A report from Hank Johnson’s townhall meeting
Last night’s townhall meeting by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., went off without a serious hitch in Clarkston, thanks in part to good planning by his staff. Event organizers made it clear that they wanted a respectful discussion — “respectful” was a term used throughout the night — and they tried hard to ensure that happened.
The fact that a majority of those attending seemed to support President Obama’s proposal probably also played a role. Opponents lacked the critical mass needed to turn the meeting in another direction. The makeup of the overflow crowd — 500 in the auditorium, another 1,000 or so in a gymnasium watching on closed circuit, and maybe another 500 who showed up but left — reflected the fact that the district is majority Democratic. In addition, reform supporters are now on notice that they were getting out-organized by opponents, and they made sure to show up in numbers.
On the rare occasions when things started to get out of hand, it was usually because Johnson — ignoring his own event rules — began to respond directly to things shouted from the audience rather than to questions by citizens who took the time to wait in line and ask questions. In fact, those who booed most loudly and responded most vocally in the audience generally didn’t take the opportunity to stand and ask questions directly to the congressman. And once the respectful tone of the meeting was set early, more than a few of the more vocal opponents simply left.
To his credit, Johnson recruited a panel of health-care experts across the range of opinion, from strong supporter to strong opponent of the reform effort. But he also wasn’t shy about expressing his own support for the plan, directly criticizing the so-called “blue dog” Democrats in the House who are trying to remove the public option from consideration. That includes two or three of Johnson’s fellow Democrats in the Georgia delegation.
A couple of moments stood out for me:
One father brought his four-month-old son to the meeting, citing him as a victim of health-care rationing occurring under the current system. The boy was born via C-section, and his doctor had recommended that the newborn remain in the hospital beyond the time frame that the family’s health coverage would permit. But the family couldn’t afford to pay for that extra time, so his parents were forced to take him home early, a clear case of insurance bureaucrats interfering with the doctor-patient relationship.
To be honest, such things would occur under health-care reform as well. But it did demonstrate that rationing and interference with doctor’s orders are an integral part of the current system, not some new danger that reform would introduce.
I was also struck by numbers cited by Michael Young, president and CEO of Grady Health Systems, the state’s largest public hospital. In the first eight months of the year, Young said, Grady had seen 67,000 more uninsured patients than it had treated in all of 2008, a fact he attributed to the soaring unemployment rate. That’s pretty scary.
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284 comments Add your comment
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:05 pm
Funny that a low socio-economic area would be in support of free(oops) health care reform.
That is from the same area that swore up and down that Obama would be buying them new tvs as well.
Not the most informed group in all of metro atlanta.
Just check some of the schools in the area, great test scores graduation rates and % of those who go onto college.
SO yes I guess the uninformed and uneducated love the dem. version of HC reform.
Thanks for pointing that out to everyone Jay.
USinUK
August 11th, 2009
12:05 pm
faster than GtG and Whiner …
HA!
USinUK
August 11th, 2009
12:16 pm
“In the first eight months of the year, Young said, Grady had seen 67,000 more uninsured patients than it had treated in all of 2008, a fact he attributed to the soaring unemployment rate. That’s pretty scary”
well, according to Sistah Souljah, it’s because they’re all buying iPhones and paying for expensive gym memberships. if they’re uninsured, it’s because they WANT to be. ask her, she’ll tell you.
(it has nothing to do with the fact that insurance costs $400-500 + a deductible equal to 4 months of minimum wage pay)
Gandalf, the Wise
August 11th, 2009
12:25 pm
When did Young become a statistician?
George American
August 11th, 2009
12:30 pm
HANK JOHNSON? THE BASEBALL PLAYER OR THE BOXER?
getalife
August 11th, 2009
12:32 pm
Then they left their mark:
http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/swastika-113070.html
stands for decibels
August 11th, 2009
12:33 pm
As mentioned previously, I was there too.
(Jay, by any chance were you hanging out at the picnic table after the meeting let out with some other laptop-engaged journalistic types? it was dark, else I might’ve noticed your likeness and said hi.)
I heard very little that I didn’t already know pretty well, but still there were good cases to be made. Yes, some folks who were invited to sit on the panel were either anti-HR3200 or appeared to lean that way.
Hank himself? I’ve only heard him live/in person once, and it was at a forum where his time was very limited, so I wasn’t prepared for his, shall we say, d e l i b e r a t e manner of addressing issues. I guess I could get to like it, but it’s a little jarring when you’re accustomed to much more glib, catch-phrases-at-the-ready politicians.
Brad Steel
August 11th, 2009
12:33 pm
thomas,
Poor people are less likely to have children that go to college. Yeah, imagine that.
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:34 pm
USinUK,
400-500 is 4 months of min. wage pay? Really so with min. wage being over $6 an hour you think that they can only work about 20 hours a week? Not right!
