Any Sane Republicans Left?

I know I've asked this before, but the latest wave of Republican KrayZ has me mind boggling aboot like a boggle in a bog. And I mean bog in the worst way.

No, srsly. Lookit dis one:

Chicken Sue

This here crazy-eyed person is the latest in the Republican Trifecta of KrayZ Wimmen Running 4 Ofc. (The other two being Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann.) Now, don't go thinking that we at this fine blog gratuitously insult people at random. While it's true that we insult people as often as we can in as vituperative a manner as we can manage, it's never gratuitous. And none has worked harder to earn our coming vituperation and open mockery as Chicken Sue Lowden.

See, Susie here is running against Harry Reid of Nevada. I'm not wild about Harry Reid. But he seems to be a hardworking soul, if somewhat timid and obsessed with procedural detail. Still, he does get things done, and he does seem to have some basic common sense and decency. Also, and this is important in this era of the Holy Trinity (Palin, Bachmann, and Lowden), he is not crazy.

Susie, on the other hand, well, now, let's just say she might someday give Michelle B a run for her money in the "aliens have eaten my brain" category of KrayZ. See, Susie wants to repeal the recently passed health care reform — that part's OK, all the Republicans are yowling about repealing health care reform — and she proposes that we replace our current vastly inadequate system of payments for health care with individual barter. For example, says Sue, you could pay your doctor with chickens.

I'm trying to envision what the fuck my surgeon would have done with all the chickens he would've had to charge me for my recent knee replacement. Is this woman serious? Is she for real? How many chickens for the anesthetist? The attending nurses? The surgical team? Surely we'd need someone to manage the paperwork. And what about chicken transport? Sanitation laws?

Waitafuckinminnit, she's got ME doing it. Goddammit. The danger of actually trying to understand the KrayZ of KrayZ people is, you could go KrayZ too.

So. Some kind souls have created a site that allows you to specify how many chickens, or whatever, you can barter for treatment of your ailments. You can send your letter to Sue Lowden and she can help you find someone who will treat you for the specified number of bib jeans. Or whatever.

Bib jeans are very in these days, I hear. Tres chic. All the rage. Good luck.

OK, the KrayZ keeps snowballing. Some Republican dipwad from TN now wants to ensure vegan and vegetarian doctors will be permitted in this barter system. How many parsnips for a hangnail? What if your doctor wants mangoes from Fortnum & Mason?

Where the fuck do they find these dim bulbs, anyway?

Stumble It!

Entertainment: If You're Getting Tired of Democrats

Constantly and consistently snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, you might want to send them this:



Goddamn you, Democrats, you fucking RETARDS (like Rush Limbaugh, I'm using this in a satirical way, like Sarah Palin says Rush did, anyway, which makes it OK, says Sister Scare-ah). Get off your fucking asses and vote in some fucking health care reform!!

And you Republicans, you assholes, you really think the American public doesn't see through your shenanigans? Vote for health care or may each and every one of you develop an incurable case of buboes, for which your insurers, to a weasel (for men they are not, nor women either) dump you forthwith off your FUCKING SOCIALIZED MEDICINE healthcare rolls, and may it be exacerbated with much pain when your constituents proceed to run you out of office, which they should only do come next elections.

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Health Care: What YOU Can Do

If you've been following the Health Care Reform fight, then you know that the Senate Finance Committee met today to vote on Max Baucus' bill.

Well, five Blue Running Dogs joined the Republicans to vote against the public option authored by Senator Rockefeller (D-W.Va). This, despite the fact that two out of every three of their constituents (or more) FAVOUR a Public Option. And despite the fact that the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) has already published a report stating that Rockefeller's version of the public option would save the government between $50 billion and $150 billion over a ten-year period.

Needless to say, ALL the Republicans voted against the Public Option. So down it went in flames.

The time has come to fight back, people. Get off your duffs. A commenter at HuffPo left the following information on who to contact, and how:

BAUCUS: Phone: (202) 224-2651 Fax: (202) 224-9412
LINCOLN: Phone: (202) 224-4843 Fax: (202) 228-1371
CONRAD: Phone: (202) 224-2043 Fax: (202) 224-7776
NELSON: Phone: (202) 224-5274 Fax: (202) 228-2183
CARPER: Phone: (202) 224-2441 Fax: (202) 228-2190

If you are a constituent of any of these primo assholes, then it is your DUTY to call or fax them and demand to know why they have rejected Rockefeller's money-saving public option. They're now debating Chuck Schumer's version of the public option, a much weaker, watered-down version which won't save the country as much, if anything.

Any constituents of Charles Grassley out there? If you believe you deserve as good health care as he gets thanks to your taxes, call or fax him too, and ask him why he made this statement:

"Government is not a competitor. Government is a predator."

— Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

Does he really mean it? Has he given up HIS taxpayer-financed health care? Who is his private health care insurer? Why does he not switch over to private health care? If they're good enough for us, they should be good enough for him.

ICHC FTLOL

Give them all an earful, peeps. They deserve it. They've earned it.

Note: This blog does not advocate violence against anyone. However, we reserve the right to mercilessly mock our so-called elected representatives.

Additional note: Although it would be great if the people's representatives could be spayed or neutered, it is, unfortunately, too late, as most of them have already flung their obviously unworthy genes into the pool.

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Health Care: Who's the Real Victim, Here?

Well, Will Farrell wants YOU to know the TRUTH about the public option:

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Mr. Ferrell, you da man!

Laugh your ass off, peeps. It's one of the few moments of Teh Funny in this long and bitter fight.

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Health Care: What YOU Can Do

ICHC FTW!

Fight the good fight. That's right. The fight is on, people. The President gave Congress plenty of time to write a decent bill. He even gave them guidelines for what he would accept.

They've been fucking around for too long. Bernie Sanders put forth a good bill, but will it get considered when House and Senate attempt reconciliation to create the final bill? Meanwhile, Max "Blue Running Dog" Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee has put forth a "bill" written by — not Maxie himself, but by one Liz Fowler, former VP for Public Policy and External Affairs at WellPoint, a health insurance company which is the largest member of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. WellPoint has aggressively lobbied against health reform, especially a public option. WellPoint has also recently come under fire for pressuring its employees to lobby against health care reform, claiming reform would cause “…tens of millions of Americans to lose their private coverage and end up in a government-run plan.”

