GOP Lies putting the Hell in Healthcare

I was watching Platoon yesterday, and in it Charlie Sheen quoted someone anonymous as saying,

"Hell is the impossibility of reason."

Well no shit. That's exactly what we have here. Republicans and big health insurance corporations both are purposely and shamefully spreading flat-out lies in order to prey on people's fears and therefore kill any means of intelligently discussing Healthcare Reform.

What gets me is anytime someone goes on TV and says America is full of stupid people, they get lambasted with the collective anger of those who can't handle any criticism of their precious "US of A", which they view as absolutely infallible. Yet these same angry uneducated masses hear lies perpetrated by Republicans, fake grass-roots organizers initiated and funded by these corporations, and their trusted right-wing news sources, including Fox News Corp -- they hear these lies, and they act on them in mob-style revolt without doing a single ounce of research for themselves to better understand what's really going on. And then these angry masses get all pissy when those of us who have taken the time to understand what's real for ourselves say America is full of stupid people.

Well, if they don't want America to be said to be full of idiots, then they shouldn't act so fucking dumb.

For example, how about looking into what's actually being proposed for Healthcare Reform. Forget the blatant lies that many Republicans and fake "news" sources like Fox News are perpetrating, which seem so absolutely fucking crazy to the rest of us who know how inconsequential the proposed changes are for those who are happy with their healthcare as-is.

Here's how I see real Healthcare discussion happening with the Right:

First off, before you start shouting crazy talk in the hopes of silencing my blog somehow, let's start with a quick preface of what Healthcare Reform means in general. Healthcare Reform is happening solely for the purpose of bettering people's lives, not making anyone worse off. It is its only purpose! To help those who are in dire need of Healthcare! So if someone's told you otherwise, you've been lied to.

Also, if you've heard crazy fucking ludicrous things about Healthcare Reform that couldn't possibly sound reasonable, then guess what? It's a lie. Believing that kind of nonsense, just like believing Obama secretly isn't a US citizen, is fucking retarded. Which is why people on the left in this debate are so exhaustedly unwilling to begin discussing these idiotic "concerns". These things are ludicrous and not worth rational people's time discussing. Plus it's the reason people say America is, on a whole, stupid.

For those of you who are against changes in Healthcare, love your current health plan, and are happy with how much you pay for it, etc: You can now dismiss yourself from the entire discussion forever. With the proposed Healthcare Reform you don't have to change anything if you don't want. The most you'll see as far as changes from this reform bill is that you will eventually see the amount you pay go down significantly. That's it. If you're somehow against paying less for the exact same health plan, well then, I don't know what to say to that...

For the rest of you who want to really know what's going on with Healthcare, imagine this: Imagine a new company joining the free market of the Healthcare Industry. Let's call it "Govco".

Now if Govco enters the market, and you personally have, let's say, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) insurance, you don't have to buy Govco, so what's the big deal? However, Govco happens to be a non-profit entity that's run by the government, just like Medicare is. And being owned "by the people for the people" means it's not going to focus on having the largest profit margins each quarter like BCBS is. In fact, Govco doesn't have the first care in the world about making a cent of profit, outside of keeping the service afloat in combination with its government funding. Just like Medicare. So because of Govco isn't motivated by profit margins and greed, as competition it will provide a low-cost alternative for those who don't want to pay as much. In turn, greedy big corporations like BCBS will be forced to compete with Govco and therefore become as competitive in pricing as Govco, bringing down your premiums with BCBS.

So now that you understand Healthcare Reform, almost in its entirety, it's not really too scary is it? Now if you want to get more information about the benefits of healthcare, as there pretty much aren't any for those who make less than $1 million a year, then do your homework.

If you're a Republican and like to get your right-wing spin spoon fed to you from Fox News, you won't like me suggesting you watch MSNBC to get the facts on Healthcare. You may think MSNBC spins to the left too much, but the one thing they're good with is facts. I think Walter Kronkite once said that "facts tend to have a liberal bias." People like Rachel Maddow go out of their way to make sure they have the correct facts and makes corrections during her show when she's found she's made errors -- which is a far cry from those people who report their spin on the "news" as fact, such as Bill O'reilly or Glenn Beck, and then defend their lack of trustworthiness by claiming that they're not really journalists (duh), simply "entertainers". (I have personally witnessed both of them make this argument, before you get all worked up about it.) Much worse are the editorial spins of actual so-called "journalists" on Fox News, who slip in their own opinions as "what people are saying" in order to make it actually what people are saying after they watch their show. It's a closed loop of self-prophesied utter bullshit.

If you don't want to do that, then simply listen to the President speaking on the subject. What he says in those addresses is what's being proposed in Congress. Nothing more. Nothing less. There would be absolutely zero advantage of his going on national television and lying about it.

Finally, how about this stupid "Obama Death Panel" lie, also known as the alleged healthcare plan to "kill the elderly"? C'mon, really?? This lie came to life because the bill being proposed allows the newly available healthcare plan to help elderly people make "end of life" plans, namely a living will. It's purely optional. And having a will is also a good idea, and you only have to do it once. Finally, this good idea was added to the bill by Republicans in the Senate!

You're welcome.

And when Healthcare is reformed, and you benefit and see how ridiculous you've been manipulated, you can thank the rest of us then.