It doesn’t take Stephen Hawking to figure this one out
The conservative opinion magazine Human Events was reputedly Ronald Reagan’s favorite read, and to this day fancies itself the house organ for the hard-right intelligentsia. Among those published regularly in its pages are such luminaries as Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter.
In my email this morning is a message from Human Events regarding the health-reform debate, warning of “government-forced extermination” of unborn children, grandmothers and grandfathers:
Grandmas and Unborn Babies Face Extermination by Obama’s “Health” Care Plan
Investors Business Daily has just exposed the Achilles’ heel of Obamacare, that hostile, socialist government takeover of your hospital, doctors, children, and grandparents. In an editorial entitled, “How House Bill Runs Over Grandma,” the editors report how President Obama was personally confronted by a North Carolina woman asking if “everyone that’s Medicare age will be visited and told they have to decide how they wish to die.”
In response Obama joked that he hadn’t yet hired enough bureaucrats to conduct such an operation, yet he could not deny the New York Post’s discovery the House bill “compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care” (pages 425-430). In other words, your grandmother will be told, when insufficient resources are rationed to young people, that her duty to die begins with mandatory “end-of-life counseling,” or as Obama explained, “encourage the use of living wills” that terminate otherwise salvageable lives prematurely through signed “do not resuscitate” (DNR) legal releases.”
In other words, these people have gone full-blown lunatic on us. Curious, I also looked up the Investors Business Daily editorial cited by Human Events. Published a week ago Friday, it is chock full of lies, distortions and other foolishness, such as the claim that the House bill would compel senior citizens to undergo mandatory euthanasia counseling every five years.
But my favorite part of the editorial deals with the British health-care system, which if you believe IBD is basically condemning the old and disabled to die.
“People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless,” the editorial claims.
Of course, that same Stephen Hawking who wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was in fact born in the United Kingdom, has lived his entire life in the United Kingdom and lives there still today, at the ripe old age of 67. (He was in fact hospitalized earlier this month.) Hawking is, you might say, living, breathing proof that these people are first-class fools.
UPDATE: Investors Business Daily has corrected its editorial, removing all mention of Stephen Hawking. And Hawking himself has responded, telling the UK’s Guardian:
“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
555 comments Add your comment
Tony Zito
August 13th, 2009
10:24 am
Removing all mention of Hawking is hardly adequate. The editors should have to go stand in the corner or something, and not just for this particular POS editorial. Unless we assume they are illiterate, they have deliberately misread key portions of the bill (alleged outlawing of private insurance, compulsory end-of-life counseling). I’m assuming they are not remotely an independent journalistic enterprise, but rather a propaganda page for moneyed interests. Of course, maybe that should be obvious!
American in Britain
August 13th, 2009
1:58 pm
Neil, you are a flat out lier.
Go try and actually live in the UK. I have a good job and 70% of my earnings go to rent. We NEED the NHS because it’s an opportunityless country. and of course british people defend it…. If you have an ugly sister you wouldn’t want other people calling her ugly.
Jackie
August 13th, 2009
2:10 pm
American in Britain, go back to the u.s then? I doubt you are forced to live here? In fact..I doubt you live here at all..you seem to be just a sad person full of hate and using a forum to spew it.
Hawking the NHS « The blog title can be changed at any time
August 13th, 2009
2:25 pm
[...] article has been “corrected” – redacted – but reference to the original is here among many other places. Suffice to say I’ll never read IBD again… though I’m [...]
It doesn’t take Stephen Hawking to figure this one out | Ethiopian News
August 13th, 2009
2:26 pm
[...] By Jay Bookman | AJC var infolink_pid = [...]
Ian, Derby
August 13th, 2009
2:30 pm
This whole debate amazes me and I think the rest of the UK. We aren’t really that concerned about what options America chooses to improve/change it’s healthcare system but what we do mind is when the British system is used in the argument in such a one-sided and negative way.
Everyone here in the UK realises that the NHS is far from perfect. There are sometimes long waiting times for operations (which used to be even longer) and going to the Emergency Room can sometimes be a nightmare but that said, if you need life saving surgery, have a terminal illness, are giving birth, or even if you are a foreigner in the UK needing treatment, everything is free no questions asked. You have to wait for minor operations and some very expensive drugs aren’t used but that’s the pay off you get when you provide healthcare for EVERYONE on a set budget, which is understood by us British.