Well, here's what Matt Taibbi has to say about this whole health care reform scam. While La Casa de Los Gatos doesn't always agree with Taibbi, we think he's brilliant and his take on these events is a point of view well worth reading.

For those of a more religious bent, or surrounded by those of a more religious bent, with whom you're trying to argue yet, here are some excellent points from a Christian blogger who advances an irrefutable argument.

Although we've always held that religion makes you crayzee, this lady is a clear exception to the rule. It's possible to be religious without losing your critical faculties, reasoning powers, logic, and rational thought. Thank you, Lisa!

In the meantime, please note that the yammerati on TV and in the press are yawping on endlessly about The Lewin Group's studies that show bla de bla bla bla. Well, folks, the Lewin Group are a fucking bunch of shills. They're nothing but a subsidiary of health insurance giant UnitedHealth. How convenient, eh? They do the "research" and feed it to Congress and the people, and nobody bothers to disclose the fact that they're actually part of one of the groups that stands to profit from failure to reform the broken healthcare system. Next time you hear someone yawping "But the Lewin Group says ...," please interrupt them with, "But the Lewin Group is a subsidiary of UnitedHealth." Or whatever you feel is appropriately scathing in the circumstances.

We don't even need to discuss the Baucus bill, or, more correctly, the WellPoint bill. It's bad, it's wrong, it's going to cost taxpayers more for less and penalize people who want health care and small business while giving billions of our money away to corporate greedbags. Firedoglake has all the dirt and details. The MSM, or corporate media, if you prefer, is giving Ms. Fowler a virtual tongue-bath for her "dedication to health care reform," without hardly mentioning her years spent raking in the bucks as a corporate VP for one of the worst greedbags in the health "insurance" business. Fuck 'em.

Here is a scorecard, created by HealthCareNow, which rates single-payer versus public option. We want single payer, we need single payer. Baucus/Fowler's bill won't even give us public option. Instead, it will force us to buy expensive insurance, with a penalty of nearly $4,000 for those who don't/won't/can't afford it. Businesses who refuse to buy health insurance coverage for their employees will get fined a whole whopping $400. Which of these entities can better afford the larger sum, a business, or an individual?

So we need to tell Baucus to roll up his bill and stick it where the sun don't shine. He's getting public health care, why won't he share it with us? Notice that neither he nor Fowler are rushing to get off their publicly-funded health care and rush to the loving arms of WellPoint? Baucus has taken nearly $4 million from the health care industry. Gee, where do you suppose his loyalties lie?

Over at HuffPo where the debate is raging strong, I found several comments that inspired me. I'd like to share them with you:

Commenter CtTransplant:

Never ever ever give up!!! Folks, do not forget the marches on September 13th!!!
If not now, when? If not us, who?

Kennedy was one of our greatest champions of health care reform. He carried the torch for a long time...and now it is up to us to continue to carry it!

Our elected officials in Congress receive health care mostly paid for by us tax payers, yet many are trying to make it impossible for us to purchase an affordable plan of our own :

While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.

Please sign these petitions - and by all means, spread the word! Thank you!

http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html
http://www.democrats.com/honor-ted-kennedy?cid=ZGVtczQ0MTA5OGRlbXM=
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4922/content.jsp?content_KEY=2763&tag=hk1_typ-e1

Absolutely. Sign the damn petitions. Maybe it won't mean doodly-squat. And maybe it will. If enough voices shout out loud, our cowardly pathetic weaseling politicians will no longer be able to say, "We didn't know you felt that way." Maybe the bastards will at least be forced to buy a little lube for the next public screwing they have planned.

Commenter IzzyCA:

We are organizing marches and rallies all over the country to support health care reform and the public option on Sunday, September 13.

Want to join our marches/rallies?
Facebook: March for Healthcare group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118144661546#/group.php?gid=118144661546
Wiki: http://healthcaremarch.pbworks.com/FrontPage#view=page
Website: http://www.march4healthcare.com/

That's SUNDAY, people. It's a day off from work. Take that day to go out onto the streets and show our politicians that we're not fooled by their dodging and ducking. The media has been slow to cover the REAL news. They like to take videos and photos of angry screaming loons at town halls because that sells airtime, or column inches.

Well, fuck that shit. If enough bodies turn out on the streets, some senior editor is going to say, "For fuck's sake go out there and find out why the cops are out and traffic is blocked and bring me back a goddamned story and some damn good pitchers or your ass is grass."

So, c'mon, y'awl. That's something you can do WITH your kids, for free. Take them out to a health care rally. That way, if we lose this fucking fight, you can at least say, hey kids, remember when? I did my bit. But we won't lose, if enough of us fight back.

For those going to DC, details are here.

The bill in the house that contains the provisions we want and need is Conyers' HR-676. In the Senate, it's Bernie Sanders S.703. In the event, it sure as hell is not going to be the Baucus/Fowler bill. DO NOT WANT!



To find out where the closest health care rally is, go here. Create an account, or if you already have one, log in. Scroll down the right side of the page and click Find an Event, and you'll be directed to an event being held closest to the zip code that you entered when you created your account.

And remember, if health care is not reformed and soon, it's going to end up breaking the slowly-recovering economy. We pay more than double what our Canadian neighbours do, for less health care. If people tell you, "Well, Canadians come here for their health care all the time," point out to them that the number of Canadians who come here for their health care is way way less than even one per cent of their population; most Canadians are very happy with their health care; and lots of Americans go over there for health care, too.

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Entertainment: Because You Need It

We're going to be talking about serious stuff in a minute or ten. In the interim, enjoy Sandy-LA's contribution to your greater amusement. What would we do without YouTube?



County by county, state by state. Let's work for success. The Rethugs have no plan, no ideas, no leaders, no nothing but lobbyist money and corruption and a hope that President Obama will fail, causing us endless misery. Because at this point, he is our President and he has plans to fix some of the biggest problems facing this country, facing you and me, and if he fails, America fails, and most of us suffer (not the Republicans who will keep getting their welfare handouts from the health insurance companies and other thugs, liars, cheats, and goons, who want to squeeze every last drop of blood from our bodies, but the rest of us? Not so good). We don't want to suffer another day.

