite possibly loose the election for Republicans in November by supporting 3rd party candidates and dividing conservatives?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Sarah Palin attends these gatherings and she's a republican. These superficial protest incite strong emotions among people and plaster them with a message, "vote in november."
I can't help, but think that this is a Republican party reelection campaign.
infodirts 1 year ago
@infodirts Well, it's not. Again, your comments lead me to believe that you have never been to one. It's true, a lot of Republicans attend these events... but that doesn't mean that they're going to help elect Republicans in Nov. The people who attend these events come from every racial background and socioeconomic makeup. These are people who are simply tired on an out of control federal government that spends endlessly.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts Second of all, you say that you would like to be rich one day... but you obviously have no understanding of how people become rich. You can't make poor people richer by making rich people poor. It won't increase the standard of living for everyone, in fact it will have the opposite effect.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts What exactly is it that you think rich people do with their money? Stuff it under their mattress? They either invest it in their own business (which creates jobs and innovative goods / services to increase the standard of living for all... or they invest it in other people's businesses (either directly or by the bank in which they keep their money)... which also creates jobs and innovative goods / services.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo I'm pretty sure that's what an eighteen year old is thinking about once he inherits the money from his parents. As hard earned money gets passed down from generation to generation financial responsibility weakens.
infodirts 1 year ago
@infodirts The whole "spoiled rich kid" card is not going to play here. Even if you do inherit a bunch of money, if you don't spend / invest that money wisely, you're not going to have it for long. Very few people who have money in this world inherited it... they earned it through hard work.
With that said, that money still multiplies throughout the economy in ways that government spending can not.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts When the government taxes this money, they crowd out private investment. The government DOES NOT create jobs. Only the private sector can do that.
So, rather than creating an environment that allows everyone to have a better standard of living and be self reliant, this administration is creating an environment of dependency on the government. That is what the TEA party is against.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts Additionally, you cite that 40,000 Americans die every year from lack of health insurance. Well, first of all that's only 0.0001% of Americans. Do you think that number will decrease we begin rationing health care (which will happen, it's simple supply and demand)?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@2DumbKidsVideo Yes, yes, yes, for the love of God yes!!!
infodirts 1 year ago
@infodirts You just don't get it do you? When the government fixes price below the equilibrium price, there's an increase in demand and a decrease in supply. The gap is what's known as a shortage. It's pretty basic econ 101 kind of stuff. Just Google "The effects of government price fixing economics".
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts Just look at Canada... there's a reason why they pay ridiculously high income taxes and have a VAT tax... and have waiting lists for their patients to see doctors. In fact, there's an entire industry based on bringing people across the border in Canada to have surgery here. Even their politicians do it. SO I ASK YOU AGAIN... do you really think that health care will improve / get cheaper with government intervention. (It's a rhetorical question, I already know the answer).
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts In fact, Obama is already talking about bringing the VAT (nation sales tax) here to pay for the increased cost of the new health care bill.
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
@infodirts Do you think that government mandates forcing everyone into a smaller pool of insurance companies will reduce the cost of health care and increase competition? Do you think that we'll see more innovative health care sollutions in a command and control econmy?
2DumbKidsVideo 1 year ago
Let's see. I just got finished sleeping late, my girlfriend is making eggs, bacon and pancakes while I lay here and watch DVR'd olympics. At noon, I'll go for a run in on this beautiful day. I'll come home, watch golf or olympics, maybe get some afternoon delight and just relax before I goto work, which I love, tomorrow. I'm VERY aware of my "situation" and, funny, I don't remember reading that slavery was so great! Don't be such a teabagging drama queen, enjoy my country, it's a great place!
southrules 1 year ago
LMAO at Jeanine's ignorance and spewing liberal lies.
BellyButtonQuiz 1 year ago
Nothing scarier than dumb rednecks in the rain
southrules 2 years ago
I find the federal government trashing personal freedom and state's rights that are granted under the constitution to be much scarier.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
I hear ya, it's very unfortunate that the Bush admistration's many huge mistakes will take decades and trillions of tax dollars for the government to correct.
southrules 2 years ago
Ha. Please elaborate.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Can't wait to see how long it takes to correct Obama's mistakes.
introvertical71 2 years ago
@southrules
you can't see the forest for the trees man.
That's like responding, "It's very unfortunate that Hitler murdered people" when someone says to you "Mao murdered people" ..... AS IF THERE ARE SIDES TO TAKE
BellyButtonQuiz 1 year ago
No, comparing Bush to anyone else would be like comparing Hitler to OJ. Try your nonsense teabagger rational elsewhere.
southrules 1 year ago
How about, brainwashed Liberals that vote.
introvertical71 2 years ago
the teaparty is a joke
aafaking 2 years ago
Ya, you're probably right. Fiscal responsibility and constitutional rights are dumb.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
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NEW VIDEO UP!!!
Search "Universal Beer Care" or just check out our other videos.
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2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
And I will give you a nod of competence in this whole debate, 2DumbKids... aside from your 'socialist' fomenting, at least you haven't reduced yourself to the crazy 'birther' , 'death panel' , or secession rhetoric and I applaud you for that. I may not agree with your stances, at all, but at least you seem to have a brain in that noggin of yours unlike many of the people that think along those same lines. That being said, I will continue with MY side of this debate as I'm sure you will, too...
confidnz 2 years ago
I can agree to disagree with you, and I don't think that anything I will say to you will change your mind.
