DAR
Blake is careful to not provide a single example. When you make claims, it’s best to back them up.

D.

DAR
I found this very surprising. It’s all over on the message boards and one ABC article makes reference to it. The bunk is summarized nicely in this statement:

“Wow… He was in Switzerland attending a conference. I am sure he didn’t drive from Japan in his vehicle. He probably didn’t even pick out his vehicle. Isn’t Audi made around those parts?” Link

DAR
Thus, it was a rental and we don’t even know if he had a choice.

D.

DAR
How can you say that without knowing the “procedure” in question? You can’t. So again you’re pulling things from your bum and fashioning the material into bizarre shapes. Since you do this all the time, doesn’t this make you a hypocrite every time you try to challenge the honesty of anyone else?

Why yes it does.

DAR
I know. I thought that was obvious by the context. My response was written understanding you were referring to Massachusetts. But you didn’t back it up anyway. Even if you weren’t referring to just Massachusetts, I would respond exactly the same either way so it changes nothing. Good duck!

Bigd: “And how was Gingrich a hypocrite?”>>

DAR
That’s a good one!

D.

DAR
You are equivocating. Whether they are citizens (or whether Danny Williams is a citizen) is irrelevant to the fact that millions leave the US for health care.

Bigd: The number of people who die because of lack of insurance is small.>>

DAR
18,000 unnecessary deaths is not in any sense small. If you line up the dead bodies, the extend for about 18 miles. Every year. So says the National Academy of Science.

Bigd: As for the general welfare clause, I will take go with Madison…”>>

DAR
I agree with Madison. They shouldn’t be taken in a “literal and unlimited sense.”

Bigd: “They do not charge the guy with the Hummer more gas tax…”

DAR
Well he kind of signed up for paying more in gasoline tax when he made his stupid decision didn’t he? He pays at least 4x more per mile in gas tax than I do. Now if he can just get parts from that Chinese company.

Bigd: We all pay the same.>>

DAR
Bingo. Hence the wonderful collectivism of it all. Just like in single payer, we all pay (the poor do get discounts).

Bigd: In no way shape or form would we say it is OK for the poor to pay no gas tax…”>>

DAR
Right. And when we find out how to fund our health care costs in a sensible way, we can do it where everyone pays. Right now when the ER gets stiffed, who pays? Not the person who got the service. I think that should be fixed.

Bigd: The things like fire and police are essential government services>>

DAR
No, they are essential services (fire is often optional, not essential). We *choose* to make them a “government” socialized service because of the extreme efficiencies (and other benefits) this provides.

Bigd: Health care is not an essential government service.>>

DAR
Again you carefully sneak the word government in there. Health care is certainly an essential service, often necessary for life. If a country decides it is an essential service, it is, and it can arrange to provide and fund it accordingly. All of our peer countries do this. We do it very well in the VA. We will will fix the rest of it too someday.

Bigd: Allow competition across state lines>>

DAR
A favorite talking point. As if any insurance company worth it’s salt can’t arrange to set itself up within the guidelines and structure of each state. What a recipe for disaster.

A roast:

“Competition across state lines sounds great in theory. The problem is it becomes “a rush to the bottom.” Insurance Companies will move to states with the least regulations. You buy insurance thinking you’re covered, as your state requires, but it’s not required in the state where the insurance company is located. Patients get less coverage, outrageous “out of pocket” expenses, but pay the same premiums; this increases the profits for insurance companies.” Link.

So after people get sick, THEN they learn their bargain coverage is complete crapola, or phoney. Then they get to try and sue a huge well funded company out of state. We have enough of this already.

Bigd: and get government out of the business and costs will come down and people can afford it.>>

DAR
You’ve been saying that for decades and it’s only gotten worse.

Bigd: There is no reason for us to pay for someone else’s education or health care.>>

DAR
So you want to destroy our education system too. Of course.

Bigd: How did anyone ever make it 200 years ago?>>

DAR
They died young. Oh how you conservatives love the past! But we really don’t want to go back and “conserve” the past. We want to “progress.”

D.

D.
———-
ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Jan. 12-15, 2010. RV = registered voters

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Barack Obama?”

favorable: 58%

Link

Now, if you want to look at what the world thinks of him, and compare this to Bush. Oh, that would be a mistake to go there:

“Graphs comparing the approval ratings of presidents George W. Bush in 2008 and Barack Obama in 2009 evoke the trajectory of a pogo stick:

12 percent for Bush in Germany.

92 percent for Obama.

11 percent for Bush in France.

88 percent for Obama.

Overall, the positive reaction to the U.S. president has quadrupled from when the White House changed hands to when the survey was conducted in June.”

LINK.

So your crazy French man rant is a bit of an anomaly.

Oh, and this is rich. Canadians love them some Obama too:

Canadians prefer Obama over own leaders: poll

“A new poll suggests Canadians would prefer to vote for Barack Obama rather than cast a ballot for their own political leaders, while 45 per cent of Americans envy Canada’s health care system.”

Nice.