Posts Tagged ‘health care’

Andy Hefty

Like the once-frozen caveman on Saturday Night Live who became a lawyer confused by all the nuances of modern technology, I find myself scratching my oversized, unattractive noggin over the silliness exuded by Congress and the White House.  I’ll admit:  in many respects, I can be like that simple caveman.  But I never went to law school, and I insure my cars through the famous caveman-hated company.

Simple Caveman has the answers

With the endless insults hurled across the political aisle that those of a traditional mindset are Neanderthal to begin with, you can see why those on the left refuse to even ponder simple solutions.  God forbid that they should be aligned with knuckle-dragging right-wing extremists who think simple thoughts like more guns make for less crime.

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Andy Hefty

For once in my limited life of punditry, I will finally blame George W. Bush and the Republicans. That’s right. Bush and the “evil GOP” are to blame for our health care mess. I’ll explain.

If Bush hadn’t asked the now late Ted Kennedy to write the No-Child-Educated-Properly bill, the initial capitulation mentality of “compassionate” conservatives would not have taken place.

Compassion? Or coercion?

If Bush had told Congress to stop spending worse than drunken sailors – in his first year in office – then Harry Reid would have been shown to be the blustering, squandering, mouthy, irresponsible, tax-and-spend liberal that he is.

If Republicans while in power had actually cut spending instead of “reducing the rate of growth” (a misnomer for spending buckets of cash with reckless abandon), the deficits would not have mounted faster than the buffet plate of an NFL linebacker.

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Andy Hefty

So let’s cluster some random thoughts and see if someone out there can make “heads or tails” of my mental state.  Better yet, don’t go there.

In my column on Chuck Schumer (D-NY-Jerk), there was a comment about how he should be voted out of office.  There’s just one problem:  voters across the nation have a mentality of “throw all the bums out, except my bum.”  How else can you explain Robert Byrd, Ted Stevens, Strom Thurmond, and anyone remotely related to the Kennedys?

ZZZZ...Huh? What?

Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Ben Nelson of Nebraska should read the following message to the majority party before moving to adjourn for the Christmas break:

“Since the beginning of the debate over health insurance coverage, the Democrats have figuratively plastered us to the wall because we dared to raise objections that violate our political beliefs.  All during the negotiations, we have been demonized.  And even though some of our negotiations have moved toward a compromise that many consider reasonable, all we receive in return is derision and ridicule.  Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Franken

There are certain cliches that can get really, really irritating. It’s a condition called Platitudinous Badditudinous Attitudinous and it flares up each and every time someone says “We shouldn’t make the perfect the enemy of the good”. Some sort of ridicule is in order, like maybe a “Kick me” sign.

Who wants to save this face?

We usually hear it these days from those trying to gut health care reform, leaving an almost empty shell. Offenders also include our Democratic leaders who are desperately trying to avoid the embarrassment of outright defeat which would probably devastate their party to say nothing of its president.

So they are bargaining away, trying to protect themselves by caving in to each and every special interest group but one, the American people. In particular, they are frittering away the changes that would force the insurance companies to act responsibly. Read the rest of this entry »

Kelly Anderson Wright

Lawmakers on the Senate floor are wondering if Majority Leader Harry Reid has lost his mind, something folks back home have known for quite some time.

Why else would Reid deliberately offend a majority of Americans, as well as most of his constituents?

During the raging debate on health care reform Monday, Senator Reid intentionally aimed nuclear missiles at his fellow lawmakers: he compared those who oppose health care reform to those who opposed the abolition of slavery more than a century ago.

Harry lives in a bubble, unaware of the mutiny back home.

Reid seems to have forgotten his history: Sen. Strom Thurmond, then a Democrat,  unsuccessfully tried to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1957, while Republicans led the charge against slavery.

More troubling is the fact that Reid appears unaware that not just Republican lawmakers oppose Obamacare. Numerous recent polls show a majority of Americans and Nevadans oppose the specific health care reform bill Harry is trying to pass. His salvos, aimed at the Republicans he is supposed to lead, might as well have been aimed at the entire nation… and Nevadans, who cringe every time Reid speaks. Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Franken

With all the reports coming out that recommend we scale back on life-saving medical exams there is one we might soon see from still another group of experts.

This one concerns depression. It concludes that diagnosis, medication and counseling won’t work anyway, so why bother trying. After all, the best we can expect from dealing with negative feelings are false positives.

What's the use?

They’ll certainly be startled by the intense political emotions, best described as anger turned outward. Republicans, in particular, will be screaming about how this is just another example of health care rationing contemplated by President Obama.

That is the main conclusion from the landmark Study About Depression (SAD). It is sponsored by the Foundation of Undermine Necessary Knowledge (FUNK), funded exclusively by the insurance companies. Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Maistros

See Speaker Nancy. Speaker Nancy is head of the House. No, not the house where people live, Silly. Speaker Nancy is head of the House where Congressmen and Congresswomen work.

See the Congressmen and Congresswomen. Congressmen and Congresswomen are people Mommy and Daddy vote for to get the Government to do things that help everybody. Like keep America safe. And make traffic go faster. And make sure Mommy and Daddy have jobs. And keep people healthy. Good Congressmen and Congresswomen!

See Speaker Nancy...

But Congressmen and Congresswomen mostly end up getting Mommy and Daddy to pay a lot of money to the Government. Congressmen and Congresswomen then use the money to do things to get other mommies and daddies to vote for them again. Bad Congressmen and Congresswomen!  Read the rest of this entry »

Brett Noel

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Bob Franken

You’ve heard this before. It doesn’t matter whether those of us who fancy ourselves politically informed are right or wrong when we pontificate. No one really pays close enough attention to remember, and certainly we don’t. It’s a great gig.

Well, I hope you’re sitting down, because this pundit-wannabe is about to utter something that would otherwise knock you off your feet: “I might have been wrong.”

Over-playing their hand?

There. I said it. I feel much better now. Except I may end up being wrong about being wrong.

Right now you’re probably asking yourself “What in heaven’s name is he talking about?” It’s a fair question and it deserves an answer. Finally. Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Franken

The Democrats have just fired their biggest guns at the insurance industry but unfortunately they are shooting very loud blanks.

That’s what they did Wednesday, when the the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Prohibiting Price Fixing and Other Anticompetitive Conduct in the Health Insurance Industry.” The target is the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

Insurance Industry: Not as smart as they think they are

There is no way in the world that the insurance companies are going to allow Congress to repeal McCarran-Ferguson, even though it really does allow their “Price Fixing and Other Anticompetitive Conduct…” The insurance industry is the only one, other than Major League Baseball that gets a pass from anti-trust enforcement.

But don’t expect the majority in Congress to play ball with those who are serious about getting rid of that exemption, even though the ever-quotable Sen. Chuck Schumer called it “…one of the worst accidents in American history…” Read the rest of this entry »