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Health Insurance Reform Or Turd Car?

Who wouldn’t want real health care reform? Most of us want standard health services available universally to all American citizens, a sensible plan funded with tax dollars in a sensible way. We’ve waited a long time for it, mostly since President Bill Clinton introduced the idea in 1992, and appointed his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton to spearhead the effort once he was elected.

So when the President and Congress announce that they are going to give it to us, why do we back off, and even work against its enactment? There are plenty of reasons, but this analogy occurred to me and won’t leave my head. It’s like an “ear worm,” a song that you can’t get out of your mind.

See if this doesn’t make sense to you, especially those of you who can’t figure out why a group largely composed of Clinton supporters – Democrats by heritage and habit – are against the health care reform being offered, when nothing like it has ever been offered before. I’m sure it makes no sense to you. I hope this will help you understand.

Sometime in the middle of the last century, I evolved from a child to a teenager. With that evolution, I developed all the cravings of most teenagers. Paramount among these urges was a car (or truck). With a car comes mobility, freedom of movement. When paired with peer pressure, the acquisition of wheels becomes a status symbol you dare not be without. In the case of boys, these elements are the keys to the kingdom of young manhood. With those powers comes the opportunity to attract girls, and a place to woo them in privacy.

Every boy wants a vehicle all his own. It is everything. Boys start young with toy cars and trucks, some growing into collectors of models or pictures, or helping Dad or the cool kid on the block when they work on their cars and trucks. Pretending to drive the car parked in the driveway. Dreaming of the magical day when you will have your own wheels.

So what kid wouldn’t be thrilled when Dad says he’ll help you get your own wheels? Not the old family car or some piece of junk, but he’ll co-sign the loan so you can get something only a few years old! Most guys would jump at the chance! But a quick decision could be the worst decision of your life.

What if that deal is only good for the car of Dad’s choosing? Hmmm.  You’d hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what does he have in mind? In the 1960s, all my teen friends were driving cool rides like ‘57 Chevies, or ‘65 Goats, or even a VW Bus (any year, they’re all alike).

What did Dad more or less force you to buy? A 1964 Ford 4-door sedan with a small engine. A state car, driven by some low-level bureaucrat for three years, then traded in for a new one. The bank loves it! Dad is so proud! And you have your dream fulfilled – a car.  Sort of.

There’s nothing wrong with the car in particular, it’s just embarrassingly nondescript and definitely not cool. Your pleas for a better alternative are turned down by the bank and Dad, so you have a choice, wheels or no wheels. This car or save your money for a few years.

It’s a turd car!  You find it embarrassing, and it’s not going to help you get laid. Your friends will laugh at you. And worst of all, you will be having to pay for something you pretty much hate for several years. All of a sudden, bumming rides with your friends doesn’t sound so bad. Only problem there is that your buds now have girlfriends riding shotgun and you’re not exactly welcome most of the time, Mr. Crowd.

You’re too old for bicycles, too young to get your own loan, and too browbeaten to say no to Dad. After all, he’s so happy he can do this for you! But you’re the one who has to drive an auditor’s car, you’re the one who has to make 48 monthly payments (”GAWD, I’ll be 20 by then!”). As an extra bonus, you have to pay for your own insurance, and as a 16-year-old boy, those monthly payments are more than the car payments!

But you cave, you agree, you sign the loan papers and drive away in the lamest car on the road, as you see it. Now you’re locked in. This is you, your life, your personality for those vital teen years. You can forget about dating a cheerleader or home-coming queen. With this car, you’ll join the ranks of the Undatables. You have wheels, but your life is in shambles.

OK, what the hell, give it a try. Don’t be so judgmental. Ingratitude is not a virtue. At least you’re not hoofing it around town or riding transit. But then those predictions start coming true. You are NOT cool. Everyone knows it. How do you change that? About the only real solution is to move to a new town. Or join a gang.

In any case, that car is now the object of your greatest hatred (except for the mobility part). You can’t sell it for enough to break even. But with that full-coverage insurance on the damn thing, maybe you could total it without getting hurt… Hmmm…

The point of this analogy is that once you take ownership of the lame deal, once you sign the contract, you are stuck with it. You wanted your own wheels so badly, you made a deal with the Devil (banker).

Actually, this scenario could apply to anyone, even today. Any schmo with poor credit who needs a vehicle badly enough can start believing what used car salesmen tell them. Can you imagine that?

