Here comes more government health care
Government health officials are mobilizing to launch a massive swine flu vaccination campaign this fall that is unprecedented in its scope — and in the potential for complications.
The campaign aims to vaccinate at least half the country’s population within months. Although more people have been inoculated against diseases such as smallpox and polio over a period of years, the United States has never tried to immunize so many so quickly.
But even as scientists rush to test the vaccine to ensure it is safe and effective, the campaign is lagging. Officials say only about a third as much vaccine as they had been expecting by mid-October is likely to arrive by then, when a new wave of infections could be peaking….
“This is potentially the largest mass-vaccination program in human history,” said Howard Markel, a professor of medical history at the University of Michigan who is advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as it spearheads the effort.
So, what’s the line on this one?
“The Constitution doesn’t say anything about government providing inoculations.”
“We should let the free market handle this.”
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263 comments Add your comment
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
6:57 am
Mornin’, Jay.
Hard to say what the line on this one will be, since that whole “promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” business gets real specific to conservatives when it suits the, and not so much when it doesn’t.
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
6:58 am
Or even when it suits THEM.
I’ll come in again…
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
7:04 am
I’ve heard some righties in here claim that the h1n1 virus is a gubmint plot to scare red-blooded hetero white males, or suchlike, so that’ll be in the mix fer sure.
Irregular Paul
August 23rd, 2009
7:06 am
Just wait for the uproar when they announce the priority groups for vaccination – and the small-minded realise that those priority groups will be largely made up of those the well-insured regard as unworthy
Eric
August 23rd, 2009
7:06 am
My understanding is that the government has been overreacting to swine flu, right?
Cherokee
August 23rd, 2009
7:08 am
Who knows, Eric – I’ve heard it’s been pretty bad in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s winter now.
Irregular Paul
August 23rd, 2009
7:11 am
Not that I care – I (and therefore also my entire family) am in the NHS’ top priority group and already had my first free swine flu jab last week. I’m all-right Jack, so you lot can fight it out for yourselves
ByteMe
August 23rd, 2009
7:21 am
Eric, you’re understanding is wrong. The transmissability of this is much higher than normal flu. They’re expecting 40% of the population to get it this year. Mortality is about the same as a typical flu (which kills about 300,000 a year worldwide if I remember right). The worry is that this may morph (as most flu viruses do on a regular basis) into something with a higher mortality rate and the same level of transmissability… that’s where the health officials around the world are getting scared and insisting on people getting the vaccine this year.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
7:39 am
There’s a long line you won’t see me standing in.
Not only do we not know what concoction they have brewed up, you have to place your trust in some FAA or postal worker to get the right dosage or even to not mistakenly load his syringe up with Drano.
I’ll suffer the flu, thanks anyway!
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
7:40 am
Officials say only about a third as much vaccine as they had been expecting by mid-October is likely to arrive by then…
Whats the line? How about “Typical government half-assed try”
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
7:46 am
Foreclosures rise along with layoffs
Since then, he’s been working as a consultant, earning less than half his old salary of $115,000. His wife has been cleaning houses to keep the family afloat.
But after draining their savings and retirement accounts, the couple have missed four payments on their ~~~~~~~~~~~~~$636,000 mortgage.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Their request for a loan modification from OneWest Bank (formerly failed IndyMac Bank) was denied because the couple’s income was too low. A OneWest representative declined comment.-Urinal
I hate to break the news but if there are very many more of these^^ floating around out there, we are a long ways from hitting the bottom.
Even Obozo’s own corruption and ACORN graft income couldn’t bail this fool out.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
7:53 am
Never has this been more apparent than in the current health care debate, which has polarized America, produced vicious town hall meetings with screaming protestors and whittled the president’s approval rating from superstar status to a shrinking minority. I’m the first to admit that this is too big an issue to simply forgo rigorous discussion. But, we need to ask ourselves if fighting to be the loudest shouting voice in a crowd is the most effective way to do it.-Urinal
Uh huh-
When Bush visited Portland, Ore., for a fundraiser, protesters stalked his motorcade, assailed his limousine and stoned a car containing his advisers. Chanting “Bush is a terrorist!”, the demonstrators bullied passers-by, including gay softball players and a wheelchair-bound grandfather with multiple sclerosis.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
7:54 am
A recent study reveals that doctors who are willing to apologize to patients for their mistakes are sued for malpractice about half as much as doctors who aren’t willing to apologize.
That’s called reduced cost non-healthy care, or cheap tort reform, or both.
