Rathergate.com luvs wizbang (and we agree with you on Obamacare)

There are many ways to 'change' a system, Adrian. And there are many more NEGATIVE ways than positive.

Change for the sake of 'change' is much more likely to produce problems than improvements, especially when it's a badly coordinated mass of conflicting amendements.

C'mon everyone! 50th place by 2012! We don't deserve any better!

Don't change the system!
Don't change the system!
. . .

For example, Adrian - here's what happens when something you'd normally overlook gets into a functioning, high-performance system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk12hXBmNUI

Just throwing stuff into the health care mix at random 'hoping' for 'change' will lead to the same sort of trouble.

We have more of everything. Let's keep it that way:

"The US population in late middle age is less healthy than the equivalent British population for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, lung disease, and cancer."

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/295/17/2037.pdf

Adrian, the caption contest is a different thread!

My Way is the only way. All hail Adrian, you ungrateful dolts.

So sayeth Adrian. So shall it be written, so shall it be, peasants.

Adrian,
Interesting link:
Since you have cited this study, I am wondering whether you can clarify.

From the comments section of the paper....

"But it
is equally important to recognize that
health insurance cannot be the central
reason for the better health outcomes in
England because the top SES tier of the
US population have close to universal
access but their health outcomes are of-
ten worse than those of their English
counterparts."

With the authors having noted this, could you explain how a government-administered universal health care progtam - which purports to broaden access to health care via the single payer system - will improve the general health of the US population? The paper suggests that although the population in Britain may be healthier it is clearly not due to the National Health Service or am I missing something?

Man, how many people have spent decades keeping up with their neighbors, and spending themselves into bankrupcy in the process?

Now Adrian seems to think it's a good idea to throw trillions of dollars at health care to keep up with FRANCE, based on a WHO report.

$12 tril in debt, $1.8 tril programmed deficit THIS year - SURE! If we're going to go bankrupt, let's do it in style....

Heh. I love the ' you must agree to massive gov't healthcare, or else you must believe in no changes whatsoever!!!eleventy11!! ' false choice that always seems to creep into these debates.

Can't stop the fraud, abuse and waste in Medicare/medicaid first. Can't have insurance available over state lines first. Can't have some tort reform first. etc etc etc....
Nooooo, can't have any of that, we MUST completely destroy the present system that works pretty well for the vast overwhelming majority of Americans and replace it with a massive gov't program. Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

I also love some of these commenters, who are guests here, calling the authors ' liars! lying scumbags!!!' because they have different interpretations of what the 5(!) poorly written, hastily prepared and ever changing bills are before Congress. The Troll Hammer should come out swinging. Eh, whatever. It's not my blog, so I'll shut up about that.

Adrian Browne: "The World Health Organization ranks our health care system as 37th with France being number 1."

I think everyone is hip to the political bullshit involved in the WHO ranking the United States behind Morroco and Costa Rica in their "study"...but just in case:
==> The "critieria" was weighted over 60% towards equality of access and NOT quality of care.
Thus Government run "healthcare" systems rated higher since they theoretically guarantee "equality of access"

One of the five factors in the calculations is "Financial Fairness." This favors systems that charge richer people a higher rate of health tax, irrespective of how much, or little, health service they use. Colombia comes out on top. This measure has nothing to do with the quality of health care, yet it counts for a quarter of the weighting.

the WHO ranking is BOGUS...yet gets trotted out by the Left every time they "think" they can score with it. It is thoroughly debunked...but they (and Adrian) adore it!

Then, Adrian, there's the 2nd part of your nonsensical comment: "We don't deserve any better and should just be happy with it."

The OTHER big lie of the Left on HealthCare: It's OBamaCare or NO CHANGE. They ALWAYS represent that there is NO alternative to THEIR plan except "status quo". More Leftist/Statist bullshit, of course.

Adrian, I asked for a clarification of the AMA paper. Where I went to school is you cited a paper to support your claim, you did so preparing to discuss its details.

DaveD,

Adrian can't do that. He hasn't the ability. That is why he only does the little humorous(?) one or two lines.

"The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55."

I have no idea who put together that 1000+ pages of legalese crap, but having gone through all the mind-numbing prose, I wish they'd at least shown a sense of humor and included something like:

"Upon passage of this bill, Speaker Pelosi will give Harry Reid a blow job on the front steps of the Capitol."

Then we'd know for sure who did, and who didn't read the bill prior to voting.

GarandFan: "Upon passage of this bill, Speaker Pelosi will give Harry Reid a blow job on the front steps of the Capitol."

that'll teach me to read comments with a mouth full of coffee! :)

bad imagery...great comment!

"Upon passage of this bill, Speaker Pelosi will give Harry Reid a blow job on the front steps of the Capitol."

Eww...

I just threw up in my mouth...a lot.

Now that was funny Garand,but not so much the mental picture I had. Time to take a shower.

Disgusting as it may sound, most of our politicians have been screwing us for decades, guess it's time they decided to keep it "in house".
Just saying
Madalyn

The sad part is, if you are a tax lawyer, it makes perfect sense, AND, you have already figured out a way to use it to your clients advantage.

The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.

Tylenol? Anyone have some Tylenol?

GrandFan - ""Upon passage of this bill, Speaker Pelosi will give Harry Reid a blow job on the front steps of the Capitol."

My eyes just bored a hole thru the back of my cranium and my CPU just imploded.

PLEASE no more mental images.

GrandFan - Upon further review... pelosi has proven to be a whore to her ideology, so it isn't much of a stretch to think she would be a whore in other more obvious ways.