Obamacare: The Logistics

ATTENTION: THE HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE USED TO SIGN UP CITIZENS FOR OBAMACARE IS HAVING DIFFICULTIES. DUE TO THESE DIFFICULTIES, IT HAS BECOME OBVIOUS THAT IF WE CANNOT TRUST OUR GOVERNMENT TO RUN A WEBSITE, WE CANNOT TRUST IT TO RUN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

Well, the Health Care Exchanges have opened, and citizens are now free to begin signing up for the newly implemented ObamaCare; and, according to the Republican Party, all hell has broken loose. Millions of uninsured citizens are getting healthcare insurance, and it is indeed the Apocalypse as we know it.

As we’ve all heard, the exchanges are exactly as convenient as everyone would like them to be. As of now, less than a dozen people have successfully signed up for ObamaCare in Alaska. According to surveys from CNN, Huffington Post, and other sources, the top three complaints about the Healthcare Exchanges seem to be:
1. I can’t log in
2. My personal information is incorrect

3. It’s too expensive

Due to these issues with the exchange, Republicans are all over Obama and his Negro Army. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) says “It’s the battle of our time.”

Rep. Louise Gohmert (R-Texas) says “They’re holding a gun to America’s head!”

As we can see, the Republican Party is sending out a distress signal, an SOS, if you like.

According to the Republican Party, we CANNOT accept this form of *SOCIALISM* (quivers) that dares attempt to trample the value of American democracy in such tyrannical proportions.

So, what do I make of this whole catastrophe? We aren’t seeing enough opinions on Obamacare yet because half of America still can’t signup, and the opinions and experiences out there are saying that this Affordable Care Act isn’t as affordable as it says it is. How about we take a look at what a governor of a state that has SUCCESSFULLY signed up a large portion of its people for Obamacare. Below is a video from CNN featuring Governor of Kentucky Steve Besheare, followed by Republican count woman Renee Elmers commenting on Steve and Obamacare. Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maa87MA7dxI

 

Now, before I address what I think about all this, I’d like to direct your attention to a comment in the comment section of the video:

 

brianstacync 4 hours ago

from a moral standpoint? that KY governor is a dickskr. is it moral to steal from millions of KY citizens to pay for 640k other deadbeats healthcare?

is it moral to take thousands of dollars out of the family balance sheet of millions of KY citizens to pay for the deadbeats healthcare

fuck you Steve Beshear

I just have to say, I find this comment very…interesting, especially coming from a Republican. 
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I distinctly recall Republicans making a point of opposing things such as abortion, and contraceptives, and premarital sex, all because they are pro-life? I mean, according to Sarah NoBrains, we have a moral obligation to care for the old, the young, the sick…basically those in need. People who sit on their lazy asses should NOT be dependent on the government, and it is up to THEM to get coverage, not the American people. 

This is where I have a problem with Republicans ragging on about Obamacare. And not just Obamacare, but Universal Healthcare in general. The idea that people should all dip into a pool of money dedicated to insuring everyone, including those who are normally denied under private insurance, is considered down-right socialism by most conservatives. Here’s a quote for ya:  “We should not have a government program that determines if you’re going to pull the plug on grandma.” —Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Aug. 12, 2009

How about this one: “The answer for healthcare is market incentives, not healthcare by a Godzilla-sized government bureaucracy.”- Mitt Romney

 

Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but these Republicans are indeed pro-life. These Republicans who advocate for an embryos right to life because it’s not up to us to determine whether or not it gets a life to live, or because life is sacred and given to us by God, and all that hullabaloo.  

Here’s the real shpeel on our Health Care system in America: In 2009, the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) gave our health care system a D. Why? 
Let’s take a look at the facts: 

A study by the Journal of Patient Safety says that up to 400,000 US citizens die due to a preventable medical error. That means that an easily treatable disease or illness was not addressed by a health care provider. Why? Lets look at some more facts:
Under most private health care providers, patients with pre-existing conditions are denied health care coverage. Sure, they are legally able to be admitted to the ER, but a few simple bills from an uninsured patient at the ER can rack up tens, even hundreds of dollars in debt within a few years. People with medical complications such as heart disease, or even arthritis, are denied health coverage. Don’t think there’s many in that situation? According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, there are roughly 130,000,000 Americans with pre-existing conditions. While not ALL of those Americans are denied health coverage, health providers may offer or negotiate a different plan, always more costly and with fewer benefits. 