“Only 28% interest for seven years? Really? Say, that’s not so bad! And you say I can choose between the Kia and the Yugo?”

Marry the wrong person and the details are different, but the analogy is the same. Buyer’s remorse. Years of hell to pay for an impetuous decision.

When you are making a major purchase, like a house or a car, you can’t just change your mind and trade for something else. You made the deal, now you are stuck with it.

It’s even worse with new laws, particularly entitlement laws. It’s almost impossible to get them off the books, once established.

So the President and Congress Obama Democrats say they are going to bring about national health care reform. Or health insurance reform. Or something. Nobody really seems to know what it is, but dammit, we will have it and like it! Bend over and spread ‘em!

I’m willing to pay my fair share, whether in the current system or as taxes for a program for all, but I just want to know what exactly it is first. And I most urgently want to know if it’s going to extend or worsen the Obama Depression. Will it work out at least as good as Medicare? Or will it be the straw that broke the country’s back and crashes our economic system?

Before I say “I’m in,” I want to read the fine print. Better yet, I want every law-maker who has a vote on this bill to read all that fine print and have all of it translated into real words, explained carefully in lay terms with real life examples, until it is absorbed and understood by every congressperson. Then, and only then, will I have any confidence that what I’m hearing is pretty close to the truth and the actual way it will play out.

I can wait. I’ve waited this long. I just don’t want my descendants to be stuck with my turd car for eternity. And I don’t want to support a program that will cost more than we can afford when we can least afford it.

I’m in no hurry to rush universal health coverage. America needs JOBS. That is the only issue that really matters right now to most Americans.

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Comment by Eastan McNeal | 2009-08-27 22:21:18

Steve. I am out of town, or I would say more. You line:

Read the fine print..

I have never signed a contract without reading all the words.

Fire (un-elect) every member of congress who admits they do not read the bills.

Comment by Clara | 2009-08-27 22:33:04

So, we start with John Conyers.

Comment by Eastan McNeal | 2009-08-27 23:00:52

You know. I have heard leftnuts calling people, who ask their representatives to READ THE BILL, rightnuts.

Right. If someboby came in and said. Hey Nancy, I will remodel you kitched for $254,000. Would she not look at the proposal?

This is our money. Our money. Can I repeat that .. OUR MONEY.

I do not care if you are not a lawyer and you are making laws and voting on laws. You have lawyers on your staff, Mr. Conyoers, and you should use them.

READ THE BILL BEFORE YOU VOTE!

 

Comment by nan | 2009-08-28 16:46:45

I thought John Conyers hated this bill. Didn’t he say, “No one was more disappointed in Obama than I am”. ?

 
 
 

Comment by Country First | 2009-08-27 22:37:03

You did a great job explaining what is wrong with the current government proposed universal health care plan!

Congress, read the d*mn bill! We can wait another year or even more until you get it right.

Comment by FranSC | 2009-08-28 01:45:50

Not just read, but comprehend. Then question anything that is unclear, and definitely vote against anything questionable in the bill as big and unwieldly as this 1000-page healthcare monstocity.

Is there not someone who is the expert on this bill?? The advocates of it only speak in generalities – nothing specific. Why is the author or authors such a deep dark secret. At first I thought that would be Nancy Pelosi. But I have come to realize she doesn’t know either. How insane is this?

Comment by trixta | 2009-08-28 12:11:04

But keeping us all in the dark with vague generalities and platitudes IS THE PLAN! This way they can give it all away to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Also, if Congress is not reading the Bills, then who is actually writing the Bills? I think we all know the answer to that question.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 19:39:35

Trixta, please elaborate!

I don’t know who you are alluding to, frankly.

I rule out Obama as the author of anything.
I suspect you may mean George Soros or some other wizard behind the curtain.
I rule out Nancy Pelosi because I don’t think she’s a gifted bill writer (or anything else)

This leaves me thinking of a ghose writer who can write well and has radical ideas, hence, Bill Ayers.

It certainly wasn’t Hillary!

 
 
 

Comment by proud mobster | 2009-08-28 03:30:33

Obama sells the sizzle and Americans who have been burned so much in the last 9 months are asking WHERE’S THE BEEF? Ah, but the devil is in the details and Obama would rather change the name from

Healthcare Reform
Health Insurance Reform
Teddy Kennedy Care

Or anything else that will sell this pig in a poke without divulging what’s in it.

