Bi-Polar America – Who is Worthy of a Healthy Life and Who is Not.

Why does Al Jazeera see American Politics more clearly than we do?  They see a bi-polar America.  The educated, progressive, inclusive side versus the selfish, dogma chained followers of enigmatic control monger conspiracy enthusiasts.  Equality is an idea that some Americans have distorted into “I am equal, you are not” and “I am entitled, you are not”.  You can see the bi-polar divide by looking at a political map.  Those in rural southern and western states are more inclined to distort religious/political Christian  rhetoric to mean that Jesus does not want the poor, homeless, jobless, and generally unwanted population to have access to the same health care they, themselves enjoy.  By this population’s definition, Jesus would have been a socialist with his arms open wide to include everyone, and they are changing that image.  Contrast that population with the tightly packed cities on the east and west coasts of the USA.  These populations witness or experience health care disparity every day, they see necessity for available health care for the mentally or physically ill among them.  They see disparity with quality of health care dependent on a patient’s income.  The rationing of health care is already a fact of life.  The new reform will remove some of that rationing and make health care a right instead of a privilege.

Fear, racism at town hall meetings

August has been the month of rage.  In made-for-television “town hall meetings” across the country, grey-haired white men and women in t-shirts stand and hurl abuse at their Congress members and senators, snarling and shouting – their eyes popping apoplectically and choking with anger.

“Protesters assert the health plan is merely the thin edge of the wedge for a socialistic overhaul of American society”

Most Americans cannot even give a reasonable definition of Socialism … they are expert at parroting someone else.

VA workers given millions in bonuses as vets await checks

• Report details financial, ethical misconduct among IT employees at VA Department
• Report: Retired VA official acted as if she was given a “blank checkbook” for bonuses
• Bonuses were paid despite backlog of vets’ disability claims

While hundreds of thousands of disability claims lay backlogged at the Department of Veterans Affairs, thousands of technology employees at the department received $24 million in bonuses, a new report says.   President Obama has told Congress it is a priority to reduce the number of backlogged claims at the VA, where claims are coming in at a faster rate than they can be processed.   According to a Government Accountability Office report, the VA processed 60 percent more claims from 1999 to 2008 than it did a decade earlier, but the number of claims still pending jumped 65 percent.

The contrast between selfless and selfish is glaring, but, typical of government management, comparison of fairness is not policy.

Pushing hard against a public health care plan, much to the delight of two seriously moneyed special interest groups–insurers and pharmaceuticals are the Blue Dogs: moderate, vocal and funded in part by the industries trying to protect their bottom line.

The excuse that their conservative constituents are against “public option health care”, only means they have failed to adequately explain WHY it is necessary and NOT SOCIALISM.

Obama Says U.S. Health-Care Debate Dominated by ‘Distortions’

Obama said opponents have falsely said that Democratic health-insurance legislation would cover illegal immigrants, provide federal funding for abortions and lead to a government takeover of health care.

“These are phony claims meant to divide us,” Obama said.

Obama said proposals for a government-run insurance plan, to compete against private insurers, have created confusion about government involvement in the health-care system.

– would give the federal government too much control over health care. 

-when the government is setting the rules and is backed by tax dollars, it will destroy, not compete, with the private sector.

Republicans are experts at distortion, they have sustained their ability to misrepresent issues, just like they did about the Iraq War.

Republican definition of reality is unrealistic in today’s world.

Racism? “You betcha!”

So, when you see these town-hall hatemongers, gun-toting “patriots” and whacked-out conspiracy theorists on your TV, remember that they are not merely common, garden variety lunatics, but heirs to a rich and time-honoured American tradition.

“Of course, these people can realise their dream of living in a no-taxes, no-government, guns-for-all society simply by moving to Somalia”