Screw Healthcare Reform & The Horse It Rode In On

On the crap sandwich we are being presented that is supposed to represent healthcare reform, Atrios nailed it yesterday:

Once it passes they will own all of it, not just the reforms. Republicans will turn every health insurance horror story in a story about how the Dems' HCR is a tremendous awful horrible failure, whether or not it has anything to do with specific reforms enacted.

This is exactly right. So I am absolutely, completely befuddled as to why anything that represent real reform is being blocked by Senate Democrats.

I simply don’t understand this apparent determination to gut healthcare reform at all costs. The two biggest problems with our current healthcare system--high cost and lack of access for millions of people--are being gutted right and left:

• Importation of drugs from overseas, which would lower costs? No way. Pharmaceutical companies don’t like it, so it’s a no-go.

• Eliminating caps on insurance benefits? Of course not! Someone facing a catastrophic illness like cancer or severe brain injury--something requiring loads of expensive hospitalization and rehab--should still face bankruptcy and financial ruin under the “new” rules.

• Real competition for insurance companies in the form of a “public option”? That’s crazy talk! Insurance companies must be allowed to maintain their monopoly to provide whatever service it is they perform -- and I’m still unclear as to what that is, since they no longer pool risk but seem to exist simply to skim their profits off the top.

• Repealing the antitrust exemption insurance companies have enjoyed since 1945, limiting competition and keeping costs high to consumers? Not yet! We’re still holding out on that one, though.

Listen, the healthcare bill sucks. It’s worse than bad because near as I can tell, it’s nothing more than a big handout to insurance companies, which in my opinion is an industry that has outlived its usefulness. Listen, insurance folks: You’re supposed to pool risk and keep costs low. You aren’t doing that, in fact, you’re doing the opposite. You’ve become a little scam fleecing hardworking people of their life savings. And you act as if you are completely unable to change your most egregious policies yourself, begging Congress to come in and pass a law against them.

What the hell?

Anyway, Democrats need to get a fucking clue. What they are expending so much time, energy, money and effort on sucks. Not because it’s “socialism” or “government-run healthcare” but because it doesn’t change a damn thing. And we’re going to come out of this nine months of town brawls and hanging Congress critters in effigy and divisive political angst and agita with a healthcare system that is still broken. I'm absolutely dumbfounded.

And excuse me, but the Republicans are no better, in fact, they're worse. They're throwing up roadblocks right and left, even trying to tell us that the system we have now is just super, in fact, is so much better than what people in other countries have. How stupid do you think we are?

Republicans and Democrats alike have come at it from opposite directions but they seem to have arrived at the same place: keep the broken system we have now. A privileged elite are making far too much money off the scam to change it.

If you ask me, it’s better to have no healthcare bill at all right now. Because it’s not worth the paltry “reforms” we’re being presented. I’d rather not have an individual mandate forcing people to buy costly private health insurance when that health insurance still caps benefits, is exempt for any competition, and the only piece of candy we’ve been presented is eliminating pre-existing conditions. Nice but not worth it.

So everyone who is asking me to call my Senator asking them to support the healthcare bill: No. My Senators are Republicans and they are not going to support it anyway. They aren’t supporting it for all the wrong reasons but we at least have arrived at the same place.

Democrats: you screwed up. BIG time.

Things That Really Suck

Editor & Publisher is shutting down.

There simply are no words. None. I can't right now express how important Editor & Publisher has been over the past century to American journalism. You're just going to have to trust me on this.

Since I come from a family of newspaper people, I grew up with E&P arriving at our doorstep every week. It's analyses of the news media, not to mention the copious job listings, were like oxygen to the American media. E&P closing down is a bellweather.

Today is the day the media died.

Climate Change With Purty Pitchers

Our friend the cephalopod has a great post up about climate change. It’s got lots of graphics and graphs and I don’t think it required any hacking into computers to retrieve, either.

Honestly, the whole “climate gate” thing amuses me greatly. Some tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists who believe climate change is a giant hoax cooked up by eeevul lie-brul scientists and tree huggers basically stole some e-mail communications and then went on a fishing expedition looking for evidence to support their crackpot theory.