2nd, just do the math.
Cell phone about $75
Cable TV about $100
Internet about $35
Thats over $200 by me just spending 10 seconds to come up with the figures. So what you are saying is that the cll phone and all that is just as important or more important than health care?
Seems that some, not all, of those you claim are without insurance by force not choice, could possibly insure themselves with a slight budgeting change. But why change your budget if some rich people will be forced into paying for it for you huh…….
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
August 11th, 2009
12:34 pm
Well, I wouldn’t go to no town hall meeting where there’s no fights. It would be like being at a NASCAR race and not having wrecks.
I’ll just stay away from the meetings and keep yelling about death panels and rationed care and paying for abortions and letting the illegals have health insurance. We got to beat this health care bill. If it goes thru it will be the first step toward getting rid of the health insurance cos. and pretty soon you can kiss Trickle Down goodbye.
You can’t never go wrong by taking care of No. 1 first. It’s the Conservative way. I got my health insurance and if you don’t have yours it’s your own fault and you can’t expect me to pay for it.
So like somebody already said, about 15 million of the people that don’t have insurance are illegals and don’t deserve none. And another 20 million are young and healthy people that don’t need it. Another 10 million don’t have it and don’t deserve it because they wouldn’t work if it paid $100,000 a hour and was just taking tickets on the gold streets of Heaven. That leaves about a dozen people that don’t have it and need it and deserve it. It would be alot cheaper just to buy a policy for them. I figure what Obama spent on taking his ugly wife to NY City to see a play would about cover it.
That’s my opinion and it’s very true. Have a good p.m. everybody.
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:36 pm
Brad, get a b average in high school and the first 30 hours of college work are paid for. Not to mention pell grant is over 5000 now. So don’t play the poor card, if they want to go and make it a priority they could go. It is an issue of NOT WANTING to go. You are talking about a field that I do now so I asure you they could go if they made it a priority.
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
12:37 pm
That is from the same area that swore up and down that Obama would be buying them new tvs as well
Do you have a link to prove that claim?
Davo
August 11th, 2009
12:39 pm
“…went off without a serious hitch in Clarkston, thanks in part to good planning by his staff.”
So the buses arrived on time?
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:41 pm
No but I can give you the names of 2 people who lived next to the stadium there behind the school and they told me that directly during the election.
Do you ahve a link to disprove it? NO didn’t think you did.
Nice defense though to wonder of the source. I will be expecting all future comments by you to be included with a link of where you formed that opinion and also a link to show were the opinion of your link formed their opinion.
Normal
August 11th, 2009
12:44 pm
KAMCHAK…Told Josef you asked about him. He said to tell you howdy!
soooo…HOWDY! from JN.
I Report/ I Am The Mob :-) You Whine :-(
August 11th, 2009
12:45 pm
Oh no, the democrats would never stage an event packed full of SEIU stooges.
Of course not.
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
12:46 pm
Do you ahve(sic) a link to disprove it?
No but I have lived 5 miles ESE of Clarkston for the past 30 years and none of my neighbors would be gullible enough to believe that.
Gandalf, the Wise
August 11th, 2009
12:46 pm
Brad? Do you and your husband want children?
godless heathen
August 11th, 2009
12:47 pm
Those that oppose the proposed “health care reform” are aware of the following facts:
It is impossible to provide coverage to more people for less money.
It is impossible for the government to run this thing efficiently. Look at the scam that Medicare is.
The working people (and by working people, I mean people that work be they rich, poor, or middle class) will be picking up the tab for those that do not.
The private insurance industry will eventually be destroyed because they can’t compete with an entity that can print money to cover losses. Businesses will quit providing health insurance to employees and cast all onto the government program.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
12:47 pm
For all the “I got mine” crowd.
You’re missing something verrrry important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF3IMs7Hciw
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
12:47 pm
Normal
Thanks!
Brad Steel
August 11th, 2009
12:48 pm
thomas,
you seem to “now” quite a lot, especially about poor people. Everyone knows that they are lazy (that’s why they are poor), hate education, love telecom, and don’t want to go college ever though they can easily send their kids there on minimum wage. That’s why Emory and Duke don’t have any poor people.
And don’t forget, one of the biggest problems with poor people is that they ain’t got no money. Imagine that.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
12:50 pm
Not to worry, Jay. The Republican plan of just saying no to the ever-growing need for real reform will fix everything. I hear that the Republicans even have back-up plans in the works. For example, they’re willing to do nothing and if that does not work, they’re willing to just say no to other’s plans and if that does not work, they’re willing to do nothing… .They actually get paid to do that, nothing except to say no, that is. And, we actually provide them with the best restriction-free health care plan that tax dollars can buy. Isn’t that just too kind of us.