 
 

Comment by maryann | 2009-08-27 23:17:37

We’ll have to wait for someone worthy of trust to be running the show. Obama has no American’s health in interest, he just only wants control.

 

Comment by jwrjr | 2009-08-27 23:22:03

Remember, when somebody presents you with a contract (or entitlement bill) and urges you to “don’t bother reading it, just sign it”, it is a near certainty that you are about to get screwed.

 

Comment by Ginger | 2009-08-28 00:54:51

America needs JOBS. That is the only issue that really matters right now to most Americans.

Amen!

Comment by tzada | 2009-08-28 08:36:55

What America needs first and last and always is the
Constitution to be upheld and followed. Everything
else will fall into place.

We had an enginered crisis thrust upon us in order to stampede Obama into his present place in the White House. The actions or inaction of the current congress have lead us to this situation.

We have oil people from other countries manipulating oil prices, we have a man behind the curtain who has bragged about the manipulation of nations currencies. In fact Thailand told him never to come back to their country. We have untapped oil, that remains frozen, while the man who never existed bows to a Saudi king, and sends 2 B to another country for their off shore drilling, and the man behind the curtain makes millions more.

So yes Ginger we do need jobs, but we need to save our country first.

As for Health Care. They can make it a sweet sounding program and then change the rules to get what they were after to start. Any Federal program should be rejected. Once in place we will have surroundered our civil rights and our Admendment 10. They already have the death panel, which they sneaked into the stimulous package. Imagine that….

Comment by Betty | 2009-08-28 10:10:38

while the man who never existed bows to a Saudi king,

WOW ! That’s poetry.

 

Comment by Ginger | 2009-08-28 10:40:42

Steve in KC said:

America needs JOBS. That is the only issue that really matters right now to most Americans.

tzada said:

So yes Ginger we do need jobs, but we need to save our country first.

tzada, Take your superiority complex and sell it someplace else. Your condescending remarks aren’t welcome by me or anyone on this blog.

Comment by don tufts | 2009-08-28 11:18:29

well ive been a part of this blog since january 08 and tzada remarks are welcome by me so ginger dont speak for anyone but yourself.george soros is the man behind the curtain and no one knows yet what strings he pulled last fall to help crash the economy.

 

Comment by Solara 9 | 2009-08-28 11:38:30

Yes, Ginger–Don’t speak for me either! Tzada’s points are always interesting to consider and welcome.

 
 
 
 

Comment by AF catfish | 2009-08-28 01:48:27

Great post. Entertaining and makes a point. I read all the way to the end (that is saying a lot!)

Please write more in the future.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 11:24:43

Thanks, AF catfish. I’ve been writing for NQ for almost a year.
You can see my other posts here

 
 

Comment by whoframedrudy | 2009-08-28 02:10:51

1) “I want healthcare reform by the end of August.” Straight out of the Con Artist’s Handbook. It’s s.o.p. for scam artists to rush you into a decision. That’s why we call them ‘hustlers.’ Hillary’s goal was to reach universal by the end of her second term. And that was before the meltdown.

2) When Hillary linked universal to cost control, she spoke of treating the uninsured in emergency rooms after their illness has advanced. with Prevention = better health = cost control. She never talked about sacrificing health to cut costs (death panels, rationing, Medicare cuts).

3) Obots make fun of death panels. But Obama seems like something out of Isaac Asimov, some futuristic revolutionary with strange ideas–Naked Sun, Gattaca, Weather Underground. His health advisor Ezekiel Emanuel talks like Mengele. Its possible that Obama’s vision for America includes Death Panels and totalitarianism in the future. Not so with Hillary.

Comment by jwrjr | 2009-08-28 10:15:32

Please do not compare Ozero with Isaac Asimov. Unlike Ozero, Asimov did something useful with his life.

 

Comment by trixta | 2009-08-28 12:35:44

It’s not surprising that Ezekiel Emanuel wants to get rid of the physician’s Hippocratic Oath, which has as its highest priority the good of the patient. He would like to replace it with an oath toward the good of society rather than the good of the individual patient.

Check out this article «Ezekiel Emanuel: Deny Coverage to Elderly and Disabled for the Greater Good”
by Kim Priestap
Published: July 26, 2009 – 1:20 PM

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2009/07/26/ezekiel-emanuel-deny-coverage-to-elderly-and-disabled-for-the-greater-good.php

Comment by candymarl | 2009-08-28 13:30:39

First they came for the Elderly and the Disabled and I said nothing….

