We are knee deep in a political storm that will determine how healthcare works for the foreseeable future. Now surprisingly enough I am not going to present a political argument. I will present some extremes and arguments used by both sides, and I will present a radical idea that when boiled down, should really be a nonsensical solution to all of this that might surprise you.
Now a history of healthcare and how we have ended up in this state of affairs in America is a long winded rabbit hole that can bore even the top political scholars so I will be brief. Before many of our lifetimes the social landscape looked vastly different, and I’m not just talking about lack of cell phones.
Think about this first as a question let’s say before America, before colonial Europe even, where did those in need turn for help?
Deuteronomy 15:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Matthew 10:7-8
New International Version (NIV)
7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Isaiah 58:7
New International Version (NIV)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Psalm 82:3-4
New International Version (NIV)
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Okay so way back when the church community took care of the poor, the widows, the sick, those who typically needed help, let’s fast forward to a bit before our time America, back before a concept known as the new deal. Now to best describe this I’ll describe a class I had several semesters back in American government. My teacher asked a similar question but expanded to the middle class. If you needed help with some problem, health and beyond who was the person you turned to. His answer was the political party. He described how when he woke up as a kid on a winter morning preparing to shovel the driveway, he would walk out to see a freshly plowed driveway with a note saying, compliments of so and so political party have a nice day. The idea then was you would turn to these community political individuals for help, they would gladly provide, then expect your vote when they ran for whatever office. The new deal occurred and a lot of these duties turned into government run programs. Again I’ll refrain from political commentary if that was good or bad.
Fast forward to today. You have heard this argument or something similar revolving around the safety net. On one side you have people claiming that poor individuals with health problems can find help at a hospital emergency room. They point to a federal law that requires ERS to give life saving care and do not deny care based on the patient’s ability to pay. Now I’ll insert my personal experience, what people do not realize is this mandate only applies to someone that is literally dyeing or going to die right then and there if something doesn’t change. So hospitals must stabilize an individual so they won’t die. Then, after that the hospitals are not required to treat you. Now both sides will argue should they shouldn’t they, making money versus providing care, evil doctors vs care givers etc etc blah blah blah. Which leads to the argument of one side that health care is a right, shouldn’t be s matter of cost to live, lots of other complicated Jargon.
So the argument today revolves more or less about should/shouldn’t the government provide healthcare, who pays for it, and that when it gets complicated.
I promised I would stick to no politics so I ask what is an alternative model to help these poor individuals who genuinely needs help, and not abuse the system, those who have diseases but don’t have funds to pay for treatment?
Yes I’m tying this into the church as you may have guessed earlier.
Now here’s the radical idea. I’m not talking about a local church, s local congregation, one denomination in s state. I’m talking Christian global idea. For example Catholics don’t take offense to this but honest question, how much revenue does the catholic church on a whole take in every month? How much revenue does any denomination take. Now my idea isn’t another outreach program, not another once a month make sandwiches for poor.
What would happen is the Christian church as a whole, made an effort to actively participate in the health care role of those in need.
Now some churches and organizations do just that on the side, but I’m saying on a whole scale.
If every Christian church put a percentage of revenue in a pool, or the church actively participates, runs health care institutions, would we have the disparity of care that exists today?
If churches actively cared for the poor, the sick, the diseased instead of just throwing money at charitable organizations. What would the world look like?
Yeh it might be an unrealistic utopian unfeasible idea.
But…is our way of thinking wrong? Should it be perfectly reasonable and there is something wrong with us? Is there something wrong with the church?
Think about it.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it, what if the church actively did what it did many years ago, and cared for the poor, the sick, those in need.
Matthew 5:16
New International Version (NIV)
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Hold on to your seats because I plan on being outright brutal here. Here is a link to a Fox News article and a few others that covers a new controversy among my favorite tv group, the duck dynasty gang.
Now for those who don’t want to read it, and trust me to give you the cliff notes I shall, even though I prefer you to do your own research and think.
Synopsis: Willie the Duck Commander CEO was planning on joining efforts with a christian organization for a charitable event. Well if you have followed the show you may remember an episode where Willie buys a vineyard with no grapes, and plans a wine tasting event in a few days. So in all Duck Dynasty shenanigans they try and make wine out of store bought grapes and needless to say It didn’t work out so well.