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:50 pm
Kamchak, guess we will just have to take each others word for it then.
Maybe not your neighbors but I assure you they are your community neighbors. Sorry not your fault that stupid people live near you, but they do. I’ve personally been in every high school in dekalb county, and it is not a pretty sight with the exception of 1 or 2 schools. Not the brightest bulbs in the global lampshop.
stands for decibels
August 11th, 2009
12:51 pm
No but I can give you the names of two green dragons who lived in my neighbor’s garage and they told me that directly during the election.
Do you have a link to disprove it? NO didn’t think you did.
stands for decibels
August 11th, 2009
12:52 pm
The private insurance industry will eventually be destroyed
boo freakin’ hoo.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
12:54 pm
JAY BOOKMAN
Can you do something about the name jacking?
Donovan
August 11th, 2009
12:56 pm
Liberals like Bookman just kill me. First they label socialized medicine as “universal health care”. Now, when there is a national backlash against their debt scheme, they repackage the product as “reform”. You know the drill…liberals calling taxation as “investing” in the future and so on. These carnival snake oil salesmen are eternal illusionists that make David Copperfield look like a child apprentice. When Democrats hold town hall meetings it is a soft ball staged event. Only issues that are greased and uncontested are allowed on the agenda. Contentious items are waived. Outbursts from the audience are either dismissed as organized disruptions or out of order. Showcase meetings are nothing but fluff. The American people are fed up. If our health care is so bad, why are we not going to Canada and the UK for treatment? If our health care is so bad, why isn’t Ted Kennedy going elsewhere for cancer treatment. Ask any Democrat in Congress if they plan on signing up for the “reform package” they are trying to sell us.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
12:57 pm
That 12:51 is not I, the true Taxpayer. I’ve been name-jacked by a jerk-off.
thomas
August 11th, 2009
12:57 pm
Brad it appears you have much more of a problem than me.
Instead of ranting and raving try debating facts with me.
Answer these questions they are simple yes no answers required.
Can all of the “poor” people you are referring to qualify for PELL Grant?
Can any student regardless of income get the 1st 30 hrs of tuition, and books paid for through the HOPE by maintaining a B average?
Is there a new clause that would prevent “poor” people from taking out student loans to pay for college?
You made this about poor people, I made it about dumb people. But apparently you equated dumb as poor, that is your flaw.
By the way Duke and Emory are private colleges and they are not the only form of a higher education. Mnay state sponsored schools you will see have a much lower cost.
I went to a state school, even took out loans for my masters. Did I mention that NEVER, EVER would anyone have considered my parents RICH. I busted my hump to get my undergrad paid for. All you are doing is making excuses. I have recently went through the college system as a student, and now work in it. If a kid wants to go to school they can. They may have to sacrafice but they can go.
Jay
August 11th, 2009
12:59 pm
Gandalph, you’re about thisfar from being gone.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
12:59 pm
Man brings gun to Obama’s NH townhall !
here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/11/765073/-Man-brings-gun-to-Obamas-NH-townhall-!
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
1:00 pm
Most people who venture down to Grady are either burn victims as grady has the best burn unit or so Im told. I would venture to guess the remainder or most of are the bums or the baby mama’s with 5 kids who never intend on doing anything productive other than kicking out more puppies and of course the ever popular shooting victims.
As far as…”In the first eight months of the year, Young said, Grady had seen 67,000 more uninsured patients than it had treated in all of 2008, a fact he attributed to the soaring unemployment rate. That’s pretty scary””
And just how does young know. Is dat wut day put on day bill? Oh I see.
*TEWEE* Dont believe a word of it. All you bleeding hearts, doo gooders, double talkers and johnny milktoasts need to obtain a couple of additional jobs so you can assist in paying the bills of the BUMS, baby-mamas, illegals, people who CHOOSE not to have HCare etc.
GET TO WORK LIBERALS!
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
1:00 pm
Thanks J
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:01 pm
Seriously, some of you conservatards make the case for mass sterilization.
We don’t want to euthanise you as long as you work and pay taxes.
stands for decibels
August 11th, 2009
1:01 pm
Liberals like Bookman just kill me.
if only.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:02 pm
Liberals like Bookman just kill me.
Actually, that would be the conservative Republican from Georgia, Isakson, that wants to euthanize you.
righty
August 11th, 2009
1:02 pm
Hank Johnson held a town hall meeting in a district that elected Cynthia McKinney. That tells me all I need to know about his constituents and the what they think of government-run (that’s what it is and don’t try to say otherwise even though the statists deny it left and right) healthcare. Of course the fact that Jay talks about the event “going off without a serious hitch” and that it was a “respectful discussion” just helps hammer it home.
