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Posted on 08/12/2004 12:05:29 AM PDT by Lepidopteran
I am a swing voter, neither Republican nor Democrat. I supported President Bush in his response to September 11 and I supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But I like John Kerry's message about the need to do something about the people in this country who have no health insurance. It's a hard choice.
bump
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BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAAA!
I'd love to respond if I thought you'd be around long enough to read it or enter into a discourse.
I am 57 with no health insurance.
My mother has Alzheimer's with no health insurance. My dad is 81 with no health insurance.
SKERRY IS *STILL* A TRAITOROUS IDIOT rushing us into greater bankruptcy with his hyper socialist compulstions to throw money at problems and any voting constiuency he can grovel toward.
AND, HE'S RUSHING US AT BREAK NECK SPEED TOWARD THE satanic world government the Bible predicts for our era so clearly--and that has been building more and more obviously in recent decades.
But mostly, he's a hollow, vain glorious; self-serving; power-mongering; duplicitous; peace-at-any-price; appeaser; . . . .
who would sell his own mother out for power, fame, etc.
He'll protect the USA about as much as he'd protect a bug that got in his way . . . about as much as he'd protect a dead body he'd stand on to get more applause or power.
About the only person on the national scene with more of a Machiavellian track record and evil heart would be Shrillery.
Beyond that, HE'S TRULY A STUPID IDIOT! Can you imagine anyone in their right minds--with the FACTS OF HIS TRACK RECORD IN VIET NAM behind him . . . USING HIS VIET NAM STING AS HIS MAJOR CLAIM TO FAME? His reality testing is not that much above that of a slug! Sheesh, what an idiot!
Further, his judgment in Viet Nam was almost exclusively self-serving and reckless--to the PERSISTENT, ROUTINE UNNECESSARY ENDANGERMENT OF HIS OWN CREW AND THE CREWS OF OTHER NAVY BOATS NEARBY.
Besides that, he was AN ARROGANT SOB FROM THE BEGINNING IN NAM--FROM THE GIT-GO--manipulating the whole scene for his own ends with a very vain glorious, blustery eye on the White House back then--but in an inauthentic, insubstantial, Machiavellian way. He wasn't earning his stripes--HE WAS STAGE-MANAGING THE APPEARANCES!
I wouldn't want such a person as dogcatcher in Dogpatch! What a loose canon! What a traitorous idiot!
And that doesn't even touch on his traitorous aid and comfort to the enemy--which North Vietnam are still thanking him for.
No wonder Cuba, Venezuella, China, Iran et al--Communist and socialist forces around the world are cheering SKERRY on.
It used to be that families and communities took care of their own. Maybe we'll have to learn to do that again.
It used to be that individuals and families depended on God and a close relationship with God. Evidently we are being challenged toward that, again.
I assure you, without health insurance, I'd much rather trust my health and future to God than to SKERRY'S socialist health care plans. I've lived for more than 10 years with a very good public health plan in Taiwan. It had it's merits. But it was also not all it was cracked up to be. And, it was primarily supported by individual and employer deductions.
SKERRY IS JUST TOOOOOOO SCARY ON A LONG LIST OF FRONTS. I wouldn't trust him with money for an ice cream cone. I wouldn't trust him with the safety of my pet turtle. I wouldn't ever, ever, ever, ever trust him with the sovereignty of the USA. He's already openly spoken of his plans to submit our sovereignty to the UN in a list of ways.
Sigh.
The Daily Oklahoman ^
| 08-09-2004
| May-Li Barki, M.D.
Effects of malpractice crisis
By, May-Li Barki, M.D.
Recent discussions and controversies on the tort reform bill have largely centered on the fact that physicians may quit practicing because we can no longer afford the liability insurance. While this is true, the effect of our malpractice crisis goes much deeper.