 
 
 

Comment by Docelder | 2009-08-28 02:35:53

Just look at the people who jumped through hoops to get the clunker free money. Now, it is being reported that the $4500 is taxable as income. But many dealers didn’t have to come down off sticker as much because of the $4500. Even then the $4500 wasn’t free because you had to turn in a car which you drove in which was destroyed with zero trade in value to get that money. So, is there a tax credit for the destroyed car’s value… ;) I doubt that, they were destroyed. So, now these people probably overpaid the base car price… lost their trade value and now are each underpaid on their taxes for the full $4500 worth. But… they got to stick their hand in our pockets… I wonder how does it feel in retrospect? Hindsight is 20/20. With this administration, nothing is above board and all words are to be parsed.

Comment by imustprotest | 2009-08-28 02:54:19

I doubt their trade ins were worth $4500 but just the same, they shouldn’t have to pay income taxes on $4500, at the very least it should the difference between $4500 and the real trade in value. I wonder if people realized they would have to pay tax on the $$?

Comment by beebop | 2009-08-28 05:39:08

Even the game shows make that much pretty clear. And that in fact is what this administration rises to the level of. A game show. “Win the Taxpayers Money,” “Cash for Flunkers,” Take your pick.

 
 
 

Comment by proud mobster | 2009-08-28 03:16:34

I was a Clinton supporter and I wanted Hillary Care but I do not want what Obama is offering. This country is broke, we cannot afford the sacrifices Obama is asking us to make. We have seen that the Stimulus Bill has created no jobs. Cash for Clunkers is a big mess. Banks continue to fail and houses continue to be foreclosed on at a record rate and unemployment continues to rise. As a Senior I don’t feel I should be asked to sacrifice my life so that illegals who work for pennies on the dollar can live off the Healthcare I paid for. I want to see every American without Healthcare have access to it — that would be about 12 Million, why then would Obama want to take Healthcare from 90% of Americans in order to cover those 12 Million?

Americans want jobs and Healthcare comes a distant 3rd on our wish list. However, Obama is programmed to give us Healthcare whether we want it or not. Why because it would give him power over everything in our lives. If this boondoggle is so good why do Dems feel they have to attack people who have valid questions about it?

Sen. Mary Landreu said today she is not ready to vote for Healthcare and bankrupt this country. I agree with her.

 

Comment by choo choo magoo | 2009-08-28 07:51:34

Excellent piece Steve!

The point of this analogy is that once you take ownership of the lame deal, once you sign the contract, you are stuck with it.

Exactly! You are stuck with the good as well as the bad and in this case the bad deals with PhRMA and Health Insurance and Hospitals make this a very expensive turd car. No thanks. I’d rather walk.

Comment by creeper | 2009-08-28 09:46:34

For a prime example of a “turd” as Steve so creatively calls it, I give you Medicare Part D.

Shoved through by Republicans, it has been a windfall for insurance companies and Big Pharma and a nightmare for seniors who must muddle through a slew of plans to figure out what might be best for them.

And the list of medications it DOESN’T cover is almost as long as the ones it does.

If you can’t get it right the first time, don’t do it at all.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 11:03:40

Here’s an excellent article on Medicare Part D. As the author says,The “D” stands for “drugs”, but critics say it should stand for “disaster”.


Getting Through The Medicare Part D Maze

 
 
 

Comment by ted | 2009-08-28 08:26:17

In the words of the POTUS,” YOU CAN PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG, BUT ITS STILL A PIG”. Its all about control.

 

Comment by politicsisdirty | 2009-08-28 09:12:24

Very teachable article not only about Obamacare or Kennedycare but making options in life.

Another reason why we should be very skeptical of the Healthcare Obama and the Dems are pushing is because the Govt is out of control in spending.

 

Comment by Serena | 2009-08-28 09:18:13

Steve you explained that so well in language any one can understand.You hit the nail on the head.We all want health care reform but we don’t want to blindly rush in to it unknown and be stuck with it for all our lives and our great,great grand children’s lives.We know how difficult or impossible it is to reverse any government policy.Some one please read this and tell us what it means in plain language.That is all we ask.Is that too much to ask.Apparently for Obama and his thugs it is.