I Report/ I Am The Mob :-) You Whine :-(
August 11th, 2009
1:02 pm
Hot damn, democrats, keep up the good work!
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 30% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -7 (see trends). ~~~~~~~~~Forty-five percent (45%)~~~~~~~~ give the President good or excellent marks for leadership.
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
1:03 pm
Sorry not your fault that stupid people live near you
thomas—I have done finish carpentry on new homes in all or the counties in the Metro Atlanta area and most of the outlying ones as well, and had the occasion to converse with the prospective homeowners, so believe me when I say there is a good chance stupid people are living near you also.
AmVet
August 11th, 2009
1:03 pm
There once were some loons called the birthers
That teamed up with the clownish astro-turfers
They drank koolaid with tea baggers
And solicited sk@nks and old haggers
And reformed as the new age flat-earthers.
md
August 11th, 2009
1:05 pm
All (rich, poor, middle) choose everything we do, but many here also seem to enjoy choosing excuses.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:07 pm
Seriously, some of you conservatards make the case for mass sterilization.
Of course, abstinence works just as well if they do not have health insurance that covers the procedure or condoms or the pill or any number of other options.
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
1:07 pm
The Dems are beginning to feel the pinch/ache of cardiac arrest.
Brad Steel
August 11th, 2009
1:10 pm
thomas,
your parents probably went to those same state schools many years ago. Back when blacks were banned. Your stats likely support the racists legacy. And those legacy programs sure are working out well. Imagine that?
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:11 pm
Abstinence, that’s a mouthful!
They used to call Crazy Joe now they call me the batman!
August 11th, 2009
1:12 pm
Now they’re saying Obama doesn’t have anything to do with economy? WTF!!!
When it looks good he doesn’t have anything to do with it; when it looks bad it’s all his fault!!! I wish those conservatives would make up their small minds!!
http://www.dailykostv.com/w/002035/
Bosch
August 11th, 2009
1:16 pm
“No but I can give you the names of two green dragons who lived in my neighbor’s garage and they told me that directly during the election.
Do you have a link to disprove it? NO didn’t think you did.”
And I have unicorns grazing in my back yard who are equally upset that Obama has yet to buy them their plasma screen for the barn. I keep tellin’ ‘em all in good time.
[Seriously DB, had to get the screen/keyboard cleaner for that one]
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:19 pm
Swastika spray-painted outside Congressman’s office
Someone get these angry white people some meds….or at least some tax cuts. They are losing their collective sheeeot.
Please get em in line before they blow something up.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:20 pm
Abstinence, that’s a mouthful!
Sarah tried to teach her daughter that very concept, by example I assume. Wow! I sure hope Sarah does not get a copy of this and come after me. That would just be so uncivilized. Besides, I’ll NEVER abort my words. NEVER!
jconservative
August 11th, 2009
1:20 pm
godless heathen said:
The working people (and by working people, I mean people that work be they rich, poor, or middle class) will be picking up the tab for those that do not.
Businesses will quit providing health insurance to employees…
These two statements are completely true. They are true TODAY even if no health care bill passes Congress.
The Universal Health Care system we have today is represented by those 67,000 people Grady has treated this year. Godless Heathen will gladly pay for their treatment though the increased cost of his medical insurance & his share, through taxes, of the funds cities, counties & states pay to reimburse the hospitals for their “charity” work. (See Southern Regional.
And ” Businesses will quit providing health insurance to employees…”
unless the cost of health care in this country is reduced. One option a lot of corporations are looking at is to stop employee health care, give each employee a raise equal to 40% of what the company now spends on each employee’s medical insurance, and let the employee buy his on policy. This is not imminent but few years down the road if the cost of medical care is not substantially reduced. Medical insurance for employees is taking a larger percentage of income every year.
Fact: we have a universal health care system today. Drive around, you do not see people laying in the gutters dying from some disease. The question on the table is: Is this the system we want? If you think so – great. You be happy & continue to try to defeat any change in that system.
Personally I do not like it because we are spending twice what we need to spend. But then, I am a tight wad & that is about what you can expect out of me.
Normal
August 11th, 2009
1:22 pm
AM VET: Not bad, not bad at all…
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
1:22 pm
Keith Olbermann’s Palin “Death Panel” Special Comment
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/11/765058/-Keith-Olbermanns-Palin-Death-Panel-Special-Comment
BRAVO!
Bosch
August 11th, 2009
1:24 pm
Which one of you wingnuts has black spray pain on your fingers? Hmmmm?
stands for decibels
August 11th, 2009
1:25 pm
Someone get these angry white people some meds….or at least some tax cuts.
Thing it, they GOT their damn tax cuts, and they still squeal like stuck pigs.
Jay’s too nice and delicate to come out and say it, but the majority of the catcalling and forced, mocking laughter at last night’s meeting?