Also, the NHS costs around 1/3 of the American system so it’s generally good value for money, especially when you consider the UK usually does better than the USA in international healthcare rankings. Sure, everyone here thinks things are much better in France but then again the French pay a lot more tax than the British so the old saying rings true that ‘you get what you pay for’.
I think everyone is also forgetting that the UK has public funded healthcare (the NHS) with a private option. If you have the money you can go private in the UK with companies such as Bupa who offer private healthcare that runs alongside the NHS, and to such an extent that sometimes the NHS uses private hospitals to speed up waiting times for operations. Obviously, you have to pay for private healthcare but if you have the money to do so then it’s perfectly acceptable. You also have the added bonus of having the NHS there as a safety net just in case something unexpected happens.
Also, even though I think Michael Moore can sometimes provide a bit of a biased and simplistic view of the world, his documentary Sicko should be must see TV for anyone interested in healthcare reform. The section on the UK is quite amusing and the bits from Cuba are obviously stage managed by their government but still, it provides a more personal insight into the debate when you see the suffering caused. Wherever your political views lie, it has to be said that the problems experienced by the Americans in the film would never happen in countries such as the UK, Canada, France, Spain, Australia, Germany, Finland, and Israel to name but a few.
ianam
August 13th, 2009
2:36 pm
“nice try, but … fail.”
Once again the right wingers who post here serve as evidence that right wingers are liars and morons … what else COULD they do?
Hawking British health care « The blog title can be changed at any time
August 13th, 2009
2:39 pm
[...] article has been “corrected” – redacted – but reference to the original is here among many other places. Suffice to say I’ll never read IBD again… though I’m [...]
JonnyT
August 13th, 2009
3:15 pm
Rumors are that the US are going to in fact go the UK way and have a nationwide healthcare. My sources have told me that something will be happening soon.
JonnhT
Fear Mongerers On Health Care Reform: What Would Jesus Do? : Iro Iro . . .
August 13th, 2009
3:35 pm
[...] As has already been glaringly pointed out by others, Stephen Hawking was born in Britain, raised in Britain, and is currently living in Britain thanks to their universal health care system. Hawkings has also come out strongly in favor of the NHS, claiming he wouldn’t be alive without it. “Grandmas and Unborn Babies Face Extermination by Obama’s “Health” Care Plan” Actual title of the editorial as cited above [...]
Paul
August 13th, 2009
3:48 pm
Hawking was in a NHS hospital only last week to receiving treatment for a chest infection. He stayed there overnight for observation.
Paul
August 13th, 2009
3:52 pm
Johnnyt – is that from http://www.footballrumours.co.uk ?
jo
August 13th, 2009
4:10 pm
Having health insurance is no joy – broken shoulder $5k out of pocket for uncovered expenses, mammogram – $800 out of pocket for uncovered expenses. My doctor wants me to get another mammogram – I said no I can’t afford it. If I didn’t pay health insurance premiums I could. Medical insurance companies are making mega profits, while we sink under the bloated premiums.
Mark T
August 13th, 2009
4:43 pm
A very entertaining set of comments. Certainly I like the way some people prefer to ignore the facts to make their case or if in doubt, like Sarah Palin, let’s make up stupid and scary phrases to make things sound sinister. Did she really come up with “Death Panel” ? If so, then what an idiot !
It’s already been stated categorically by Stephen Hawkings that without the NHS he would not be here today. Sure he may be more wealthy than some and if he so desires he has a right to private healthcare in the UK. But (again as stated) throughout a large portion of his life he was not wealthy (assuming he is now) and it is due to the NHS care that he is still with us.
I honestly couldn’t care less what the US does with it’s health care system (it’s for you guys to decide) and I’m not here to say whether the NHS is better or not, that’s again for you to decide. But for goodness sake, have the decency to state facts about the subject and not spout garbage based upon false information and stupid scaremongering.
