1) actually, i'm more of a same-old-shit un-supporter. so yes, i expect change.

and obama is my 3rd choice, by the way. i support him by default.

2) just a question - but do you proof read anything before you hit the "post" button?

3) Meg, he doesn't answer questions.

4) Oh yeah - I forgot about that

5) I expect him to prove you wrong, BeanWolf.

6) Why don't you get behind a real conservative instead of your so called "Maverick."

7) ALL politicians(well, successful ones) fill up their speeches with great promises for the future, and I don't expect them to fulfill many of those promises wholly because they are meant to win votes, but I do expect them to follow the path they have created by those speeches and promises.
I mostly expect him to not bullshit this country anymore into thinking that everything we want will be handed to us for nothing other than the fact that we're Americans and we think we deserve it. We don't deserve anything, but maybe a big-time ass-kicking, and certainly a large piece of humble pie. I expect him to motivate us to work for a better, more cohesive future, and to work tirelessly to have an ounce of respect on this planet once again.
He will have a bigger mess to clean up than any president for a long time, so the best I can really hope for would be to end up where we started 8 years ago, but I think that is next to impossible, and would require the vast majority of Americans to follow his lead and act much more selflessly.
We're buried in a pile of stinking, fly infested shit, basically, and I trust him to actually pick up a shovel and help, instead of just piling on more..

8) I totally agree with Matt!

9) Matt, Rangy and I agree because that accomplish change in Washington, it is the bureaucracy (sp) that is the Federal Governemt.

10) Branwolf, I think it is funny that you put (sp) next to a word you spelled correctly.

11) niki, since I am getting scaved by all of these schlors on this board, I am taking no chances from now on.

12) Really?

13) Sweet.

14) You can't write this stuff. Oh wait, yes you can.

15) LOL.

16) ROFL again and again!!

17) Oh good grief...it's an English major's nightmare. And I agree with Matt.

18) This, my friends? Best. Blog. Ever.

19) I'll second the nomination.

20) I think I just peed my pants!

21) I expect Obama to:

1. Get rid of global warming by putting 1 million electric cars that havent been invented yet on the roads.
2. I expect free college education
3. I expect a $1,000 check from the government paid for by rich people. Screw them, i am too lazy to work for my money and would rather steal others.
4. I expect change. Joe Biden has only been in DC for 40 years. He hasnt had the chance to be influenced by the same ole same ole
5. I expect the minimum wage to go up to $50/hr so everyone can be rich
6. I expect America to take a leadership role in the world again. I mean did you hear Obama order Russia and Georgia to "get along". Powerful stuff. Strong words.
7. I expect William Ayers to be pardoned for setting bombs. I mean, they deserved it right.
8. I expect Michelle Obama to be Really, Really, Really, Really proud to be an American. She is SOOOO inspiring. No envy there on her part is there.
9. I expect to be able to see a doctor whenever I want for FREE.
10 Hell, I expect Obama to make EVERYTHING Free!

22) I am busting a gut over here!!

23) Well, we're kind of pissy today, aren't we?

24) He sounds like Bean-O today

25) Before or after Bean-o?

26) HA!

27) $50/hour? Man, what would a Large Fry cost at Wendy's with that kind of labor overhead?

28) Nah....he just sounds like the original RickMonday. I thought maybe he had softened recently, but I see he is back in full swing.

29) $17.99

30) Maybe he has 'not had sexual relations with that woman' lately. That makes the best of us mad about life.

31) Mmmmm.... fries.....

32) What is wrong with free health care? What if you had cancer and were not able to pay your bills? Or better yet - What if your CHILD had cancer and then you lost your house and had to live in a hotel just because you were trying to keep your child alive (which they won't do unless you pay some bills)? Then - what if your child were to die - and you still had to pay the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars back that would take more than the rest of your life to pay back? I am sure you couldn't (and SHOULDN'T) even think about the money because you would be dealing with losing a child!!! You STILL think we shouldn't do something about free health care? Don't you think it would be hard enough just to deal with a sick kid?
Illness does not choose people due to their financial situation or their "laziness." Plenty of people have regular old BULL SHIT insurance and go completely broke just trying to keep a family member alive.
So - yes - I would like to see the families that I work with on a daily basis not have to struggle through the financial shit - there is enough to deal with already. And, I would like to know one day if my child or family member gets sick that lack of money or a corrupt insurance company will not get in the way of healing my family member.
AND - by the way - all Obama is calling for is an AFFORDABLE plan where no one is turned down. See http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
for more details. I kind of think that this is a flaw - because he should be pushing for FREE healthcare. - you know - the kind some of you are scared of because it means you would have to pay a little extra in taxes per year.
Tell me what is so bad about knowing that you will be taken care of in a fair manner and not rejected because of your financial situation that life has dealt you???????????????