Fast forward to todayland and recently Duck Commander has officially jumped into a venture to make legitimate wine outside of their show shenanigans. Well as not to come to any surprise that of course has pissed off some conservative Christians out there. The group called “Family Ministries” has cancelled the charitable event over the new wine deal. citing that;
“”Our greatest responsibility is to the young people we serve. Therefore, we feel that in light of the recent news, to continue with this event would send mixed messages to the young people who go through our Adolescent Drug and Alcohol program,” Derek Bell, director of development for Family Ministries stated. “Our message must be consistent. The lives of those children may well hang in the balance. We certainly apologize to the people who have already purchased tickets, and pray they understand our position.”” – Foxnews
Now before I start to rant and rave they mention here they have an alcohol and drug program for young individuals. With a brief look through of their website it seems the group is a christian family oriented husband and wife. The husband named Reb Bradley is a pastor, radio counselor, talk show host, writer and national conference speaker. It also prominently states they have home schooled their children.
From what I gather from their sadly put together website is that they are a group that focuses on teaching children and counseling on problems that children may face.
I’m trying to figure out more fair to say about them but their website doesn’t help me out and their about us section just brags about their personal accomplishments. Here maybe you’ll find something I didn’t.
Okay so here is my scathing review of this canceling of this event.
How many other shows right now have gained the national spotlight, and have retained and I would argue, expand the christian undertones throughout the show? Duck Dynasty is sure a reality show on a bunch of rednecks who do stupid stuff that get them in trouble. Yes there is probably a lot about the show that is scripted. But you want to know one thing that isn’t?
The family dinner after every episode, that starts with a prayer in Jesus’s name.
How do I know this?
Because they have stated that they were told by the producers that they needed to cut back on the Jesus stuff because they might alienate people.
Phil the leader of the duck dynasty clan had a very witty response in saying he will not stop saying it. Read this link if you want more of that event.
And what happened? The show is still freaking huge and growing, even sometimes annoyingly by the consumerism blitz in your local walmart, as a friend said, why would I want to wake up to a pillow with all those bearded men on it, the only bearded face on this pillow should be mine.
And by no means, these people are not perfect, as watching one episode will reveal, sometimes rarely you’ll hear a bleeped curse word (which according to independent journal review article above was fake), pretty much all of them do dip, and they aren’t the smartest people on the block.
Which means they are human, I would argue they exhibit more humanity than the majority of Christians stuck up in their sanctuary.
WE Christians have this uncanny ability to tear each other down because we believe bible verse a says this and you are wrong and going to hell. When in reality their only backing to that belief is their mommy and daddy told them that when they grew up and that’s all they know and believe. We will alienate each other based on an interpretation of one verse and will absolutely demolish the dead horse until all parties are so sick of each other you’d think the conversation is between sworn enemies instead of brothers and sisters in Christ.
In fact as I have argued many times before, its one of the reasons that people outside the church want nothing to do with the church because if Christians treat each other like that then who is to say what they will treat non believers?
We have denominations for a reason, in my humble opinion it’s God giving us some room to worship Him in our own way on Sunday so were not busy bashing each other over the head over our disagreements every Sunday.
And here is a testimony. One of the most frustrating, challenging, and infuriating environments I have ever been in is not my Liberal college class arguing about the sanctity of life, It was a group of fellow christian peers of a different denomination. If you could of heard the questions and conversation there you would of thought I was from Mars with my personal beliefs. Needless to say one time I wanted to scream at them at their continued efforts to change my mind that they should look up other “religions” and Google Mormonism, Jehovah witness, Islam, and tadaa what I believe isn’t that crazy!
Okay so this event that this group canceled was over the wine right. The event was to raise money for the groups school expansion for the children they serve.
So it’s easy to conclude the event was more or less for the benefit of children.
And the group canceled it, because they have an issue with wine.
That is absolutely pathetic. You seriously could’t get over your differences to benefit children? Seriously?
Hey here’s a radical idea that I just came up with. Instead of canceling the event, you go ahead, you raise money for Children, then you go home with your kid and explain to them that even though you disagree with alcohol, sometimes you have to work together with other people you disagree with, this time fellow Christians, for the benefit of others less fortunate.
See your fear of associating with duck dynasty would send a message that you condone alcohol use, I am not bashing your beliefs, but you instead sent a message to your kids that you are not to associate with anyone what so ever that doesn’t 100% agree with you. And you sent a loud message to non-believers everywhere that your group is too christian for the duck dynasty crew, or they aren’t christian enough for your group.