From a personal standpoint all I will say is that for many years I worked full time and was rarely ill. Then I was made redundant and whilst trying to survive starting my own business up (on minimal wage so I could not afford private health care if I’d wanted it) I was taking seriously and life threateningly ill. I was a carer to my Grandmother and had a wife and children to support and had the fear of not having the money to pay the bills or keep a roof over my families heads. But thankfully I had no concerns about my health care due to the NHS being available.
I spent nearly four months in hospital including intensive care, I had two major operations, brains scans and more. I had extremely expensive medication and during this time I never once had to worry about how I might pay for my care. Eventually when the top class nursing staff, doctors and consultants felt I could return home (and when I felt upto leaving) I was able to return home where I was visited by nursing staff and had follow up consultations as well as being given equipment and free medication. At the same time as I was in hospital my wife was giving birth to our youngest, so she also had the care of our excellent local hospital again without the burden of paying for this care or increases in premiums on insurance etc.
Now, I do not pretend to know how the US system works in such cases so I will not trouble anyone with a comparison – but this is a factual explanation of the superb care I received all paid for through the NHS. It’s for the reader to decide whether their system is better or worse.
What I will say though is that throughout my working life I’ve paid taxes and other contributions to the state which contribute in some part towards the NHS and I certainly am more than happy to do this because at the end of the day whether I need medical attention or my family need it, we know we can get it without any conditions attached.
As for “Death panels” I’m afraid they don’t exist. In the UK we get treated whether we’re young or old, whether we’ve bought illness upon ourselves or not, whether we’re rich or poor. Whilst the NHS has it’s faults. You decide, does this sound better or worse than your system.
Robert
August 13th, 2009
5:45 pm
Correction to my post above… I mean’t CAN’T mix and match. We can’t currently do that.
IBD prints idiotic editorial about Stephen Hawking...gets pwnt by Stepen Hawking - Dallas Dance Music - Dallas nightlife, music, tickets, and more
August 13th, 2009
5:51 pm
[...] a professor at Cambridge for crying out loud. Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught the whopper and it was picked up by other outlets, including Talking Points Memo. Here’s the original [...]
The Econocataclysm » Blog Archive » New Daily Feature: EPIC FAIL!
August 13th, 2009
5:55 pm
[...] anything, and who is dumb enough not to know he’s British, but ok, whatever. BUT, thanks to Jay Bookman, we know what was actually said about Dr. Hawking. You should read Bookman’s post, but I [...]
Christopher Porritt
August 14th, 2009
1:34 am
As a UK citizen it seems to me that the USA is full of ignorant stupid people who have no personal experience of our National Health Service but appear to be experts on the treatment they think they would receive from the NHS. One close member of my family has received life saving treatment from the NHS – something i would never have been able to pay for if the UK health system was private. I would say to the Christian Right lunatics who are stiring this debate that Jesus and God is not on your side – the Bible teaches us to love and care for our fellow man and not be selfish. Ps – i am not a left liberal atheist but a Conservative Christian. Thank you
ynotoman
August 14th, 2009
2:15 am
Truth hurts
Day 1
Tripped and Fell
Ambulance called and prioritized to our remote rural home in evening
Ambulatory staff competently checked patent in home
Ambulatory staff competently checked patent in Ambulance on way to our preferred hospital
Hospital Staff immediately received patient and competently checked patent including a vast number of blood checks
Pain killers administered to appropriate levels
X-Rays undertaken
Diagnosis made
Patent given bed in ward
Day 2
Anaesthetist checks patent
Anesthetic given
Surgery undertaken
….morning over
So in the space of 12-18 hours the patent was collected from rural home and underwent Hip Replacement
Her age 85
Did her age affect the West Suffolk Hospitals decision making
Yes
The effect was to prioritize her attention from the medical staff
The NHS – far from perfect
did she have to undergo wealth checks? No
was payment needed?
no – it’s the National Health Service
I think that the slogan was “Cradle to Grave” when introduced
well she’s to old for the Cradle part – I got that part as her son – but she is getting the “to Grave “ bit
an 85 year old injured woman got all the required attention from the NHS – doesn’t make a good headline but it happens every day ….
