tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post3838693372295288903..comments2023-10-17T08:19:58.196-04:00Comments on FreeThinke: FreeThinkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-56931439948303206572013-12-03T15:16:12.739-05:002013-12-03T15:16:12.739-05:00Andie,
Wait till you reach age seventy-two, befor...Andie,<br /><br />Wait till you reach age seventy-two, before making a statement like that. <br /><br />Lots and lots and lots of people don't ever see age seventy. Many die much younger -- usually from cancers of various kinds but also from fatal accidents, criminal assault, or natural disasters.<br /><br />The Bible says three-score and ten. That's SEVENTY. Anything after that is pure gravy. ;-)<br /><br />At the same time I have shared many anecdotes about octogenarians and nonagenarians -- and even a centenarian -- I have known who were active and vital far into great old age.<br /><br />BUT, can assure you that reaching SEVENTY is awe-inspiring, and things DO begin to deteriorate qite noticeably soon after for most people.<br /><br />The exceptions tend to prove the rule. FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-76713855649698502412013-12-03T15:08:04.881-05:002013-12-03T15:08:04.881-05:00Thank you, Waylon, for the information on Dr, Smit...Thank you, Waylon, for the information on Dr, Smith. I saw part of the O'Reilly segment the other night, and was favorably impressed, I only hope The Oligarchs don't make what he's doing "illegal."<br /><br />As you my recall, past of Madame Hellary's plan was to OUTLAW the practice of medicine OUTSIDE her precious plan for Socialized Medicine, then designed secretly in the White House basement by Madame in conjunction with a creepy looking guy called Ira Magaziner. Remember Ira?<br /><br />Even in BRITAIN, they allowed private doctors to practice on a first come first served cash basis. But that was back in 1981. I have no idea what they "permit" nowadays. I do know frim talking to several british refugees who've emigrated to the USA that the AUTHORITIES WANT YOU to DIE ASAP after you reach age 65, or if you should have the misfortune to develop cancer before that.<br /><br /><b>"Healthcare for All" means INFERIOR, very LIMITED, highly RATIONED healthcare for all."<br /><br />Once we get "Universal Healthcare," I can almost guarantee none of us, who've been used to better all our lives, will like it.</b>FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-47463155796558166932013-12-03T14:51:24.977-05:002013-12-03T14:51:24.977-05:00No one seemed to understand the main point here wh...No one seemed to understand the main point here which was to emphasize and add credibility to the truth that medical care in these United States, which has always been excellent everywhere I've ever lived (several places on the Eastern Seaboard and a stint in Illinois), WAS, indeed, affordable, UNTIL we opened to the door to full blown SOCIALISM with the initiation of MEDICARE in the early SICK-sties.<br /><br />Since then, costs have soared upward at terrifying speed with ever increasing, now crippling rates.<br /><br /><b>It's the SOCIALISM, Stupid!</b><br /><br />And in my never humble opinion, no one can "fix" something that was totally rotten to begin with.<br /><br />It's like that Septic Sauce" we discussed a couple of days ago.<br /><br />There's nothing to do but THROW IT OUT and START FRESH.<br /><br />At the rate things are degenerating, we may soon have to fall back upon the likes of bloodletting at the barbershop, old-fashioned midwifery, the lady down the lane who grows herbs, faith healing in revival tents, and African Witch Doctors.<br /><br />Life in a truly free society might be shorter, but it would be far more pleasant than life in a Socialist Worker's Paradise -- the very definition of LIVING DEATH. FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-26200889099357217802013-12-03T14:49:17.607-05:002013-12-03T14:49:17.607-05:00Here's one doctor—the go-to-guy—for advocates ...Here's one doctor—the go-to-guy—for advocates of free markets and lassez-faire capitalism: <br /><br />"OKLAHOMA CITY – Opposition to the Affordable Care Act is only one of the reasons Dr. G. Keith Smith is scheduled to appear Monday night on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News program.<br /><br /><br />Smith and his colleagues have since the early 1990s rebuffed not only federal health care funding, but most “Big Insurance” requirements as well. The center is thriving as a model for affordable, market-oriented, cash-basis health care. Further, the facility’s physicians and staff share a commitment to provide reduced-cost or pro bono care for the less fortunate.