33) Right on, Sista!

34) Nothing is wrong with Free Health Care, I want it to be Free. I also want Free Gas, and Free Cable TV. Of course, I expect a Free car to put my Free gas into it. While you are at it, throw in Free Clothes every month, no every day. I would also like Free Cubs tickets and Free Bears tickets. I think they should still charge for Cardinal tickets though.

In order to be fair, I have flip flopped on my minimum wage pledge of $50/hr and now think it should be $100/hr. I also think we should have Free air travel and Free DVD rentals from netflix. I also think we should have Free air. No wait, Obama wants to tax that so it is OK to tax air.

I have not been to Ruth Chris' Steak House in a while, I hope he makes that place free too.

Also, hunting licenses are starting to get pricey. I think they should be free too. I hope Obama makes the Wii free but I wont hold him to that. Making cigarettes and alcohol free would go along way to help out those addicts too. Since we pass out free heroin needles why not free 40s?

35) Seriously though Sarah, we already have free health care. Anyone can go to a community health center and receive free care. My brother's father in law runs the Will County Community Health Center and I know that they wont charge you if you cannot afford it. So, in fact we do have free health care today.

36) "Nah....he just sounds like the original RickMonday. I thought maybe he had softened recently, but I see he is back in full swing."

Courtney, I have softened a bit. Just being sarcastic. I hope I was never as bad as BeanCounter though.

37) I love my chillens.

38) Oh heck no; I respect you.

39) Rick, not every community health center can provide free care that a person needs. They mostly provide free check ups and vaccinations. They can also prescribe medicines like antibiotics for simple infections, but they don't have the resources to handle serious illnesses like cancer. They can point you in the right direction but that is far as it goes.

It's sad to see people who are suffering from severe health issues not get the treatment they need. Many of these people are like me. They make enough money to barely cover their monthly expenses. And with the raising cost of health care, they can't afford to pay their portion of the insurance through their job. So they go to the state for assistance with medicaid, but are told they make to much money to qualify and should be able to get insurance through their job. It ends up being a choice. Do I pay my rent, or pay my insurance premiums? That is what it all boils down too. So free health care? yes please...

40) If obama's speech was as great as you people make it out to be, just wait until all of you have to come up with the tax increases to pay for it. I watched the very end and as far as the supporters acted, they acted like a group of frenzied football fans, who will root for any thing. I wonder how far they trucked in the non delegates.

41) I don't see any comments saying Obama's speech was amazing, Bean. I see a discussion about the merits of free healthcare. Did I miss something?

42) Rick, you cover one of my points: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Free medical care for every one is in "Dream Land". I don't about you but my medical insurance is not free, nor would I expect it to be. The lady from NC that complained about neither one of them not having jobs and mediical insurance, well there are retraining programs offered through the Community Colleges in NC, why didn't they retrain?

43) Looking forward to paying taxes during Obama's administration. At least I will be able to support programs that benefit the greater community and not just a few. Looking forward to seeing better education for American children and less bombs being dropped on other children. I'm happy to help even you Bean-o have better Health Care.

Rick, I see you mocking and I get that you are messing around. I just wanted to say to you that in these times of financial burden even people with decent incomes are struggling with basic needs. These people are not lazy. They work HARD. The times have changed and we need health care reform now. Not in four years.

44) I don't see how free health care and free Wii, cable TV, gas, etc can be compared. Free or affordable health care should be a human right. Those other things are privileges that people make choices about. (I know you are being sarcastic, but it is really a BIG jump, don't you think?) Do you make a choice to get sick? I am talking serious illness here, not just a cold. Free clinics are great for basic stuff, but they do not cover serious illnesses. We have seen kids that have cancer and have gone to the free clinics. Guess what the free clinic told them? Because they don't have all of the materials and knowledge that regular doctor's offices have, they concluded that the kid was just making it up. They made it to the ER quick enough for our doctors to figure it out, otherwise, that kid would have died. Unfortunately the clinics are not as good as they should be.
We should take care of each other. What is wrong with helping out another person? In Brian's blog, he stated that he was proud that America spent so much money in foreign aid - the Tsunami, etc. Taxes will be raised to pay the "W's" large debt. Why can't we pay for something that will help the good of our people too?