Reb Kean
August 14th, 2009
3:07 am
Well I’ve been a registered nurse for 15 years and am now a medical student here in England. The NHS really is amazing. I hear people on tv about waiting queues but I don’t see them here. I’ve never had to wait more than 30 minutes to see my family doctor. When I needed a non-urgent MRI a couple of years ago I waited 3 days. And the whole rationing thing simply isn’t true either. We have laws in place (National Service Frameworks) that prevent rationing against older people – or anyone else for that matter. The poorest in the UK get free dentistry and eye-care too. As a professional it pays me very well and as a tax payer I am more than happy to contribute to the health care of my fellow British citizens.
Robert
August 14th, 2009
3:16 am
‘American in Britain’… Here’s a few inconvenient facts for you…
Average monthly rent in UK is £538 at the most. Here’s the source (£538 is the average of the three most recent months: http://www.rentright.co.uk/rrpi.aspx
Average monthly income is £1916:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=285
That’s 28% not 70%!
If you’re sending 70% of your income on rent you’re either not earning much or you’re spending a huge amount on rent, or both!
You say you have a good job… Hmmm. Either you need to shop around for a better deal on your rent. Or you’re a ‘flat out liar.’
Robert
August 14th, 2009
3:44 am
More facts…
Total cost of Medicare and Medicaid: $602bn. Total US population: 294m. Number served by Medicare and Medicaid: 94m.
Total cost of NHS: $167bn. Total UK population: 67m. Number served by NHS 67m.
Cost of Medicare/Medicaid divided by total US population: $2047
Cost of NHS divided by UK population: $2500
Place in World Health Organization ranking of healthcare provision:
US 37th
UK 18th
SOURCES:
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/key%20Medicare%20and%20Medicaid%20Statistics.pdf
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/14/the-usa-v-the-uk-115875-21595747/
Dave UK
August 14th, 2009
3:47 am
You mention “organ for the hard-right intelligentsia”.
On wonders which particular organ the “intelligensia” rely upon.
Just for the record, everybody in the UK benefits from the NHS. It was founded in 1948 on the ethos of cradle-to-grave universal health care, regardless of age, income, or status, and we each pay “National Insurance” according to our means. It replaces the situation where – for example – one of my father’s brothers died in childhood because my (extremely poor) grandparents delayed fetching the doctor because of the cost.
It is regrettable that the cost of some new drugs is so astronomical that health trusts have to consider cost-benefits when the benefit may be just a few weeks more life for a terminally ill patient, but such instances are extremely rare, and most people in the UK are realistic.
Brit
August 14th, 2009
4:15 am
Nobody seems to have pointed out to WBH that he is simply wrong about Stephen Hawking’s healthcare costs: he did NOT pay for it out of his personal wealth. He got it for free, like anyone else in the UK.
Zach’s Social Commentary: Volume II, issue 4… « Zach’s Blog
August 14th, 2009
4:22 am
[...] Right wrong vs. Left [...]
Healthy Brit
August 14th, 2009
4:42 am
The stories being peddled about the NHS are extraordinary. I have private healthcare insurance, I use it for minor issues like broken bones, the hospitals are nicer. My daughter last year developed type I diabetes. She had perfect hospital care to help her through the crisis, she has a full time team of consultant, specialist nurses, dieticians who are there, whenever she needs them. When she started back at school, 3 members of her state funded healthcare team visited the school for a couple of hours to talk to teachers, caterers, housemistess (she is at boarding school). This is the same or better quality care than my friends on your side of the pond get from their privately funded healthcare.
Stephen Hawking would be dead without the NHS, the foundations pay to make his life easier, there is no health insurance company in the world that would pay for that level of cover, not even in the USA.
The NHS has its failings, as every health system in the world has, but apart from the odd occasion when the system breaks down, it does not condemn the sick to die. People die when they could have been saved in the US system too.
For context, I am not a socialist, I have always voted to the right. I am not poor, I am in the top 1% of earners in the country. I do not beleive in pandering to the welfare state, I get furious about how my tax pounds are spent, but to use the NHS as an example of how bad things can get is crass, ignorant reactionary tripe.
Robert
August 14th, 2009
5:40 am
The population of the UK is 61m not 67m (I have to correct this since I don’t want to add to the many inaccuracies and plain lies flying around in this debate). This doesn’t make a massive difference to the figures but I’ve adjusted them below.
The total cost of healthcare in the US (including private expenditure) is a massive $7900 per person per year.
