Even As He Is Dying, Teddy Is Lying
Jul 26, 2009 Political
Teddy Kennedy, the famous drowner of women and the Binge Drinker of Hyannisport, still wants to see health care reform before he dies from brain cancer. He no longer comes to the Capitol building in Washington, but instead works from home, after many surgeries that the regular people could not afford now, much less then when we must, under the new proposed plans, ration our care.
“I have enjoyed the best medical care money (and a good insurance policy) can buy. . . . Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to,” Kennedy wrote in an unusually personal essay published in this week’s Newsweek, adding near the end of the article: “We’re almost there.”
He cited his sophisticated course of treatment — risky surgery at Duke University Medical Center to remove part of the tumor, proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital and multiple rounds of chemotherapy — as a privilege of the rich.
“My wife, Vicki, and I have worried about many things, but not whether we could afford my care and treatment.”
latimes.com
Don’t you just love the candor with which he just pours out the fact that you or I could not afford the treatment he got? “A privilege of the rich.” Yes, Teddy, I guess it is- how nice of you to point it out. It’s too late to challenge Teddy to use the same insurance that he wants to force others to have, but it truly should be written into the plan that our politicians should be subject to the same treatment options and restrictions that everyone else has to abide by. Perhaps then they would not scrimp, or ration care, or score people according to their “worth” to society.
The tragedies Kennedy experienced in his life — his brothers’ deaths, his son Ted Jr.’s partial leg amputation from bone cancer, his daughter Kara’s lung cancer — shaped a commitment to universal healthcare that spans nearly half a century. His wealth and influence enabled him to retain a brain specialist in an attempt to save his brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and find cutting-edge cancer care for his children, options he frequently has said every family deserves.
latimes.com
Yes, being rich doesn’t suck, as they say- if you have the money, you can hire who you wish, but in this “ObamaCare” bill, you wouldn’t get the same chances, or treatments Teddy has been able to obtain, due to his wealth. Instead, we would get waiting times a la Canada, incompetent doctors, (because of the Affirmative Action portions of this bill, which would require the hiring of “diverse” doctors, no matter their incompetence), and a “value” assessed on just what our “cost” to society might be.
What chafes me about Teddy, is the near reverence he has managed to evoke in the halls of Washington, simply because he, 1)- escaped being indicted for manslaughter, 2)- has a truly legendary liver, having consumed at least a distillery in his lifetime, and 3)- hasn’t (as far as we know) contracted a terminal STD (although I understand that syphilis affects the brain). Surely there should be something more to his legacy than the gist of a drinking song, and Teddy hopes that this shoddy healthcare bill is it.
Sorry- but the bill is as flawed as Teddy is- if he hadn’t been so blinded by his political partnerships with the unions, gay community, and every other liberal cause he could grope, perhaps he might have had a real- world reaction to health care reform, but, like every other liberal, he owed these special interest groups, and had to pay them back.
Ted Kennedy’s record on healthcare reform is hardly flawless. Critics believe his refusal to compromise with Presidents Nixon and Carter caused him to miss promising windows of opportunity. During the Reagan years, he bowed to labor unions and declined to back a plan for catastrophic health insurance, a move he later regretted.
latimes.com
Yep, now this healthcare thing has morphed into a blatant power grab by the liberal elites who will opt, because of their money, to seek better care for themselves because they can.
Just like in George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others.
And the Rich are the most equal of all.
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Tags: drunken driving, elites, euthanasia, kennedy, liberal
Universal Wealthcare
Jul 11, 2009 Political
I would say I told you so, but I guess I just did. The House Democrats, who never met anyone they couldn’t onerously tax, have done it again, coming up with a “plan” for “Universal Healthcare” that the wealthy would almost entirely subsidize through what I would call a “pyramid” tax. Of course, these politicians are exempt, as they have their own, gold- plated care system that ensures that everyone can be as old and senile as Sen. Byrd, or function with half a brain like Teddy Kennedy. For the rest of us, not so much.