<br /><br /><br />The Surgery Center has garnered rave reviews and sympathetic news stories in the regional and national news media, including in Oklahoma’s largest newspaper. He now regularly briefs members of Congress (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/physicians-to-tell-capitol-hill-our-patients-need-options-not-mandates-162609456.html).<br /><br /><br />The notoriety came slow, at first. It built the past two years, after stories that gained wide circulation through Reason.com (http://reason.com/reasontv/2012/11/15/the-obamacare-revolt-oklahoma-doctors-fi), Watchdog.org (http://watchdog.org/65686/mcguigan-markets-mandates-and-the-right-doctors/), CapitolBeatOK.com, at blogs for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and on the John Stoessel program (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb_woGzJXTY).<br /><br /><br />Dr. Smith has become a “go-to” guy for analysts, regardless of philosophy, who want a thoughtful market-oriented critique of the current and emerging state of American health care delivery.<br /><br /><br />His distrust of government came early, less a form of rebellion against his father — whom he describes as (at least in those years) “an open-minded socialist, and a smart one” – and more like a “philosophical journey together, him from the left, me…well…apolitical.”<br /><br /><br />Convinced things in Russia could not be as bad as claimed, the elder Smith went to the former Soviet Union to see for himself.<br /><br /><br />The result: “He did a 180 degree turnaround. I was proud at the time because I saw how honest my father was, how he close to be more in the real world. His trip to Russia made him think and talk to our family about freedom and how important it was, and how special America is.”<br /><br /><br />Still in those formative years, Smith and his father read Frederic Bastiat’s classic treatise, “The Law.” Then, the young Smith delved into the writings of Lew Rockwell and the libertarian philosophy of the Mises Institute."<br /><br />http://city-sentinel.com/2013/12/dr-smith-goes-to-washington-oks-favorite-doctor-son-rises-to-national-prominence-advocating-for-free-markets/Waylonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08533895509055020394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-43533753777140978962013-12-03T14:42:46.182-05:002013-12-03T14:42:46.182-05:00FT, I did a quick back of the envelope calculation...FT, I did a quick back of the envelope calculation on your stated Blue Cross benefit from 1970. If you paid $13 per quarter you'd have paid a grand sum of $52 for the year. If you employer matched your contribution was there some other hidden cost to get to an annual payment of $204 for the year, or was there fuzzy math going on back in the day as well as today?<br /><br />I do agree with your assessment of the problem today. But it's been going on for the last century, so we must be almost at the desired end "of their heart's desire". The corporate socialist rules the day and society today is working for those scheming bastards.<br /><br />Aren't there some doctors today who work outside Medicare and shun the new Obamacare, working on a cash and carry basis with patients?Waylonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08533895509055020394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-34482086033411993942013-12-03T13:45:57.874-05:002013-12-03T13:45:57.874-05:00IN CASE SOME HAVEN'T SEEN THIS:
United State... IN CASE SOME HAVEN'T SEEN THIS:<br /><br /><br />United States National Debt $17,223,530,318,485.29United States National Debt Per Person $54,237.96<br />United States National Debt Per Household $140,476.33<br />Total US Unfunded Liabilities $123,330,096,401,416.70<br />Social Security Unfunded Liability $15,121,465,930,602.15<br />Medicare Unfunded Liability $79,055,306,496,694.73<br />Prescription Drug Unfunded Liability $19,949,335,100,463.69<br />National Healthcare Unfunded Liability $9,203,988,873,656.15<br />Total US Unfunded Liabilities Per Person $388,374.11<br />Total US Unfunded Liabilities Per Household $1,005,888.96<br />United States Population 317,554,883<br /><br />What are "unfunded liabilities"? Suppose you have no assets (no house, savings etc.), and you promise to pay me $1000 per month for a year. Your "unfunded liability" is $12,000 (12 months times $1000). The Federal Government has made similar promises for Medicare, Social Security, Medicare Part D (the Prescription Drug Plan) while not setting aside any money for these programs. Eventually the bill will come due and the government will have to pay those promises by law - or change the law.<br />JonBerghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718776762194333398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-10455723264170419322013-12-03T13:37:28.221-05:002013-12-03T13:37:28.221-05:00More on the State tax revenues generated by the He...