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Meta: Announcement

ICHC

Please note the "Share" button under every post. You can now share the fervid rants of this site with all your friends and soon-to-be-enemies. Thanks to friend and fellow-blogger Maru for helping me with this!

More changes will come as soon as the Feline Master Race at La Casa de Los Gatos permits.

In the meanwhile, please keep this weekend free to rally for health care. This fight isn't over yet, and we will post at length on the health care reform issues as they now stand. We'll go down fighting, dammit!

Stumble It!

Health Care: What YOU Can Do

If you haven't done it yet.

ICHC

Eve Gittelson, who blogs as NYCEve over at Daily Kos, needs YOU to sign this goddamned petition. Pass it on, fer the luv o'Mike, and make sure you, and all your friends, neighbours, and cow-orkers sign it!

People, we need to get out there in front of the GOP on this issue. We NEED health care reform with a strong public option, and we need it NOW. Don't let these shite-talkers fool you. The Pharm industry, the health care insurance industry, and the medical lobbyists would not be pouring $1.4 MILLION per day to fight against health care if they didn't think we had a real chance to win.

What? Nobody pours money down the drain. These people are in it for the money. Our money. Yours and mine. They're already drafting plans to raise health care costs, and employers are responding by increasing the amount YOU will pay for your health care. Can you afford to pay more? Do you want to pay more? Real wages have been stagnant for a long time, and they're not going up any time soon.

The same government-run health care that has benefited all those hypocritical Congresscritters who want to deny you what they're getting (for far less than you're paying) has done a fine job of taking care of Federal employees for decades. Why shouldn't you have the same thing your elected representatives have? Do you see any of them dropping their government-run health plan because it's not good enough? Not a single anti-healthcare reform Congresscritter has come out against their own insurance plan or offered to put their money where their mouths are by dropping the coverage in favour of private health care, which they keep telling us is so great. If it's so damn good, you guys, you go first. Drop your government-run health care and get some of that fine private insurance. Go on! Show us the way, you assholes!

Mike Enzi? Mr. "Health care with a public option will never pass"? Drop your government-run health care NOW or explain to us why you won't vote to give us the same thing that you're enjoying, because we're paying for your health insurance, motherfucker.

Jon Kyl? John McCain? Any Republicans out there willing to walk the walk? Or are y'all just good at flapping your gums?

*crickets*

OK, peeps. Facebook friend POE alerted me to these cool tools for fighting the healthcare fight. Sign Firedoglake's petition, and go do some health care reform organization while we still can, and before the damn health insurers suck every last drop of blood right out of our bodies!

Oh, yeah, and don't give me that "I haz helf insurans" line. Yeah, you got it now. But for how long?

Stumble It!

Health Care: I Ain't Feelin' Too Good Myself, Now

ICHC FTW!

The New York Times is reporting that even conservatives are beginning to get the fucking leaping fantods from watching the abysmally abyssal levels of Teh Crazy being displayed throughout the so-called Town Halls and reported in the media.

Yah, right. Whose arsehole did you pull that information out of, NYT? Because, you know, not a single conservative has spoken out to reprimand the idiots like Glenn "Whiny-Ass Titty Baby" Beck, who regularly turns on Teh Faucet of Crazy accompanying it with Teh Faucet Of Blubbering Like A Fucking Jackass In Fucking Public, for the love of fucking christ almighty, or worse yet, those rabid fucking weasel women, Sairy Failin' and Michelle "My Eyes Prove I'm Crazy" Bachmann.

Meanwhile, the RNCC is using utterly fraudulent tactics to dragoon doctors into "supporting" their position — no health care ever for the "little people" — on the health care debate. So, three conservatives actually want a debate. The rest of them sure as fuck don't seem to.

And that self-aggrandizing BigPharma WHORE, Joe LIEberWHORE of Connecticut (I-ME!!!) is yawping on endlessly about how he will never vote for a health care reform that includes a strong public option. Fuck you, Joe, you shill, you prostitute, you butt-whore of lobbyists. We've always known you were a pathetic fucking weasel who puts Israel's interests before those of your constituents. Eat a pile of shit and live, you bastard, with your fine Government-run health care plan and your wife Hadassah's unregistered lobbying for BigPharma. You motherfucking father-raping son of a sow, it would be worth believing in god just to see you spend an eternity in hell with a too-short toasting fork and a pile of stale marshmallows as your only provender. Miserable spit-swallowing bootlicker! When you actually go to your grave? It's going to be the wettest, healthiest home to a bunch of happy plants and flowers, from all the people pissing on it 24/7, you pig-fellating scumbucket.

We know goddamned well that without the public option, reform is toothless, meaningless, worth less than a bucket of warm spit. Jezus christ on toast points, is there an award for who hates this pathetic shill the most? Because we here at La Casa de Los Gatos would be a shoo-in for this fucking prize.

And those idiots who are showing up to protest health care for all are beyond crazy. They're raising the level of violence. If you punch some guy in the face, that does not count as engaging in debate, and if you get your fucking finger bitten off, be grateful that you have government-run health care, yaknow, fucking Medicare, so you can go to the hospital and get immediate attention. Geez. These people are nuts. Abso-fucking-lutely nuts.

And our resident STAR of Teh Crazy, lunatic fucking LOON Michelle Bachmann — jesus fucking j.h. christ and his black brother Harry, where do you even begin to list all Teh Crazy that is Michelle Bachmann? We could start with this fine tidbit from the Minnesota Independent, in which MiMi (so named because she gives us the screaming meemies, the fucking fruitcake) urges her constituents to get down on their knees and pray and fast to ... uh, defeat healthcare.

We're almost — almost — tempted to ask if she's fucking nuts, but yaknow, rhetorical questions don't get ya anywhere. She's, like, in the fucking encyclopedia, right next to the definition of "nuts." She's so fucking nuts, squirrels have spontaneous orgasms just from looking at her.

And that's not all, folks. No, no, old MiMi's got a righteous load of bullshit up her sleeve or in her head, or wherever she keeps that stuff. She wants y'all to slit your wrists to show your support for her nutty — ideas is the wrong word here, because any idea that found itself in Michelle Bachmann's head would run screaming out into the desert and commit suicide by eating sand.

“Something is way crazy out there,” Bachmann said in her remarks, billed as a “personal legislative briefing” by the Golden-based Independence Institute, which bills itself as a “free market think tank.”