Beginning in 2011, the plan would target all income over $350,000 a year for families and $280,000 a year for individuals, Democratic sources said. The surtax would start at 1 percent, rise to around 1.5 percent for families earning more than $500,000, then step up again, to around 3 percent, for families earning more than $1 million, Democrats said.
That would raise about $550 billion over the next decade, Democrats said — about half the cost of reforms that are expected to cost about $1 trillion. The surtax percentages could rise two years later, they added, if lawmakers think additional cash is needed to cover the cost of health-care reform.
washingtonpost.com
Oh- that’s right- they have put in language that could increase the taxes even more if they feel they need to siphon off more of your hard- earned money for their own venal purposes, and they will, be very sure of that- Dems spend money like drunken sailors (sorry, don’t mean to slur sailors- its just a metaphor)- but wait- some doctors say that this “healthcare” is not needed nor is it wanted, unless you want to die at the rate patients do in Canada and Britain.
If you need a heart bypass, you may wait more than a year for surgery. One patient in four dies while waiting- this saves money for Britain. One in five British patients with treatable lung cancer waits so long for treatment, that they have become untreatable by the time they see a specialist. This is another way Britain keeps healthcare costs down.
If you are in Canada, and you need an MRI, hope the government agrees. Canada actively restricts the use of magnetic resonance imaging. in fact, and has fewer MRI machines per capita than Hungary, South Korea, or the Czech Republic.
An estimated 60% of Canada’s radiology equipment is outdated, some of it so old that replacement parts are no longer available. Canadians often come to the U.S. to get the testing they cannot get in Canada.
PhysiciansForReform.org
That is a 25% death rate for heart patients, and a 20% rate for lung cancer patients. The United States does better, and we do it with state of the art machines, not rationed care.
The House Dems hope that with this tax upon tax upon tax idea they have, that they can still have their cake and eat it too, with regards to the state of healthcare, but when the government gets into your business it’s never good.
The top federal tax rate currently stands at 35 percent, but Democrats have vowed to raise it to 39.6 percent next year, when cuts enacted during the Bush administration expire. Combined with other federal tax adjustments, the surtax could leave most taxpayers with annual incomes more than $350,000 facing top federal rates of at least 45 percent, said Robert Carroll, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
“One has to decide whether the health-care reform package they’re talking about is worth imposing such high tax rates on the most productive members of society,” Carroll said.
washingtonpost.com
That’s right, the most productive members of society– and you need to ask yourself if they want to continue to carry everyone’s water at such an over- taxed rate. I would not- heck, if it was me, I would be looking at brochures of Belize, or perhaps Costa Rica, where our money has some true buying power.
The big problem is that a lot of the earners who actually make $350,000 and more are small businesses- many of them have been in construction, and they do their taxes on a personal 1040- which makes them responsible for everything their company buys and sells, unlike corporate taxes. So these people bear the burden of their company, while they personally do not actually make that same amount of money they have to declare, so they actually are unfairly taxed.
If you gross, as a company, $350,000- well, some of that money goes to wages for your workers, some for equipment repair, or purchase of new equipment, some for insurance, some for gas and other transportation costs. Whatever is left, and that might be 60- 70% of the gross, is the owner’s share- take the onerous taxation into account, and the owners of a small business may only actually make 20- 30% of the gross, and yet his taxes are based on the gross amount. This is not right.
“In the middle of a serious recession, with unemployment nearing double digits nationwide, the last thing we need is a tax increase on small businesses, which will cost the American economy even more jobs,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio).
washingtonpost.com
The Democratic majority has chosen this way, the way of excessive taxation, simply because it is easy for their limited intellect- they don’t have to try and strain their brains to find a truly equitable way to do this healthcare reform, they just institute more taxes. So easy- so wrong.
This is a blueprint on how to kill initiative and hard work.
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Tags: death, excessive taxation, kennedy, sickness
Why All The Fuss Over A Dog?