Well, it wasn’t on account of the black folks in attendance, that’s all I’ll say.
Citizen of the World
August 11th, 2009
1:25 pm
I was there and was pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved at the overall civil tone of the event.
As a citizen of District 4, I was there to support health care reform, and I am not poor or unable or unwilling to purchase health insurance. Unfortunately, the only way my family can get it is through an employer, as the insurance companies won’t write and individual policy for my husband due to a pre-existing condition.
Probably if they would cover us, the cost would be a huge burden on our budget. I have a self-employed friend who had an individual health savings account (one of the solutions most supported by the opposition), and they told her recently that her premiums would be going up $200 a month. This is on top of what she already pays, plus what she must put in her HSA, plus a very high deductible.
So, she had to go get a job (which she was lucky to get in this downturn) so she could get employer-subsidized plan.
People, we need reform. The government’s not perfect, but it’s there to do what the private sector cannot, and the private sector cannot provide us with health insurance that’s accessible and affordable.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:26 pm
Drive around, you do not see people laying in the gutters dying from some disease.
The Soylent Green garbage trucks come around at night and pick them up while everyone else is asleep. Just ask Charlton Heston. He knows because he followed them and found out. Oh, wait. He’s dead. I wonder what happened to his body. Anyway, I’m getting cremated. So, the best those Republicans like Isakson can do with my remains is dump me in a pepper shaker and let me spice up their lives.
NRB
August 11th, 2009
1:27 pm
Regarding the swastika painted on Johnson’s office: I’ll bet a thousand dollars it’s yet another case of a fake “hate crime”.
In other words, a health reform supporter painted the swastika in an attempt to smear the people who are against Obama’s plan. Paint them as “racists”. You know, because if you’re against high taxes and government control…you’re clearly a racist.
Anyone remember last year, before the election, the lady that had swastikas painted on her home because she had Obama signs on her front lawn? Of course, it turned out she did it herself…
The only people who seem to paint these swastikas are foaming at the mouth liberals, who have to create things like this, because nobody actually does things like that anyways.
So yes, more phony racism. A staged “hate crime”. Nothing more. Nice try at the propoganda though.
And Jay, as others have pointed out…what a shock…that particular district supporting a government handout and socialist policy…wow.
Now, let’s hold a townhall meeting in Alpharetta, where I live, and see how many supporters show up to THAT one…
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
1:28 pm
for removing fake comments…..
Curious Observer
August 11th, 2009
1:28 pm
I have recently went through the college system as a student, and now work in it.
And your college English professors obviously never made you learn anything about participial forms in verbs. You must have “went” to a Georgia public college.
getalife
August 11th, 2009
1:28 pm
pf is hitting the ice again.
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
1:30 pm
Jay Bookman
I like to think of myself as a live and let live kinda guy, but I agree with what DB has requested for several weeks now—time to banish that thing.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
1:30 pm
fake hate crimes…..like scraping a letter into your cheek…..
N.J.
August 11th, 2009
1:30 pm
The various Congressmen have decided to analyze the sign in sheets for the town halls and have discovered that the vast majority of those who are disrupting the meetings against the reform come from outside of the Congressman’s district and the ones from INSIDE the district are largely PRO health care reform. The town hall meetings may soon be restricted to only allow those who can prove that they live within the district to attend
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:31 pm
OBAMA save ME! PLEASE I am too stupid to think, and I need help!
Gandalf is that you. It “sounds” like you.
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:33 pm
Wow, there were some well behaved white people at a town hall meeting?
That is sooooo sad. I mean, after all, they have been so repressed for so many centuries. They’ve only been allowed to vote for how long?
I was beginning to think you couldn’t let them out past the barn for fear they might cause a scene or a riot or get all confused that their rights had been violated.
Someone must have an answer for these repressed white folk. Someone must help get “the man” off their backs.”
N.J.
August 11th, 2009
1:33 pm
And also now some of the “anti” disrupters are being escorted out by the police at the request of the other citizens who want to ask questions rather than be shouted down. Since many of the organizations that are organizing pro’s to have received death threats, and the anti’s have been calling for gun violence on the internet, they may start requiring much more proof of residence to get int.
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:34 pm
Regarding the swastika painted on Johnson’s office: I’ll bet a thousand dollars it’s yet another case of a fake “hate crime”.
You could even win that bet if you had proof and you found someone to take you up on it. Now, get out there and get that proof.
Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander
August 11th, 2009
1:34 pm
The American Medical Association has weighed in on the new Obama health care proposals.
The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling
about it, but the Neurologists thought the
Administration had a lot of nerve.
The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.
Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. Pathologists yelled,”Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, Grow up!”
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash their
hands of the whole thing. The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on
the matter….”
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea. The Anesthesiologists thought the whole
idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a..h…s in Washington.
