Corruption and Obamacare

I still don't see any evidence that Obamacare will reduce health care premiums for ordinary Americans. These cost controls were promised as the prime reason for Obamacare back when Barack Obama first ran for president. At Huffpo, Wendell Potter explains some of the reasons that healthcare premiums continue to skyrocket. It's a story permeated with corruption, involving the malfeasance of both Democrats and Republicans. Here's the introduction to Potter's article, "Why Americans Pay So Much for Health Care: Friends in High Places (Just Not Your Friends)":

If you wonder why we spend more money on health care than any other country but have some of the worst health outcomes, you need look no further than the halls of Congress to it figure out. And you need look no further back than the recent "fiscal cliff" drama for compelling proof of how decisions are often made, not based on protecting the public's interest and bringing costs down but on protecting the profits of pharmaceutical companies, insurance firms and other special interests that grease the palms of our elected officials.

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World’s best healthcare?

In his article at Common Dreams, Oregon doctor Samuel Metz destroys the notion that the United States has the world's best health care system.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, "We do start with the notion, however, that we have the best health care in the world." If McConnell had diabetes, he might pause. American diabetics suffer twice as many foot amputations as diabetics in Europe because they cannot afford care to prevent foot infections from turning deadly. House Speaker John Boehner says we have "the best health care delivery system in the world." But there are 35 other countries in which a pregnant woman and her baby have a better chance of surviving the pregnancy. The United States leads the industrialized world in deaths preventable with timely care. There are 15 other nations providing every citizen with lifesaving treatments denied to many unfortunate Americans.

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Quote that captures my love of sleep

Ever since Arianna Huffington convinced me to undertake the "sleep challenge," I have been trying to get more sleep, and I've been enjoying it more, as well as enjoying my better-rested awake time more. Yesterday, I stumbled across this quote: "Sleeping is my drug, my bed is my dealer and my alarm clock is the police."

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Plain Broun Wrapper (or, What’s Really In That Bag?)

I thought I might write about something other than politics this morning, but some things are just too there to ignore.  But perhaps this isn’t strictly about politics. Representative Paul Broun of Georgia recently said the following.  I’m pulling the quote from news sources so I don’t get it wrong. “God’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. It’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior. There’s a lot of scientific data that I found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I believe that the Earth is about 9,000 years old. I believe that it was created in six days as we know them. That’s what the Bible says. [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingPlain Broun Wrapper (or, What’s Really In That Bag?)