But, I will leave you with this. I used to be a liberal. In high school I was vegan and was not particularly patriotic. I hated big business and I wanted to save the world. It wasn't until I became interested in Economics, graduated college, got married and bought my first house that I started paying attention to the parties and what they actually stood for.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
I have read both party platforms (including federal and several state versions) and I pay close attention to how members of both parties typically vote.
The left typically tears down business, builds government, limits personal freedom & creates social welfare programs that don't usually benefit those who pay for them. The right typically tears down government, builds business and the economy, and promotes personal property, liberty & freedom.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
There's a few planks in the Republican platform that I disagree with, but I can live with that because you can't base a platform on moderate views... the Democrats sure don't.
I'm not sure what point you're at in your life, I don't even know you. Just be open to new ideas as you get older. I question my ideals every day.
I'm pretty sure that neither one of us wants the worst for other people, but we will have to disagree with the best way on how to achieve socio-economic harmony.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
PS: You don't need "Death Panels" to have rationing. Rationing of care will come faster from a lack of supply and an increase in demand of health care services than from any bureaucratic panel of people (that you didn't even vote for). Unfortunately, the result is often more corruption in order to obtain goods and services through an illegitimate means (IE: Bribes).
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
...for themselves. I was a history major and I got away from the spoon-fed education grind and started doing my own research into things that I wasn't really sure of and I was able to form my own opinions by historical facts and those facts pointed to many of the country's problems being mired in right wing politics ie McCarthyism, John Birch Society, and all other propaganda outlets that resembled Nazi Germany's rise...
confidnz 2 years ago
Let's not take the easy road of calling either side "Nazi's"... it's just an easy-out for anyone on either side that doesn't know what's going on. I have a feeling that you're better than that.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Actually, no, the circumstances are very much the same right here in America especially since the 9/11 aftermath... and that's one of the main problems with us in America...we DON'T learn from history and are certainly oblivious to the fact that it repeats itself. Just like Nazi Germany, America had turned the way of a corporate pseudo-theocracy over these past seven years... and for the same reasons as Nazi Germany did: Greed, hunger for power, and rampant nationalism.
confidnz 2 years ago
..the stupor...hopefully, before it is too late. This is not a left or right issue... this is an AMERICAN issue. We have, ALL of us, succumbed to a level of greed and avarice that resembles that of many fallen civilizations before us. Politics have played a significant role but ultimately the blame is on Mr. and Ms. American Citizen for not learning to curb our over-indulgence in several areas and there is NO ONE innocent in this... even our children have become somewhat corporate drones...
confidnz 2 years ago
There is a lot that we can do to get us back on track but when you have these tea-bagger rallies and town hall disruptions, it simply speaks of people really not wanting to do their part and, ironically, these folks support the same policies that got us into this mess to begin with. And yes, no matter the denial, there is an air of racism going on in this country right now (again, history repeating itself) that is being fueled by right-wing pundits and their sheep so what you're seeing going on
confidnz 2 years ago
is a white christian identity movement being disguised as a 'patriotic' movement. We've seen this before and just because it's not as blatant as it has been in the past doesn't mean that it's not there or isn't one of the major driving factors. You'll have to excuse my frequent references to history... it's my field of study, after all, but I'm never at a point where I don't keep learning. What I DO know at this point is that we Americans are experiencing a historical shift and, hopefully,
confidnz 2 years ago
if we do the right thing, we'll be able to look on this time in history, kicking back with a cold beer, and be able to have a "Remember when...?" conversation regarding this. But it's going to take ALL of us to put aside political, racial, religious, and fiscal differences, come together as a nation, and get our country, once again, leading the world by positive example.
confidnz 2 years ago
History is a debatable subject. It's usually told by one point of view and often written by those who have the most to gain from it. You seem to be referring to an American History that I learned in high school, a very leftist "let's open the wound so it can be healed" kind of history.
The ironic thing is, I agree with you about history repeating... but I see your side carrying out most of the events that you have described...
I'll take corporate drones over government drones any day.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
"I'll take corporate drones over government drones any day."
So you'd rather an entity of greedy companies dictate policy over a government created by the people, of the people, and for the people? This whole 'big government' nonsense is nothing but a cop out. Our government is what WE have made of it and because we have handed off the say-so of how things are run to the corporations and we have no one to blame but ourselves. People are so quick to point fingers instead of mirror-viewing...
confidnz 2 years ago
On the contrary. I'm strongly against corporate influence on politicians. But I believe taxing those corporations is not the way to solve the problem, in fact I believe that it will make problems worse. People will have to obtain things through an illegitimate means (bribes).
Czars and government run organizations that have no elected officials / leaders like the EPA, FDA, IRS etc... are not "of the people, for the people, or by the people".
I believe in peace through capitalism my friend.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
I don't think either party stands for ANYTHING anymore. But trying to lump together being a vegan and not being patriotic with being a liberal really doesn't tip any hat to rational thought. I actually had the opposite dynamic in my life... I was a military brat living in the world abroad, brought up on the Red Scare and Reaganomics, graduated college and then something changed... I realized that the republican party doesn't give a damn about civil rights and that the democrats don't stand up
confidnz 2 years ago
I'm not tipping a hat to anyone, I'm just explaining who I once was and which party I once associated with.
I don't think that the Republican party is dead... but we need to throw the progressives & moderates out. The party needs to be re-born with a younger generation of Fiscal Conservatives.