Kayaker 71
August 23rd, 2009
8:03 am
The 1919 flu epidemic was called Spanish Flu and was a variant of H1N1. About 500M people world wide were infected… nearly 20%, or about 100M, died. This represented about 3-6% of the world’s population at that time. Worst pandemic in world history. Scares the hell out of me… I will be first in line for my vaccination, which has not determined to be 100% effective in preventing the disease but is the next best thing. To equate this move by the governments of world to a form of government health care is folly. It is a one time effort to prevent this disease, nothing more.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:04 am
If the founders were alive today, Republicans would be giving them [crap] because the Preamble to the Constitution says, “In order to form a more perfect union? Hello, it’s already perfect! Why are you suggesting American apologetics, Ben Franklin?”
One of the things that makes Republicans furious about our current president is their idea that Obama is always apologizing for America’s biggest mistakes. Unlike President Bush. Who was one of America’s biggest mistakes.
That Bill! He cracks me up. He manages to take the facts and present them and make them sound funny even though it’s really sickening.
Question
August 23rd, 2009
8:09 am
So, what’s the line on this one? Regarding what Jay??
If you’re asking about national/global immunization and the current health care reform debate you’re comparing apples and oranges. One is prevention/minimizing the impact of a pandemic; the second is at the individual level. The need for national/global immunization for the novel H1N1 pandemic is pretty clear cut, the challenge are the logistics; the need for health care reform is likely needed; the challenge are financial, planning, logistics, policies, politics, and consumer acceptance.
norman ravitch
August 23rd, 2009
8:10 am
It is only a matter of time before we hear that the government’s swine flu vaccination program is really a massive attempt at mind control of the population.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:10 am
Don’t approve of this government-funded effort to track and analyze and monitor and control outbreaks such as the flu. To do so would be unnatural and that has to be against God’s will. After all, if are meant to get sick or die, there’s nothing we can do about it, unless you believe in science and all those lies and fear-mongering claims from all those socialist scientists. Stay away from doctors, find a faith healer instead. For the low low introductory price of a tithe, you too can be heeled.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
8:11 am
Energy Dept. Fails to Use Thermostats to Cut Costs – The Energy Department’s inspector general found that the department, which spends almost $300 million annually on utilities, could save enough energy to power more than 9,800 homes each year by doing what experts say every household in the country should also be doing.-Urinal
So exactly how big is this “energy department?”
Couldn’t we save “energy” by eliminating them in their entirety?
How about that, I’m a greenie now.
(P.S. This is the first move that the socialists make to gain control over your thermostat, their logic being that if their vaunted and glorious energy department can’t even control their own thermostats, how could you manage it?)
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:16 am
Republicans don’t believe in funding EPA or FDA or CDC or any government organization that might be involved in identifying and controlling outbreaks of all sorts of things that kill humans. They believe in funding wars against other humans, not little invisible things, things that they cannot even see so how is anyone to believe that these things even exist. That would be like saying that all those socialist scientists acually know what they’re talking about and that just ain’t right.
Question
August 23rd, 2009
8:19 am
Irregular Paul at 7:11 am …already had my first free swine flu jab last week.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-: at 7:39 am …Not only do we not know what concoction they have brewed up
After having the H1N1 pandemic topic pretty much the lead story for many months it’s amazing (actually concerning) how misinformed the general public is. First, the H1N1 vaccine is NOT currently available, and likely will not be for months. Irregular Paul – likely you received this year’s seasonal flu vaccine. I Report — no rational reply comment comes to mind other than I believe your position is what we call “natural selection”…
Folks – Health care reform discussion/debate aside, take personal responsibility to better educate and inform yourselves on the H1N1 pandemic and risk reduction/prevention measures!!
Kayaker 71
August 23rd, 2009
8:20 am
Taxpayer,
That’s why we have the CDC but this is not government sponsored health care, anymore than one time flu vaccinations are. You imply that only Bible thumping crazed religious fanatics are the only ones opposed to this fiasco. There are a few of those in the mix but polls in the last round of Rassmussen studies stated that only 34% of the electorate was in favor of Bozo’s health plan. It’s hard for me to believe that 66% of the electorate falls into the “faith healer” category who stays away from doctors and ignores present medical science.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:22 am
I hope the government does not expect the tax payers to pick up the tab for vaccinating all those uninsured folk out there. I mean, if these folks can’t afford to pay for their own flu shot, then they should just work overtime at Domino’s and Wendys and McDonalds and Publix and at them meat packing plants and out in the fields picking vegetables until they have the money. It’s just that simple.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:24 am
Kayaker 71,
It is paid for with YOUR hard earned tax dollars. Write your congressman and demand an end to this travesty. I mean, we’re not talking sugar coated peanuts here. This could be something costly.
Road Scholar
August 23rd, 2009
8:29 am
Wingate’s editorial: Hunt now for GOP candidates – I hope Cheney is involved….