In other words: the exact opposite of the scientific method. Scientists do not cook up a hypothesis and then go out and find evidence to support that hypothesis, ignoring all contrary data. Any good investigator knows that’s a surefire way to get a false view of the world. What scientists do is test their hypotheses, and make their conclusions available to review by their peers. The hypothesis is modified as the data dictates. Hypotheses that do not stand up to this rigorous testing are revised.

This particular "e-mail-gate" hypothesis has been debunked a hundred times already (here's a wonderful video that explains it all very simply). Basically, a lay person eavesdropping on a scientific discussion may be unfamiliar with certain terminology used in the scientific community. But cherry-picking certain quotes and statements because they appear inflammatory, with the express intent of deluding the lay public, is highly irresponsible.

I wonder who would be behind such a plan. I’m thinking .... thinking .....

Of course, it’s mere speculation on my part. We are still compiling a complete body of evidence.

So when a business group like the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which has received millions of dollars in funding from ExxonMobil, decides to file suit to see e-mails from NASA climate scientists, let me be the first to say: No. You show us your private e-mails, so we can manipulate, extrapolate, cherry-pick, and exaggerate, and maybe we’ll talk.

Out Of Touch

Don’t know how we got on the Hammacher Schlemmer mailing list but Mr. Beale and I got a good laugh out of this item for sale for a mere $32,000:

The Junior 35 MPH Classic Corvette.

This is the 2/3-scale, gasoline-powered replica of a 1956 Corvette C1, renowned for racing at Florida's famous Sebring International Raceway, that can reach a maximum speed of 35 mph.

Its exterior is painstakingly reproduced using details from the original, including the single driver-side mirror, twin turn indicators on the right side of the hood, and the cowling on the trunk that housed a light which illuminated the racing number. The racer is powered by a 6.9 hp, 107cc four-stroke engine that uses a gallon of unleaded gasoline. It has automatic transmission; a single shifter controls forward, neutral, and backward movement. Its square steel chassis forms the core of the racer, surrounded by a fiberglass-reinforced polyester body; supports up to 330 lbs.

Ages 8 and up. 108 1/4" L x 44 3/4" W x 34 1/4" H. (430 lbs.)

Price: $32,000

Let me say right now: if you are putting your 8 year old in a gasoline powered, $32,000 replica of a Corvette, you are an asshole.

We used to say "the rich are different." We learned otherwise in the last economic downturn: it affected all of us, rich and poor alike.

The world has changed. Get used to it.

Rick Kelly Is My New Hero

[UPDATE]:

In comments, Rick Kelly writes that Mayor Wiseman denies sending the threatening e-mail. Kelly says he has the original IP address and will be looking into it.

Like I said, grab the popcorn!

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I do not know Rick Kelly but a friend passed on to me his e-mail exchange with the Obama-hating mayor of Arlington TN. Sit back and grab the popcorn because man, it’s a doozy.

Kelly, a Tennessean, was a little ticked off at Mayor Wiseman’s Facebook rant accusing President of Obama of purposefully pre-empting wholesome, Christian entertainment like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to talk about something as trivial as sending our troops to war.

He sent Mayor Wiseman the following e-mail:

Mr. Mayor.

Please refrain from making remarks of such a profoundly ignorant and racist nature on a forum that will allow you to reflect on the state of Tennessee in such a way. You are an embarrassment to thinking people everywhere, and the fact that your idiocy has been picked up by the Tennesseean and will inevitably end up on the national media might cause the rest of the country, and the world, to think that all Tennesseans are as reprehensible, backwards, and moronic as you.

I hope you at least weren't wearing your Klan robe in your facebook profile picture.

You pinhead.

Sincerely,

Rick Kelly

Kelly received the following response:

Mr. Kelly,

America is still a free country and every American has the right to free speech. You should know this coming from a family of liberal fuckheads. Anytime that you're ready, you should relocate northward as you're an embarassment to the South. Your sensibilities would be more appreciated there, you sad little single man.