This is absolutely appalling and you are the reason that the church is in this apathetic solitary state.
We all have a different opinion with alcohol, personally I don’t want to drink any because when I turn 21 I will be carrying a weapon to protect my friends and family around me. I never want to be mentally impaired in case I am called to help someone. Personally I hang with my friends who drink and I drove them to and from the event, because i’d rather know their safe in my car than drink and drive and get themselves killed. Anyone who knows me knows I won’t drink any to compromise that. If you don’t agree with alcohol then don’t go to a bar, and if you feel you will cave to peer pressure then don’t go to a bar with people who drink. But all of this is honestly a different side of the coin. This duck dynasty and family ministries venture was to help children. not at a bar, not at a wine testing event. I honestly can assume that Willie wasn’t going to waltz in there and say, o yeh by they way were selling booze now, look for it coming soon! If you believe that your an idiot.
See and in all of this I am not saying you can not have an opinion of alcohol use. If you believe that alcohol is evil then good on you, stand up for your opinions. But if you can’t look over the rims of your classes to someone that has a different opinion and you can’t shut your mouth long enough to benefit children? You are pathetic. I am honestly out of appropriate adjectives that describes my distaste right now.
This isn’t like the family group was teaming up with some hardcore secular tv show like the real housewifes of fredericksburg county, or biker club, then okay your association with them would be slightly questionable. It would be another discussion entirely if your RAISING MONEY FOR CHILDREN. But another Christian group because they are making wine? Seriously? You are the reason for the dysfunction of the church, add that to your next book and seminar o pastor radio host.
If you haven’t heard about the storm that has devastated the Philippines then I wonder where have you been. I can safely say this because I have purposely been trying to avoid the news coverage of the disaster.
Now in these situations I even wonder to myself my reaction of trying to avoid coverage of this event. It is not that I do not care about these lives that were lost or that are in turmoil right now. It isn’t the typically I can’t do anything about it so why bother attitude. I can donate money to a reputable organization and if I cared even deeper than that then I would volunteer my time with an organization in some way to help out the situation.
So is it that I don’t care or something else.
The media coverage on this event is fascinating, you can not avoid the coverage, in fact the news on the top of the hour of my talk radio station this morning went on and on about how many lives were lost and the logistical problems of handing out aid to everyone effected.
And I am not naive to question the motive of the media to cover this event so obsessively, it’s cliche but sex and blood sells right? But at the end of the day people are still clicking on these stories, people are dwelling on this tragedy. If the populace wasn’t reading then the media wouldn’t cover it.
So I guess my real problem with this whole thing is the point of not just presenting the news and what else is going on, but how can we beat this dead horse to a pulp to milk every single sensationalized story out of this tragedy, in a sense one could argue profiting from their pain but that’s a different avenue for discussion.
I mean at the end of my day I am not going over to the Philippines to help, my american brothers and sisters are already over there in there camouflage helping out the best they can. If I feel led i’ll possibly donate to a reputable organization, I prefer the red cross, more or less a guilt trip because giving blood and me don’t work out too well. I might employ my youth group and get something going to help out… along with that other community corrections housing for parolees…the operation Christmas child… the guy were sponsoring in another country… the food bank…the sister church in westvirginia…supporting the orphaned kids in that thing over there…….
Everyone has noticed this, around the time of a natural or man made disaster you see the twitter “trend” #prayfor____.
And one way of looking at this trend is wow, God and prayer can move in a very liberal and secular world of twitter.
“we all need to pray for ___” or “everyone pray for___”
This is amazing, now it is generally accepted that among this tweet is , whoever your personal god or religion is, you need to go talk to him. So in a way its a birelgious effort (yes if that isn’t a word I just made it up) to join together to send prayer to those in need.
Cool, all of this is nice but it’s what slips out, sometimes accidental, but I know sometimes very purposeful, you see these types of statements or tweets;
“Praying for ____”
“I am praying for ____”
Now This Really Annoys me, your praying for someone… that’s nice do you want a cookie?
Now typically I have noticed that these tweets are not from average people’s accounts, but from prominent figures, organizations, groups who have one central twitter. I first started noticing this trend in the last presidential election when candidates were stating: I am or WE are praying for.
Why are you telling us that you are praying for someone?