The Republican party does care about Civil Rights... but again, they disagree with the left on how to reach a socio-economic harmony.
What we don't need right now is another Ross Perot.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Well, I think the republican party is dying BECAUSE there are no moderates or progressives stepping up from within that are bringing anything new to the table. What you've got in the republican party is a slew of christian pseudo-fundamentalists that have hijacked the party that still use political tactics that were used in the late '40s/early '50s...smear-through-fear...again, history repeating itself, even today. People believe that crap for just a minute and then usually break out from...
confidnz 2 years ago
Disclaimer: These people DO NOT speak for all Texans. They are a fringe element of throwback shitkickers that wouldn't know freedom if it smacked them right in the face. And don't let the buzzwords like 'socialism' fool you... if that was the case, these simps would have been out protesting when Bush meted out the first bailout packages... ironic how they wait for Obama to get elected. The only notice I'm taking is that Texas needs education reform...immediately!
confidnz 2 years ago
You're right, we need education reform immediately so our kids can learn how to elegantly throw words like "shitkickers" & "simps" into their debates to get their point across.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
The fact is, I WAS protesting the Bush Bailouts as they did not represent conservative values.
This whole movement has been brewing since that time and will continue to grow. Every TEA party has been bigger than the one before it. I'm sorry that we weren't as organized during the last month of Bush's presidency.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Had you actually attended the event, you would have known that a majority of the speeches afterward were about the bailouts. These speeches can be seen in our other videos.
I guess it's just easier to criticize from the bench and believe everything you hear about us on MSNBC without understanding what's really going on.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
BTW: Bush only represented a fraction of the problem. You conveniently left out the entire House and Senate that the Democratic Party hold.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
I would also like to take this time to thank you for your continued efforts at making our great state a national punchline. Your synopsis mentions something about rejecting all forms of socialism yet Texas ranks #1 in the nation, percentage-wise, of money received for 'socialist programs'... OUCH!
confidnz 2 years ago
If by national punchline you mean that other states are making fun of us for having the largest growing / strongest economy, lowest unemployment rate, and a budget surplus despite the recession and the millions of illegal immigrants who take advantage of free education and E.R. visits that my tax dollars / premiums pay for... then laugh it up.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
You're also delusional, too, I see. This state's economy is not growing and that's been confirmed by several sources not to mention how Rick Perry bowed down and took federal stimulus money... why would he do that if Texas wasn't feeling the effects of the recession?... hmmm! You kind of already shot down your synopsis when you tried to bring illegal immigrants into the picture.
confidnz 2 years ago
Not wanting illegal immigrants (who don't pay taxes) to enjoy the fruits of my labor does not make me a racists. They are very much a part of the bigger picture.
Someone who makes $10 an hour and pays taxes only makes about $7 an hour while an illegal immigrant doing the same job makes $10 per hour. Not to mention, you can knock an extra couple of bucks an hour off of that pay check to pay for the extra health care and educational benefits that the illegal immigrant are stealing as well.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
You have better words to describe a group of organized traitors? It's quite easy to see what's REALLY going on just by looking at the signs, the demographic majority of these throwbacks, and by listening to the redundant rhetoric. Funny how you mention a cable news channel when your ragtag organization, itself, was a conjuring of a cable news station. Nice try, though!
confidnz 2 years ago
I just looked up traitor in the dictionary.
trai·tor (trtr) n. - One who holds up a sign denouncing an out of control federal government that wants to steal my money and give it to someone else who didn't earn it.
Well I'll be damned... I guess we are traitors.
Did you attend the event or not? I'm guessing you just took what was shown to you on TV at face value.
BTW: I wouldn't consider millions of people peacefully protesting in the streets all across the nation to be "rag-tag".
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Why would I attend such a hatefest for any other reason than to laugh right in their faces? HaHa! I have better things to do which is to call out the lies, slander, and rhetoric of the people that attend these watered-down Klan rallies. Millions of people, huh? So you're also a number-cruncher, too, huh? Rich! But I do have to give you credit where credit is due... at least you DO follow the redundant protocol of what talking points to use even if they're straight up lies and/or spin...
confidnz 2 years ago
So what you're saying is that you don't really want to see what's going on for yourself. You just want to make assumptions. I didn't hear anyone say one racist comment during the entire event.
Yes, MILLIONS of people showed up to these events all across the nation. Over 1 million people flooded the streets of Washington D.C alone. You can bury your head in the sand all you want, but we're out there like it or not.
PS: Democrats founded the Klan... nice try though. :)
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Hey, you're right! Democrats DID start the Klan... but seeing how you automatically assume that I'm one (I'm not) just goes to show the REAL agenda behind these rallies. Oh, and it was confirmed that no more than 70, 000 (that's only four zeroes, btw) tea-bagged in D.C... so you're not even close! But since you seem to be such an expert on history, you should know that a republican and democrat ideology shift occurred during the height of the Cold War when the republican party took on....
confidnz 2 years ago
...the religious right as a major source of voting clout and became a party more aligned with the 'Dixie-crats' of that time. and just for future reference: Anytime you put in disclaimer form that "We are not racists..." you've already raised your red flag or, in the case of these tea-bagger fests, your Confederate flag... just so you know for the future. Don't tentatively defend yourself from something if it TRULY wasn't your intention... A lesson that we ALL should learn...
confidnz 2 years ago
If you're so against socialism, I implore you to stop driving on Texas highways (federal subsidized-socialism). If you went to a public high school (tax-payer funded) in Texas, I implore you to renounce your high school diploma. If your house catches on fire, I implore you not to call the fire department (tax-payer funded) and put it out all by yourself. I can keep going on if you need more items to consider whether you're a socialist or not...
confidnz 2 years ago
Actually, two of the (actual) jobs of the federal government are to promote interstate trade and support national defense. Interstate highways were built to move military vehicles across the US and they let us use them because they promote interstate trade.
