Medicare and Medicaid, to the best of my knowledge, do not provide health care. They provide administration of cost reimbursement, much like an insurance company does. Anthem Blue Cross does not provide health care ... they are an insurance company that profits handsomely by denying claims. I am stunned there is anybody in this country that buys the Republican baloney. I guess if one can buy mythology as being factual, one can be sold essentially any steaming pile of BS if the salesperson sounds sincere. That, in a nutshell, is why Republicans and Democrats will never come together on issues. Republicans CLAIM to be the most religious and sell their venom in religious terms, whereas Democrats "mostly" consider religious beliefs to be a private matter. How many believers can embrace Republican ideas that go against all their religious teachings is amazing. This observation is not new. Gandhi made this same observation back in the 1940s. The leopard will not change its spots.
Why can't Jon Stewart be required to become a lobbyist for industry and finance so he'd be forced to be as mealy-mouthed and hypocritical as everybody else?
What is needed is more debate which make these Neo Cons open up and tell the American people what they really think of them. This was no trap, it was just Kristol being crystal clear about what he and his movement really think about the average American citizen.
These are the types of interviews that need to be out there more. Evidently truth hurts. All Americans including our soldiers should be treated equally and offered health care.
This is one 'interview' that was a long time a-coming. This little toad has been masquerading as a man for too long. It is past time he got his comeuppance..and who to give it to him better than Jon Stewart, The Man. Thank you, Jon !
I think Jon Stewart made a good talking point about government-run health care, but he hardly destroyed Bill Kristol. I suspect that if insurers were able to cherry-pick their subscribers the way the military can and does (no pre-existing conditions, or you can't enlist), they probably could do as well.
Who says the insurers cannot "cherry-pick" their subscribers? I have been rejected by any number of insurers for having been treated for chemical dependency.
Who says the insurers cannot "cherry-pick" their subscribers? I have been rejected by any number of insurers for having been treated for chemical dependency.
due to your personal choices/decisions in your life, everyone else should not be burdened with the expense of paying for them. take responsibility for your actions.
You mean that someone who has taken responsibility to get treatment and is now living a better lifestyle is not ever to be allowed health insurance? That would dissuade alot of people from ever agreeing to have substance abuse treatment. Pretty dumb reasoning.
Who says the insurers cannot "cherry-pick" their subscribers? I have been rejected by any number of insurers for having been treated for chemical dependency.
due to your personal choices/decisions in your life, everyone else should not be burdened with the expense of paying for them. take responsibility for your actions.
Funny, I thought I was taking responsibility by going to treatment.
I think Jon Stewart made a good talking point about government-run health care, but he hardly destroyed Bill Kristol. I suspect that if insurers were able to cherry-pick their subscribers the way the military can and does (no pre-existing conditions, or you can't enlist), they probably could do as well.
Health care providers, like the military, provide care, not risk management. They treat all patients in one of the most dangerous professions we have. Cherry picking applies only to insurance practices.
Mr. Krystol: 90% of Americans do not buy their own health insurance. That is an incredibly stupid statement. Huge numbers of citizens are insured under medicare, medicaide, federal, state and local health insurance, not to mention people who work for large corporations. Blue Cross of Florida just announced they need a huge increase due to all the uninsured people who are unable to pay their hospital bills. The company says that the hospitals are putting their charges on the insurance companies. I want to know also how many of those people who are "happy with their health insurance" are on government care and also how many of those people have actually had a serious illness and needed touse their insurance.
Of course Kristol is stumbling and bumbling because what he is saying is circular nonsense like the rest of the GOP which has been revealed to be the shallow, arraogant obstructionist SOBs there are. And they did not win the election. Dems - do it now!
To put the record straight. I have Tricare military insurance. It is NOT any different then any other health insurance it's just better. It is not more expensive if it had a premium. I am retired military. I have no special needs. That is not an issue. There are NO preexisting conditions. NO exclusions other then non-essential services like unneeded plastic surgery. It IS gov run Very Very well. It should be the model for any health insurance reform. It is PROVEN to work and work well. It is basically as I understand the same the Congress has. I have been saying for five years it should be the model but nobody seems to hear me. Thanks Jon and Bill for bringing it up. Now if only we could get OBAMA to listen.
Obama is listening. We have gotten further this year than ever. Send this message over and over to whitehouse.gov. It takes a long time to expose people like Bill Kristol and we have to go through the arduous process like was done in 2009 before winning this battle for affordable health care.