On top of all THAT, 45,000 deaths each year are linked to not being able to attain good health care.

So, at the point, people actually DIE because they either can’t afford the expensive costs of health care, or because health coverage is denied to them. 

 

There are some of the facts. I could go on about the flaws on our United States Health Care system, I really could. 
So now, here’s what I think of all of it: Obamacare, everything. 

 

I think Obamacare is crap. 

Yep. It’s crap. Obamacare is possibly the most embarrassing model of universal healthcare out there. Why?
I think the first thing wrong with it is that nobody knows whats in it. Hell, we all heard her first: “But we have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what’s in it….” The fact that the Senate, the House, Congress, or the SC didn’t read the 20,000 page health care reform bill that we need DESPERATELY to actually FIX our health care system, is awful. 
I can attest to “the Affordable Care Act” being the least bit affordable. Most Americans are now paying a substantial amount MORE than they were before. The fact that Americans who are already paying high costs for health care are now paying even more makes no sense at all. The smallest packages, like the Bronze packages, also have ridiculous deposit rates. Not only are things more expensive, but the quality of health coverage being provided is worse than people with minimal coverage on private insurance. 

On top of that, I think that the government is having too much to do with running it all. Looking at other countries who have successfully implemented Universal Healthcare, there is an excess of governmental involvement in Obamacare. I think there needs to be more Medical Advisory to all of this. It’s ruining the practice of medicine. Studying medicine now is becoming a practice looked down upon by doctors, as according to many, with the incoming health care reform, it is not a promising practice. 

 

As for the idea of universal healthcare in general, I absolutely support it. 100%, all the way. I strongly believe that everyone should have a form of health coverage, and that absolutely nobody should die because they are denied coverage due to a  pre-existing condition, or because an easily curable disease was un-addressed because someone cannot afford coverage. We’ve seen it work since the 1940’s, and we’ve seen it work successfully. If we had a universal health care model like other countries have, we’d pay a universal tax of around 2,000 dollars. Many other sources say between 1,200-1,400, but after adding up everything, it’d be around a total of 2,000 dollars a year. From there, we could have free clinics—which have already been implemented in places like Washington, and work great when ran properly. A combination of the two would do our health care system off MUCH better than it is now. 

Having said that, these Republicans who claim universal healthcare is this awful socialist agenda meant to steal money from hard-working citizens to fuel their own selfish greed can go kiss my ass—they’re thinking of Social Security. Any Republican who claims to be “pro-life”, and does not advocate for a health care system that disables insurers from allowing human beings to die due to no health coverage, is a hypocritical bigot, in my opinion. All this research I’ve done, and the little facts I’ve presented (that are well enough a presentable amount that should easily open any human being with common sense’s eyes) is a few hours of simple Googleing and reading. I’m sick of all these brain-dead Tea-baggers who refuse to actually fact check and look things up themselves. I’m tired of them preaching the unconstitutionality of universal healthcare; for all I’m concerned, denying human beings health coverage should be unconstitutional. 

 

Should We Limit WBC’s Free Speech?

Throughout the history of religious bigots, God-fearing warmongers, and simply ignorant jackasses who live only to “spread God’s word” by cramming hate and hypocrisy down other people’s throats, I think it’s agreeable between non-believers and believers alike that the infamous Westboro Baptist Church are the most notably mentionable in the history of such.
I mean, the assholes picket dead soldiers funerals, for fuck’s sake.
On top of all the other horrible things they do, the Westboro Baptist Church actually believes that the reason events such as the bombing in Boston, the school shootings, and basically anything bad that happens, is because God is punishing us for homosexuality. In their minds, God is angry at us and is punishing us with atrocities because we don’t hate homosexuals.
Westboro is also responsible for shaming and protesting the funerals of deemed “sinful” celebrities, saying that any celebrity who’s credentials were not shared with God deserved to burn in hell.

I could go on extensively about all the shit the Westboro Baptist Church has done. They’re hateful, they’re hypocritical, disrespectful, inconsiderate, rude, and possibly a tad bit psychotic. I could write an entire blog about all the events and pickets and protests and interviews that Westboro Baptist Church has appalled the nation with.

But, that’s extremely cliche—and it’s also too easy.