Are you trying to point out your religious? Are you truly trying to spread awareness about whatever your praying for? Do you want me to pray with you? If you want me to pray why didn’t you say “everyone pray for ___”?
Now some of you are thinking, okay Turtle man your being really nitpicky, seriously its not that big a deal and your just irritable. Well do me one more, compare this statement to the following quote.
“Praying for ______”
Matthew 6
New International Version (NIV)
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you can tell me how saying you are praying for someone on a public micro blog site for everyone to see isn’t related to that verse written many years ago, by all means comment here or on my Facebook post and tell me how you are not acting like a hypocrite.
Big “news” was made recently with all the major news networks pushing a story that the president has apologized to Americans who are loosing their health care and doctors. Of course we all know the famous quote that will be come infamous throughout time. “If you like your health care, you can keep your healthcare period.”
So I didn’t believe he would apologize, so I looked for the transcript of the interview. And instead of copy and paste the highlights and add my interpretation throughout, I am going to try something new. I have posted here the entire transcript by Washington post from NBC news (or some of us call MSDNC.)
The only change I have made is Bolding the parts I feel are important throughout his continuous rambling. At the end I will take all the Bolded portions and put them all together for a bit of fun, but here is the president in his own words (as claimed by Washington post and the NBC operatives.)
Did the President really apologize?
This will probably be the longest blog post I ever post, but don’t blame me… its your president who won’t stop talking about absolutely nothing… but anyway I digress.. President of the United States…
“And, via NBC News, here’s a complete transcript of the interview on health care between NBC’s Chuck Todd and President Obama.
CHUCK TODD:
Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Great to see you, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
Thanks to you. I’ll start with health care. It’s probably the most quoted thing or requoted thing you have said in your presidency, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” You said it a lot during the run up. At this point, though, it’s obviously something– a promise that has not been able to be kept. Just today, the Denver Post — 250,000 people in Colorado are seeing health insurance policies cancelled. Some of those people liked those policies. And they can’t keep them. What happened?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well– first of all, I meant what I said. And we worked hard to try to make sure that we implemented it properly. But obviously, we didn’t do enough– a good enough job– and I regret that. We’re talking about 5% of the population– who are in what’s called the individual market. They’re out there buying health insurance on their own.
A lot of these plans are subpar plans. And we put in a clause in the law that said if you had one of those plans, even if it was subpar– when the law was passed, you could keep it. But there’s enough churn in the market that folks since then have bought subpar plans. And now that may be all they can afford. So even though it only affects a small amount of the population, you know, it means a lot to them, obviously, when they get– this letter cancelled.
And– you know, I am deeply concerned about it. And I’ve assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law– because, you know, my intention is to lift up and make sure the insurance that people buy is effective. That it’s actually going to deliver what they think they’re purchasing. Because what we know is before the law was passed, a lot of these plans, people thought they had insurance coverage. And then they’d find out that they had huge out of pocket expenses. Or women were being charged more than men.
If you had preexisting conditions, you just couldn’t get it at all. And we are proud of the consumer protections we put into place. On the other hand, we also want to make sure that– nobody is put in a position where their plan’s been cancelled. They can’t afford a better plan, even though they’d like to have a better plan. And so we’re going to have to work hard– to make sure that those folks– are, you know, taken care of.
CHUCK TODD: Do you feel like you owe these folks an apology for misleading them?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
You know–
CHUCK TODD: Even if you didn’t intentionally do it, but at this point, they feel misled. And you’ve seen the anger that’s out there.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know– I regret very much that– what we intended to do, which is to make sure that everybody is moving into better plans because they want ’em, as opposed to because they’re forced into it. That, you know, we weren’t as clear as we needed to be– in terms of the changes that were taking place. And I want to do everything we can to make sure that people are finding themselves in a good position– a better position than they were before this law happened.
Keep in mind that most of the folks who are going to– who got these c– cancellation letters, they’ll be able to get better care at the same cost or cheaper in these new marketplaces. Because they’ll have more choice. They’ll have more competition. They’re part of a bigger pool. Insurance companies are going to be hungry for their business.
So– the majority of folks will end up being better off, of course, because the website’s not working right. They don’t necessarily know it right. But it– even though it’s a small percentage of folks who may be disadvantaged, you know, it means a lot to them. And it’s scary to them. And I am sorry that they– you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me. We’ve got to work hard to make sure that– they know– we hear ’em and that we’re going to do everything we can– to deal with folks who find themselves– in a tough position as a consequence of this.