The corporate greed mongers don't want the American people off of the private market trough, becuase it would eat into their profits. Never mind that the American people are being bilked, (We pay about six times more for prescription drugs than other nations that have some form of national health-care.) and squeezed like a sponge. Thank you John Stewart for exposing these toadies that spew the free market puke. It's time to counter the conservative claim that government should'nt, or can't, run anything well. Let's see.... We have the military, U.S. Postal Service, FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshall Service, DOT, national parks, national forests, Medicare, Medicade, Social Security,and much, much more. Locally, there's police, fire depts, schools, libraries, water purification plants, public transportation, and on, and on. All of these serve the people. Can they be improved? Sure...But not if Repubs, and other conservative cranks, keep trying to smother them. More tax-cuts for the wealthy?!!!
As a retired Navy physician who also has extensive experience in the private sector, both in and out of academia, I can vouch for the quality of care in the military system. The physicians are on salary and doing the right thing was always the goal and there was no insurance company second guessing you or forcing you to cut corners to help their bottom line. I have also chosen TRICARE for myself and my family and have been very pleased.
The government can run a quality healthcare system, which is precisely why the right wing and the insurance companies fight the public option. They fear the public option. The public option is their worst nightmare -- because they know, in a head-to-head competition, they would lose.
"Health is wealth" is known to all and everyone wants good health. So, Let us build a food habit discipline, keep pace with work, rest and or exercise to Achieve good health, The ultimate wealth.
Actually, Kristol is wrong: military health care is garbage. It's geared entirely towards saving the lives of the wounded after they've been wounded. It has nothing to do with prevention or "health". Soldiers & sailors with pregnant wives are advised to arrange for civilian doctors & hospitals for the wives & children. This is another example of hyper-patriotic right-wingers chanting about "the best military in the world" and "the best health care in the world" and "USA! USA! We're Number One!"
It seems to me you do not know the Military and VA system. We get a full physical every year, plus aid and help on all matters of health. Besides when you are hospitalized, there is no end to what the VA personnel will do for you. It is the best hopitalization I have had in my 79 years, 9 hospital stays, and over 61 days in the hospital. Most of which was unde civilian care which was not always the best. The VA is the best.
OK, Bill Kristol, here's a solution. Let's drop the health care bill in congress. Bring back the military draft but eliminate all age limitations. From birth to death, everyone is conscripted and automatically put in the military health care system. The Republicans would have to vote for it because it's strong on defense. Just add deferments for those under normal military age, non-military services for the "defense" of the nation for those opposed to combat, and a "grandfather/mother" clause for those that have already provided a lifetime of service to the country over the age of 50, and deferments for those already gainfully employed (who are serving the country's economy and the tax rolls), and for those out of work -- instant employment. Any other questions?
Bill Kristol, along with Karl Rove and Paul Wolfowitz, is reputed to be one of the foremost "intellects" of the neocons, i.e. the "brains" behind the current "Tea Party movement." Jon Steward does a brilliant service to the American people, by exposing the flimflam "thinking" the GOP has evidenetly bought into line, hook and sinker.
Is it really possible, that "in the world's greatest nation" so MANY have been brainwashed to buy this bunk?!
Comments
Maybe Mr. Stewart should have had a place at the "summit" table yesterday?
due to your personal choices/decisions in your life, everyone else should not be burdened with the expense of paying for them. take responsibility for your actions.
Funny, I thought I was taking responsibility by going to treatment.
Bill - 0
However, it's so easy when an idiot tries to discuss anything with an intelligent person.
Go Jon.
As a retired Navy physician who also has extensive experience in the private sector, both in and out of academia, I can vouch for the quality of care in the military system. The physicians are on salary and doing the right thing was always the goal and there was no insurance company second guessing you or forcing you to cut corners to help their bottom line. I have also chosen TRICARE for myself and my family and have been very pleased.
The government can run a quality healthcare system, which is precisely why the right wing and the insurance companies fight the public option. They fear the public option. The public option is their worst nightmare -- because they know, in a head-to-head competition, they would lose.
Please expand—what is Randy getting wrong?
He is wrong and even Jon Stewart and Bill Kristol would agree.
Is it really possible, that "in the world's greatest nation" so MANY have been brainwashed to buy this bunk?!
I have a message for the webmaster/admin here at readersupported news.org.
Can I use some of the information from this blog post right above if I give a backlink back to this website?
Thanks,
Peter
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