Dr. David Himmelstein says Dr. Howard Dean is lying about the Obama health care proposal.

Himmelstein is a founder of Physicians for a National Health Program and is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Himmelstein says that the Obama plan would mandate that people buy insurance from competing private plans – and one denuded public plan.

The private health insurance companies would cherry pick the young healthy patients, while the sick older patients would opt into the public plan – making the public plan unsustainable.

Himmelstein says the upcoming Congressional vote on the Obama health care reform has little significance because it does not represent fundamental reform.

“It’s like giving aspirin to a patient who has cancer,” Himmelstein said. “Instead of asking – what can we do to treat your cancer?”

Himmelstein says that when the time comes to vote on the Obama health plan, members of Congress should abstain.

http://www.singlepayeraction.org/blog/?p=1204

but if the Republicans hate Obamacare, then it must be great, right?

that’s rhetorical, right? (because they’re in never-ending campaign mode, and some of the money from my wallet finds its way into theirs?)

on edit: I’ve been around here for a day or two, and am firmly on record with the position that I’ve never met a rhetorical question that I don’t like.

My favorite is (a Scarecrow specialty) is the ultra-difficult Double Reverse Rhetorical…..

back soon.

Hang in there. Get some good exercise to go along with it. I’m riding my bicycle more than 50 miles most weeks (sounds like a lot, but that’s an hour a day 5 days a week).

…Murder by Spreadsheet

is the best phrase that I have seen that describes the Health Insurance industry in three words or less. It ought to be the phrase most used to frame their position.

The critics (congresscritters with public health insurance) who go on and on ad nauseum about “rationing” and “lack of choice” need to have a year or so paying for their health care and try getting treated for everything and anything their families need. Gosh…do they have coverage under say, Blue Cross in DC and their home district? How about when they need to go “out of Network” in DC for a kid’s illness or go to the ER in Fairfax or Arlington and not have “pre-authorization” because they had to get into the ER NOW not after waiting to travel the phone tree to find out that the ER at the closest hospital was not one that their insurance covered because the Doctors don’t take their insurance.

Yeah, if the spreadsheet murderers were not so good at buying and selling congressCriminals we might have what we need… so fuck you Michelle Bachmann and Michael Steele. You know you’re lying, you can’t even get your talking points in alignment.

The Can’t-Do Blue Dogs

You are visiting a strange country in which there are just two kinds of people – truthtellers and liars. Truthtellers always tell the truth and liars always lie. You hail the first two people you meet and say, “Are you truthtellers or liars?” The first person mumbles something you cant hear. The second says, “He says he is a truthteller. He is a truthteller and so am i.” Can you trust the direction that these two may give you?

Seems apt somehow.

WaPo’s Meyerson this morning asks the Blue Dogs “What the fuck are they thinking?” It’s a great, and uncharacteristic, op-ed for the Post.

I guess this means, though, that Harold’s gonna get fired.