CHUCK TODD: You’ve been getting some tough criticism on this quote. Clarence Page, your hometown newspaper, The Chicago Tribune, this is not– not (UNINTEL PHRASE) White House. He’s been pretty supportive of what you said. He characterized this as a political lie. He called it a sort of– “the sort of rosy promise politicians sometimes make with such passion and confidence that they actually may have convinced even themselves that it is true.” (UNINTEL PHRASE) did politics play a role and you felt as if as the Republicans were throwing stuff at the law that you’re trying to pass it. You’re trying to do this, that you shorthanded this?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
No, I– I think we, in good faith, have been trying to take on a health care system that has been broken for a very long time. And what we’ve been trying to do is to change it in the least disruptive way possible. I mean, keep in mind that there were folks on the left who would have preferred a single payer plan. That would have been a lot more disruptive. There were folks on the right who said, “Let’s just get rid of– you know, employer deductions for health care. And give people– a tax credit and they can go buy their own health care in their own market.” That would have been more disruptive.
We tried to find– a proven model. We’ve seen it work in Massachusetts. That would be as– as undisruptive as possible. And in good faith, tried to write the law in such a way that people could keep their care. Although we really believe that ultimately, they’re going to be better off when they’re buying health care through the marketplaces. They can– access tax credits. And they’re benefiting from more choice and competition. But obviously, we didn’t do a good enough job in terms of how we crafted the law. And, you know, that’s something that I regret. That’s something that we’re going to do everything we can to get fixed. In the meantime–
CHUCK TODD:
By the way, that sounds like you’re supportive of this legislation.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Well, you– you know–
CHUCK TODD:
Various things that are out there.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
We’re– we’re looking at– a range of options. But the one thing I want to emphasize, though, Chuck, is everybody is acting as if the existing market was working. And the fact of the matter is that a whole lot of people who were in this individual market, who were buying health care on their own, because they’re not getting it through their employer, they might be happy with it this year. And then suddenly next year, the cost got jacked up by 15%-20%.
The average increase on premiums in this individual market for somebody who kept their– health care for awhile, the average increase was double digits. If they– actually got sick and used the insurance, they might find the next year their premiums had gone up. Or the insurer might have dropped them altogether, because now they had a preexisting condition.
Women were being charged as much as double compared to men. So this is a market that wasn’t working. And a whole lot of people were dissatisfied. And what we’ve done is to increase the consumer protections that are in place for those families and those folks. We’ve said, “You can’t drop people when they get sick and need it most.” We’ve said that you can’t– you know, have lifetime limits so that suddenly people think they’ve got insurance, the next thing they know they’ve got $30,000-$40,000 out of pocket expenses.
And over the long term, that is the right thing to do. But in this transition, you know, there are going to be folks who get a cancellation letter, especially when a website’s not working. They’re looking and saying, “What am I going to do now?” And– you know, we have to make sure that they– are not feeling as if they’ve been betrayed by an effort that– is designed to help them.
CHUCK TODD: Do you feel– considering how much this quote has been– it’s late night, it’s all sorts of things, that– do you understand that people are going to be skeptical of the next promise you make, of the next– or are you concerned that people are going to be wondering, “Jeez, what is the fine print that he’s not telling me?” Do you get that people might be a little more skeptical? Forget the partisans here in Washington, just average Americans.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
You know, I– I– I’ll tell you, Chuck. I– I think that– I’ve now been in national public life for seven, eight years. I’ve been president for– almost five. And I think for the most part people know that I speak my mind and I tell folks what I think and I’ve been very clear about what I’m trying to do. And I think most people know that– even if they disagree with me on certain issues— that I’m every day working hard to try to make life a little bit better for middleclass families who are– and folks who are trying to get in the middleclass who are doing the right thing and being responsible.
I think what most people I hope also recognize is that when you try to do something big like make our health care system better that there’re going to be problems along the way, even if ultimately what you’re doing is going to make a whole lot of people better off. And– I hope that people will– look at the end product. And they’re going to be able to look back and say, “You know what? We now have protections that we didn’t have before. We’ve gotten more choice and competition. I didn’t have health insurance. I now have it. I had bad health insurance. I now have good health insurance. The website’s actually working. (LAUGH) I’m getting– you know, I’m getting– you know, my kid on my insurance plan, even though he’s got asthma or some other preexisting condition.” So ultimately, I think I’ll be judged on whether this thing is better for people overall. And in the meantime, even if it’s a small percentage of people. I mean, we’re talking about 5% of the population. But– but that’s– a significant number of people. Even though a whole lot of them are going to be better off. There’s going to be a segment who– you know, I’ve ultimately got to make sure that– you know, I’m speaking to their needs and their concerns. And, you know– I take that very seriously, because I want everybody out there to know that, you know, my entire intention here is to make sure that– people have the security of affordable health care.