The rest of your arguments are common rhetoric of the left and show a complete lack of understanding of distribution of powers given to local, state, and federal government.
We're talking about the federal government here, stay on subject.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Hmmm.... you conveniently left out "promote the general welfare" as one of those jobs but I can see how that wouldn't fit your agenda in this case. And since you haven't said whether or not you attended a public high school or whether or not you drive on Texas highways, I will just assume you as a closet socialist. Socialism is socialism no matter whether it is state or federal mandated. Again, nice try!
confidnz 2 years ago
To be honest, I'm not a fan of publicly funded education at all. I think it costs property tax payers (whether you live in an apartment or a house... you pay for it) way to much. Most apartment dwellers don't even know it because they don't see the tax bill in their hands, it's just included in rent.
The average private school would cost me way less than what my property taxes would for a year (the portion that goes to the school district) and I don't even have kids.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Plus, I would have way more control over what kind of education my kids would receive.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
while it's fair to say that most of the people at the tea parties were misinformed at best and wrongfully mislead at worst, it's not fair to smear that that republicans are all idiots. the thing is, how many people at these events make more than $250,000 a year? anyone else there were protesting that they were receiving middle class tax cuts. that's misinformation. while i believe in fiscal responsibility why would i protest my taxes being lowered? a chance to yell and hold signs?
Skeezyhouse 2 years ago
the stimulus is successful and that 40% of the $775 billion package was in the form of tax cuts. And those tax cuts were higher than any single tax cut both Reagan or Bush enacted.
These same brain dead retards form organizations and protests demanding that our president's high taxes are turning us into the Nazis.
I know so very few republicans that can debate politics or economics with any sort of realistic knowledge. Their minds are full of shit they pick up from Glenn Beck and Limbaugh.
detoth67 2 years ago
"I know so very few republicans that can debate politics or economics with any sort of realistic knowledge."
Really? Go on... please enlighten me.
Also, are the words "shit" and "retards" really necessary for such an enlightened 42 year old adult to get their point across? (Assuming that is your real age).
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Two days have past and still nothing from our little protégé of John Maynard Keynes?
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
It's impossible to say precisely how many extra doctors Texas got by passing tort reform which made it extremely difficult to sue doctors.
But it's no doubt we picked up a few who'd been sued in other states for operating drunk or just simply screwing up & could no longer get insurance.
So there's no doubt we got some of those.
DillonX 2 years ago
good point. i can agree that some level of tort reform may be good, it has to be extremely limited. it's a fact that most of the doctors up in arms over tort reform are indeed the ones who faced malpractice suits for screwing up.
there is an extent that frivolous lawsuits should be brought under control, but in healthcare i really doubt there are that many frivolous suits vs. genuine ones. i mean, you royally screw up my surgery, you misdiagnose me causing harm or threat to life? cut and dry
Skeezyhouse 2 years ago
The people that attempt to discredit the very reasons we are protesting. I would almost bet they haven't read the healthcare bill, or read any bill that the current administration is trying to pass for that matter. Here's a tip Janeane, why don't you lend some support and "mouth" to the farms in California that are drying up in favor of saving a tiny fish. That's what your precious Obama Administration is doing right now! Do that instead of trying to discredit taxpaying US Citizens.
organictexan 2 years ago
No joke. Save the Humans!
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
maybe you can help me understand. what are the tea parties about? is it healthcare reform, the economy, or taxation? taxed enough already seems to be the slogan, and that is why i found them kind of silly. personally, i make less than 250k a year so i'm receiving tax cuts. if it's the economy, we should have been taking to the streets in 2007 and 2008 and not now...though i don't like that obama chose to continue to side with wall street continuing bush's bad bailout policies.
Skeezyhouse 2 years ago
People are finally reaching their breaking point. It takes time to wake a nation up. The movement encompasses all three of the things you mentioned because all 3 are intertwined.
That 250k per year will rapidly get lower. People making less and less money will grow more and more evil in the "statists" eyes.
Also, you may not be taxed directly, but I can assure you that those people who do make more than 250k per year will pass their extra costs on to you in the form of higher priced goods.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
thanks for taking the time to answer my question. i can't say that i necessarily agree with the statement about higher taxes trickling into the middle class, though i can understand why you would feel that way.
i still believe the timing of these protests is wrong and the pretenses leave them open for attacks on validity, but sometimes it is better late than never.
Skeezyhouse 2 years ago
You win. Your flooding of this forum has completely changed my mind. I want bigger government, higher taxes, and fewer personal choices and freedom. I think people who don't want those things are racists. I no longer mind that illegal immigrants have more take home pay at the end of the day than I do because they don't pay taxes. I'm applying for food stamps online as I type. I've already made a Dr. appt. for my wife to have in-vitro tomorrow. Maybe we'll strike it rich like the octo-mom.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
I mean, that's the response you wanted isn't it? That's why you've been hovering over this forum for the last 2 days isn't it?