Uh, Michelle, not to piss all over your parade, or anything, but that would so fucking be YOU. Jeez, someone hand this demented bozo a fucking mirror while playing that line back to her. Even she's gotta be able to see the crazy in her eyes, right? Right?

Yup. That's Mimi Bee.

Ron Paul will be appearing with Crazy MiMi at her next public attack on health care. I just lost all respect for the guy. Anybody who can be in the same room as Meems without vomiting a fucking technicolor stream has got to be at least as addled in the pate as she herself is. Dear fucking god, if there are any conservatives out there who are serious about policy issues in the healthcare debate, stand up and speak out now against these fucking loons or forever lose your right to be anything but tightly tied to them.

Stumble It!

Health Care: What YOU Can Do

Congressmember Raùl Grijalva

Send a thank-you to House Progressive Caucus heads Lynn Woolsey and Raùl Grijalva, who just sent a letter to President Obama stating that they and their fellow Progressives will NOT sign a health care reform bill that does not include a robust public option, as reported (click the link to see the full text of the letter) by Greg Sargent over at his blog, ThePlumLine.

The Progressives number 80, nearly a fifth of the House, so they have some negotiating power. They're fighting for us and they deserve our support, so feel free to let them know that you support them.

Congressmember Lynn Woolsey

Thank you, Congressmembers Woolsey and Grijalva! Keep fighting the good fight!

La Casa de Los Gatos is of the opinion that the State of Arizona might even be forgiven for giving us John McAncient as a senator, in view of the fact that they elected a progressive Democrat like Raùl Grijalva to the House.

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Politics: In Memoriam

Teddy Kennedy, the Lion of the Senate, and youngest of the ill-fated Kennedy brothers who have contributed so much to make America a great nation, is dead.

To leave a message for his mourning family, you can go here.

Now that he is no longer with us, we must work harder than ever to pass the legislation that Senator Kennedy has fought for for so long. He wanted health care reform, and although we have lost his guiding hand, we cannot falter. We should reform health care, as we all know too well. In its own way, the legislation will be a fitting memorial to Senator Kennedy's memory.

Rest in peace, sir. Your lifetime of dedication to the causes of the common people will not be forgotten. Nor will your, and your family's, long tradition of service to the nation.

Stumble It!

Politics: Health Care

ICHC!

Out in the middle of nowhere, new friend and fellow-blogger Elizabeth Mika has issued a challenge to those who oppose government-run health care in the form of the public option. The thunderous lack of reaction thereto has led her to propose a wonderfully refreshing idea for the pinheads and astroturfers who have been screaming and pooping their pants about Socialism and government-run health care.

Go ahead. Click the link and take a look. And, if you're as tired of these boors and idiots as I am, click the image to enlarge it, print it out, and take it to your next Town Hall and hand it to these dumb motherfuckers with instructions to fill it in and take advantage of this fine offer immediately.

Because you know what, those stupid fuckheaded "Socialism R coming for mah Grammy" trolls really need to erase every trace of Socialism from their lives. Don't take Social Security — it's Socialist! See that word "Social" in there? It's government-run and comes from the tax money of hardworking citizens who would prefer that you retire onto a diet of dog food, now that we've abolished pensions and the Bush years have et and shat all over our 401(k)s and 403(b)s and anything else approximating retirement funds.

Get out of the public libraries and public schools, stay off the public roads, and don't accept those 'flu shots that the CDC sends out to save your life, and all, yaknow? To quote Elizabeth herself:

Think about it: with one signature, we will relieve you of the burden of having to participate in everything that has even the slightest whiff of anything socialisticky-ish: health care, for sure, should it come to that, but also Social Security, fire department, police, K-to-12 education, public parks and libraries. And, oh, while you're at it, would you please be kind enough to get the heck off our public roads? Thanks. You can use your jets or whatever it is that you use to get around without cluttering the stinky public streets and highways.

Feckin' eejits.

I'll bet they bend themselves into pretzels explaining why it's OK for them to benefit from some socialistic programs even as they make a backwards bridge of hands and feet trying to shove their own heads up their arses to resist "socialized medicine."

Hey, ambulatory turds, guess what? Any day now, hordes of Chinese teens or scary looking brown, not to mention hirsute, individuals like these will be airdropping over our cities attempting to garotte your Gran.

Stumble It!

Politics: Health Care

Yes, the debate goes on, end-fucking-lessly, except we've got Jon Stewart who gets the boot in today and shows those worthless PoS media workers, once known as journalists, now known as asslicking toadies, how to fucking do an interview, yaknow?

Watch and listen well, my children, as Jon skewers Batshit McCaughey, former Lt.-Gov. of the state of New York:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Betsy McCaughey Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

See? It's that simple. You call them out for their lies. Page FourHundredandTwenty-X saith the lying whore, and Jon made her find the fucking page and read it in front of her and said, "So where exactly does it say what you claim it says, lying sack o'shit?" or words to that effect.

But I paraphrase. Jesus Fucking J.H. Christ on a Fucking Crutch and his Black Fucking Brother Harry, people, when are the lying sacks o'shit in the media going to grow a fucking pair o'nuts, or ovaries, of steel, and ask these questions? Meanwhile the Waaah!Poo, Katie Graham's once-fine paper which now arranges pay-for-play sessions with lobbyists and Congresscritters and publicly fellates the Repuglican Party on a daily basis, is too busy gargling with someone's balls to ask any questions at all.

No link, but we hear that they're citing upChuck Grassley's pointing and sobbing at the so-called "Town Hall protesters," i.e., the astroturfers paid by the health insurance lobby to come scream incoherently at meetings on one of the most serious issues facing the nation. Yes, sirree, Bob. They're actually repeating Grassley's blithering idiocy about how the Left started it by talking about death panels (um, hey, Waaah!Poo, Grassley himself is the person who started these shenanigans by telling his constituents they should worry about Gramma, which you'd know if you'd hire researchers and reporters instead of ballgarglers); and how the astroturfers are the reason we shouldn't have this debate, even though their acts are directly in contradiction of anything approaching the workings of a democracy.

So if you're a constituent of that worthless windbag Grassley, for Chrisake, primary the bastard right out of the Senate, please. Let him go find health care at someone else's expense.