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
8:38 am
You imply that only Bible thumping crazed religious fanatics are the only ones opposed to this fiasco.
Nah! I just throw in stuff like that from time to time to stir up those right wing nuts with a Gog complex, the Samurai Sarahs and such.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 23rd, 2009
8:39 am
…..psssst…..don’t forget all you o of o members – H1N1 vaccine from the blue vials only, the red ones are the special conservative formulation…
RW-(the original)
August 23rd, 2009
8:44 am
Tough job. Set your alarm, check your email for the WaPo Headlines and Columnists update, excerpt the first story, go back to bed.
Why do I get the feeling that whenever this vaccine is ready I’m not going to see a government cheese and flu shot tent, I’m going to see it offered for a price at doctor’s offices and clinics like always?
Dave R.
August 23rd, 2009
8:56 am
The swine flu pandemic is almost as overblown as a typical post by Taxcheat.
Almost.
What is not surprising is that our Government failed to order enough vaccine in time for it to be delivered.
But we all know it’s Bush’s fault, right?
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
9:00 am
Cherokee
August 21st, 2009
10:20 am
“Only in Georgia would someone make a comment like this…”
Or as the Unmentionable would say:
O-si-yo, Tsa-la-gi! Ts-la-gi-s-go hi-wo-ni?
U-ne-gv? Ha-tlv u-na-di-at-s-di-i? J
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:00 am
Hunt now for GOP candidates – I hope Cheney is involved….
Any word on when Kyle’s training wheels come off? the column has said “later this month” for about a month.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
9:01 am
Great minds think alike-
Another important reason Mr. Perry believes the bill is flawed is because it ignores tort reform. “To talk about health-care reform and not talk about tort reform is like whistling past the cemetery. . . . In this administration’s case, it’s because they’re bought and sold by the trail lawyers.” The governor puts his cap back on, adding, “I’ll be the pope before we get tort reform with this administration.”-Rick Perry, Governor of Texas.
Ha ha.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
9:02 am
January, 2006 – As we consider our goals for the New Year, what is more important to American taxpayers: free Viagra or providing essential food, health care and education for our neediest families? According to our congressional leaders, free Viagra is the priority.
This sounds like a bad joke. It isn’t. Congress decided this week to restore Medicare funding for Viagra and other erectile-dysfunction drugs at a cost of $90 million for 2006. To do so, they had to cut other programs, mostly for our country’s most vulnerable adults and children.
Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, led the charge in favor of Viagra funding, insisting that Congress keep its promise to the drug industry — which had expected ED drugs to be reimbursed under Medicare in 2006. He apparently thought it was unfair when, a few months ago, Congress decided to instead use those $90 million in taxpayer money for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:04 am
I’ll suffer the flu, thanks anyway!
And if your infection is spread to someone who can’t survive the flu and dies as a result of your selfishness, that’s just the Invisible Hand of the marketplace doin’ it’s thang.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
9:08 am
MsG–good a.m. to ya! That was a good one, what color do we a-pox-on-both-their-houses get?
RW–see below. Seems you got somebody riled up last p.m., eh?
As for today’s topic for the Koffee Klatch–I’m in Jay’s camp on this one. Gasp!
jt
August 23rd, 2009
9:08 am
“Here comes more government health care”
“Officials say only about a third as much vaccine as they had been expecting by mid-October is likely to arrive by then, when a new wave of infections could be peaking….”
Typical government incompetence.
I would bet every food stamp in Detroit that a private entity could handle the research, manufacture, and distribution of this vaccine more competently and much more efficiently. If the government wasn’t involved, I would even get one.
Oh well.
RW-(the original)
August 23rd, 2009
9:09 am
And if your infection is spread to someone who can’t survive the flu and dies as a result of your selfishness, that’s just the Invisible Hand of the marketplace doin’ it’s thang.
And that compassionate statement, ladies and gentleman, comes from someone that advocates throwing cripples down a flight of stairs just to hear them scream.
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:09 am
Tort Reform = Shiny Bauble.
The GOP had control of three branches of government for four years and never once made this a priority. Now it’s the Most Important Thing Evah.
Nice try.
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:11 am
comes from someone that advocates throwing cripples down a flight of stairs just to hear them scream.
Liar.
I advocated throwing one (1) specific cripple, singular, down a flight of stairs just to hear him scream.
(I also shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.)
RW-(the original)
August 23rd, 2009
9:19 am
josef,
Getting Chadly riled up is about as hard as blinking.
The GOP had control of three branches of government for four years
Isn’t it funny how that “control” word gets defined depending on which party has the majority? I recall no time during those four years that the Republicans had 60 Senators, but the Democrats have that number now so why not quit whining and just pass whatever you want?