If I give him any more time, who knows how far it will go?
Also, you have made no distinctions between local, state, and federal powers. There's a big difference between allowing your state to have these powers and handing them over to the federal government. There are already states that have these experimental programs and they're having garage sales to raise $.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
The federal governments job is not to provide health care to all of its citizens, run car companies, or hand out TV converter boxes. The federal governments job is to Protect It's Borders, Maintain its Currency, Manage National Defense and Promote Interstate Trade.
It can't even get those things right. What makes you think it will do any better with our health care? In fact, its arguable that the reason health care is so expensive is because it does a terrible job at 3 of those things.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Reject socialism? Yeah, I'm sure that goes over well with the age 65+ crowd that is such a large portion behind the outraged teabaggers. Try to tell them you would like to take away their subsidized medical coverage. Do it.
That's the whole problem with these protests, there is NO MESSAGE AT ALL. You hear it. They're chanting "USA!" like it means something. Yes, USA, we live in it, so... ok? Thanks for yelling it.
Ask a real protester from the previous 8 years what you're really fighting.
usucdik 2 years ago
icky1961: Your comments are nothing short of an attempt to flood this comment board. I can hardly hear myself think over the sound of plucked heart strings. You give nothing but one size fits all scenarios as evidence and claim that I do the same.
Insurance is a numbers game. It's not an inalienable right that you're born with. If you think you can have a sustainable public funded option that's actually cheaper than a private option then you're thinking with your heart and not your head.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Insurance companies evaluate risk... and they're ridiculously good at it. I would expect nothing more than for my rates to go up because just like a 16 year old kid behind the wheel of a corvette, I pose a greater risk to them.
Do me a favor, if you want to continue to post here. Do so in a fashion that encourages good debate and not flooding. Keep your responses small and cite your sources whenever possible.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
"Ridiculously good at it"? This is sheer nonsense - they're incredibly, childishly crude at it while being remarkably obfuscatory with the end results so that you can't figure out what's covered and what isn't and so that you can't comparison-shop between policies. Their actuarial analyses are designed for marketing purposes, not for accurately and efficiently allocating health-care costs within society.
Icky1961 2 years ago
An example: the increasing proclivity of auto insurance companies to base premiums on credit ratings despite the fact that it doesn't take much more than the brains of a chimp to understand that there's no credit relationship involved when buying insurance - you pay for it up front. Insurance companies might as well base their premiums on astrological signs, which I have no doubt they would do if they could sell more insurance doing things that way, sanity be damned.
Icky1961 2 years ago
No, it's on account of the fact that I don't write in sound bites for the benefit of those with short attention spans, but YouTube will only allow you to post 500 characters at a time; I can spend 500 characters describing my haircut, to say nothing of the current state of healthcare in this country.
Icky1961 2 years ago
(....continued) Other countries do not allow these things to happen to their citizens. We need drastic change to keep it from continuing to happen here; anyone who says otherwise does so because they don't care about anybody or anything other than their their own short-sighted grossly materialistic interests.
Icky1961 2 years ago
(....continued) Even if you choose COBRA, after 18 months of that you'll be kicked off.
So now you're unemployed, uninsured, with a serious illness and no income. What do you do? You file for bankruptcy while you still have some money left to hire a lawyer for that and move into your mom's basement until things get better, if they ever do and if you still have a mom. This happens to thousands of Americans every year. (continued....)
Icky1961 2 years ago
Try this on: even if you're employed at a place that provides health insurance, if you get a lengthy illness that prevents you from working beyond the limits of your accumulated sick leave your employer will most likely terminate you. At such a point you will have a choice: 1) pay your own insurance premium (not just the employee share - you'll now also have to start paying the share your employer used to pay too; the combination is referred to as "COBRA"), or 2) do without. (continued....)
Icky1961 2 years ago
Icky1961: I have a chronic illness & my insurance only pays for dr visits, labs and some medication. They don't pay for the more expensive IV's, chelation or vitamin IV's. Therefore I am paying a large amount out of my pocket BUT I would never, ever want the federal government controlling my healthcare. Yes, we need HEALTHCARE REFORM, we don't need GOVT OWNED healthcare. #1 states need tort reform. Texas gained 7,000 NEW doctors by passing tort reform.
organictexan 2 years ago
Not to mention, the Federal Government could work on doing what it's actually supposed to do and promote some interstate trade. Maybe remove restrictions keeping consumers from taking their health care plan across state lines and between employers. A little competition never hurt anyone.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Any American that thinks the health insurance they currently have needs is worth a damn needs to guess again.
A huge share if not the majority of people filing bankruptcy in this country do so because they're overwhelmed by unanticipated medical charges that they though they had insurance to cover.
Icky1961 2 years ago
The healthcare "system" that we have in this country is no system at all - it's an illusory house of cards that primarily benefits profiteering for-profit insurance companies and providers at the expense of Americans' wallets and health.
If we are going to remain competitive as a nation this must change. The fraudulent profiteering gangster private insurance companies know this but don't care. All they care about are profits for there shareholders - that's why they fight so hard against change.
Icky1961 2 years ago
There's no substance to the accusation that rising health care prices are due to the tired "taxes and regulations" line - a large segment of the healthcare field is occupied by tax-exempt organizations and their charges increase just as fast as with the for-profit gangsters.