45) Sarah is very right-the "free clinics" can barely cover the basics. Even when a person has insurance it doesn't mean they will get adequate care. Many physicians have quit practicing or have changed specialties because of the dictates of the insurance companies. As a nurse I saw decisions for care made every day based on what kind of coverage not what was best for the patient. There are many reasons health care has become a fiscal nightmare, litigation being one of the biggest, just below greed by all kinds of interests. Personally, I found myself in a situation where the only way I was going to be able to have resonable health coverage was to return to work. Because of "pre-existing" conditions an adequate private policy would cost me over $1,300 a month, almost all of my retirement income. I am now covered by my husbands benefits and I count myself very fortunate.

46) I have no problem paying taxes. I just don't like what the current administration uses them for. Also we can stop talking about free healthcare since Obama is proposing AFFORDABLE healthcare. It is different.

47) Yes it is different. It is a start. I think people are so freaked out about what free health care looks like because they think it will mean that the care is bad. If we start with making it affordable and reform then we can ease into the free version. I want Free health care but Obama is just being realistic with his plan to get us there.

48) I'd like to hear from LimeyGeorge, JimtheLimey and Pam about how well socialized medicine works - because you can call it "free" or "affordable" healthcare all you want - it still boils down to socialized medicine. I experienced that as a military dependant and really want no part of it. If I can afford and do pay for my own health insurance, I should get to choose the doctors I want to see and the treatments I receive. I do not want some old fart in Congress drafting a bill that says I have to see a certain doctor and abide by his wishes. I also clearly remember the long wait times to even get in to see a doctor for a routine illness. Most people think "free" or "affordable" healthcare will clear the backlog we have in the nation's ER's. It won't. It may actually make it worse once people realize that they have to wait 2 weeks or more to see a doctor, they will just go to the ER anyway.

49) It doesn't have to be like that. That resembles a 3rd world countries health plan, which points out how much we've given up on these programs. They only support the very poorest, or those who serve us, so everyday American Susie doesn't have to experience that frustration, and therefore doesn't demand that the system is run more efficiently.

On the private side of things, I have gone through most of my adult life without insurance, so I wait until I really have something serious to see a doctor. I get the bills. Some of them are itemized. We are being raped by this 'private' system. I have been charged $100 for a bandage before. It's sickening.

50) see - that is part of the problem - the majority of people - when ill and they go to the doctor - fail to demand an itemized bill and to question the bill. I can remember - 13 years ago - being on Medicaid - having my oldest (who was then 18 months old) end up in the hospital for 2 week and having to have 3 different surgeries in that amount of time - asking for an itemized beill and being told I should not worry about it because - after all - the government was paying for it. I kept demanding and finally got what I asked for and was appalled. By disputing a vast number of charges, I saved the government almost $10,000 for items that I was billed for and never received.
People need to be more responsible and much more proactive about their own healthcare and what they pay to a doctor. If you feel a doctor has overcharged - dispute it and then find a new doctor. Eventually the doctors that overcharge will have no patients.

51) Ultimately, people don't care what things cost unless they are paying for it themselves. That is exactly why we need competent regulation. We need to pay doctors and health care workers comparable wages in public medicine, and fund those programs fully, so they don't feel the need to steal from the insurance companies or the government. Right now, the system is so big and so profitable on the top that there is no motivation to be honest.
Say you get a phone bill, or something, from some huge corporation where you know you are just a number. When things are tight, that bill goes to the bottom of the stack. You know you have 60+ days to pay that bill before you even get a phone call, but if a friend loans you $20, you pay it back asap because you know that they made a sacrifice for you and you feel a responsibility to pay them back.
It's a strange metaphor maybe, but points to how de-humanized much of our daily life is, which causes us to be indifferent.
I used to do some maintenance work for a small doctors office. The drug reps showed up everyday with free lunch for the whole staff of about 20. They had closets stuffed with free swag like pads and coffee cups, and even more closets full of free sample drugs. This happens everyday, at every doctors office in America, and the reps get paid absurd amounts of money to do it.
Who pays for this junk? We do. Does my doctor really need to make a prescription decision based on how much free stuff they got last month? It is a very corrupt system, and it has to be reformed big time.

52) This is kind of going in a new direction, but does anyone know of somewhere in the workd that has a nationwide healthcare plan that seems to work? It's my understanding that Canada's is riddled with problems. I don't know about any other country's however. Anyone?

53) France

54) Oh, God, please don't tell me France is doing something like that better than we are? Anyone have a good link to read about it?

55) True, I was being sarcastic. But honestly this problem is so big, I dont think Obama or anyone is really going to make a differnece. With the trial lawyers suing the heck out of doctors left and right, here in Illinois many surgeons are leaving. Also, many doctors wont accept you if you have crappy insurance.