Apr 14, 2009 General
The world has a billion different problems happening at the same time and the only thing the media can obsess over is the dog the Obamas are getting (or have gotten). Ever since candidate Obama promised his girls they could have a dog after the campaign this seems to be the only thing I hear about.
What kind will they get? When are they getting it? Who will walk it? And on and on as if this dog were the only concern in the world. The media is acting like no one has ever gotten a dog. I know Bush had a dog and the media liked to discuss him but it never seemed to be in a friendly manner.
Regardless, this is a dog. My God I am tired of hearing about it. Now we have the media asking if it is a rescued dog as the Obamas promised during the campaign. No it is not but does it surprise anyone? This guy has not kept many promises and why would he want a mutt when he can get a pure bred to match the pedigree lifestyle of being The Won? Anyway, one of his daughters has allergies so they had to be careful what kind they got. Don’t let them parse words though, it is not a rescue but it was not a good fit with the first owner so they are saying it is a semi rescue. No, it is an expensive, well bred dog. And that’s OK, just say so. Besides, his daughter should come first and if she has allergies they need to see to that before all else.
The animal that has garnered so much attention from the adoring media is a gift from the Kennedys and the girls named him Bo (as in Bo Diddley). Convenient how BO are daddy’s initials… Here is what the article said about the dog, since everyone seems so interested:
Bo’s breeders happen to have bred Sen. Edward Kennedy’s Portuguese water dogs. The Massachusetts Democrat, an Obama friend and political ally, also acquired a pup from Bo’s litter. Bo’s breeders are fans of Obama and named Bo’s litter the Hope and Change litter.
—Bo’s first owner lives in Washington.
—Bo was returned to the breeder in early March, fitting the spring timeline the Obamas had given for their dog adoption.
—Kennedy and his wife Victoria helped line Bo up with the Obamas. Before moving into the White House, the pup spent nearly a month with the Kennedys’ dog trainer in Virginia.
In fact, Bo is a gift to the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha, from the Kennedys, said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.
I hope these girls enjoy the dog and it gives them much happiness. I think it was nice of the Kennedys to give it as a gift and I am sure the girls will appreciate it. I only hope that the dog lives a life of obscurity so we won’t have to hear about it all the time. Here is a little help for the media:
- Pirates
- Economy
- Record Deficit
- Inflation
- War on Terror (I don’t care what he calls it)
- Corruption in the Justice Department
- Obamas broken campaign promises
- iPods for the Queen
- Official gifts of DVDs
- Bowing to a King
MSM, there are plenty of things to report on so please spare us any more of the mind numbing, eye glazing dog stories.
I have to admit though, it is interesting the dog is a Portuguese water dog. I mean, how ironic is it that Kennedy would give a dog that is known for its ability to swim and retrieve things from the water?
If only he had one of these dogs with him on the night of July 18, 1969…
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Tags: dog, kennedy, Obama, portuguese water dog, rescue
Wanted: Senator, No Experience Necessary
Dec 11, 2008 Political
It will be interesting to see the number of left wing lunatics who will rationalize Caroline Kennedy’s qualification to take the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. Caroline Kennedy has no political experience other than she comes from a family full of people who have sponged off the government and have never worked real jobs in their lives. If they claim she learned by being there then it will contradict the argument that Hillary had gained no experience just by being the wife of the president. That is what the Obama campaign put out and what his supporters ran with (I happen to agree with that assessment).
There are a lot of folks who are really on board with the idea of Caroline Kennedy going to the Senate. They do not care that she has absolutely NO experience whatsoever. The very people who are in love with the idea of her serving are dismissing her lack of experience as insignificant and saying that it would be refreshing to have a regular person who is not a DC insider serving. These are the same morons who blasted Sarah Palin because they viewed her as unqualified. Palin’s regular, outside the beltway, persona was off putting to the elitist twerps who dug through trash to see what they could get on her. This was mostly because of fear but it shows the double standard that the left employs. They are good at it because the media are always willing accomplices when it comes to liberal hypocrisy.