Take a look at the World Health Organization ranking and accompanying report which says “the United States spends more than twice as much on each person for health care as most other industrialized countries. But it has fallen to last place among those countries in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care, according to the report by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group in New York.”
The WHO ranking shows that the average Costa Rican gets better healthcare than the average American whose care is only slightly better than that of the average Slovenian!
Little wonder Prof. Hawking is glad he lives in the UK!
See:
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
And:
http://allcountries.org/health/usa_health_care_2008_nyt.html
Total cost of Medicare and Medicaid: $602bn. Total US population: 294m. Number served by Medicare and Medicaid: 94m.
Total cost of NHS: $167bn. Total UK population: 61m. Number served by NHS 61m.
Cost of Medicare/Medicaid divided by total US population: $2047
Total cost of US healthcare divided by total US population: $7900
Cost of NHS divided by UK population: $2740
Total annual spend on private healthcare in the UK (excluding cosmetic surgery): $569m
Total healthcare spend in UK divided by total UK population: $2750
Place in World Health Organization ranking of healthcare provision:
UK 18th
US 37th
SOURCES:
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/key%20Medicare%20and%20Medicaid%20Statistics.pdf
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/14/the-usa-v-the-uk-115875-21595747/
http://www.laingbuisson.co.uk/Portals/1/PressReleases/Laings_Review_2008.pdf
Matthew Vas
August 14th, 2009
9:32 am
Just to point out I live in Britain, and the NHS is superb, people don’t have to worry about being insured, I can just pop down to my doctor if I need care, the care provided to my father and mother with their various conditions, is exemplary. There are many positive stories.
Yes the NHS is bloated and suffers from middle management problems, but that is generally a problem with government run organisations as there is complacency that in the long run funds will come from the bottomless government. A model of private company style competitiveness might benefit the NHS, but that in itself holds risks of more medical decisions being made on financial reasons as currently happens with US HMO’s trying to worzel out of as many claims as they can.
In regards to Stephen Hawkings, these are his exact quotes as from the Guardian website
“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS, I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”
Here’s the link –
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/aug/12/birthers-stephen-hawking-paul-rowen
The attitude of everyone for them self on this message board is very scary.
English Rose
August 14th, 2009
9:51 am
Okay – enough.
I can hardly believe what I’ve been reading. I’m English (and England is part of Great Britain, as I really hope – but don’t depend on – some of you knowing) and I’ve worked in and received care from the British NHS for my entire life.
As a health care worker it’s so insulting to read some of the comments in this column. My colleagues and I work long and dedicated hours to ensure that high and totally impartial standards of care are extended to anyone and everyone, regardless of personal wealth, race, social, religious, ethnic or medical status. It’s wicked and farcical beyond belief to suggest there is any type of discrimmination towards the elderly or any other patient requiring life-long medical care and treatment in the UK.
I’m the first to agree the NHS isn’t perfect. It’s over-stretched and government funded and yes, you might have to wait a few weeks to get your non-essential hernia repaired. If however, you have a heart attack, or you should be unfortunate to walk in front of a car, you will be rushed immediately to the ER and admitted for whatever emergency treatment and care you require (surgery, ICU, any long-term hospitalisation) and all completely free of charge. My father-in-law (in his late seventies, and surely a candidate for euthanasia according to some of the nut-jobs I’ve read here) recently burst an aortic aneurysm. He received prompt and most excellent emergency care, which undoubtedly saved his life.
I’m so angry I just had to post this – how dare you even suggest a comparison to Nazi Germany?
That’s so ignorant and how very insulting!
Ann Jones (UK)
August 14th, 2009
9:56 am
America…..Wake Up!
You are being ripped-off by all your health insurance companies! Adopt the British National Health Service System!
Obama is rumoured to be considering copying the UK’s NHS, simply because he has close, elderly, English relatives living here, which he visits often. Therefore he has personal knowledge of how great our free for all, non-discriminatory health care system works.
Therefore, it should be obvious, that under no circumstances, would the NHS use “Death Panel’s”. It would be illegal here! As is Euthanasia!
Professor Stephen Hawking has been unwittingly dragged into this debate. But he quickly responded by thanking the NHS for ALL his treatment. Under the American health system, he would either be bankrupt by now, or long gone!
