To start the Friday Fun:
For more: Exclusive – Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview Pt. 1
Betsy McCaughey is credited with starting the notion of “death panels”. Any arguments she makes seem about perception, not reality. Read her inflammatory editorials here & here. Read inflammatory pieces about her here & here. I happen to agree that she’s not to be trusted. I don’t think that’s much of a surprise. Conservatives, this is who represents you and your views? Nice!
A reader sent me a link to this piece published on Foreign Policy:
“There is one yardstick by which U.S. health care distinguishes itself: cost. The United States spends more — in total dollars, percentage of GDP, and per capita — than every other country on Earth.”
“On virtually every other broad metric, the claim that U.S. health care stands for global excellence is demonstrably false. The United States doesn’t take a top spot in either the World Health Organization or nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund rankings. The American health-care system is not best in terms of coverage, access, patient safety, efficiency, or cost-effectiveness. It does not produce the best outcomes for diseases such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes; for the elderly, the middle-aged, or the young; or in terms of life expectancy, rates of chronic diseases, or obesity.”
“Which countries do come out on top? Often — France, Switzerland, Britain, Canada, and Japan. On the World Health Organization’s list, the United States comes out 37th.”
Via: reader Scott. Thanks, Scott!
Click to read the whole thing: The Most Outrageous U.S. Lies About Global Healthcare
Must Read of the Week
Last night, I re-tweeted @fraying (this tweet) and on his personal site he linked to a great essay from Johann Hari published by The Independent:
“You have to admire the audacity of the right. Here’s what’s actually happening. The US is the only major industrialised country that does not provide regular healthcare to all its citizens. Instead, they are required to provide for themselves – and 50 million people can’t afford the insurance. As a result, 18,000 US citizens die every year needlessly, because they can’t access the care they require. That’s equivalent to six 9/11s, every year, year on year. Yet the Republicans have accused the Democrats who are trying to stop all this death by extending healthcare of being ‘killers’ – and they have successfully managed to put them on the defensive.”
Johann Hari: Republicans, religion and the triumph of unreason
Via: Powazek
I had several responses to my retweet, one of which cited her offense at my retweet’s implication that Christians are missing the boat when it comes to healthcare reform. Another response quoted scripture that said Jesus commanded people to work for what they got. To which I replied, rightly, “bullshit.”
The longer the conservative extremists control the healthcare conversation, the more I’m feeling like the Democrats need to drop the notion of bipartisanship. Republicans are boxing themselves out of the conversation with the continued lies, distortions and insanity.