Irregular Paul
August 23rd, 2009
9:20 am
Question, I know what I received and it wasn’t last years seasonal flu vaccine, so I’ll thank you to spare us from your verbal diarrhoea. Limited numbers of volunteers in the priority groups have been getting the swine flu vaccine for almost a month now.
Dave R.
August 23rd, 2009
9:22 am
You know, decibel, you really need to learn a bit more about the legislative process before blaming one side or another for not passing reform bills.
In case you missed it in your Government-educated lifetime, any bill in the U.S. Senate needs 60 votes in order to move forward. That’s because of Senate rules. The GOP never had such a majority (as the Dems have now), therefore such reform was doomed to fail, as the Dems stopped everything they could with that rule.
And Taxcheat, we’re in August of 2009. You might wish to catch up with the rest of the class and stop posting 3 1/2 year-old “news”.
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:24 am
the Democrats have that number now so why not quit whining and just pass whatever you want?
No argument from me on that one. I fully grant that the GOP should be considered more or less irrelevant to this discussion at this point, and that the Dems need to pass a bill with (and own, politically, for better or for worse) a public plan at minimum.
And they should be open about a desire to making this a gateway to single payer if things work out as hoped. About that, there’s little daylight between your views and mine.
(I also concur that employer-based healthcare coverage was/is folly. another conversation, another time. Gots to run.)
stands for decibels
August 23rd, 2009
9:25 am
One last thing–Dave R., do not lecture me about Senate procedures. The GOP had the same opportunities to ram through stuff via reconciliation that the Dems do today (and they did just that when it suited them.)
Joey
August 23rd, 2009
9:29 am
Jay;
I assume that you are not here, that you are off to play golf or something. I hope you have a fun day. I intend to do the same.
I admit, I am intrigued by the question: What is your purpose in issuing, how many, 12, 18, 24 blog post about health care?
I am pretty sure it is not about informing your readers. You have not provided much actual information. Maybe you are just picking the low hanging fruit, chosing a topic that will generate hundreds of comments. Maybe you are hoping to help wear down the opposition. Maybe, maybe…
I admit that I am tired of this subject as least as far as Jay’s blog is concerned. But be assured that my senators and my representative will continue to hear from me. And any of the politicians who send me questioniares and fund raising letters will get them back with notes about my total lack of trust in the Federal Government’s ability to impliment, much less operate, a health care program.
RW-(the original)
August 23rd, 2009
9:34 am
(and they did just that when it suited them.)
Let me be among those to call BS on that one. The reconciliation process is set up and intended to be used for budget bills and I don’t recall it being using for anything other than those.
number1ninja
August 23rd, 2009
9:40 am
PLEASE no more about health care unless you’re actually talking about the bill, Jay, and not just yelling at people who we already know are idiots.
Oh wait, but you know it sucks too…..just another reason why the democrats have never been more than the lesser of two evils.
Michael H. Smith
August 23rd, 2009
9:44 am
Just look at the miserable failure of the free market to produce and deliver vaccines Comrade Bookman!
The State should produce all vaccines and drugs. Whatever shall become of Socialism brother man, when the comrades must depend on a bunch of lousy greedy capitalists rather than solely wet nursed by the nanny state relying upon the big socialist government bosom?
Uh… Comrade, some things the Federal government should do, other things the State governments should or the local governments should do and there are some things no government should do that we should do. Our government has a role to fulfill but the role of government has limits, as does the so-called free market, as do we.
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
9:45 am
RW is right, the GOP did not use reconcilliation for any non omnibus spending bills. And when they even talked about the so called “nuclear option” just to pass thru some judges, the democrats screamed like little whiney banshees. The lefts hypocricy knows no bounds.
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
9:49 am
Friday night, September 25th, at 8pm
See roller derby one last time this year at the Southern Fried Smackdown. Don’t miss this derby-pa-looza, September 25-27th, 2009. It’s the Biggest Derby Festival ever to hit the Southeast!
http://www.southernfriedsmackdown.com/
Dave R.
August 23rd, 2009
9:50 am
Decibel, I’ll lecture you anytime and anywhere when you post crap. Get over it. As stated by two (better informed than you) posters above, reconciliation is only allowed for budgetary issues, not policy issues.
getalife
August 23rd, 2009
9:53 am
Child please.
“A list of instances where reconciliation was implemented:
Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1983
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
Balanced Budget Act of 1995 (vetoed)
Personal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Act of 1996
Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999 (vetoed)
Marriage Tax Relief Act of 2000 (vetoed)
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005″
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
9:54 am
Michael H. Smith
“,,,some things the Federal government should do, other things the State governments should or the local governments should…”
Ssh! Be careful, talk like that under your real name could bring out the forces of the Great Moderator…
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
9:55 am
January, 2006 – Congress passed a different bill that provides more than $3.5 billion on pandemic flu prevention and treatment efforts — adding that same $3.5 billion to our deficit for the year.