One moron at Huffington said there was no comparison because Palin was running to be the next in line for the presidency and Kennedy would be one of a hundred. The reader is supposed to believe that Kennedy’s lack of experience is OK but Palin’s is not because of the seriousness of the job. This totally ignores the fact that Palin has political experience and it ignores the fact that she has more than Barack Obama or Joe Biden when it comes to executive service.
The morons who make this argument ignore the absolute fact that they supported Barack Obama with his lack of experience for the position of president. They voted for a man who has less experience than Palin while stating that she was not qualified to be next in line for the job. This is the stupidity that comes from the liberal mind. They lack the ability to use logic and to reason things out. As long as they win and can push their socialist agenda, they are happy.
As for Kennedy, I really don’t care who New York puts in that seat but I am opposed to political dynasties. The Kennedys have been in American politics for decades and it seems that more and more of them get elected and earn their livings off the backs of the taxpayers. We need to end this cycle of family members succeeding family members and put the Congress back in the hands of the people.
Does America really need another Kennedy in government? I will argue that she is unqualified but only because of the way the left went after Palin. The fact is that many are not very qualified when they are first elected. But if the left can deride the experience of Palin while ignoring the lack thereof with regard to Obama and Caroline Kennedy then it is only fitting we point this out and hold them to their own standard.
Will the hypocrisy of the left never end?
Related:
Camille Paglia
Kennedy is Ill but Still a Politician
May 20, 2008 Opinion, Political
Having said that, I imagine that this might be how things played out over the weekend. Senator Kennedy had a seizure and an ambulance was called. He had another seizure in route to the hospital. He was briefly at a small hospital before being airlifted to Mass General, a very good hospital. They ran some tests and did a CAT scan of his head. It was at this time they discovered his tumor. The doctors informed him that he had a tumor and they needed to do more tests to grade it and see how far along it was.
Dr.: Senator, do you want us to release any of this information?
Kennedy: How long will it take to do the tests you want to do?
Dr.: The tests can be accomplished in a few hours and we should have results back no later than Tuesday.
Kennedy: Tuesday huh. Let’s not say anything right now except that you are running tests. You see, Clinton is going to trounce Obama in Kentucky but he will win in Oregon.
Dr.: Everyone already knows that. It is all they talk about on the news but what does it have to do with your condition.
Kennedy: Its like this. I wait until Tuesday afternoon or so to disclose that I have a tumor. That bombshell will dominate the news and overshadow Clinton’s big win. All they will talk about is me. Then, since Oregon is three hours behind their polls will close when it is around 10pm in the East and most folks will be in bed so Wednesday will be all about Obama.
Dr.: I am not particularly comfortable playing politics with your health.
Kennedy: Now look here. This is my health information and I say it cannot be released until Tuesday and if it is released any earlier I will take you for a ride in my car, if you know what I mean. It is all about politics and I intend to take the thunder away from Clinton and help little Barack Osama, er, Obama er Osama Obama out.
Dr.: Sigh
Ted Kennedy has been a politician most of his life and it is all he knows. In all seriousness though, he is very sick and the limited information we are getting does not seem particularly encouraging. Some say he has a chance to live about three more years and others say, given his age and the assumption that it is inoperable, he has about a year.
I have no love for the man and cannot stand his politics. I feel he has been bad for America despite the accolades he is getting from everyone. However, he is a human being and I would not be so uncaring as to show joy over his illness like the liberals do every time Dick Cheney goes to the hospital. They hold gleeful death watches and hope this time it is for real. I cannot do that no matter how much I dislike the man.
My prayers are with him and his family. I pray he recovers but my experience tells me that is not likely and that he does not have much longer to be here. I would suggest that he resign from the Senate and enjoy life with his family doing the things he likes to do and die happy and with dignity. I am sure he will consider that but not before he helps Barry defeat Hillary.