CHUCK TODD:
You have 21 days until November 30th. Is this website going to be running smoothly enough? If it’s not, at that point, do you sit there and say, “Okay, let’s extend the enrollment period. Let’s delay the mandate.” Do all of those plan B’s start coming into focus if November 30th hits?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Well, that– let me just say generally– and I don’t think I’m saying anything that people don’t know and I haven’t said before. I am deeply frustrated about– how this website has not worked over the first couple of weeks. And, you know, I take responsibility of that. My team take responsibility of that. And we are working every single day, 24/7, to improve it. And it’s better now than it was last week. And it’s certainly a lot better than it was on October 1st.
I’m confident that it will be even better by November 30th and that the majority of people are going to be able to get on there. They’re going to be able to enroll. They’re going to be able to apply. And they’re going to get a good deal– a better deal than they’ve got right now when it comes to buying health insurance.
Now that– you know, having said that– given that I’ve been burned already with– a website– well, more importantly, the American people have been burned by– a website that has been dysfunctional. What we’ve also been doing is creating a whole other set of tracks. Making sure that people can apply by phone effectively. Making sure that people can apply in person effectively. So what I’m confident about is that anybody who wants to buy health insurance through the marketplace, they are going to be able to buy it. And–
CHUCK TODD:
So no delays? You– you have no plans or might– might–
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Keep in mind– keep in mind that the open enrollment period, the period during which you can buy health insurance is available all the way until March 31st. And we’re only five weeks into it. So we’ve got a whole bunch of time not only to get the website fixed, to work out all the kinks, to make sure that everybody has the information that they need. And what we’ll do is– continue to assess if there are roadblocks for people, we’re going to clear out those roadblocks. We are going to make sure that they can access–
(OVERTALK)
CHUCK TODD:
–whatever it takes?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Whatever it takes for people to be able to get what is good-quality health insurance at cheaper prices or better insurance for the same price as bad insurance– that they’ve got right now. We’re going to make sure that they have access to that market.
CHUCK TODD:
You still have full confidence in Kathleen Sebelius?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
You know, I think Kathleen Sebelius, under tremendously difficult circumstances over the last four and a half years– has done a great job in setting up– the insurance markets so that there is a good product out there for people to get. You know, Kathleen Sebelius doesn’t write code. Yeah, she wasn’t our I.T. person. I think she’d be the first to admit that– if we had to do it all over again, that there would have been a whole lot more questions that were asked, in terms of how this thing is working. But my priority right now is to get it fixed. And– you know, ultimately, the buck–
CHUCK TODD: Is she still the right person (UNINTEL)?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Ultimately, the buck stops with me. You know, I’m the president. This is my team. If it’s not working, it’s my job to get it fixed.”
CHUCK TODD: I’ll start with health care. It’s probably the most quoted thing or requoted thing you have said in your presidency, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” You said it a lot during the run up. At this point, though, it’s obviously something– a promise that has not been able to be kept. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well– first of all, I meant what I said.But obviously, we didn’t do enough– a good enough job– and I regret that. We’re talking about 5% of the population–
we put in a clause in the law that said if you had one of those plans, even if it was subpar– when the law was passed, you could keep it.. So even though it only affects a small amount of the population, you know, it means a lot to them, obviously, when they get– this letter cancelled.
CHUCK TODD: Do you feel like you owe these folks an apology for misleading them
CHUCK TODD: Even if you didn’t intentionally do it, but at this point, they feel misled. And you’ve seen the anger that’s out there.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know– I regret very much that– what we intended to do, which is to make sure that everybody is moving into better plans because they want ’em, as opposed to because they’re forced into it. That, you know, we weren’t as clear as we needed to be– in terms of the changes that were taking place.
So– the majority of folks will end up being better off, of course, because the website’s not working right. They don’t necessarily know it rightAnd I am sorry that they– you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me. We’ve got to work hard to make sure that– they know– we hear ’em and that we’re going to do everything we can– to deal with folks who find themselves– in a tough position as a consequence of this.