Oh, and here's some truly enjoyable "Jon Stewart pokes fun at yet another worthless windbag" moments:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Eternally memorable line: "The hole that they stitched up in Glenn Beck's ass hasn't healed enough for him to stop talking out of it."

Stumble It!

Health Care: What YOU Can Do

ICHC FTW!

If you've been following the increasingly manipulated state of discussions on health care lately, you're probably — like some of the inhabitants of La Casa de Los Gatos — alternating between raging furiously and slumping-down-drunk depressed. (Awright all you "clean and sober" AA types, this is obviously not directed at you, and I don't even want to know about how you're dealing with it, OTAY?)

So today we looked around for something we could DO, because, you know, action is always, like, such a fucking terrific antidote to sitting around depressed (or raging manically, for that matter). And lo and behold! NYCEve, whom we've blogged about in the past as a terrific activist on health care issues, has joined forces with the brilliant Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake to Make Things Fucking Happen. Awright! Two powerhouse women, and they're taking names and preparing to kick some (Congresscritter) asses.

This is good. Ass-kicking is something we here at La Casa de Los Gatos indulge in frequently. OK, it's mostly virtual, verbal, and vituperative, but hey. When you only have one working leg, there's only so many ways to adequately boot booty.

La Casa de Los Gatos' trademarked Golden Bat o'Clue

So go sign the fucking petition already, and donate to the cause. Jane and Eve are doing the real work, and helping them out with money will make it a tad easier for them to do what they gotta do, on behalf of you, me, and all the others out there (76 per cent of your fellow-citizens, remember) who think the current state of health insurance sucks some seriously wet stinky monkey butt.

And then go read what Donald Sutherland (one of my favourite actors for his intelligence, articulateness, and clarity of thought) has to say about the issue. He's right, yaknow. Max Baucus needs to go, quite frankly. Primary the worthless piece of shit. Out with the fucking Blue Dogs, throw the whole lot of them into the deep end of the pool.

And then go join the Single Payer Voting Bloc.

And then, let Jon Stewart and Barney Frank make you laugh your fucking ass off:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barney Frank's Town Hall Snaps
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

SSSSSAH-NAP!!! Oh, Barney Frank, please gay-marry me, dude. You just rocketed to teh top of my Congresscritter Wiv Coolth list.

Srsly. This is the only way to treat these fucking jerkoffs. Rep. Frank is absolutely right. It's like trying to have an argument with a dining table, talking to them. They're not interested in hearing anything or learning anything, they have absorbed some worthless shit or other from some worthless piece of shit or other, committed it to memory, and swallowed it whole, without question or thought.

At least if she was from another planet, she would display signs of rudimentary intelligence — you know, enough to, for example, design and build something capable of getting her from there to here.

Sorry, Human Race. She's one of ours. Blech.

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Politics: Health Care

ICHC

There are lots of voices out there ululating their viewpoints on the topic of health care reform. As our President has pointed out repeated, those who LIKE their existing health coverage are free to stay with it. If an insurance company can't compete against a government healthcare option the way DHL or UPS compete against the USPS, then they're probably not a very efficient company and we should allow the free market to push them out of existence. Competition is healthy, it's good for the consumer, and we all benefit from it.

Meanwhile, here are some of the points from the new health care reform legislation that President Obama is seeking to implement. Please look at them carefully and ask yourself whether your existing health care provides these protections, and if it does not, whether you would benefit from these protections.

• No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions
  
  This means that insurance companies cannot refuse you coverage because of your medical history. If you know anything about your medical plan, then you know that most insurance companies will not insure those who have pre-existing conditions, and those that will charge exorbitant rates. This is because most health insurance companies are for-profit entities and their CEO salaries are exorbitantly high. That money has to come from somewhere. Guess what, it's coming from you. If you have an illness that will cost more money to treat than you can pay in premiums (cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes), the insurance company will not make a profit from your premiums, or not enough of a profit to pay their CEO $23 million a year just in salary (remember, s/he gets a bonus, a pension, lifetime healthcare, and a ton of other benefits, so his/her real compensation package is much larger than the annual salary.
  
  
• No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays
  
  A yearly cap will be set on how much the insurance companies can charge consumers for out-of-pocket expenses. Currently, most plans force the consumer to pay between $10 and $50 for each visit to the doctor and might well pay more for each prescription filled. If you're unlucky enough to have a "co-insurance" plan, the cost of a doctor's visit is much higher, as it's based on a percentage of the fee, and your share is the larger portion of whatever the fee is. A family of four, under their employer-provided or self-provided insurance coverage, could easily run up several thousands in co-pays. As for deductibles, most dental coverage limits dental work to a few thousand a year, and for orthodontia, to several thousand for life. If you've got two kids and are paying for orthodontia and regular dental, medical, prescription, and opthalmological, you're in a bad bind. The orthodontia limits alone will eat up your savings. $5K for a lifetime limit on orthodontia will barely cover one kid's braces. So, how can you lose with this protection? Answer: you can't.
  
  
• No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care
  
  Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics. Think about it, folks. We all know (and if you don't, you ought to) that diseases like cancer and diabetes are diseases of old age. The older you get, the higher your chance of contracting one or both. We all also know that the earlier you treat any disease, the less it costs to treat. If you can do a lumpectomy on a suspicious breast lump, it's a hella lot cheaper than performing a double mastectomy, complete with anesthesia costs and hospital stay. Regular checkups are essential as preventive medicine. We are a nation of potential diabetics, and if blood is regularly tested as preventative for diabetes, consumers can learn early enough about proper diet and exercise to prevent or at least slow insulin resistance. That is MUCH less expensive than catching diabetes by the time someone is forty pounds overweight and firmly in its throes, and shows up at the doctor because they can no longer avoid the expensive visit.
  
  
• No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill
  
  Insurance companies cannot drop, or water down coverage for, those who become seriously ill. Remember Nataline Sarkisyan. Once they found out the girl would need a liver transplant to stay alive, the insurance company dawdled until she died. Don't worry about President Obama's "death panels." Because your insurance company already has one for you. Worry about that.
  
