Tea Parties and Obamacare

Ozrat

Ozrat

Antediluvian as Feck
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Surprised that there apparently hasn't been any discussion about the so-called Tea Parties that have been taking the USA by storm. Sorry if I missed anything that has already been posted on this subject.

Basically there is an uprising of concerned citizens that are protesting all around the country at town hall meetings and other public discussions about Obama's stimulus package. I saw the first sign of this back in June when I was driving to a training for a job that was being funded by the stimulus, but wasn't familiar with what it was at the time.

More recently the Tea Party theme has been focusing on the possibility of having a single-payer government funded health care plan for the public. Suddenly a lot of folks are coming out of their bubbles to protest against such so-called socialism. Because that's the same thing as Cuba and the USSR and Nazi Germany, right?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09xPF_9UjM[/youtube]

Getting kinda outrageous at times...

Tea Party Video: Right-Wing Tax Protests Caught On Tape

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX4F_cb9AXk[/youtube]

I think that sadly a lot of these folks do not realize that they are being played by corporate interests. They aren't fighting the potential defecit; they are protecting their extraordinary profits at the cost of the public's health. Americans spend double per capita than any other country on health care; yet we rank 37th.

The Whole Foods Approach to Obamacare

So, if y'all know of any teabaggers, please let them know that there are serious corporate influences and misinformation going on here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKI9be55N00[/youtube]

What do you think?

Edit: Look at the examples of socialised goverment programs that already exist...

USPS vs UPS and FedEx
Public schools vs Private Schools
Socialized transportation infrastructure vs toll roads
Emergency services such as fire departments and the police (except for doctors, of course) vs private security

Seems to be a good balance of public and private options. Really, this is all about private profits and not the public's interest.
 
actualy in Germany we have pretty "peacefull" private and public health insurance funds existing next to each other without much issues.

Might be cause I am not from the US but sometimes I really do not understand all the uprising they sometimes tend to make.

Thats really not meant as offense, I ream really curious to understand the reason behind it why they so heavily get angry about it.
 
I got a kick out of the second video. A bunch of angry, retired right-wingers with nothing better to do down here in Tampa? I'm shocked. No really, I am.

I get to deal with these people daily, and have heard some pretty crazy shit (did you know obama is reptilian?). But it's mostly just parroting what they heard on glenn, rush, and schnitt that day. This type can't think for themselves, so you should probably just ignore them. They'll find something else new to bitch/protest about soon enough. They always do.
 
Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude said:
I get to deal with these people daily, and have heard some pretty crazy shit (did you know obama is reptilian?).
Click to expand...
Icke? He is a loon.
 
I was especially entertained by the woman in the first video that admitted being uninterested in politics prior to this systematic dismantling of the country. "Hey guys, I don't have an actual understanding of what the fuck I'm talking about, but I am UPSET ABOUT IT!" :V

Crni Vuk said:
Thats really not meant as offense, I ream really curious to understand the reason behind it why they so heavily get angry about it.
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There's a pervasive mentality around here that if you make the biggest racket it makes you the most correct and that it will let you get your way. Most of these people have been conditioned to fly off the handle over buzzwords. If enough people and/or that feller on the television calls something socialist, then it's going to destroy this country we gotta protest it arargargharrgah! It applies to both ends of the political spectrum, though: I know my share of leftists that go nuts over anything that's deemed to be conservative. Point is, these people are idiots that don't actually understand what they're doing; they just know that they have to do something! The guy with the radio/TV show said so!

Ozrat said:
I think that sadly a lot of these folks do not realize that they are being played by corporate interests.
Click to expand...
This this thisthisthis! Also, one of the most dumbfounding arguments against healthcare reform that I've heard is that the government would be rationing care. Don't the private companies already do this? The HMO my mother has looks for any reason possible to deny helping her pay to fix whatever ails her. They're more than happy to take her money, though. There's a severe conflict of interest in this system, because the bottom line takes priority over the actual "health" and "care" bits.
 
Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude said:
This type can't think for themselves, so you should probably just ignore them. They'll find something else new to bitch/protest about soon enough. They always do.
Click to expand...

That goes for many Americans in general, left wing as well. It is far from being a far right issue only. A bit disturbing to say the least.

Have you all seen/heard about the Alex Jones "Obama Joker" posters/shirts? I actually heard about it on the news the other day. Was a bit surprised it got that much coverage. Here is one of the infowars links.

http://www.infowars.com/florida-police-interrogate-suspect-in-obama-joker-poster-crime/

infowars-shop_2066_11271973.jpg


Alex is always good for a chuckle.
 
Crni Vuk said:
Thats really not meant as offense, I ream really curious to understand the reason behind it why they so heavily get angry about it.
Click to expand...
No offense taken. It's because of corporations having the same rights as humans in this country. It's because of neocon propaganda. It's because we are the only modern industrial nation that does NOT have a public health care plan, and big pharma and capitalistcare is really comfortable with the massive profits that they have been making because of these reasons.