First, what is negligence? When a physician fails to make the proper diagnosis, does it mean he or she is negligent? Doctors are trained to put a set of signs and symptoms together and construct a list of differential diagnoses, starting with the most likely cause all the way to the most rare cause. We base our actions on such assumptions. We are going to be right most of the time because most people will have what is on the top of the list. A few patients will have the more rare causes and will require further testing and multiple office visits before we can reach the proper diagnosis. This used to be the standard approach to diagnosing problems. Today, doctors are being sued if the proper diagnosis is not made right away.
In order not to miss anything, doctors are forced to run a whole battery of tests, many of which may be unnecessary, simply so we can defend ourselves should we end up in court. This is the so-called "defensive medicine" on which we spend billions of dollars each year.
Have you ever wondered why your health insurance is so high? Many people think the money is going into the doctors' pockets. In reality, the reimbursements for physicians' services are at an all-time low. Only 16 percent or less of your health care dollars are paid to doctors. The rest goes to hospitals, insurance companies, paying for defensive medicine, etc.
I am an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), so I not only make diagnoses every day, I also deliver babies and perform surgeries. When we have a "bad baby," most people think the doctor must have done something wrong. He or she should have done a Caesarean section sooner. Many lawsuits have been filed with such assumptions, and large judgments have been granted in favor of the plaintiffs because the jurors feel badly for the child and the family.
In recent years, the rate of Caesarean sections has nearly doubled, yet the incidence of cerebral palsy has not changed. Will we continue to do a lot of Caesarean sections? Yes, because we can't afford not to; as long as we are accused of what society calls "negligence" each time a baby does not turn out perfectly, the rate of Caesarean sections will continue.
Speaking of surgery: When there are complications, is the doctor negligent? In today's climate, most people would think so. If the doctor does what he or she is supposed to do, nothing bad should happen, right? I tell you, from a patient's standpoint, that is simply not true. I recently had surgery myself. I had complications that required two additional surgeries. I know my surgeon well. I know he is technically superb. I have no doubt he did the very best he could for me, but I had the complications anyway. If I did not know any better, I probably would have contacted an attorney.
When I graduated from medical school, OB-GYN was a desired specialty. It was difficult to gain acceptance into a training program. Last year, one out of four residency positions in OB-GYN was filled with foreign medical-school graduates because U.S. graduates do not want the kind of life I have as an OB-GYN.
So if you think the malpractice crisis only affects doctors' pocketbooks, think again. You are already paying for it in a big way, and you have not seen the worst of it yet. I am a doctor, but I am a patient, too. I want good doctors to be around to take care of me, and I want reasonable health-insurance premiums just like you.
The so-called tort reform that was passed recently is nothing but a sham, and it solved nothing. If we want to try to fix our broken health care system, we must elect politicians who truly understand the crisis and have the courage to seek real reform. They have the power to make new laws, but the people have the say as to who gets that power.
Find out where your candidates stand on the health care issues and let your vote count. Do something before our health care system crashes!
Barki practices obstetrics and gynecology in Oklahoma City.
I make it a point to never ask Laz questions like that.
It appeared you were making fun of the guy that asked why he should vote for Bush 'cause he likes Kerry on health care. If I misunderstood that, sorry. Just did not feel it was the type of reply we should be giving someone asking why he should vote for Bush.
Others picked up on it as you did so maybe I am the one off base.
About your reply about your wife, arses and red hot pokers, I'm not going to touch that one. LOL Best Regards and again, sorry if I was too harsh.
Kewl Dude. I like, get your drift. Fir-Shur.!!
Whoah.. gnarly.
I thought it was funny, since the thread poster is obviously a troll.
He supports Kerry for his 'health scare initiatives'..
AAA-Aaahh! I see you have the machine that goes PING!
good post.
GOOOOOOOD post!
because of the way you stated it.
because it is fun.
because we can.
That's a noble thought. If you're willing, let's discuss it.
Some people who might like to have health insurance have none.
(I pinged biblewonk because of his #386 to you.)
Another post and run troll.
This could have been fun.
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