Your remark that you equate freedom with your wallet pretty much proves my point: your crowd has an ultra-materialistic and illusory view of freedom that most people in this country do not share.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Looks a whole lot like a klan rally. As a Dallasite I have to say i'm a bit embarassed...then again it is taking place in fort worthless lol.
smustang11 2 years ago 2
Medicare is run very efficiently; it's budgetary problems stem from an increasing number of people being eligible for it, fewer people required to pay for it, and the exorbitantly ever-increasing costs of the private for-profit-rendered services it's obligated to cover.
Icky1961 2 years ago
And what's wrong with the federal government having a primary role in health care? It runs medicare very efficiently - it's administrative costs are in the neighborhood of 4%, a hit that would put lost low-budget non-profits to shame, to say nothing of the criminal enterprises known as private for-profit health insurance companies, the gross redundancy of which causes their administrative costs - typically upwards of 30% - to careen ever skyward.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Of course, the paranoid frequently perceive threats from the "illuminati"/"trilateral commission"/"one-world-government" and various other imaginary tyrants any time people tell them they're expected to pay a reasonable amount of taxes for the privilege of living in an advanced secure country.
Icky1961 2 years ago
I personally am not seeing much in the way of threats to my freedom on the horizon. A threat to my wallet, maybe - but that's not anywhere close to freedom now, is it? And I'll take a periodic hit in my wallet if it means FREEDOM from the threat of being bankrupted by medical bills. But I sure as hell don't want to pay that monthly dent to the fraudulent gangsters otherwise known as private for-profit health insurance companies.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Freedom = Free Markets = Personal Property = My Wallet.
To prop up medicare with a variety of disguised tax vehicles and to attribute rising private health care prices with profits and not government taxes and regulations that are passed along to the consumer is a little one sided too... don't you think?
Those profits don't go into a coffee can in the back yard. They get re-invested into the economy and making life better for all of us... which is more than I can say for government spending.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
The primary drivers with ever-increasing healthcare costs in this country are 1) an idolatry of redundant technology think every hospital thinking it has to have an MRI machine for competitive reasons i.e. to attract patients/customers, which leads to every hospital putting pressure on their docs to refer people for unnecessary MRI's so the damn things can be paid for; and 2) an excessive portion of medical charges attributable to incompatible and redundant charges and forms. (continued....)
Icky1961 2 years ago
(....continued) Does it make sense to you that your doctor and hospital has to hire an entire staff whose sole reason for existence is to sort through the myriad redundant forms and charge schedules used by the different private gangster insurance companies, and to respond to these companies' incessant bogus requests for "more detailed information" that is really just a stalling effort in disguise?
Icky1961 2 years ago
(....continued) The payment for these idiotic costs comes out of your wallet; they do not make us healthier than the residents of other countries who've found ways to do things differently.
Furthermore, that we have these absurd, pointless costs while other countries don't drags us down in that, since the majority of healthcare costs are borne by employers, these costs become part of the costs of products we sell and therefore makes them less competitive.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Furthermore, to suggest that all responsible. hard-working people will have up to $2,000/year laying around to spend on illnesses above and beyond life's other obligations is nothing short of fatuous.
Icky1961 2 years ago
The scenario I just described doesn't happen in countries with national health insurance i.e. the rest of the developed world. But hey, 2DumnbKids - it if happens to you here in America, where you're currently FREE to have it happen to you - feel FREE to look me up: I'll be glad to tell you "Tough luck, bud - you should've shown more personal responsibility. Here's a quarter".
Icky1961 2 years ago
I'll trade liberty for safety any day of the week. Don't worry, I won't come around asking for any favors.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
These kinds of disasters I just described happen all the time in America, regardless of whether you anybody it's happened to; over half of the people filing for bankruptcy are people who thought they had health insurance until a) they found out it didn't cover nearly what they thought it did or b) they lost their job and their insurance coverage along with it (forget COBRA - it's worthless).
Icky1961 2 years ago
This video isn't real useful for crowd-size- estimating purposes but, such as it is, I'd say 2,000 would be a highish estimate, 3,000 at the absolute highest - nowhere near the "10,000 - 20,000" put out by the event producers in the Sta-Telegram.
Next time try keeping the camera aimed at the same spot where the number of people passing by can be counted accurately.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Search for the one posted by "BrianLuenser". for a birds eye view.
Not sure if you're from around here or not... but the march was 4 lanes wide and went all the way from the convention center to Sundance square and back again without thinning out. That's about .9 miles round trip.
Most average high school auditoriums hold 5,000 to 10,000... I'd say their estimates were rather low actually. You're not fooling anyone who was there by downplaying our numbers.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Checked out BrianLuenser; while I was impressed with the quality of his camera, in his short under-two-minute video there isn't - again - any evidence of a crowd of more than 2,000 people nor one extending any thirteen city blocks.
Icky1961 2 years ago
the New England Journal of Medicine showed, a single-payer reform could save about $400 billion annually by shrinking health care bureaucracy — enough to cover the uninsured and to provide first dollar coverage for all Americans. A single-payer system would also include effective cost-containment mechanisms like bulk purchasing. As a result, everyone would be covered with no net increase in U.S. health spending. But these savings arent available unless we go all the way to single payer.
Spytheweb 2 years ago
Single payer medicare for all, you pay 3.5% payroll tax. HR 676 saves the country 293 billion dollars and covers every US citizen.
Texas the most uninsured state in America, 25-30%. Texans lose health coverage at the rate of 24,000 a month.