Just take care the next time that you or your brother James pass through Arlington. We'll skin you both alive and use your combined blubber to fuel the oil lamps on our thoroughfares on into the 22nd century.

All the best,

City of Arlington

Kelly posted the entire exchange on his Facebook page.

Yesterday via Kleinheider I read Wiseman’s latest statement in which he states he regrets

any embarrassment that might have been unfairly visited on my friends, my family, my church, and the citizens and officials of the Town of Arlington.

Dude. You just threatened to run two people out of town and melt them down, and signed it “City of Arlington.” I think someone has some anger management issues.

And I think the City of Arlington needs to find itself a new mayor. I dunno, I don't live there, but I don't think this kind of stuff reflects well on the community.

As an interesting sidebar to this story, I learned via the Memphis Flyer that Russell Wiseman’s brother Lang is chair of the Shelby County GOP.

Time & Money

Shit like this pisses me off like you would not believe:

Time Inc. has opened up a fantastic new market: charging its freelancers for the privilege of being paid for their work in a timely fashion.

[...]

If you choose to actually get all the money Time Inc. owes you, our tipster says, you usually get it within a month. But if you want it faster, here is the payment schedule—on the left are the number of days you have to wait to get paid, on the right is the portion Time Warner will skim off the top for the service.

25 days - 0.5 percent
20 - 1 percent
15 - 1.5 percent
10 - 2 percent
5 - 3 percent
3 - 4 percent

To which I say: Fuck you. It’s hard enough being a freelancer the way small operations jerk you around on payment. A popular ruse is to tell your freelancer that the payment policy is net 90 days -- three months to be paid. In the meantime, you keep getting assignments and filing invoices, only to find after 90 days that payment is just a pipe dream. Yes, that happened to me once. I also had some really awesome clients on the 90-day payment schedule, people for whom I wrote for literally years without ever having a problem -- until, naturally, I had a problem. They ended up going out of business owing me close to a thousand dollars.

But these were smaller magazines, nothing with the power and circulation and clout of a Time Inc. When Time starts treating its freelancers like so much sausage makers, well, all I can say is, it’s all over.

And I love the commenters on this story who see nothing wrong with this, that it’s “standard practice” for vendors. WTF? I’ve never heard of this before in the writing world. You know, writing a story is not exactly the same as making sure the coffee supplies and copier toner are fully stocked.

And even if it were “standard industry practice,” wouldn’t it be something the vendor offered, not something the one who owes the money presented? Hey, Time Warner: how about next time I buy a copy of Time Magazine I offer to pay now for 15% off the cover price, or you can get the full cover price in a month or so? Does that work for you?

I mean for crying out loud, how is this not extortion? What incentive do you people have to pay your bills on time? Absolutely none.

Sadly, this is just more proof that writer’s work is no longer valued. It stopped having value when we started letting people refer to what we do as “content” that is “consumed.” It’s not “content,” some nondescript “filler,” like the crap they put in hamburgers. It’s information, ideas, articles that make you look at your world differently or take you to another world entirely. It’s thoughtful and creative and it takes time to do it right and dammit it’s hard work.

As opposed to cutting my check, which is something they have literally invented a machine to do. And you think I should take a cut in pay for the fruits of my creative blood sweat and tears in exchange for getting paid in two days, which takes zero effort on your part?

Again: fuck you.

The internet with all of its “free content” (on blogs like this one, for which I receive not one dime) has ruined it. It was insane back in the early days of the internet; I remember getting paid $1-$2 a word for little 175-word pieces. Everyone needed a website, everyone needed “content,” and they needed a lot of it, because the key to getting hits was to have fresh articles up all through the day.

Those were the good ol’ days. Now content factories like Demand Studios churn out thousands of articles based not on any kind of editorial direction but rather search engine algorithms. And they’ll pay a paltry $30 per article. That’s just a shade better than the deal beginning freelancers invariably get offered: no pay at all, “but you’ll get exposure!” Um, thanks but no thanks.