Just another one-time expenditure, about like Republicans and their “fees” instead of tax increases. Right wing nutter butters are always good for a laugh. Let’s see, who was in control during the Republican dominated reign of Bush the Destroyer, the time that included a gigantic bill that had absolutely no link to healthcare. What was it called. The prescription drug company benefit bill. And, those huge tax cuts that expire in 2010. As I recall, the Republicans used that little procedural thing requiring a simple majority to pass those.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
August 23rd, 2009
9:59 am
Well, I’m in a group that don’t get not swine flu shot. Use to be, old people was the first to get flu shots. Now they up and decided we could just die. Talk about rationing. It’s a guvmint plot, is what it is. They know old folk are Conservative and this Obama wants us all to die off so they can keep young librul people voting. They’re going after our Medicare to give the bums and illegals health insurance and now they’re just going to watch us keel over when this swine flu comes back in the fall.
I don’t wish nobody harm or nothing like that, but I’m going down to the Church of Holiness to pray that this Obama and his crew get into alot of accidents in the next few weeks. It’s the Christian thing to do. If this stuff keeps up, pretty soon alot of Conservatives are going to wake up dead and the gays will be getting married all over the place and women will be in lines two miles long to get abortions.
Have a good Sabbath everybody and if I get the swine flu I’ll be writing you to say goodbye.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
10:03 am
And, how did the Republicans pay for all their exorbitant expenditures. Not with their tax dollars. Noooo! They borrowed it so when they’re sorry a$$es are being devoured by earth worms, the people left in their wake will be paying their bills. Talk about the ultimate in death taxes.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:08 am
Redneck…
“… if I get the swine flu I’ll be writing you to say goodbye.”
Don’t fret, you a carrier. You got Annie Bodies. Say hello to Fierce Advocates preacher down to the church house…
Bosch
August 23rd, 2009
10:09 am
If Landon Donovan and Rupert Grint can get swine flu, then anybody can.
I, for one, am thankful for our government working hard to get a handle on this.
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
10:16 am
“You got Annie Bodies.”
LOL!
The always-enrage-able anti-American guvmint foke be acting like a bunch of godless atheists/agnostics/MOTs/Mooslims/Buddhists/all the rest of those “false”religion types this AM.
Tsk, tsk, tsk…
Where’s all that Christian love gone?
The Big Guy in the Clouds isn’t gonna be very happy.
But then he is an angry god isn’t he?
OK, everybody, join me in a rousing rendition of Shall we Gather at the River…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o&feature=PlayList&p=32632A2A1A3B4F15&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
10:19 am
I for one look forward to swine flu..this could seriously reduce humanities carbon footprint so that I won’t have to change my lifestyle at all.
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
10:24 am
So, wassup with this rock and roll Jesus?
I was persuaded into going to a Baptist Church in Marietta a couple of years ago. (My best friend’s mother-in-law was getting doused in the dunk tank.)
Man! Electric guitars and basses, and drums behind Plexiglas! I thought I was at Chastain.
And I didn’t recognize ANY of the tunes! Where TF was The Old Rugged Cross? And Amazing Grace? Or even In the Sweet By and By?
Seemed all a bit desperate to me.
But what do I know? The preacher looked like he had a $1000 suit on…
Well, I guess you in the faithful can say several, no MANY, prayers for my salvation!
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:24 am
AmVet– “Christ Stopped at Eboli” according to Carlo Levi.
Kamchak
August 23rd, 2009
10:26 am
I for one look forward to swine flu..
Be careful what you wish for—you just might get it.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:32 am
AmVet–when one of Granddaddy’s life-long sparring partners died, he went to the funeral and came back disappointed. Said he was the only one there it seemed who felt like following the teaching to “make a joyful noise unto the L-rd!”
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
10:34 am
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
10:19 am
I for one look forward to swine flu..this could seriously reduce humanities carbon footprint so that I won’t have to change my lifestyle at all.
Do you have faith that you ARE one of the chosen or ARE NOT one of the chosen. I always get that mixed up.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:42 am
Bosch–Hope you and yours are doing well. Look, you may be able to answer a question I’ve been pondering for years. If a tree falls in the forest…?
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
10:44 am
josef, having explored and experienced, at length, numerous different philosophies and religious “ideas”, I’ve come to the point where I agree with this guy.
To the followers of the three Abrahamic faiths, when you get finished blowing each other up to bits and smashing the world, could we have our planet back?