I do not totally understand all of the costs but why not have a program that will pay beginning doctors 125k/yr, pay their medical school loans off, and have them work at a totally free clinic/hospital for 3 years. This way, the people have a "free" option, the docs get paid a decent salary to start out, they gain experience, and their loans are forgiven.

Regardless, I think putting caps on lawsuits has to be a must.

Then after 3 years, the docs can go into private practice and can choose to accept traditional insurance or not. The fact is that some docs are better than others and can charge whatever they want. They will still have people lining up. If you are the best heart surgeon why should you get paid the same as the worst heart surgeon?

56) and why should the poor get the worst heart surgeon vs. the best heart surgeon?

57) Soundchick, check out England, too. I remember something about their system in Sicko.

58) I am not saying it is right, just reality. Do you think it is right to limit a persons income? The good surgeons time will be filled up with people who are willing and able to pay. The fact is they might, and many do, set aside a small amount of time to help the poorer patients. But on the whole, I dont see how a national health care program is going to work without limiting access to the top docs. I mean how are you going to tell a doc that instead of making $800k/yr, you are now only going to be making $500k. They wont go for it. So you will be stuck with the bad or inexperienced docs.

Just follow this simple rule and it will become clear. You get what you pay for.

59) One thing that I am for is to import drugs from other countries. At least I am willing to try it. But not sure it will work. Canada for example sets caps on drug prices. If they start repackaging those drugs and selling them back to the US, I suspect that pharma companies will just simply not ship as many drugs to Canada, so there wont be any drugs to sell back to the US or brokers will take their profits by selling to the US and Canadiens will not have the drugs. It would be an interesting experiment.

60) I have to argue about the tort reform issue. The caps on lawsuits seriously punish the victims. Mississippi has tort reform. It was enacted as a way to prevent doctors from fleeing the state. But who is to say that if a doctor commits malpractice and my child, husband, sister, brother, mom or dad dies as a result of that negligence, that their life is only worth $500,000 (which is the cap in Mississippi). If it was my husband who dies and I was a stay at home mom who had not been part of the work force in 5 years - $500,000 does not even begin to cover what his future earnings would have been had he been alive and able to provide for and take care of his family.

61) Here's your link:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped...

France is ranked #1 in worldwide healthcare. We're #37.

We're #37! We're #37!

62) Who cares any thing about where France is ranked in any thing, that country is a wreck and if hadn't for the US on two occaisons they would eating sauerkraut and speaking German

63) Well I care where they rank if they're that far ahead of us in healthcare. That means we have a long way to go. That means America is not the best at everything. That means, you should visit France and see if they can give you something to help you become a caring human being.

64) "I'd like to hear from LimeyGeorge, JimtheLimey and Pam about how well socialized medicine works - because you can call it "free" or "affordable" healthcare all you want - it still boils down to socialized medicine."

I come from a country that some trace of public healthcare available. Sociaised medicines work as recycled tax monies. Not sure if using the military is a good example for keeping socialised healthcare at bay, militaries are not paragons for freedom of choice. The private heath insurerers dont want to cover the sick nor the elderly, just fit young people. Now big pharma in my home country wants the government to give them free land to build their co-located hospitals, all justified because the same doctors will treat public and private patients, LMAO.


As far as I'm concerned, you can do what you want with your country , if you think that it's OK that healthcare providing institutions should become goldmines, that argument is usually justified because every rich person from around the world goes to top notch USA hospitals, then great. (Wonder if they go to Joe Blow's ratty little quackery).

I guess the French are prepared to pay for a healthcare system that works for them

65) The fact that the British healthcare system is widely criticized isn't a good argument against public/socialized/free healthcare. It only doesn't work because it isn't funded or administered very well. Personally, I've never experienced any problems and never had to pay a medical bill there.

People keep pointing out to me that it isn't free healthcare; that you pay for it in taxes. However, the only people who say this are opponents of the system. I wonder if these same people also claim that school is not free or that policing or the fire service is not free. You don't get billed for your child's schooling, neither do you get billed by the police for their services.....unless you class being stopped for speeding as a service, of course.

If you live in the UK and don't like the socialized system, you are free to get a private health plan similar to those so prevalent here. If you don't want to pay for that or can't afford to pay for that then the NHS in in place to ensure that you don't get crippled by medical bills if you get blighted by something requiring major medical treatment. I prefer that system because I have the choice. Here, I have no choice, I have to either pay the premiums or gamble that I don't get sick or, if I do, I can afford to pay the bills. I'm fortunate in that I can afford the premiums....so far....but if I get sick, maybe the insurance company decide my premiums are too small. In the UK I can get as sick as I like but my taxes don't go up as a result.