<a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-provider-and-industry-state-taxes-and-fees.aspx#Table_1" rel="nofollow">More</a> on the State tax revenues generated by the Health Care Industry.<br /><br />Like I said, $409 million in "stealth" taxes goes into Maryland's "General Fund" to pay for whatever boondogles the legislature originates (not just health care).Speedy Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01640242783952822072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-4277360952894765222013-12-03T12:05:13.817-05:002013-12-03T12:05:13.817-05:00This may come across as rude, but 72 is not old! ...This may come across as rude, but 72 is not old! I actually laughed out loud, my friend!<br /><br />AndieDivine Theatrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02553420826262806110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-17635013476896339682013-12-03T09:30:44.572-05:002013-12-03T09:30:44.572-05:00I heard on the radio this morning that a state &qu...I heard on the radio this morning that a state "Hospital Tax" was enacted in Maryland to cover a $19 million dollar shortfall in Medicaid in 2009 when a lot of people became unemployed and the State started covering a lot more people. The tax now generates about $409 million per year, which goes into the State "General Fund" (not Medicaid)... and which is not going to be cut back or curtailed.<br /><br />It is, indeed, a "cartel".Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-72824186893005758982013-12-03T06:26:45.541-05:002013-12-03T06:26:45.541-05:00In today's WaPo we read:
The enrollment recor...In today's WaPo we <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/health-care-enrollment-on-web-plagued-by-bugs/2013/12/02/e3021b86-5b79-11e3-a49b-90a0e156254b_print.html" rel="nofollow">read</a>:<br /><br /><i>The enrollment records for a significant portion of the Americans who have chosen health plans through the online federal insurance marketplace contain errors — generated by the computer system — that mean <b>they might not get the coverage they’re expecting next month</b>.<br /><br /><b>The errors cumulatively have affected roughly one-third of the people who have signed up for health plans since Oct. 1</b>, according to two government and health-care industry officials. The White House disputed the figure but declined to provide its own.<br /><br />The mistakes include failure to notify insurers about new customers, duplicate enrollments or cancellation notices for the same person, incorrect information about family members, and mistakes involving federal subsidies. The errors have been accumulating since HealthCare.gov opened two months ago...</i><br /><br />So, imagine this scenario....You believe that you have health insurance coverage and access medical treatment. When you do so, you sign a paper that stipulates you financial liability for any costs not covered by your health insurance policy. A month or so later, you get a bill that would choke a horse. Good luck with any recourse on that. Welcome to medical bankruptcy!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-29990085574509534022013-12-03T06:10:06.719-05:002013-12-03T06:10:06.719-05:00FT,
Suffice it to say that by the time –– a mere t...FT,<br /><i>Suffice it to say that by the time –– a mere thirty-five years later –– I reached sixty-five I was paying nearly EIGHT-HUNDRED DOLLARS a MONTH for a policy vastly inferior to my old Blue Cross executive coverage with a FIVE-THOUSAND DOLLAR DEDUCTIBLE</i><br /><br />And what do government employees pay as their portion of health insurance premiums? Hmmmm?<br /><br />Of course, the employer portion of government employees' health insurance is subsidized by the taxpayers.<br /><br />Talk about a scam! Sheesh.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-76577581017777020912013-12-03T06:05:24.528-05:002013-12-03T06:05:24.528-05:00This information via Drudge: No security ever buil...This information via <i>Drudge</i>: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101225308" rel="nofollow">No security ever built into Obamacare site</a>. First paragraph:<br /><br /><i>It could take a year to secure the risk of "high exposures" of personal information on the federal Obamacare online exchange, a cybersecurity expert told CNBC on Monday.</i><br /><br />Well, ain't that just wonderful? Those of us who will be forced into using the exchange will then have taken a high risk with our personal information, a risk that could well entail having our bank account(s) hacked and stripped.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.com