“Religion by it’s very nature doss not tend to concern itself with truth.”
“They (the believers) are the power base for the nutters. Without their passive support, the loonies in charge of these faiths would just be loonies. Safely locked away and medicated. The ordinary faithful make these viscous, tyrannical thugs what they are…”
But hey! It’s all just big joke, isn’t it?
Gawd, I love how irreverent and simultaneously humorous the blokes can be…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY-ZrwFwLQg&feature=PlayList&p=32632A2A1A3B4F15&index=2&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:44 am
KAMCHAK–got my Sunday shoes on!
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
10:48 am
AmVet–the Unmentionable and I were in a discussion about the great cosmic ohm and I was getting frustrated. Finally, I said, “you know, you really are an Indian. You believe The Gr-at Sp-rt is in H-s heaven, the universe is unfolding as it should and there’s no reason for us to do anything.” Unmentionable looked at me and in all sincerity asked, “you don’t?” My answer was, “no, I’m a Jew. The universe is random and chaotic and G-d is a disinterested bystander.”
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
10:53 am
I’ve already had h1n1..according to my Dr. anyway..so bring the pandemic on..I can walk amongst you like a goddess..
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
10:58 am
RollerGirl
August 23rd, 2009
10:53 am
I’ve already had h1n1..according to my Dr. anyway..so bring the pandemic on..I can walk amongst you like a goddess..
One of those. A carrier. Seemingly harmless on the outside but… .
getalife
August 23rd, 2009
11:01 am
They have enough for half the population.
Sorry cons.
Taxpayer
August 23rd, 2009
11:04 am
“Hunt Now for GOP Candidates.” The GOP’s Cash for Clunkers Program, funded by Exxon, Peabody, Merck, Aetna, UBS… .
Finn McCool
August 23rd, 2009
11:07 am
Democrats first. Republicans have guns, god, and abstinence for protection.
We liberals will take our chance with science!
Kamchak
August 23rd, 2009
11:08 am
josef
Saw an article in the dead tree version of ajc about Rabbi Shalom Lewis and the suit seeking clarity on what is kosher. Does keeping kosher also extend to clothing, and yes shoes?
Finn McCool
August 23rd, 2009
11:09 am
the biggest contributor to this resurgence of radicalism remains panic in some precincts about a new era of cultural and demographic change. As the sociologist Daniel Bell put it, “What the right as a whole fears is the erosion of its own social position, the collapse of its power, the increasing incomprehensibility of a world — now overwhelmingly technical and complex — that has changed so drastically within a lifetime.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/opinion/23rich.html
How true. Fear is a powerful thing.
Finn McCool
August 23rd, 2009
11:09 am
And that above quote was from an essay published in 1962!
Bosch
August 23rd, 2009
11:10 am
joseph nix,
Glad to see you back. Wish that tree had fallen in the forest – but yes, you can certainly hear it when it hits your house. Living the dream in a construction zone right now……….
Finn McCool
August 23rd, 2009
11:14 am
Hey Repugs,
what’s it like to ALWAYS be part of the problem and NEVER part of the solution?
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
11:16 am
The first major Republican victory in its efforts to achieve meaningful tort reform occurred in February 2005 when Congress approved a class action reform measure. See Senate vote See House vote . The legislation authorizes federal courts to hear class-action suits involving over $5 million and involving persons or companies from different states. The objective in moving the suits to federal courts is to make it significantly more difficult for the lawsuits to be approved. The bill would also crack down on “coupon settlements” in which plaintiffs get little but their lawyers get big fees. It would link lawyers’ fees to the amount of coupons redeemed. ~~~~~~~~~But efforts have other reforms, such as medical malpractice reform and establishing an asbestos trust fund, have fallen short.~~~~~~~~~
Gee, I wonder why that was?-
Sen. Swimmer M. Kennedy, D-Mass., called the president’s plan “nothing but a shameful shield for drug companies and HMOs who hurt people through negligence.” He urged the president to offer a plan that puts patients first.
What a genius you are, stands for dingbats.
~~~~~
Aahhh, yes, someone rages against their Creator this morning, as usual-
To the followers of the three Abrahamic faiths, when you get finished blowing each other up to bits and smashing the world, could we have our planet back?
Yes, my favorite part of every church service is when they turn us loose on the neighborhood, we get to rampage around, cutting off people’s fingers for voting, car bombing people we don’t like, raping thirteen year old boys, yee haa, oh, wait a minute, no we didn’t.
Despite being told that there are no God’s before Me some of you have conjured up your own little personal idols and are consumed with worshiping them, and I’d be willing to bet that you have more blood on your hands than any Christian of this world does.