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:35 pm
I was beginning to think you couldn’t let them out past the barn
ooops, I meant trailer park, not barn!
Taxpayer
August 11th, 2009
1:37 pm
Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander at 1:34. I think that’s cute.
NRB
August 11th, 2009
1:38 pm
“you could even win that bet if you had proof and you found someone to take you up on it. Now, get out there and get that proof.”
Thats what law enforcement is working on.
If it really was some dumb redneck, I hope he gets busted. Don’t get me wrong.
But it’s a 99% chance it’s a fake hate crime.
As usual.
md
August 11th, 2009
1:39 pm
“People, we need reform. The government’s not perfect, but it’s there to do what the private sector cannot, and the private sector cannot provide us with health insurance that’s accessible and affordable.”
Is it best for a parent to teach a child the proper way to do something, or is it best for the parent to push the child out of the way and do it for them?
There are other solutions vs the “gov’t” taking over. One could argue the “gov’t”, in all their infinite wisdom, put us in the position we are currently in with todays hc and economy. “Gov’t” may be part of the solution, but it is not “the” solution.
Citizen of the World
August 11th, 2009
1:40 pm
I noticed last night that a lot of the people at the Town Hall who opposed Health Care Reform were pretty overweight. Not that I have any issue with that, but let me tell you, the insurance companies do. If you lose your job and you need to buy an individual policy, you better lose some weight, too, or they’ll find some reason to turn you away no matter how much you’re willing to pay.
(Of course, we’re just a fat country, so many people in support of health care reform were overweight, also, the difference being, they weren’t there in opposition to their own self interest.)
NRB
August 11th, 2009
1:42 pm
By the way, don’t let Obama lie to you and say that this bill won’t cover illegal aliens.
He was in Mexico the other day, telling them how he’s going to grant amnesty to your illegal population.
Now connect the dots here, folks.
If he grants amnesty to illegals, they become citizens, and ta-da…become eligible for public health insurance.
Forest for the trees, guys. Forest for the trees.
godless heathen
August 11th, 2009
1:42 pm
But if the intent was to “reform” the system instead of getting everyone on the government teat, then the plan(s) would be quite different. Government interference is one of the things driving insurance costs through the roof.
I don’t how you can mandate that private insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions. Insurance is gambling. The company bets that you are not going to get sick and they will make money on you. Who’s going to stay in business when they are going to lose. Be like State Farm writing me an auto policy after the car is wrecked. It will be so expensive that I may as well pay for fixing the car myself.
Shawny
August 11th, 2009
1:42 pm
Johnson’s meeting did not get out of hand as he immediately told the crowd that he supported universal healthcare with a govt option. What is the point of the meeting if you aren’t really looking for feedback and are just being a commercial for the administration? He might as well print flyers and pass them out with the general talking points vs. faking a real meeting.
@@
August 11th, 2009
1:43 pm
No doubt, there ARE more people unemployed but given Grady’s history of malfeasance, I’d be hard pressed to believe they actually care.
As I recall it was Senator Charles Walker (D) whom your paper cited as the most powerful African-American in Georgia who was convicted on fraud charges. For what the dems might ask? Atlanta’s own PAY-TO-PLAY scandalous politics. Details?
Senator Walker (D) convicted of fraud charges for misusing his public office for private gain? Something about stalling passage of legislation affecting Grady’s funding until the hospital execs agreed to use his temporary employment agency to staff the hospital?
As is often the case, he claims racial discrimination.
I would argue it’s the democratic way just as it’s The Chicago Way.
I had a dear friend who was a patient at Grady (head trauma). What his insurance didn’t pay, Bernie (the eeeeevil capitalist) Marcus did.
God Bless you Bernie.
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
1:43 pm
“Swastika spray-painted outside Congressman’s office
Someone get these angry white people some meds….or at least some tax cuts. They are losing their collective sheeeot.
Please get em in line before they blow something up.”
And how do you know this evil crime was perpetrated by white people. My guess is yet another fake hate crime. Then again a hate crime is such silly idea and funny how when the “hate crimes” suddenly involved blacks that one had Jesse and Al all screaming racism…yet again.
LOL…such stupidity this hate crimes debacle.
NRB
August 11th, 2009
1:47 pm
Of course it was fake.
It’s propaganda.
The liberals have to do these things themselves, because it’s not something that anyone on the right actually does. So they have to manufacture it.
And they’re only injecting race into it, because as usual, they can’t win any argument if it has to do with topic at hand…because they’re wrong. And stupid. And need to shut up.
You can’t have your communist healthcare.
Not because we’re racist.
But because we’re America.
Not France.
N.J.