CHUCK TODD: You’ve been getting some tough criticism on this quote.He characterized this as a political lie. did politics play a role and you felt as if as the Republicans were throwing stuff at the law that you’re trying to pass it. You’re trying to do this, that you shorthanded this?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And what we’ve been trying to do is to change it in the least disruptive way possible.
. But obviously, we didn’t do a good enough job in terms of how we crafted the law. And, you know, that’s something that I regret.
CHUCK TODD: Do you feel– considering how much this quote has been– it’s late night, it’s all sorts of things, that– do you understand that people are going to be skeptical of the next promise you make, of the next– or are you concerned that people are going to be wondering, “Jeez, what is the fine print that he’s not telling me?” Do you get that people might be a little more skeptical? Forget the partisans here in Washington, just average Americans.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:. And I think for the most part people know that I speak my mind and I tell folks what I think and I’ve been very clear about what I’m trying to do. And I think most people know that– even if they disagree with me on certain issues—
when you try to do something big like make our health care system better that there’re going to be problems along the way, So ultimately, I think I’ll be judged on whether this thing is better for people overall.a small percentage of people. I mean, we’re talking about 5% of the population. But– but that’s– a significant number of people. Even though a whole lot of them are going to be better off.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I don’t think I’m saying anything that people don’t know and I haven’t said before. I am deeply frustrated about– how this website has not worked over the first couple of weeks. And, you know, I take responsibility of that. My team take responsibility of that.
Now that– you know, having said that– given that I’ve been burned already with– a website– well, more importantly, the American people have been burned by– a website that has been dysfunctional.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And– you know, ultimately, the buck–
CHUCK TODD: Is she still the right person (
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Ultimately, the buck stops with me. You know, I’m the president. This is my team. If it’s not working, it’s my job to get it fixed.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So did the President of the United states lie when he said “if you like your healthcare you can keep your healthcare period.”
Is this really an apology?
This is your world you are living in…does any of this bother you?
Following the loss of ken and the win of terry mcawful I have been listening and reading what people are saying about the loss of Ken Cuccinelli . Specifically for the question of why terry mcawfull won. The overriding theme I’ve heard is the argument that the libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis took votes away from ken and thus caused his loss. This is especially important after a revelation that a big Obama donor funded a PAC which payed the way for Sarvis to appear on the ballot in Virginia.
Its easy to make a snap judgment and move on, but one caller in to a radio show I was listening into made me start thinking. The radio host was making the case that if Robert Sarvis place on the ballot was not bought by a Obama backer, that all the libertarians would vote for ken and he would of won, thus the argument that Sarvis stole votes from ken.
But the caller had a really important question. Why do Republicans automatically think that libertarians belong in their party and thus should vote for their candidate? Why do republicans automatically think that in the absence of a libertarian candidate that libertarians would vote for the republican candidate?
This intrigued me because this libertarian caller was anoyyed he was being pushed into the republican party, and annoyed that his group was being blamed for the Cuccinelli loss, much like I’m annoyed when people automatically associate me with being a republican.
So in essence the real question underneath it all is in the absence of a libertarian candidate, who would the libertarians vote for?
Well looking at the makeup of libertarianism you have a group of people that in the simplest of terms say the government should stay the heck out of our lives. Now this ideology extends into social issues, and as the caller mentioned a few; legalization of drugs, and removing limits on abortion.
Which leads to the fundamental question, when you boil down all your ideas, stances, believes, what is the bottom fundamental political issue that will determine your vote?
For example I will describe it personally for me.
Three general overriding social issues I prescribe to, freedom of religion, supporting thesecond amendment, and being prolife.
When it boils down to when looking at a candidate I will vote every time for the person who is prolife.
Generally the prolife prerequisite will cut out all democrats because even if they claim to be prolife they will compromise with limits and what if’s and follow their party in votes considering abortion, which I would not compromise on.
So me personally my bottom line issue is I am prolife, and underneath other reasons, politics, issues, that is the one I will vote in every time and never compromise on.
So tying this back into the libertarian vote, the libertarian was debating with the radio host on what was the reason he voted for Sarvis and would refuse to vote for ken. The caller said ken is prolife, and he’s against the legalization of drugs. Now the caller never explicitly said what his bottom line issue is, but the radio host was trying to make the argument that he should compromise on those social issues for the other side of libertarianism which argues for small government. (Which in the stance of the radio host was best exemplified by Ken Cuccinelli.)