Back in the old days when we walked to school in the snow, uphill, both ways, you’d run across people trying to take advantage of you and your talent and you’d tell them to take a hike. Usually it was some start-up or some small-market niche publication. You took some assignments you might not have wanted to because you were paying your dues; you were trying to get some clips and make your name in the hopes, one day, of working for one of the big guys, like Time Inc.

And here we are.

The media sucks, not just for people who “consume” it but for people who create it.

Still Embarrassed By My Fellow Tennesseans

[UPDATE]:

Absolutely perfect: Palin/Wiseman 2012.

A movement has begun!

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Oh, Tennessee! What are we to do with thee?

I honestly don’t know how much longer I can endure stupid headlines like this one:

Muslim Obama hates "Charlie Brown"?

And then read on to find yet another story originating with a wackadoodle Tennessee politician. It's hard to present our state as a vibrant place for industry to locate when our local pols insist on acting like a bunch of hayseeds.

The Commercial Appeal reports:

In the opinion of Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block the Christian message of the "Peanuts" television Christmas special.

Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman's "friend's list" had access to the post. He has more than 1,600 friends on Facebook.

"Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'...."

(Extra irony points for noting the mayor's name is Wiseman, he said something stupid, and it's all about Christmas. Trifecta!)

Arlington is a tiny hamlet off of I-40 which, according to the Mayor’s "welcome” statement is “a vibrant and caring community that is a premier place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Really? I’m not sure I want to live there. The Commercial Appeal goes on:

In Wiseman's extensive thread that attacked the president, his supporters and Muslims, he stated "...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful."

At another point he said, "you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things would be different........"

What an innovative, albeit unconstitutional, idea. Perhaps Mayor Wiseman will consider such a policy for the next Arlington election?

If you want to let Mayor Wiseman know your thoughts on his diatribe, you can e-mail him here.

And When They Say “Friends” They Really Mean It

Want a national TV interview where you’re guaranteed of being presented like the greatest thing since sliced bread? Fox & Friends is the place for you--as long as your agent is co-host Gretchen Carlson’s husband:

What was left unsaid was that Carlson’s husband is Jeter’s agent, Casey Close. This interview was such a transparent puff piece lauding Jeter’s current professional status that he should have paid a fee for it to be broadcast. But in the world of Fox News, conflict of interest is business as usual. A reputable news organization would not permit such a transgression, and would punish any employee who engaged in it. But Fox is already knee deep in ethical conflicts via their association with the Republican Party. Remember, they are the network that broadcast GOP talking points straight from the party’s own memo - typos and all.

And we wonder how the media elevated Tiger Woods to the status of God.

Bet She Won’t Try THAT Again

Newscoma had a hilarious post up Saturday about “cannibalistic advertising.” You know, those cute food mascots like the scrappy Frosted Mini-Wheats (including "Mr. Mini Wheat”), who brag about how they provide such a nutritious breakfast for their human, right before he chomps them to bits and washes them down with milk.

Just, ewww. Never understood why advertising agencies thought putting a human face on food was a good idea. Kind of flies in the face of tens of thousands of years of human taboos, guys.

Anyway, with that in mind I happened across this hilarious LSD propaganda film. What does this have to do with cannibalistic advertising? Just watch, you’ll see:



With that in mind, the holiday is over and I’m retreating back into my hole. Hope to be finished with my project in a couple weeks.

The Corpse Of Compassionate Conservatism

It's proudly on display at The Corner:

Seems like there ought to be a stigma attached to the use of welfare. A little bit of shame can go a long way toward encouraging people to find jobs. The federal government may think it's doing people a favor by providing them with access to food, but it's doing them a disservice if it also robs them of the motivation necessary to break free from dependency.

Sure, because in this economy, the one and only reason people would be hungry is because they’re just too damn lazy to get a fucking job.

Thanks for maintaining the stereotype of the clueless conservative with absolutely zero understanding of poverty in America. I knew you folks were out of touch, just didn’t know how much.