Those hillbillies like it like that, bare foot and stupid.
America you have a black President, deal with it.
Spytheweb 2 years ago
This doesn't have anything to do with Obama's skin color... so deal with it.
Why do you have to pull the race card every time you have trouble defending your utopian socialist ideals. BTW, siting some bogus article in the NEJM does not count as a rational argument in a debate.
ALL of the border states are the most uninsured states in the US... and why do you think that is? The answer probably somehow makes me a racist.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Your 24,000 number is also inaccurate because it includes people who are temporarily uninsured.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Can you honestly look someone in the eye and tell them you believe it will be cheaper... knowing perfectly well that every other country that has socialized medicine pays nearly half of their income to the government and 15%+ sales taxes.
I'll bet you think it only costs you $0.44 cents to mail a letter at the post office too. How are the wait times there?
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Do you really want to pay 60 percent of every dollar so you can be put on a list in order to recieve treatment 1-2 years later like Canada?
kartoonkidd 2 years ago
No, I don't.
I guest hosted a podcast with a guy from Canada a couple of days ago and he just kept saying that he wanted to move here.
He waited 4 months to see a physician when he hurt his back on the job... they gave him pain killers so he could continue to work with an injured back.
I'm not citing this as an end-all example of their health care system, I just thought he had some good info.
You can check it out (probably up tomorrow) at:
b l o g . L a i d O f f P o d c a s t . c o m.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
ADDIS ABABA (CDN) — A convert from Islam who has led a push for Muslim-Christian understanding in Ethiopia has been in jail for nearly four months since his arrest for "malicious" distribution of Bibles.
Christian sources in Ethiopia said that, contrary to Ethiopian law, 39-year-old Bashir Musa Ahmed has not been formally charged since his arrest on May 23 in Jijiga, capital of Somali Region Zone Five, a predominantly Muslim area in eastern Ethiopia. Zonal police arrested him after he was
spiritslain 2 years ago
more racists
sidmoney711 2 years ago
Really? I didn't see one person mention anything about race... I did however see thousands of people who were extremely concerned about paying the kinds of taxes that the Canadians and Europeans do for crappy socialized health care.
The liberal strategy of calling conservatives "racists" is a poor one (and ironic given this nations history, feel free to read my post below). If you can throw us into that category, you don't have to listen to what we're actually saying. It's not going to hold up.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Is there any way possible to let the Tea Party & 912 folks that there is no left, there is no right?
Sure at the street level there's a *difference*, but no matter who's elected left/right demo/repub, the same agenda seems to be being pushed. An agenda of the erosion of civil liberties and the exponential growth of government at all levels.
There is an agenda, and it has a number. 21. Now brought to you by the warm & fuzzy name of: Sustainable Development...
Please give up the paradigm. :-)
bigken61 2 years ago
Actually, It does matter who is elected. The real problem is that republicans have allowed other republicans (in name only) who don't hold their conservative values to stay in office with unchecked voting records. As Americans, we tend to focus on the presidential race every 4 years and not who represents us in the other 2 branches, let alone at the state and local levels.
Hopefully the Tea Party movement will help people realize that.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
No one put the words in these people's mouth. I am not one bit surprised what I'm hearing. These are the Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck decibels. I am more than embarrassed I am mortified that these people are Americans. How could so many stupid uninformed sheep be herded in one area?
This is what AM talk radio and Fox news produces. This is why Sara Palin was so popular among them. This is what the dumbing down of America really means.
God help us.
johnnyohness 2 years ago
It's pretty simple.
We don't want to pay 45% of what we make in a year (work 6 months a year for $0) and pay 5% x # OF LEVELS OF PRODUCTION + another 8% sales tax like the Europeans and Canadians do for crappy health care.
Ask a Canadian after they have sat in a waiting from for 5 hours if they like their "Free" health care.
Honestly, I've never been around a more well informed bunch of people in my life. But then again most of my friends are liberals.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
BTW, I spent the weekend in one of our terrible "free market" hospitals after I nearly died of meningitis. I saw an ER doctor within 30 min. Within another 30 min I had a CT scan of my brain to disprove a hemorrhage. Within another 30 min I had a spinal tap which confirmed meningitis. Within another 30 min. I had a private hospital bed.
My $2000 deductible / premium pales in comparison to paying an additional 15% of my annual income, like it does for the other 85%+ of Americans.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
The TEA party is merely the inauguration the republicans didn't get to have.
Check out how many people showed up for Obama's inauguration. Photos from space and shit.
underlinedbluetext 2 years ago
For the largest documented march on Washington in the the history of the United States?
You're probably right, I'm sure that the amount of people who marched in every major city in the US pales in comparison to the amount of people that were in the White House mall the day of the inauguration.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
wow. i cashed my check today given to me by the republican party and by the insurance companies.between myself, my wife , and 3 kids we really raked it in!!!!
i think i can retire now. that's why we went as a family... for for cash, of course.
what??? you didn't sign up for the cash at the rent a mob booth?
all that cash made it worth putting up with the littering, racism, violence and all the hate spewing. i just hope my kids aren't traumatized.
LOL
great video guys!!!
flyh2o 2 years ago
Hey ! the kkk are back !!!
Dumb Fuckers...
didieratila 2 years ago
Feel free to wiki the following...
The KKK was founded by Southern Democrats.
Abraham Lincoln (Republican) freed the slaves and was criticized by people farther "right" for not doing it sooner.
