Not drinking the Kool-Aid (Or the FlavorAid, either)

[vakkotaur]

The recent goings on regarding what has been presented as "Health Care Reform" have trigged some strong feelings. What I've seen is not quite what is being portrayed. For one, I don't see "the right" crying or whining, I see them preparing. Before the election in 2008, there was group that called itself "Recreate '68" and that might be happening: we could be in for a (media-produced) long hot Summer.

I've seen claims of violent threats and racists comments made by Tea Party folks. What I have not seen is evidence. There is or was a video of folks barging through a Tea Party event, evidently trying to bait things, with a claim of the 'N-word' being shouted out at them. Except it's not in the audio. Nor does anyone's heard turn as if to see who said such a thing. One would expect someone would have reacted to such a thing. Instead, there is no reaction. Why not? As those opposed to the Tea Party ideals of smaller, more responsible governance like to claim that Tea Party types are primitive, similar to very simple organism (a silly premise with which I disagree) let's go along with that for the moment: There is no response because there was no stimulus.

Andrew Breitbart is betting on this. He has offered to write a check for $10,000 (to the United Negro College Fund) if someone can produce actual evidence of the racist shout. It's been at least a couple days and nothing has come of this yet. This, in an era of a camera on almost every phone, handheld video recorders, and such. Also, if it was real, it would have been played on the news ad nauseum by now.

Day By Day sums it up:



Meanwhile, health insurance rates are already going up... as predicted by those who have some grasp of economics.

Comments

[electronin.livejournal.com]

The evidence for this racism accusation shares a drawer with the baby-killer accusation in the dreamland archives. The preference for arguing the unprovable is the real problem.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

Except that the baby-killer shouter admitted it - though he claims he actually said "that's a baby-killer" - and apologized.

[electronin.livejournal.com]

I'm also referring to the protest rallies that use images meant to provoke disgust to encapsulate their point. Show me when they shifted their lecturing from baby souls to educating people on how to prevent such unfortunate situations from happening in the first place. How much time do they invest in the latter?

Please show me, because I really hope they don't secretly enjoy the sight of rigor mortis.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not arguing there - I find those people horrifying as well.

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

I have enough grasp of economics to foresee what's going to happen when U.S. Treasury bonds lose their AAA rating, which could be any day now. Every "no-risk" portfolio will have to dump its Treasuries, supply will explode, demand will collapse, and we may have to start issuing debt at 10% or more interest to get people to buy it. Then hyperinflation will kick in, at least as bad as during the Carter years and probably worse. Look out America.

[electronin.livejournal.com]

No prediction was necessary. In the middle of October last year, the healthcare companies sent forth Karen Ignagni to represent them in threatening to raise their prices if regulations and new competition(the now omitted public option) were set in place.

By now, I'll bet they wished they had supported the public option. They'll wish they had played nice with the new administration and had a few of the proposed regulations lopped off instead, because unless medical supplies and office fees come down, the number of available staff goes up, and they push hard for preventive education, they're stuck covering more people, paying out way more often than they ever have, and billing people who can't afford it to begin with.

The economists are only good for predictions on a fair game, which have shown to be largely unreliable for the major corporations, citing(just as an appetizer) Jim Cramer's grand error regarding Bear Stearns.

[electronin.livejournal.com]

I had a link to the Ignagni article, but yahoo took it down.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Either way, the result is (or will be) the same: massive increases in expenses which the government will "rescue" people from by adding further restrictions on businesses to the point few will be able to remain in business. The result is nationalized healthcare by backdoor rather than front door means. That fair game? The government hasn't played it in years.