  
• No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage
  
  Insurance companies cannot set annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive. Think about this one. If you die before you reach your 50s, you don't need to worry about a "lifetime cap." But if you're hoping to stay alive to see your grandchildren, or even your children, for a little while more, you're going to go through expensive health crises. You're going to need joint replacement, you're probably going to suffer from some sort of cancer, you might well get a degenerative disease like diabetes or Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. The older you are, the higher your chances. No matter how "good" your current health care plan is, it already HAS a cap, or a rider that says you're on your own if you get any of these problems. There are 11 million American cancer patients who have no health coverage. Don't be one of them. Support the public option, if only to protect yourself and your loved ones in case the worst happens.

ICHC

• Extended Coverage for Young Adults
  
  Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26. This is a no-brainer if you're paying for your kids' college. Did you know that many employers are "cutting costs" by going through their employees' records to find out if any of them were using the employer-provided health care to cover their children over the age of 18? Yes, they're going to make you pay back any of that money on the grounds that you committed fraud. Chances are, they'll then find a way to ease you out of employment if they can, leaving you to try and get your own damn insurance, which is so unlikely if you've "committed insurance fraud" by trying to keep your kids healthy. Also, despite Bible Spice's yawping about her disabled kid, as any parent who has a child with ongoing health problems knows, employer-provided health care will not cover that child once they turn a certain age, as determined by the insurer. What do you do if you have an autistic child, or a kid with Down's? If they're covered through age 26, you get at least eight years or more of relief from the expensive alternatives.
  
  
• Guaranteed Insurance Renewal
  
  Insurance companies must renew your policy as long as you pay the premium in full. They cannot refuse to renew because you, or your dependents, became sick. If you've been paying your premiums, why the hell should they be able to suddenly stop insuring you? Many of us have paid insurance premiums for thirty or forty years, only to suddenly be told that the company will not renew. Why? Because after taking between $200 and $2,000 of your money every month for thirty years, they figure you're going to start costing them more than you already paid for their CEO's gold-trimmed toilet. So suddenly, you're out on your ass. Is this what you want, for yourself, your kids, your grandma? Hell, no. I mean, HELL, no.

If you think your insurance company is going to take care of you, fine. Stick with them, give them your money, nobody's going to stop you. But if you want some real protection from companies that could yank your insurance like Blue Cross/Blue Shield did for Cynthia Campbell, or CIGNA did for Nataline Sarkisyan, then get behind the public option and fight until it's implemented.

This is no laughing matter. If you're young and healthy now, here's some news for you: that won't last forever. Sooner or later, you're going to need some major healthcare. If you're unlucky and get in an accident, it's gonna be sooner. Read the research. Google is your friend. Look around and see how many people have a car crash and suddenly find that their health insurance won't pay for their ride to the hospital in an ambulance because they "failed to notify the company" that they were injured, in a coma, unable to speak, or whatever the hell else happened to them. Read about Cynthia Campbell. Read about Nataline Sarkisyan. Then do the right thing. Call Max Baucus and Charles Grassley (or write or email them). Tell them they'd better get the public option available for people like you and me and everyone else who needs it. Tell them you want it NOW.

Go here and educate yourself on what the proposed bill will do to help you. You owe it to yourself and to the people you love. It is a shame and a disgrace that a little girl has to die so some greedbag, who could pay for what she needed out of his pocket change, wants his profits more than her life.

According to Paul Krugman, lack of health insurance kills 27,000 Americans each year. Do you want their blood on your hands? If not, then learn about what your politicians are doing, make sure they do the right thing, and fight like hell to get it done. It's your duty as a citizen in a democracy to participate. A democracy is only as strong as its citizens. If Iraqi and Afghani citizens can risk their lives for their democracy, you can risk missing a couple of hours worth of television.

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Entertainment: Because You Need It

If you've been watching the screaming hyenas of Rightwingnuttia taking over the health care debate, then this one's for you.

Because nobody, nobody delivers Teh Skewer of Troof like Jon Stewart does. Take it away, Jon:

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You'll never find this level of troofz on Faux Noise's "Fairly Unbalanced" coverage, will ya? And the rest of the mainstream media is complicit by framing the debate in terms of controversy. A controversy ginned up by those who stand to profit from the status quo — health insurance companies, with their overpaid CEOs, lobbyists, and their like.

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Politics: Republicans

we can respect. That's what we want. Is that too much to ask?

ICHC

We have to listen to Bible Spice yawping her endless lies. Senator Charles Grassley, who really ought to know better, is giving credence to the fears of the elderly with his yawp about "death panels," nothing but lies. Tom Coburn, a Repugnantcan't from Oklahoma who specializes in indoctrinating his young interns into abstinence by showing them gross STD slides while serving them pizza (hello? Visuals here?) flaps his gob spewing the same lies. Then that pathetic cross-dressing liar, Rudi Giuliani, opens his yawp and spews yet more lies.

And various old farts who have been enjoying the Socialistic, Government-run and funded Medicare for a good part of their worthless lives, are out in force screaming and yelling and acting like idiots and making the rest of us old farts look bad.

Hey, lookit, you ignorami: If you're THAT het-up about Socialism, get off Medicare! Find someone willing to insure you and pay for it out of your own fucking pockets. The rest of us will take your place. I'd be happy for some government-run and funded Medicare. Die already, you worthless, oxygen-stealing sacks of shit, instead of embarrassing the rest of us who might be in your age demographic. Jesus fucking J.H. Christ, what a worthless lot of louts.

Where the FUCK are the Gray Panthers when you need 'em?

Now the Repugnants are proposing Rick Santorum as their Hope for the 2012 elections. Are you fucking kidding me, people? Rick "My last name is synonymous with fecal matter and lube" Santorum? His eyes are so close together you have to wonder if his parents are siblings. You want HIM for your candidate?

When will we find a Republican with guts and brains and something approximating decency? When will we find a Republican we can respect, like former Colorado Governor Ralph Carr?

Only one state did not take measures to prevent the Japanese from settling within its borders once they began voluntarily leaving the West Coast as they were urged to do prior to evacuation. That state was Colorado. The fact that Colorado was officially open to Japanese was due to the courage of Governor Ralph Carr, who stood firmly against the many citizens and community leaders disagreeing with his position and angered by his refusal to close the state's borders to Japanese. Compared to other states where Japanese could not rent housing or purchase food or gasoline, Colorado was what one paper described as "a haven of sorts."

Japanese could hold jobs in Colorado, but not in many other states. And the Colorado Times was the only Japanese-language newspaper allowed to publish in the United States.