August 11th, 2009
1:48 pm
The “death squad rumors” are being spread by the ones who are currently running the private sector death squads. They do not want the elderly to understand what they are signing when they are given a living will. Go to any hospital for treatment. You will find a living will as the standard part of the paperwork packet handed to you when you register to enter that hospital, The insurance companies want to retain their power to get the elderly to sign their own death order without knowing they have signed it.
Let look at a TYPICAL HOSPITAL WEBSITE today:
“If you already have a North Carolina Advance Directive, we must have a copy in order to follow your wishes. If you cannot give us a copy, or if you do not have a North Carolina Advance Directive, we will be happy to assist you in completing the appropriate paperwork while you are here.”
“They will happy to assist you in completing the appropriate paperwork while you are here”
That is to say, those with some economic interest in the situation would be VERY happy to be the people who would be the ones to make the decision whether you live or die. Not you, not your family, not your proxy, not your legal representative. Them.
Another hospital phrases it a bit differently:
Living Wills
Parkview offers an informational brochure on advanced directives such as living wills. Advanced directives are documents written prior to an illness that state a patient’s choices about healthcare or name someone to make those decisions if the patient is unable. A living will stipulates the kind of life-prolonging medical care a person would want if terminally ill and unable to make medical decisions.
It is important to talk with family, friends and your physician regarding your wishes for healthcare. “People are encouraged to have advanced directives before they are admitted to the hospital.” For more information on advanced directives or to obtain a living will form, contact Parkview’s chaplaincy department at (260) 373-4460 or ask the nurse to page the chaplain at pager #950.
Another hospital:
What To Bring
For your convenience, please bring a minimum of personal belongings and leave any items/luggage you do bring in the trunk of your car until a permanent room is assigned. This will relieve your family of caring for your belongings while you are in surgery. You should also bring:
All medications (including insulin) and a list of the medications and dosages you are currently taking.
Your contact lens case and solution and/or eyeglasses case.
“A copy of your living will and/or durable power of attorney (if you’ve not already provided it).”
Any paperwork or x-rays you’ve been asked to bring.
If your surgery requires crutches or braces that you currently have, please feel free to bring them.
As it stands, Republicans are very happy with the status quo.As are the hospitals and insurance industry They tell the patients to BRING A LIVING with them. They advise that the patient have one before being admitted. But they do not want them counselled on what ALL of the legal consequences are if they sign them. If they sign the will but do not appoint a medical proxy, who decides when to pull the plug and for what reasons. Economic or otherwise.
Basically the BEST legal advice is mandated in HR3000. Never sign a legal document or contract (which is what a living will is) without knowing what it is you are signing.
Yankee
August 11th, 2009
1:50 pm
Note to Blue Cross/ Blue Shield management : Please remind you “HEALTHSCARE” employees to remove their company uniform before attending the townhall meetings and acting like an angry mob.
Citizen of the World
August 11th, 2009
1:50 pm
md @ 1:39, your parental analogy “Is it best for a parent to teach a child the proper way to do something, or is it best for the parent to push the child out of the way and do it for them?” is not analogous here. A better analogy might be “If the parent can’t teach the child because they have to work all day or don’t have the skills, is it best for the government to build and maintain schools and do it for them?”
The answer to that is, yes, and we as a society came to that conclusion a long time ago, and it became part of our social contract that we would pay taxes and the government would provide public schools and schooling. Which, by the way, my children attended, along with public colleges, and they are now successful, productive members of society.
Did I abdicate my role as a parent and neglect to model a love of learning and respect for education. No. Nor do I think that we should neglect responsibility for our own health. We should exercise, eat right, avoid excessive vice, etc., as doctors advise. But when these precautions aren’t enough, and disease strikes, it would be nice if we had a social contract that ensured we didn’t lose our homes just to try to seek healing.
The government does not want to take over health care. They still want us to have a private delivery system. What they are trying to do is ensure that everyone has health care coverage, if not through their employer then through an individual private or public plan. We will all share the costs and benefits in the end.
N.J.
August 11th, 2009
1:50 pm
The entire scare is being manufactured by the health insurance industry and their Republican shills to make certain that hospitals can continue to tell patients that they advise them to have a living will before they are admitted. As usual Republicans are placing dollars before lives, and want to make certain that the elderly are not aware of what it is they are signing or being asked to bring along with them.
thomas
August 11th, 2009
1:51 pm
Curious, there has not yet been a standarized form to use when comparing or contrasting grammer used on a blog.
So no my english teachers never once went over the proper way to BLOG. Even better he never told us that grammer was important in an informal writing as long as the party of which you were writing understood the point you were attempting to make. From ya’lls comments i see you all did.
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
1:52 pm
“Basically the BEST legal advice is mandated in HR3000. Never sign a legal document or contract (which is what a living will is) without knowing what it is you are signing.”