The Dred Scott decision was supported by a Democrat majority in all 3 branches of government.
The Japanese internment camps (FDR) were supported by a democrat majority in all 3 branches.
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2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
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If Al Gore's Dad (and the democratic majority in congress) had their way when they voted against the civil rights act of 1964 Rosa Parks would still be sitting on the back of the bus.
Andrew Jackson (Democrat) spear headed a little thing called the trail of tears... the largest Native American removal in US history.
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2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
(continued...)
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.
The Texas Republican party was founded by 150 African American men and 20 White men in 1854.
The Texas Republican party has elected more minority representatives in the last 8 years than the Democratic party has elected in the last 100 years.
Can I answer any more questions about liberals and their ties with racism for you? Next time I suggest you open a book before you open your mouth.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
You ignore the fact that the constituencies of the two dominant political parties in this country have pretty much turned around 180° between the nineteenth century and the last one.
Up to the first part of the last century the Republicans represented eastern upper-crust reformers and liberals - Teddy Roosevelt was pretty much the prototype and most of this country's environmental successes to that point were due to their efforts. Then in 1964 came Barry Goldwater.
Icky1961 2 years ago
republican party is something very different today from what Lincoln was involved in
ehranch 2 years ago 3
Really? Did you not read the other 100 years worth of American History that I cited? Where are your citations?
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
hahahaha you are insane!!!! to compare party affiliation to what it was during the civil war or at any time is absolutely ludicrous.
The phrase "southern democrat" should tip you off to that.
Hey... heres an idea.... lets not worry about what happened. There is plenty of blame to go around on either party as to what happened before now. It's completely irrelevant.
Bottom line.
The cost of no reform far outweighs the cost of reform.
Public option or not.
underlinedbluetext 2 years ago
Actually, I disagree. This kind of reform far outweighs the cost of doing nothing.
Here's an even better idea. If President Obama believes that he can pay for the cost of a government health care program by finding efficiencies in current programs... let's do that first. Show me the savings of these incredible efficiencies and then we'll talk rather than passing a 1200 page bill that even a lawyer can't read.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Also, if you're going to call Republican's Nazi's and racists... be prepared to cite instances to back it up and not some regurgitated crap you heard from Janeane Garofalo or Rachael Maddow.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Nobody is calling you Nazi's....
You are the ones who are throwing around the buzzwords.
Accusing the commander in chief of being a communist, and a fascist.
The hypocrisy of this whole 'movement' from the right is unreal.
You didn't bitch when Bush started an unnecessary war that will end up costing a trillion dollars.
You didn't bitch when Bush bailed out AIG.
You say your rights are being taken from you (!?!?!)
Yet, no problem with the Patriot Act.
The hypocrisy is unreal.
underlinedbluetext 2 years ago
wait for the bill before you knock it.
ANY legislation is long and drawn out thats how it works. Especially something this important. Just because its not in terms that the average person cant decipher doesn't mean its a bad bill.
Look.... healthcare spending is expected to reach 2.5 trillion this year. On the track to cost 4.4 trillion by 2018.
This is coming from the National Coalition on Health Care website.
We are already paying for emergency care.
The time to act is now.
underlinedbluetext 2 years ago
underlinedbluetext: You seem like a reasonable person (which is more than I can say for most).
I am indeed eagerly awaiting this bill so that I can read it. But, for the time being I believe I am perfectly rational in my concern for a socialized piece of tripe based on a cacophony of speeches given by this administration.
I also don't believe that this bill is by any means long and drawn out. I believe we are moving far too quickly.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
There are plenty of things that we can do to make health care less expensive and all of them require less government intervention.
BTW, the news media is calling us racists. We are calling this administration Marxist and socialist because the US communist party is supporting him for a reason. Taking money from those who earn it and giving it to those who don't is socialism.
BTW, I did complain when Bush supported bailing out AIG... because I am a conservative.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Give him a little time - Jesus, he hasn't been in office even a year yet.
Icky1961 2 years ago
Republican are new KKK.
because if you are agaist something like that your racist because evreything Obama is thrying Give you we have it in Canada and we have it and more... Shit ! Cuba and Mexico have public health care they may be poor but they care ... Stop think if Canada,Mexico,Cuba,UK,France can do it ,why can you people do it and make us jealous ...
didieratila 2 years ago
Are you asking a question or making a statement? If you're French Canadian I can understand... if English is your first language you're a perfect example of why public education should be privatized.
Anyway, it comes down to this. There's a reason that most (and it's a overwhelming most) of the world's innovation comes from the US. There's a reason why more people in the US own homes.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
You should read up on the "Money Multiplier Effect". You'll be able to understand better wealth distribution between capitalist and socialist societies. I might also suggest a classic book called "The Wealth of Nations". A link can be found on our site.
Socialized medicine in any form will equate to the following. Higher Taxes, Shortages / Rationing (in various forms that aren't necessarily by bureaucracies), and less competition which equals less innovation and poor quality.
2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago
Yes im French Canadian and English is not my frist language....
Im not asking question, telling you that the public HEALTH CARE IS THE BEST THING FOR U.S....
didieratila 2 years ago
Have you ever lived in the U.S? It's certainly not the best thing for me. I'm 26 and I'm probably considered poor by Barack's status quo definition. I chose to buy my own health care instead of buying other more desirable things to people my age.
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2DumbKidsVideo 2 years ago