Instead, I’ve decided pose a question. The answer to the question may seem obvious to most people, but I want you to continue reading the article, and really THINK about the question.
The questions is, SHOULD THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH BE ALLOWED TO PICKET AND PROTEST IN THE MANNER THEY DO?
Now, I’d like to provide a little bit of background as to why I’m writing this blog, and why I’m posing this question. A few days ago in a United States History Class I’m taking for credits, we were discussing the first amendment of the United States Constitution. The first amendment, as we all should know, guarantees us the right to free speech, the right to petition the government, the right to assembly, and the right to freedom of religion (among a few other principles). We elaborated specifically on the topic of freedom of speech, and what that means to other countries that don’t have it. Our teacher questioned us on why it’s important and fortunate to have free speech. Luckily, we have a diverse range of views throughout our class, from the far left to the far right. Despite our differing views, we all decided that freedom of speech is one of the greatest rights we have in the country of America, as well as in the world, and that under VERY few, if not any circumstances should that natural right be limited. What was extraordinarily interesting about our discussion was our teacher’s consistent challenging on the subject. He asked very particular questions, such as “Do extremist minorities deserve the right to free speech?” “If that speech is disrespectful to others or our country as a whole, should it  be allowed and protected under our Constitution?” I thought he would be going somewhere with such articulate questioning, but we ended up moving on— temporarily.

Following the discussion, we moved onto other amendments, addressed key elements and wording in the second amendment, and discussed the Bill of Rights. Towards the end of class, the teacher said that we were near a unit test, and that we had been working hard. He said he wanted to show us a video he had just found recently, and turned on the overhead projector. He then played this video from YouTube. I encourage you to watch, even if you’ve seen it before. It’ll help fuel the transitions.

The video angered many students. Clips of the protesters kicking around the American flag angered students especially, and the pickets of fallen soldiers even brought a few to tears. The way these people could show up to someones funeral and basically preach to them that God wants, and perhaps craves dead American soldiers with such persistence and seriousness dumbfounded the majority of the classroom.
What our teacher did next, was brilliant.

Our teacher then asked, “Does the Westboro Baptist Church have the right to do that?”
Here were some of the responses:
“These guys should be arrested for kicking around the American flag.”

“Protesting at a funeral should be illegal! I mean can’t they pick another place to do that? The families are already grieving, it’s just making it worse!”

“These assholes should burn in Hell.”

“They guys have no right to be doing that.”
“I know we have free speech, but this is too far.”

Every response from a student would instigate a grin on the teachers face. With each response, the grin grew wider. Finally, he began laughing.
Obviously, everyone in the class was puzzled. Even me. It wasn’t until my next class later on in the day when it finally hit me.

In case you haven’t caught it yet, our teacher had tricked us. Our teacher had brought out the hypocrisy of how we think, and how we judge what people do based on “‘Murican” standards and morals and ideas, especially fundamental ideas that date back all the way to the Founding Fathers infamous document known as the almighty Constitution.
What our teacher had just taught us was that no matter what our opinions are, no matter how much we disagree, and no matter how wrong one may be, free speech is inevitable in America. Under our Constitution, free speech is an ensured natural right that nobody any ANY circumstances should be deprived of.

Whether or not you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a Wiccan, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Scientologist, or the Westboro Baptist Church, you have and deserve the right to say what you want. You have the right to protest funerals, and church activities, and secular activities, industries, wall streets, lemonade stands, and schools. You have the right to speak your mind.
We are lucky enough to live in a country where one of the most basic principles of our systems of rights and wrongs is the right to say what we want. Whether we like it or not, we HAVE to let people say what they want to say, even if they wanna tell the world that the sky is purple, the Earth is flat, and God lets people die in explosions and massacres because he hates homosexuals. When we make biased decisions to censor people because their ideas are different, dramatic, insane, new, old, or anything in between, we violate ourselves as American people. We further divide ourselves as individuals who need nothing more right now than to stick together, and work as people to solve problems and build things and inform people.

The Westboro Baptist Church is barely recognized as a “church”. Some call them crazy. Some call them a cult. Some call them The Devil. With that, my fellow people,  SHOULD THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH BE ALLOWED TO PICKET AND PROTEST IN THE MANNER THEY DO?

Answer in the comments or the poll below.