We aren’t the ones who starve little children and make them suffer horrible deaths because of some environmental boogeyman that we have to create to give our otherwise empty lives some meaning.
We aren’t the ones who affirm and legitimize murderous and genocidal dictators, apologizing to them and paying them off while they slaughter woman and children wholesale.
Christians are the ones who go into the world to feed the oppressed, to clothe the needy, to shelter the downtrodden, giving freely of ourselves and of our treasures.
You take good money, in the name of your idolatry and government worship and buy votes with it.
Try speaking for yourself, not for me, heathen.
TnGelding
August 23rd, 2009
11:16 am
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
7:39 am
I’m with you on this one. I’ll donate my dose to someone more trusting.
Question
August 23rd, 2009
11:33 am
Irregular Paul at 9:20 — I stand corrected if in fact you received the H1N1 pandemic vaccine as part of the vaccine safety/efficacy trials. Of course, only after the trial will you know if you developed an appropriate protective immune response.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
11:37 am
This month the Southern Poverty Law Center, the same organization that warned of the alarming rise in extremist groups before the Oklahoma City bombing, issued its own report. A federal law enforcement agent told the center that he hadn’t seen growth this steep among such groups in 10 to 12 years. “All it’s lacking is a spark,” he said.-Foaming Frank Rich
Meanwhile, Obozo’s buddy Bill Ayers and wife, who actually bombed several government buildings and killed a cop, wander the Earth loaded to the gills with, get this, government handout money.
Stick it where the sun don’t shine, liberals.
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
11:45 am
josef, I always liked the native American “religions”. “God” is in everything – the earth, the rocks, the sky, the stars, the animals and us. EVERYTHING is inter-connected.
BTW, IMO, it repulsive it when people try to con others into believing this is a “Christian” nation. Bull droppings. The founding fathers were primarily deists, and often excoriated Christianity. The were simply way ahead of their time. And in so speaking, were men of unquestionable honor and courage.
For much of my life, I felt, “If you’re religion makes you a better person, fine.” But I’ve sadly discovered that in by far most cases, it does not. In fact as I’ve gotten older, I have become more militant in saying that these organized religions – the Abrahamic ones – are a HUGE part of the problem in the world.
Look, organized religion used to serve a purpose. In a time when irrational superstitions and a flat earth were all the average person could understand. But in this day and age, it is becoming more and more irrelevant. And it’s role is only going to continue to diminish. No matter how much the “saints”, “clerics” and new-age TV charlatans and frauds try to continue to rule through hate-filled intolerance, jaw-dropping ignorance, intimidation and fear.
And no matter how the hijacked Republican Party wants to bring these godly thieves and shysters into the inner sanctums of our democratic republic.
We are NOT going to allow it to happen. Period. End of sentence.
And let’s face it, Christianity truly is the Greatest Tax-free Ponzi Scheme ever Sold…
I see this superstition-based dogma to be the very antithesis of truth, therefore cannot and will not endorse or promote it in any fashion…
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
11:46 am
Kamchak–kosher most specifically refers to food, but it refers to food from production to preparation to consumption. The Hebrew word means “fitting or proper” and is used in that definition to refer to a wide range of matters, secular and profane. It’s interesting (to cultural linguists at least!) as one of those rare borrowings that still pretty much carries the definitional subtleties of the original language. It’s also one of those that the linguists’ own “rabbis” are still arguing over–should we consider it an English word or not? The conservatives say it isn’t and the liberals say it is. And, football season upon us, no the “pigskin” is not kosher!
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
August 23rd, 2009
11:50 am
We are NOT going to allow it to happen. Period. End of sentence.
Yaaaawwwwwnnnnnnn-
”We are God’s partners in matters of life and death,” says Obozo.
Mrs. Norris
August 23rd, 2009
11:50 am
Roller Girl is a nasty bit of goods. hsss
Kamchak
August 23rd, 2009
11:51 am
Question
It might help you to understand—Irregular Paul is posting from the U.K.
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
11:52 am
OK, gotta go, the real world calls.
But their is one diety I could get into – Aphrodite.
That babe was HOT. I could worship her for awhile, no problem…
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
11:56 am
AmVET–was saving this one for Dusty and Norm, but your:
“josef, I always liked the native American “religions”. “God” is in everything – the earth, the rocks, the sky, the stars, the animals and us. EVERYTHING is inter-connected. ”
gives me the tag to post:
The Unmentionable passed this on to me last p.m.
The Cherokee grandfather told his grandson:
“My son, the battle is between two wolves the Cr-ator put inside all people. One is Evil, and it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
“The other is Good and, it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson asked:
“Which wolf wins?”
The grandfather replied:
“The one you feed.”