 

Comment by Mountainaires | 2009-08-28 09:27:02

Because this is EXACTLY what the Republicans did with their Medicare Reform Bill–passed it in the dead of night after brazenly bullying it on the American people. It was a windfall profits act for insurers, and a big donut hole for seniors. And, it doubled in price between the time the vote was taken and the time the vote was announced.

It was a big ‘turd car’ that Bush pushed on unsuspecting Americans.

Now, we’re stuck with it.

Learn the lesson America.

Thanks, Steve.

 

Comment by LDW | 2009-08-28 09:40:07

America’s healthcare system is hurting the economy, and will continue to do so until Americans get a reasonable, efficient system.

Germany and France are already moving out of recession, and their economies are proving to be quite flexible in how the labour force is willing to move into innovative industries, and start-up companies. But workers in Germany and France have healthcare that follows them, regardless of whether they are employed or unemployed, or if they change jobs. Furthermore, companies in Germany and France are competing on a level playing field with companies in other Western democracies (USA excepted) in terms of the proportion of their payroll taxes or employee compensation that goes to healthcare.

Contributions to healthcare vary in other Western democracies, but most pay about half of what Americans pay, because they have set up systems that work for the people, and regulate doctors, hospitals, drug companies and insurance companies, unlike America, which lets private corporations loot the system and claim obscene profits for themselves.

Americans are already paying more than they should for healthcare. Americans are already paying more than enough to have top notch, first rate, single payer healthcare for every legal resident, with people being able to choose their doctors and hospitals, just like they do in other Western democracies with universal coverage.

Americans are paying about twice what other countries are paying, but Americans don’t live longer, and they have infant mortality rates higher than most Western democracies.

Owners of small companies in other countries don’t have to worry about hiring people with pre-existing conditions or older workers who might develop serious illnesses (I’m talking about being afraid to hire healthy people, in case they MIGHT get sick) because healthcare payments don’t penalize these groups. In Switzerland, everyone is covered, including the young, the unemployed and the elderly, and people with incomes pay according their age group. ((the age groupings are 0-18, 19-25, 25+ years old).) All people the same age are covered at the same rate, whether sick or healthy.

Americans don’t have the best healthcare system in the world, not by a long shot. Only an elite few in America have the best healthcare in the world. Even those Americans who think they have insurance find they are locked into managed-care plans that limit their choice of doctors, clinics and hospitals, and often have lifetime ‘caps’. These insured Americans live in fear of losing their jobs, and insured Americans with pre-existing conditions know that losing a job will mean they’ll never get private coverage again. Insured Americans know that even one major accident or illness can leave them exceeding their lifetime ‘caps’ and leave them with thousands of dollars in bills, and no coverage. About 100 million Americans are underinsured, and face huge co-payments for treatments that means most elective surgeries are unaffordable, and serious illness or injury can leave them bankrupt. Then there are the 40million+ Americans with no insurance at all, many of who never see a doctor for preventive care, and may end up as very expensive Medicaid patients, who could have been treated more cheaply and more effectively had they gotten care earlier.

People in countries with universal healthcare are appalled by the American system, and by Americans shouting that they want the government to keep their hands off healthcare. It’s precisely better government regulation and involvement that’s needed to stop the private corporate profiteering and looting of American healthcare.

It’s true that the Obamacare legislation now before Congress is not the answer. This is because it was written by the drug and insurance industries and gives them practically everything they want, except for that pesky Public Option, but the drug and insurance lobbies are seeding the media with hysterical cries that a Public Option would mean turning America into a Fascist / Totalitarian / Communist country. It’s high time Americans started demanding better. It’s time to call your elected representatives and tell them you expect them to work for universal single payer Medicare; time to regulate insurance companies Swiss-style or even kick them out of the primary care business altogether; time to bargain hard with Big Pharma, and also time to support the makers of generic drugs; and time for tort reform, to stop the shady practices of the legal system in the areas of medical malpractice.

 

Comment by It hits the fan | 2009-08-28 10:02:41

I agree with your characterization of the current proposal(s) as a turd. What’s needed is what Ted Kennedy would have done. They need to find a bipartisan solution with give and take on both sides.