Wouldnt that, in general, apply to any contract ie auto loan, rental, home loan etc. People must really be dumb now days…oh yea…”I didnt know my ARM was adjustable” and all the other non-sense.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
1:52 pm
Fake Hate crimes
Yep we all remember this
http://uvtblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/bcarvedintoface.jpg
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:54 pm
Is it best for a parent to teach a child the proper way to do something, or is it best for the parent to push the child out of the way and do it for them?
So, if they need that kidney transplant, the children had best do it themselves.
Yankee
August 11th, 2009
1:55 pm
Why are all these TEA-BAGGERS, BIRTHERS AND HEALTH-SCARE morons white people with a Southern accents? I say you guys just go pull out and dust off the old KKK outfit and keep it real…………..real RACIST!!
N.J.
August 11th, 2009
1:55 pm
Yup there are very few countries that actually have taken over the health care industry when they have created a national health insurance. Two out of the 27 members of the European Union have a socialized medical insurance. The government has socialized the INSURANCE industry and is running it as a NOT FOR PROFIT company. Best way to do it. That woulds of course be another answer to the situation.
Make FOR PROFIT health insurance companies illegal and only allow NOT FOR PROFIT ones to go into business. All that means is that the company has to spend all money above and beyond the cost of providing health care on wages and benefits. No profits, no stock, no stock options for executives. Just health care, employee salaries and benefits.
Kamchak
August 11th, 2009
1:56 pm
Even better he never told us that grammer(sic) was important…
Evidently spelling wasn’t high on his list either.
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
1:57 pm
Good point Yankee!!!
If we dont agree with you then we are racist? You just confirm what we already knew…Tanks!
Finn McCool
August 11th, 2009
1:58 pm
I want some of what NRB is smoking.
Do you dream this stuff up yourself, NRB, or do you have a team of writers?
Doggone/GA
August 11th, 2009
1:58 pm
“I don’t how you can mandate that private insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions. Insurance is gambling. The company bets that you are not going to get sick and they will make money on you. Who’s going to stay in business when they are going to lose”
And yet…they do it all the time. They’re called “group policies” and that’s why you have to get a job to get insurance when you have a pre-existing condition. So here’s the REAL question: WHY can’t they start issuing “group policies” that cover EVERYONE?
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
2:00 pm
Most of you foolish fools on here dont seem to know squat about much and thats a given. I would encourage you to invest in the stock market and quit relying on the govt for everything.
Now is the time to be nibbling a little here and there.
Rule #1 Buy low and sell high.
More advice however is gonna cost ya.
BWWWWAAAAAA HHHHAAAAAHHHHHHHAAAAA HAAAAAA
NRB
August 11th, 2009
2:03 pm
“Do you dream this stuff up yourself, NRB, or do you have a team of writers?”
No, I go by history, Like Duke Lacrosse, Tawana Brawley, the noose at Columbia University, and on and on and on…
Now, you can point out the idiot that carved a “B” into her cheek all you want. For that one single phoney on our side of the aisle, there are hundreds, if not thousands of fake hate crimes that liberals have used for their own gain. It’s also a fairly pathetic “two wrongs make a right” type of argument.
I’m not saying that David Scott had anything to do with it, though I wouldn’t totally rule him out as a suspect.
But I’ll eat my hat if it was a real “hate crime”.
It was fake. Just like everything else about dumb liberals. Fake.
sam
August 11th, 2009
2:05 pm
As a nation we spend twice as much on health care than any other nation in the world yet according to the CIA Word Fact Book some forty countries (including Cuba and Taiwan) have a lower infant mortality rate and 48 countries have a higher life expectancy than us.
Twenty percent of Americans have no heath insurance, medical bills are the leading cause of bankrupcy, etc…
meanwhile in 2003, HMOs nearly doubled their profits from just a year before, adding $10 billion to their bottom line. That year, top executives at the 11 largest health insurers made a combined $85 million in one year. In the first three quarters of 2004, HMO profits increased by another 33 percent. The sheer numbers behind these profits are staggering: In 2004 alone, the four biggest health insurance companies reported $100 billion in revenues. That’s $273 million a day, every day, 365 days of the year.
Wake up poeple look at the facts check out the health care industry in other countries… all that noise and name calling about ’socialized medicine’, ‘government take over’ and is just fear mongering and probaganda by an industry trying to hang on to their big profits.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 11th, 2009
2:05 pm
Fake Hate Crimes
We all remember this one
http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Erase_Legacy_Main_Page
Turd Ferguson
August 11th, 2009
2:07 pm
Agreed…Scott is a hatemonger kinda like Cynthia McKinney and I wouldnt put anything past those two.
Normal
August 11th, 2009
2:07 pm
NRB, Two wrongs don’t make a right, true…but three lefts do. he, he.