Thoughts… « aije
August 14th, 2009
10:20 am
[...] Jay Bookman pointed out… that same Stephen Hawking who wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was [...]
#welovetheNHS « aije
August 14th, 2009
10:30 am
[...] Jay Bookman pointed out… that same Stephen Hawking who wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was [...]
Good Christian American Patriot
August 14th, 2009
11:17 am
Healthcare for everyone is the moral and Christian thing to do. Jesus would support taking care of all the sick by whatever means necessary. Praise the Lord! God is on Obama’s side. Those who take care of the sick and needy shall have a place reserved for them in the Father’s House; those who keep unto themselves all their riches, and that do not share, have a place reserved for them in the depths of Hell.
Let's discuss Congress' Healthcare Plan - Page 13 - ForumGarden
August 14th, 2009
12:44 pm
[...] sad that people can believe such nonsense. It doesn’t seem like you are having a reasoned debate. It doesn’t take Stephen Hawking to figure this one out | Jay Bookman Also a british tory MEP has been on American TV slagging off the NHS and saying it should be [...]
UK Paul
August 14th, 2009
1:24 pm
This discussion has been most enlightening.
I think I’m beginning to understand how George W Bush managed to get elected…twice!
America, I love you. But… « Aethelread the Unread
August 14th, 2009
2:34 pm
[...] lies and distortions are being peddled also. One of the more amusing was the (hastily retracted) claim that Stephen Hawking would not receive treatment on the NHS. The paper making this claim (and the [...]
scotmedstudent
August 14th, 2009
3:03 pm
Hi there to all in the USA,
With the debate that is raging in your nation I thought that I would add my veiws, I am a medical student in Scotland (United Kingdom, I know some people tend to get confused with that), so I feel that I may as well comment as the NHS has provided my health care for all of my life and I will soon be a junior doctor within it.
Do any Americans know what the reaction of most of us here in Europe is? We are laughing at you all. We knew that America had some rather “quaint” ideas such as an unhealthy fixation on firearms and religon. (A bit like the Taliban that one, but without the training to use the weapons). But some of the present veiws on health care should be on SNL, not CNN!
I watch as people cry out “the feds will kill babies!” You really allow people like that to reproduce? “The goverment will kill all of the old folks!” Where do they get this stuff from? Is it possible for any small town hall to hold a meeting where some cattle hand hasn’t listened to his pastor (or FOX news, a great comedy show by the way, I love it) and feels that someone who never made it to the fourth grade and a minister have any idea on how to organise healthcare for hundreds of millions of people?
I ask in all honesty, are all Americans this dumb? This nuts? Do any of you have any idea what the system (NHS) that you attack is? Can any of you even find the UK on a globe? I would be shocked if some of the people making these town hall statements could even find the other “evil socialist states” of Canada and France on a globe. The NHS is not a perfect system to be sure. Like any other system it has it’s faults. But i will give you a few examples of what it can do and what it has done.
Prof Hawking is a wealthy man, but the care provided to him is the same as that to any other UK or EU resident. The fact that he is alive is not only a mark of his considerable character but to the fact that when he needed care, he got it. He never had to produce documentation to show that he was entitled, he got it! What’s more even the average guy in the street could expect the same quality and standard of care. In my veiw that is not socialism, it is just fair. In the US a normal (non wealthy) person with the same condition as Hawking would be left to die as he would not have adequate insurance. The NHS would help him, Medicare would ask him why he couldn’t fill out his forms and then screw him on a tecnicality.
David Cammeron MP, Mr Cammeron is a wealthy man, he attended the finest fee paying schools and has had a privillaged life. He is also the leader of the Conservative party. (The oposition party in the UK politics). Put in a crude comparison Conservative – Republicans, Labour – Democrats. Not an accurate comparason but hey.
Mr Cammeron had a severly disabled young son. His child had severe problems that sadly ended his short life a while ago. Mr Cammeron and his wife found themself on many nights having to rush to the local hospital for treatment of his son. This was a NHS hospital. There they would have be put through triage and cared for the same as any other patient. Mr Cammeron had the money to go to private health care such as BUPA. But he went to the NHS. Mr Cammeron has defended his actions on this by saying that the care that his son receved was indeed top quality. That he knew that his son would be cared for. The fact that his child outlived the normal life expectancy for his condition by a good margin is proof enough of this.