I look at it personally, if after an election someone said… why didn’t you vote for said republican? He’s second amendment, he’s anti big government, you should compromise on your abortion stance and look at the bigger picture, I would understand perfectly what the libertarians are feeling right now.
So you can’t blame the libertarians who had that stance, they voted on their personal beliefs, as much as I disagree with some of them and the outcome. They stood on their issues and voted to what they believed was the candidate that best represented them. I respect that.
Now another issue entirely can be made that what if the Obama bundler did not pay the way for Sarvis o be in the ballot, would libertarians then vote for ken or mcawfull? I look back and say what is the underlying fundamental issue the that libertarian would of voted to for?
This makes them their own group, their own demographic as they want to be, not an assumed vote for one or the other, as many republican butt hurt people are screaming about.
So don’t blame libertarians for the loss of Ken Cuccinelli, you will find a better argument outside.
For example look at the process, the out of state funding, the Obama bundler, the abandonment of republican outside support, was Sarvis really a libertarian in the first place? the liberal media…
Etc etc etc
If you want a boogeyman to blame, do not blame the libertarians.
This will be immortalized in the about page so my biases and history will be a click away and not lost throughout the posts…
In today’s world too many people are fake, or they put on a mask to disguise their own self for an agenda. I believe that every journalist should reveal their voting habits, their religious leanings, their passions, and what makes them get up in the morning.
Let’s face it, unbiased journalism is dead, and I would argue back even in a claimed era of pure journalism, there was still something in those reporters veins that made them get up and report on whatever story they were following.
So here is my blog, I will discuss issues that annoy me, things that completely piss me off, issues I believe are important, social commentary on the world around us. I will comment on religious issues, I will comment on hypocrisy I see, even my own and those I subscribe to. I will not fake an era if unbiased commentary, for every thing that has made me to this point has influenced my ideology, my belief, and my faith.
For here is my fine print blown up to the same size letter as the rest of this introduction, these are my biases, my history, and anything else I think might influence me.
I am a christian
I am an american
I am a 20 year old white male currently with a beard
I am a single child
I have military blood in my veins
I also have government in my veins
I am pro life
I believe that everyone should have access to a firearm to protect themselves, therefore I am a supporter of the second amendment
I attended a christian school from pre-k to graduation
I attend Gmu studying criminology law and society with a minor is psychology.
I am a commuter student (and thus commuted to middle school and highschool. )
To the point of this writing I have only voted for Republicans, and the majority of them are idiots and thus why I do not align myself with a political party and get really annoyed when someone says I’m a republican or should go join them.
I believe morally homosexual marriage is wrong, however I believe that marriage is a religious institution, thus the government should tell me who I can and can’t marry.
I believe that the war in drugs is an epic political failure and should be changed.
I believe that if you come to my country you should learn my language and pay taxes, if I go to yours and I’m not giving you money as a tourist, then likewise I should learn your language.
I believe everyone should have an I’d to vote, if you can’t prove who you are then you don’t deserve the vote, if you think that is excluding the poor than find out a way to get ids cheap and or free to poor people….your giving them free food, how hard is it to get a plastic card
I am not a racist, my favorite quote is from mr ceelow green, everyone is the same color when the lights are turned out.
Likewise I think every special program or event based in race is racist and further promotes racism. Ex- black history month. native american casinos and scholarships.
The color of your skin shouldn’t matter, if you believe that then you should drop all these race related things, if you can not then you believe color is important and are a hypocrite when you yell racism, do your own part and look at the speck in your own eye,
That’s the jist of it and I’ll add more when I think of it. There will be two recurring theme throughout this blog, and if you have a thin skin then I warn you not to partake, if you get offended then go look out another blog that doesn’t make you think and hurt your brain.
Theme one-if you can’t read all if it then think about it after the last sentence then don’t bother and don’t tell me you couldn’t stomach it. Just because your attention span is too short or my topic doesn’t tickle your fancies means I give a crap and will tailor to your reading needs,
Tldr…I will not be doing them…suck it up butter cup
Theme two. There is no such thing as political correctness here. Call me what you will, it can’t be any worse than you or your goons have already called me and those who have ideas similar to mine.
The independentturtle 