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
11:57 am
Andy, with a little luck, he’ll bring back one of your big “Christian” faves, the “reverend” Jeremiah Wright, as his White House “spiritual” counselor!
And the nation laughs…
Kamchak
August 23rd, 2009
11:58 am
josef
Yes, futbol season is upon us. Most of the finest shoes for playing “the beautiful game” are made of kangaroo leather, and the best uniforms are made of synthetic materials to aid in moisture control. My question concerns the Israeli national team. Are they denied these “advantages” if it is not kosher?
AmVet
August 23rd, 2009
12:00 pm
josef, I LOVE that.
Thank you, it speaks to my heart.
Too bad, we godly Americans slaughtered those people damned near off the planet, huh?
Later, good peeps…
booger
August 23rd, 2009
12:08 pm
So Jay’s message is that a third of the people should love govt. health care because they will be vacinated? That leaves two thirds, a group to which I belong, with no protection. Are we supposed to love govt. healthcare as well?
This is really not a very good example of the benefits of govt. care.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
12:17 pm
Kangaroo is not kosher. Synthetic shoes are permitted while sitting Shiva, but a synthetic shofar may not be used for religious observance. I don’t know about synthetic uniforms in futbol, but you can bet there’s been an opinion handed down somewhere!
Mrs. Norris
August 23rd, 2009
12:27 pm
Josef Nix, that was beautiful what the Cherokee grandfather said.
Question
August 23rd, 2009
12:37 pm
Kamchak at 11:51 am re: Irregular Paul is posting from the U.K.
Thanks. I should have picked on that given his spelling of “diarrhoea”.
Real Health Reform Will Pass
August 23rd, 2009
12:39 pm
“josef, I always liked the native American “religions”. “God” is in everything – the earth, the rocks, the sky, the stars, the animals and us. EVERYTHING is inter-connected. ”
I thought those were the pantheist poets–Wordsworth, Coleridge and the boys.
Looks as if Josef is Jewish and Orthodox. I’ve never thought about whether a Kangaroo is Kosher, or about eating one, and what a shame–another lost chance for alliteration. I thought the criteria for Kosher was what would Mo Dowd, a nice Irish Catholic girl say in a given situation?
The Constitution shouldn’t be expected to cover every contigency medical or whatever. The Constitution doesn’t say anything about a lot of treatment modalities, but if we don’t use them people die. I don’t suppose deaths via H1N1 (522 we know of and probably double that number we don’t because a) we aren’t testing for it very widely and particulary not in Georgia which was so confused it never launched testing to any degree b) because we aren’t testing for it we don’t have an accurate number on fatalities in the US.
We have a history that epidemic and pandemic flu like H1N1 has come in multiple waves, each more virulent and some by far than the first. H1N1 killed people quickly in 1976 and in 1917 the multinodal flu was in all probability H5N1.
The govenrment health care plan, whatever gets passed is going to have little to do with vaccination although I’m not sure how vaccination is going to work for the indigent.
A lot of people here are probably over 30. And if you’re over 30 you get pushed to the back of the bus for H1N1 vaccine. You better hope washing your hands and luck protects you. 14 people met at CDC under the umbrella of NIAID NIH and some of them got so pissed off at pushing the older people to the back of the bus that they stormed out of the meeting without voting on ole Clifton Ave.
As I said, the second wave of H1N1 will beat the vaccine to the tape–and if you’re older, you don’t get protected. The theory is that older people don’t get it in near the numbers, but there is no study or literature that the CDC has to back that up, and further when older people do get H1N1 who are not part of the chronically ill population, they are more severely impacted which is why some of the 14 deciding who gets it got so enraged they walked out and didn’t vote on who gets it when.
So in other words, CDC, NIAID, and the ringmaster, Tony Fauci who is terrific at what he does don’t know how virulent this wave will be and if older people truly have had some immunogenicity conferred on them by getting asymptomatic or mild cases of other flus during their lifetime.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2009
12:43 pm
Real Health Reform Will Pass
“Looks as if Josef is Jewish and Orthodox.”
Looks can be deceiving.
Jewish, yes, but I’m a long, long way from Orthodox and/or orthodox!
Real Health Reform Will Pass
August 23rd, 2009
12:44 pm
Question–
It’s hard to tell whose posting sometimes because conservatives like to steal other peoples’ identities and then post a ton of profanity or whatever. It’s their substitution for actually discussing the issues, sort of like the brilliant strategy of bringing an AR-15 to a town hall meeting until someone or some people get shot and killed as with the Hollocaust museum or Oklahoma City. There is no log in that forces people to keep the same ID per their IP address and the only defense against someone stealing your identity on a comment section like that is to start changing your name with every post.