Do it for Teddy

 

Comment by oowawa | 2009-08-28 10:26:53

Steve, this article is very well written and extremely funny. Your account of the importance of a cool car to a teenage boy is exactly correct. I remember as a high school junior in 1959 bringing home, unannounced, a ‘41 Chevy coupe with a Corvette engine, bored-stroked-racing cam-3 Stromberg 97 carbs on top, etc. It was bright yellow and had a big Woody Woodpecker smoking a cigar on the side. A Hot Rod indeed! It came with a rep, and I was an instant celebrity with the other juvenile delinquents . . .

And when my Dad first heard that thundering churning sound in the driveway and saw the car . . . Well, it wasn’t the way Ward Cleaver would have handled the situation . . .

And as for health coverage . . . well, I seem to have drifted off into my memories . . .

Comment by oowawa | 2009-08-28 11:27:21

P.S.–Even after I got the coolest wheels in the whole school, girls still wouldn’t have anything to do with me. Go figure.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 11:46:08

oowawa, that was half a century ago — it’s time to let it go, dude. ;)

Comment by oowawa | 2009-08-28 12:06:30

“Half a century ago–” it sounds like ancient history when you put it that way–all these old memories need a “voice-over,” like they used to have on the Wonder Years TV series.

Hard to drift off into nostalgia when the daily news keeps kicking me in the butt.

 
 
 
 

Comment by SoCalDem | 2009-08-28 10:28:46

The president dosen’t pass anything, the congress does. During the Bush years we had the Democrats aiding and abeting everything Bush proposed. While crying how powerless they were without a majority and nothing we the people wanted would prevail until they reached that majority. Remember Impeachment that we were going to have after we reached majority? That Nancy Pelosi took off the table upon reaching that majority. The Democrats are a joke, a really bad joke.
Country before Party!!

 

Comment by Keesha | 2009-08-28 11:08:13

“Every boy wants a vehicle all his own.”
Presumably we girls just want to do our nails?
What an insulting piece and I don’t support ObamaCare and don’t require No Quarter selling out.
It’s not written, there is no plan.
No plan.
When there’s no plan presented, there’s no plan to support.
If you want my support, you tell me what it’s for. But golly, what would a girl know, right?

Comment by jwrjr | 2009-08-28 11:29:12

Chill. That’s the way things were in the ’60s. That, among other things, has changed since then.

 

Comment by Animal Control | 2009-08-28 12:39:03

Good comeback–keep us straight.

 

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 16:35:19

Well, I certainly didn’t intend to insult anyone, so I’m sorry you feel that way, Keesha. This essay was based on my memories as a young man in 1967. For boys, in those ancient times, having a car was a necessity. I didn’t know many girls who owned cars back then. Most girls rode with their boyfriends. Of those who had cars, most were given to them by their parents, so it would not have been the same scenario of contracts, payments, etc.

Recalling history should not be taken as an insult.

 
 

Comment by Tricia Spiegel | 2009-08-28 11:45:09

Wonderful essay, Steve. I think you are onto something with that analogy.

Your essay also brought back memories of my first car. Dreams v. reality can be quite a shock when they are superimposed on each other.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 12:31:02

Thank you, Tricia. Gee, you sound like a photographer or an artist or something! “…superimposed on each other.”

 
 

Comment by Sassy | 2009-08-28 12:35:02

Great comic relief Steve!
How would you have liked the payments for
the turd car but another dude was driving it?
We know that many people don’t pay their credit card debt and mortgages, so what happens when they don’t pony up for their health care premiums?
How many enforcers will we be putting on salary?

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 20:51:58

Sassy, you said:”How would you have liked the payments for the turd car but another dude was driving it?”

Does this mean you were once the girlfriend of a musician?

What do you call a musician who just broke up with his girlfriend? Homeless.

How do you get a musician off of your front porch?
Pay for the pizza.

What do call a successful musician?
A guy whose wife/girlfriend has 2 jobs.

What do you call a musician in a 3-piece suit? The Defendant.

Yes, I’m a musician. I confess! But I never quit my day job over it!

Comment by oowawa | 2009-08-29 09:59:43

Hey Steve, these are funny! Reminds me of a stanza from Jesse Winchester’s great 60’s song, “Yankee Lady”:

She rose each morning and went to work
And she kept me with her pay
I was making love all night
And playing guitar all day
And I got apple cider and homemade bread
To make a man say grace
And clean linens on my bed
And a warm feet fire place

 
 
 

Comment by tzada | 2009-08-28 13:28:51

Stop playing the race card

As an American who happens to be black, I say to those who are playing the race card in the healthcare debate: Stop it! The very people who do all the hand-wringing about racism are the first to use it to divide us, and we are tired of it.