-- Lest We Forget: The Japanese and America's Wartime Mistake, Joyce E. Williams and Alice M. Coleman

Governor Carr's principled stand cost him a chance at the Senate. He was one of very, very few who dared to speak out against the unprincipled herding of American citizens into concentration camps, without trial or even a determination of their guilt.

Today we have Republicans like Giuliani, Grassley, Palin, and Coburn, who lie not to save their lives (which would be understandable) but to save their corporate masters a few dollars. For that, they are willing to peddle lies, infuse the citizens with fear, and betray the basic principles of that very same democracy that they took an oath to defend.

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Politics: Health Care

ICHC FTW!

Our fine President shows you that he knows EXACTLY what he's talking about.

Here, in his fine speech at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Town Hall on health care, he lays out clearly, point by point, what he's been doing and what he is doing and what he WILL BE doing.

So, listen to our President on CNN — listen to the whole fucking speech, OK? Because he states exactly what his vision of health care reform is. And he is so fucking right. Everything he is saying is backed up by facts, statistics, reports, studies, and individual anecdotes. And he is right, goddamn it, right!

"No one in America should go broke because they get sick," he says. No more ludicrous out-of-pocket limits! Preventive care and routine screening to take care of illness before it becomes costly and unaffordable.

"Our deficit will continue to grow because Medicare and Medicaid are" on an unsustainable path, he says. Within eight to 10 years, Medicaid will go broke. "Change is hard, and it doesn't start in Washington," he says. He's asking for our help. Knock on doors, talk to neighbours, spread the facts. "If health care reform was easy, it would already have been done," says our President. And he's right.

He's got the figures to back him too. He talks about the $177 billion dollar subsidy to the health insurance industry. He talks about the $80 billion in rebates that the drug industry has agreed to give their customers under the Reform Act. He talks about the administrative problems inherent in transitioning to single-payer healthcare. He's thought the issues through. He talks about the need for the reform to be self-sustaining, and about the ability of private insurers to compete with the government as a provider of health coverage, and about the cost to small businesses.

He won't sign a bill that adds to the deficit or the national debt. He points out that the previous health care legislation signed was Medicare Part D, which was not paid for at all and created a huge problem with the national debt, as well as creating the "doughnut hole" that forces seniors to pay for costly medication out of pocket. He wants to pay for the reforms by rolling back the Bush tax cuts.

He points out that 14,000 Americans lose their health coverage each day; that insurance company bean counters currently decide whether people can or should have a procedure or a medication. And you know what? He is right.

Nataline Sarkisyan

This, folks, is the face of our current health care system. Nataline Sarkisyan was a teenager covered by her parents' supposedly excellent health care plan. But when she needed a liver transplant, the insurance company that covered her decided that they wouldn't pay for her liver transplant, in essence condemning this child to death.

So if anyone starts yawping about government-run "death panels" (Yes, I'm looking at you, Bible Spice, you unregenerate attention-whore)? La Casa de Los Gatos recommends you print out Nataline Sarkisyan's picture on some good heavy board, roll it into a tube and stick up their collective asses. Alternatively, a couple of "edjumacations" with the trademarked Golden Bat o'Clue might help them towards a faint hint of enlightenment.

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Human Rights: Why Reproduction Should Be

a licensed activity

Otty Sanchez and her baby

This is Otty Sanchez, a 33-year-old woman from San Antonio, Texas. Otty is in the news today because she killed her only child, a 3.5-week-old boy named Scott Wesley Sanchez Buchholz. Ms. Sanchez then proceeded to skin, gut, and decapitate the infant, and then, according to one or more news reports, eat parts of its body.

This last fact is disputed by Ms. Sanchez' family. Understandably. While the specter of your sister or daughter killing her kid is bad enough, the idea of said person actually cannibalizing the defenseless sprog has to make the toughest stomach churn.

Also understandably, the tabloid press, or gutter press, or yellow press, whatever you call it, is going hog wild with cries of "Cannibal Mom!" while a large number of Ms. Sanchez' fellow-Texans and fellow-Americans, most likely Republicans from the tone of their comments, are calling for her death, accompanied, preferably, by prolonged suffering.

La Casa de Los Gatos has only this to say to this last pack of hyenas: Shut the fuckety-fucking-fuck UP! You fucking morons. You fucking-fuckety-fucked-up fucking morons. Exclamation points, multiple. Do you seriously think a human being who has been trying to have a baby for something like five fucking years is going to kill and mutilate it just for fun? Do you people have any idea what pregnancy does to a woman's body and mind? No, of course not, or you couldn't make your moronic pronouncements. All you want to do is cannibalize the tragedy, and it is a tragedy, you worthless fucking fucks.

La Casa de Los Gatos is also using this tragedy, but for a different purpose: to point out that procreation is indulged in way too casually by all and sundry, with never a thought to the consequences. To argue for contraception as a basic human right (and, yes, that includes abortion, adoption, birth control, chemical or mechanical, sterilization, and anything else in our population control armory). To call attention to the incredible hypocrisy with which our society yawps about the sacredness of sprog and human life and procreation while ignoring the real needs of children, mothers, mentally ill people, poor people without resources.

This issue is our favourite (if one can grace it with such a description) bugbear.

Otty Sanchez was diagnosed as a schizophrenic approximately a year ago. The father of the baby, Scott Buchholz, is also a schizophrenic. Otty and Scott met at a local college where they were both training for careers as dental or medical techs. It is not clear whether either of them has a job. What is clear is that both of them are seriously mentally ill with an illness that requires them to remain on medication for the rest of their lives, and that, absent regular medication, they are or could be a danger to themselves or others.



So riddle me this, children. What are two seriously mentally ill people doing having a fucking baby? Srsly. We don't know if schizophrenia is hereditary, but the NIMH (National Institutes of Mental Health) has this to say on the topic:

If you have a close relative (parent or sibling) with schizophrenia, you have a 10 percent chance of also developing schizophrenia. In identical twins, the chances are much higher, at 40 to 65 percent.

