September 25, 2013

Canadians Baffled By U.S. Health Care System, And By Extension, ‘Breaking Bad’

The show Breaking Bad is about Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who is diagnosed with lung cancer in the first episode of the series. Because he does not want to be a financial burden to his family, he uses his chemistry skills to produce and sell a super pure methamphetamine, and in the process become “Heisenberg,” his menacing alter ego. During the course of the series, we watch the Walter White character transform from seemingly meek and innocent to astonishingly scheming and rancorous. But it didn’t have to be that way. Had Breaking Bad taken place in say, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada), it would have looked more like this:

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September 23, 2013

Obamacare Derangement: Republicans Look To Fulfill Their Own Prophecy

It seems many Republican policy positions are based on a short-term outlook. They appear unable to see past tomorrow in their decision-making. Cut food stamps now, deal with higher fiscal costs later. Sequestration now, reduced economic growth later. And so on. But their forward-looking blind-spot has not hindered their willingness to dabble in Obamacare prophecies.

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September 23, 2013

Contrary To Republican Hot Air, Most Americans Against Defunding Obamacare

Beware the person who one hundred percent of the time speaks with authority and great confidence. Such is the case with Republicans. While the rest of us try to do what’s right, but know we will sometimes get things wrong, Republican self-deception leads to confident proclamations to the rest of us about how something should be done, and authoritative “lessons” for all of the country to learn. And this is what you are seeing with Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Republicans “know” it’s bad for the country (even though it won’t fully kick in until January), and they “know” most of the country is with them. But the reality is, while Americans are quite cynical about government in general, and that includes Obamacare, they are not nearly as brazen as Republican lawmakers.

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September 18, 2013

To Tea Party Republicans Threatening Government Shutdown: America Does Not Negotiate With Terrorists

The right-wing radicals who have held the GOP hostage for over four years, are now threatening to hold the entire country captive until their demands are met. These “Tea Party” Republicans want further cuts to government spending, but their biggest demand is full repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). They know repeal will not happen under normal circumstances, so they must create the grim conditions necessary for Democrats and President Obama to crack under the pressure. In other words, they must terrorize the nation. These extremist fanatics bathe in American patriotism and wave their flags, but until they get what they want, American democracy can go fuck itself. Yeah, I got your compromise right here.

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August 20, 2013

Obamacare Repeal: Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For A Republican Health Care Plan

Republicans feel the wind at their backs in their opposition to Obamacare, and it seems polls support this belief. But even if a plurality of Americans do not like the Affordable Care Act, Republicans should not mistake this for informed public opinion. Because if Republicans were successful in repealing Obamacare, they would soon face a backlash from people losing benefits and health care “rights” they now have under the law.

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August 10, 2013

Harry Reid Says Obamacare Puts U.S. On Path To Single-Payer Health Care System

On a local PBS program “Nevada Week in Review,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction, but we’re far from having something that’s going to work forever.” Reid said ultimately they had to drop the idea of a public option during health care legislative negotiations in 2009. “We had a real good run at the public option,” said Reid. He said Senator Joe Lieberman was the main opposition to a public option, at least among those who would otherwise support health care legislation. Because of course no Republicans supported health care reform. But Reid also acknowledged their was support for a true single-payer system saying, “Don’t think we didn’t have a tremendous number of people who wanted a single-payer system.”

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August 10, 2013

Obamacare Won’t Kill Grandma, But Republicans Still Want To Repeal It

Before I talk about Obamacare and irrational Republicans, I have to remind everyone that we need to fight back against the false narrative that says both sides are the same. Right now in Washington, Republicans are not about governing. They aren’t about solutions. They aren’t about helping people, especially minorities of any group. Both sides might cater to their special interests and both sides might feed at the trough of big business, but both sides DO NOT have the same philosophy when it comes to governing and looking out for the disenfranchised.

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