The racial denigration of those who show up at town meetings as “angry white folks” is disgusting. If anything is “un-American,” as Nancy Pelosi has alleged, it is her describing citizens as Nazis because they do not agree with President Obama. Americans are angrily rejecting the Democrats’ effort to jam government health care down their throats, and their displeasure has nothing to do with race.

 

Comment by tzada | 2009-08-28 13:35:14

This article goes along with what you were saying.
Excerpt hope you read the whole thing.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

“It is beginning to look as if the various fascists, racists and astroturfers who have been showing up at town halls may have stopped Obama from taking his next step in destroying America. But Obama and his cronies are like those creatures in scary movies; just when you think they’re dead and buried, they reach a hand up from the grave and grab someone’s ankle.

Somebody summed up ObamaCare very neatly. In an e-mail that was forwarded to me, it said: “Let me get this straight. We’re going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head said he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that didn’t read it but exempts them from abiding by it, signed by a President who smokes and is also exempted, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that’s nearly broke. What could possibly go wrong?”

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/08/27/re-arranging-the-deck-chairs-on-the-titanic/

Comment by Linda Anselmi | 2009-08-28 15:55:38

Tzada-

“Let me get this straight. We’re going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head said he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that didn’t read it but exempts them from abiding by it, signed by a President who smokes and is also exempted, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that’s nearly broke. What could possibly go wrong?”

That quote is priceless!

Great article Steve!

 
 

Comment by AdrianS | 2009-08-28 13:35:50

Obamacare … A Dead Duck!

A woman brought a very limp duck into a local veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m sorry, but your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”

The distressed woman wailed, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead,“replied the vet.

“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill.

”$150!” she cried, “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!?”

The vet shrugged, “I’m really sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, But with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now $150.”

From: http://www.kxmc.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=415743

Comment by foxyladi14 | 2009-08-28 15:05:17

 
 

Comment by glennmcgahee | 2009-08-28 16:11:07

Steve, what a grea5t analogy. A perfect example has happened in states already. Tennessee gave up Medicaid and Federal money to create an Insurance Program that covered the poor and also anyone who, being without insurance or expensive insurance, could buy into the state program. It was called Tenncare. Tenncare, although a state program, was farmed out to private companies. Insurance companies used as state contractors. It wasn’t long before the program became unsustainable, it was stopped, and everyone except children were kicked out leaving even the poorest and sickest without medical help and many working families without insurance although they paid into the program. They had given up medicaid, remember? The govenor of Tennessee was a democrat and had been the CEO and he may have owned a hospital/insurance company. Anyway, it turned people’s live’s upside down and there were deaths documented. Families USA made a movie about it and has the episode documented on their website. I’d be interested where they stand in this debate. This was recent as I remember. Within the last few years.

 

Comment by medical insurance | 2009-08-28 17:41:11

Great post and very entertaining. I agree that there is not rush, unless your are looking to crush one of the major republican supporters (insurance industry) before the next election. But of course Obama has not even included a hint of tort reform in any speeches, conversations, bills, ideas…anyhere, but then why would he, the Democrates are protecting the support they receive from the legal industry.

You make some very good points, with the economy in a shambles now may not be the best time to be making a $1 trillion, or more, gamble! We do need jobs, I don’t think we should be looking to crush the health insurance industry that employs 5 million Americans.

Comment by Steve_in_KC | 2009-08-28 19:49:16

Thanks for your supportive comments “health insurance.”

I agree that we don’t need to crush ANY industry right now. We need all the jobs and commerce that we can generate, by any means, if we are to create an economic recovery.

Prosecute criminals in all industries, but don’t kill the industries because of customary abuses.

 
 

Pingback by Twitter Trackbacks for Health Insurance Reform Or Turd Car? : NO QUARTER [noquarterusa.net] on Topsy.com | 2009-08-29 07:02:15

[...] Health Insurance Reform Or Turd Car? : NO QUARTER http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2009/08/27/health-insurance-reform-or-turd-car – view page – cached By Steve_in_KC gravatar closeAuthor: Steve_in_KC Name: Steve Cowell Email: steve@a-plus-ks.com Site: About: See Authors Posts (31) on August 27, 2009 at 10:01 PM in Current — From the page [...]

 

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