So would the NHS kill Prof Hawking? No it hasn’t, and it has had over 50 to try! Instead it has allowed him to continue his work and his life. Would a system like the NHS lead to children being killed? Mr Cammeron’s son defied the odds and enjoyed a longer life than would be expected thanks to the NHS.
In closing I ask you all, is it fair for your medical care to be based on the contents of your wallet? Should the UK turn any injured Americans that show up at an NHS hospital away untill they can produce a letter from their insurance company? Should the “compassionate” and “concerned” members of your nation who run their mouths off on the TV be made to do the one thing that very few of you can do and what your president has requested that you try? Hold a rational and fact based discussion and find a system that would work well for your nation. All of your nation. There is no perfect system but I feel that the UK is better than most. You have to find your own.
Please however don’t take forever on this. We in the United Kingdom have been laughing at you all for eight years over Bush. We have had a laugh over this mess that we see. We are done laughing, now we just watch with pity, contempt and sorrow that preservation of life in “the land of the free” is anything but free.
Thank you all.
scotmedstudent
Stephen Hawkling
August 14th, 2009
4:14 pm
Brad, Brad, Brad. You’re a first class douchebag.
Will of Wells
August 14th, 2009
6:12 pm
If state funded education is a right for all, why should health care not be the same? If you have the means to provide your offspring with private education, can the same not apply to health. I have a great respect for the US, but you are a young country, we have had more years to work it out, & we still have get it wrong. The NHS is not perfect, but at least money is not the means by which you are treated. Leave us europeans alone, at least we give our close neighbours space & respect their cultures, try to learn from us, we have had more years & have grown from it.
» Why IBD Is Trash Reading Disillusioned Words: atheism, art and politics
August 14th, 2009
6:38 pm
[...] As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jay Bookman quickly pointed out, Prof Hawking was born in the UK, and has lived and worked there for his entire life. [...]
Alan Cooper
August 15th, 2009
4:31 am
While much of the world can afford to laugh at you Americans, we in Canada have more at stake because our proximity and cultural interdependence with the US makes us vulnerable to the well-financed lie machine of the anti-medicare lobby. Each medicare debate in the US feels like an attempt to eliminate a deeply rooted infection, and each failure leaves us open to reinfection by a more virulent strain of propaganda from the last remaining pustule of private user-pay health care. Please, please, get it right this time!
Limey
August 15th, 2009
7:40 am
The NHS has managed to provide healthcare to the entire population of the UK for over 50 years, including in Northen Ireland during the troubles. Before Americans start to bad mouth this organisation they must remember that the NHS cared for all residents of Northen Ireland during some of the most horrific terrorist attacks possible. The USA must also remember that most of the funding for these terrorist groups can from places like New York, Boston, Phillidelphia etc. For Americans to attack the the NHS is nothing new. At least, however, this time it is with words and not with bullets and bombs via their sociopathic IRA allies.
lea
August 15th, 2009
12:41 pm
Enter your comments here
Interesting Quotes about America - Page 10 - PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photo Forum
August 15th, 2009
7:21 pm
[...] after reading about the "Hawking’s fiasco" and then your request for disinformation (see It doesn
Brian Manlove
August 15th, 2009
9:47 pm
Just think… one hundred years ago, NOBODY had health insurance. The West is going down in flames, and crap like this is the reason. Life is dangerous… and then you die.
Arianna Huffington: Sunday Roundup | Loans in
August 16th, 2009
5:23 am
[...] you how to parent your children” and encouraging abortions. And Investors Business Daily claimed that physically disabled scientist Stephen Hawking would have had his life cut short by the [...]
From Adrianna Huffington « MainLine Peace Action
August 16th, 2009
6:48 am
[...] you how to parent your children” and encouraging abortions. And Investors Business Daily claimed that physically disabled scientist Stephen Hawking would have had his life cut short by the [...]
Dave Heselton
August 19th, 2009
9:22 am
Most of us here in the UK are realising one thing in this debate, and that is that MANY Republicans and Republican supporters are lieing, they are spreading many untruths about the British NHS.