I saw the Obama/Joker sign the other day. I clicked on the article and saw this ad:



So sad... This is the kind of fearmongering that we have to deal with. No mention of starting a garden, of course.

Anyone hear about Kenneth Gladney? Anti-health-care-reform protester that was involved in a fight. Supposedly he got injured and showed up at a press conference later on... asking for donations... because he didn't have health insurance...
 
W. T. F. ?! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Seriously, wtf do some people think? Oh, my bad, they don't.

I have to admit that I'm rather amused by American domestic policies.
Maybe that's because our own make me cry, and it's comforting to know some people have it worse than you.

Ozrat said:
I saw the Obama/Joker sign the other day. I clicked on the article and saw this ad:

[snip]
Click to expand...
That is actually quite sad, because a lot of folks who read it wouldn't understand the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Also: THAT is why some brands of ammo got so expensive over here in the last months?

No mention of starting a garden, of course.
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Oh, please. Most guys today don't even know that you're not supposed to eat the berries when growing potatoes. Heck, they may not even know what potatoes look like, unless you slice and fry them.
 
Yeah, don't confuse Alex Jones with the conservative right. He is alittle more.......umm.... advanced than that. He's what happens when someone majors in Economics and Law, reads Ayn Rand, and then plays Deus Ex non-stop for 10 years. And then makes money from spouting it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDtfKNRTY-Q[/youtube]
 
yeah did no one told those people the difference between "social" (in the meaning of social market economy) and "socialism" ?

If china can manage to become more capilastic, I guess it would not hurt if the US gets a "bit" communism here and there ... :crazy:
 
Things like this make me glad that I live in Canada, where socialism isn't a dirty word. In fact, it's embraced and has proven to work:

ie:
CBC -> state run media that isn't propaganda
Health care -> run by the government and we aren't taxed to death
CRTC -> gov't run agency that monitors broadcasting ensuring that Canadian content is played
Wheat Board -> gov't run body that regulates the price of wheat, ensuring that family farms aren't run out by large industrial farms

etc, etc, etc...

Hell, Europe and Canada have shown, for the past 50 years, that socialism is fine.
 
Uhh... you seriously need to reconsider you definition of "socialism". Europe is doing well with all the things you just said... still, we abandoned socialism in 1989.
 
Member of Khans said:
That is actually quite sad, because a lot of folks who read it wouldn't understand the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Also: THAT is why some brands of ammo got so expensive over here in the last months?
Click to expand...
eversince Iraq the supplies have been going down. then the Obama election came, everyone freaked and supplies went down even worse.

eventhough the cost of raw materials etc has totally crashed as opposed to before the recent depression, ammo is still increasing in price. this is due to two main things:
- local wholesalers hamstering (keeping a batch and selling it a month later can yield up to 10% extra profit!)
- americans production is no longer exported and they've started buying stuff that formerly went to EU markets etc.

Ozrat said:
Anyone hear about Kenneth Gladney? Anti-health-care-reform protester that was involved in a fight. Supposedly he got injured and showed up at a press conference later on... asking for donations... because he didn't have health insurance...
Click to expand...
lol'ed.

he doesn't want others to pay his healthcare but wants others to pay his healthcare? ;)
 
I HATE living in America, it's always "we're not gonna be socialist herp-a-derp" or "we arn't gona become Russia", it's sad to know that a VAST MAJORITY of America doesn't know that Russia is no longer the USSR, and think that they're the only country on the planet that's "free" and stupid crap like that. Canada has free health care but as soon as you mention it in america EVERYONE thinks of communism, the sooner I move to Canada, the better.


I remember this part from the Watchmen that summed up the capitlist american thought process, the part where the business man said "Free is just anther word for communism" about the free power thing.

besides, whats so bad about socialism?
 
But guys, Steven Hawking would have died if he was British and those murderers at the NHS would have let him die in the waiting lines.
Good thing he's American... oh wait.

So far that is the stupidest argument against an American NHS I've heard, closely followed by Britain having the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe so the NHS (and all public health care) must be evil.
Though this does show the type of misinformation that explains why people who would benefit from this actively oppose it.
 
Ozrat said:
Edit: Look at the examples of socialised goverment programs that already exist...

USPS vs UPS and FedEx
Click to expand...
I think it's at the end of the segment but Obama opened his idiot trap again. The man needs to use his VP for what they're good at, making the stupid statements and distracting people from the president. I think the right was right about one thing, Obama does seem to enjoy being a celebrity.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-12-2009/pr
 
"We don't want our country to become like...Rusia"

She makes it sound like Rusia is fileld with bad guys and super-villains.

besides, whats so bad about socialism?
Click to expand...

It didn't work.
 
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