Theories/Speculation

In July of 2008, a study came out looking at the genetic causes of schizophrenia. So far, it looks as if there are three kinds of genetic material (microdeletions) present in non-schizophrenics and lacking in schizophrenics, and it's thought that this factor can make a person more prone to developing schizophrenia, but may not be the actual cause. These microdeletions do seem to run in families. Other factors thought to combine together with these genes include problems with brain chemistry, injuries to the brain during birth that leave the brain smaller than normal, and traumatic or very stressful events.

NIMH states that one per cent of the planetary population is schizophrenic. That would be some sixty million people who suffer from this mental disease. Most mentally ill people pose no danger to others. However, symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, auditory and visual, and disorders of thought. Schizophrenics might not understand the nature of the thoughts they are having and might not understand cause and effect when in the grip of their personal, let's call them, demons.

This would explain why a woman who wanted and loved her child might pick up a knife and inflict fatal damage on the child and near-fatal damage on herself.

Otty Sanchez was also diagnosed with post-partum psychosis. Post-partum psychosis (PPP) is a rare mental illness that affects one out of 1,000 women who have borne a child. Unlike the more common PPD (post-partum depression), PPP, which results from the same causes as PPD, can cause a new mother to suffer hallucinations, lose contact with reality, and become a danger to herself, her child, and possibly, others.

Ms. Sanchez has been institutionalized in the past for mental illness. And, to the credit of her poor, disordered mind, she tried to get help shortly before she killed her child. Surprisingly, the hospital to which she went released her. Or perhaps it's not so surprising. She went to the emergency room for treatment (let me guess — no health insurance). And, as everyone knows, emergency rooms are not staffed with mental health workers, in addition to being horribly overcrowded, overused, and understaffed. So they sent her home to her baby. FTA:

Had deputies been called to the home, they might have been able to intervene, said Deputy Chief Dale Bennett of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

"Most of our officers have been trained in mental health awareness, so they had a strong probability of recognizing what was going on," Bennett said.

Many of the people involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation initially are arrested by law enforcement officers investigating domestic disturbances, said Kevin McManus, a public defender who works with Bexar County clerk's Mental Health Office.

State law doesn't permit health care providers or authorities to detain a mentally ill patient against his their will unless that person is considered an immediate threat to himself or others.

"A lot of times, the officer is the best person to tell if someone appears to be a threat," McManus said.

Ironic, innit? Would you call the cops on your sister/cousin/kid? Otty Sanchez' family does not appear to be wealthy. In addition, they're Latina, and if a renowned scholar like Dr. Gates gets hassled by the cops in an upscale University town, just imagine the relationships between poor Latinos and the cops in Texas.

I'm guessing the family figured if they called the cops, Otty would be manhandled, thrown in jail, and further traumatized, not to mention the issue of what it would do to her already fragile mental health. So they didn't call the cops. They figured, she had a therapist appointment on Monday, they'd tell the shrink she was "hearing voices," and try to figure out how to handle the whole thing then. Except right before that, she killed the baby.

I know it sounds harsh to say that people like Otty Sanchez and Scott Buchholz have no business having a baby. And it sounds like eugenics to ask for population control measures that prevent people who have inheritable diseases that will permanently and negatively affect a child's health or life from having a child. But how do you propose to protect children from danger otherwise? Implementing such a scheme would undoubtedly raise cries of racism, discrimination, class warfare, undemocratic actions not consistent with human rights and civil liberties, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

But I am so fucking heartily sick of seeing the most defenseless of victims fall prey to the needs and wishes of others. How could this tragedy — like Andrea Yates' tragedy, and countless others — have been prevented? Anybody have an idea? All I can come up with is reversible sterilization the minute people's gonads become active, followed by a reversal only when an individual has shown that they are ready, willing, and ABLE to provide the kind of care a helpless sprog needs. Otherwise, what we're saying to ourselves and each other is that the wishes of individuals to procreate outweigh the basic right to safety of the result of the procreation. If we're not willing to do this, then we should just come out and bag the whole "human life is sacred" crap and start using fetii or even children as food material. Yaknow, Soylent Green, and all that.

For the record, I think abortion is far more humane than killing a child after it's born.

And this is how much the issue of PPD is finally affecting the collective consciousness of this country: none other than Rupert Murdoch catbox litter, aka Faux Noise, is actually calling for mandatory pre- and post-partum screening for new mothers. Good idea, Fox, but won't we need to finance this, as in, have some kind of single-payer health plan in order for this to happen? Otherwise, what's the solution? Screen them and turn them loose? So they can kill their kids?

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Health Care: I Ain't Feelin' Too Good Myself, Now

OK, I wasn't till Stephen Colbert did this:

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People, if you don't know or remember what passed for health care 30 years ago, look it up. A few decades ago, employer-provided health care paid for good-quality medical care at no cost to the employee.

Today, we have co-pays ($5-$50 per doctor visit per family member); co-insurance (calculated percentage of total cost of visit and any procedures approved by insurer); Health Savings Accounts (HSAs - only worthwhile if you're young and very healthy because of the huge deductible, meaning insurance only pays a small portion of your costs and you pay the rest out of tax-free savings that you can't afford, because if you had money to save, you'd get yourself a better goddamned policy, wouldn'tcha?); and critical care, which is a hodge-podge of visits to free clinics (increasingly rare these days, and limited in terms of services), nurse hotlines that give free advice but nothing else, and emergency room visits (also increasingly rare as hospitals shut down emergency rooms which see increasing high-maintenance traffic and very little financial return), where you can wait 12 hours or more to see a doctor or even a nurse, unless you're bleeding to death or cyanotic.

Who are the people telling us we don't need universal health care? Our Congresscritters, for one. Well, they have government-provided health care that WE pay for, so why do THEY get to say that WE can't have the same thing? You know all those Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats who say that we don't need universal health care, and the government is a fuckup that couldn't administer its own left foot without help?

Tell them to drop their universal healthcare NOW. Call them up and ask them if they are covered by the government. If they are, then they need to switch to private insurance NOW, because they can afford to. For us working stiffs, private insurance is just too fucking expensive. For them, with their six-figure salaries, it's a tiny little blip in the bank account. Since they think private industry does this shit better than government ever could, it is their fucking DUTY to select a private option. NOW. No excuses. No more waffling, no more bullshit.

If they're not willing to drop their taxpayer-funded health care, then they should shut the fuck up and give us the same healthcare that they get. After all, we're already paying for it. Widen the pool, lower the cost, lower the risk.

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