I live in a town of 15,000 people, the medical centre is 5 minutes walk from my home, if Ime ill or need to see a doctor I ring up the medical centre and unless I am seriously ill I get to see a doctor within a couple of days.
The medical centre serves the whole town, it has around a dozen or 15 doctors, nurses and consulting rooms, the town has a Community Hospital equipped with an operating theatre for minor operations, X Ray Department, Physiotherapy, minor injuries department, maternity, consulting rooms for visiting specialists and consultants, three wards which have beautiful day lounges for people to feel at home, the standard of care is 100% – patients get excellent meals and are offered tea and coffee throughout the day.
A few miles to the South is our District General Hospital, a huge place which is home to A&E ( Emergency Rooms ) about 25 wards, all the latest up to date equippment, imaging department, whole body scanners, special care baby department, specialities include Neurology, Cardiac care and surgery, Spinal injuries, artificial limb centre and Reneology.
Our District General Hospital ( like most in the UK ) also provides cancer treatment and care, kemotherapy, Radiology, general surgery and many other specialities.
The facillities are fantastic for non-patients having a huge restaurant, a chapel and a prayer room for non-Christians, there are shops that sell newspapers, sweets and drinks, for patients the day lounges are wonderful, there is a library, an outside play area for the childrens wards, a tranquil garden for terminaly ill people and their family.
As a British person I wouldent swap our NHS for the American system of healthcare, and I definately speak for the majority.
Yes it is true that there have been instances of people dying whilst waiting for treatment, but in perspective that is not common, it is unusual and definately not the norm, if your seriously ill you get treatment pretty quickly.
The other thing to note about the NHS is that waiting lists are getting shorter, the lists have been improving for almost ten years, and waiting times are getting shorter and shorter too, though our system is not perfect it has steadily improved over the last ten years and is continuing to improve.
The UK Health Service = care based on need NOT CARE BASED ON WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD
“Death Panels” And Democracy - Undercurrents
August 20th, 2009
12:15 pm
[...] a week beforehand, an editorial in Investor’s Business Daily said this: People such as scientist Stephen Hawking [...]
Obama Saves Stephen Hawking from Her Majesty’s Death Panels • CrazyDrumGuy
September 1st, 2009
10:52 am
[...] is Your Hero, Barack Obama, with noted physicist and alleged Englishman Stephen Hawking, shortly after his heroic rescue from the dastardly murderers known as [...]
STM
September 2nd, 2009
1:02 am
Ah yes, hilarious and classic stuff: A right-wing American publication that doesn’t check its facts assumes that because someone is a world-renowned physicist, he MUST be an American!
Nice to see them with egg on their faces, although they haven’t really backed down on their bizarre claims beyond how the NHS might have helped Hawking – a bit.
I guess the truth on the NHS is: if Britons didn’t like it, or weren’t happy with it, they’d have voted/agitated/made a big hoopla to have it dumped years ago.
They haven’t. While they do admit it’s not perfect, but most of them – even old people – like it.
That is also my experience here of universal health care in Australia: not perfect, but pretty damn good.
Eric Seiden
November 5th, 2009
6:48 pm
This post was great. I’m blogging about it in today’s Quagmire and am linking here. It should appear around 730pm EST. http://www.darsys.net/quagmire.html You deserve credit for posting this.
Caesar
December 14th, 2009
2:10 pm
What about the other statistics regarding percentage of available health care? I could care less where Hawking lives, but access to health care is important to me. Why are Canadians heading to the US in droves to get critical health care if its so great there? The reason appears to be access…. they have to wait too long for important medical treatment so they look elsewhere. Is that our fate as well in the name of progress????
james
January 23rd, 2010
1:55 pm
You, Jay Brookman are a total prat, and don’t understand how the UK works.
Snipen Another Liberal Malaka
January 29th, 2010
12:58 pm
I love liberals who hide behind the internet and act like scared little children…Jay Bookman…come out come out where ever you are..!!! And any other left winged coolaide drinking Malaka who’d like a ticket to paradise!!! I have plenty to pass around…compliments of your Lord and leader’s stimulus bill who has funded my work under the guise of being a photographer. And the reward is a snapshot for prosperity mailed directly to your commander in chief of our divine meeting.