Roger’s Rules

October 6th, 2009 5:13 am

Finally, the real skinny on Obama’s Plans for Health Care

Most ordinary Americans, I suspect, started tuning out the “debate” over changing the way America delivers and pays for health care weeks if not months ago.

Why the scare quotes around “debate”? Here’s a hastily made, but not inaccurate, transcription of a typical exchange:

“Did.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

And so on. Regular readers know that I am deeply skeptical about the Democrats’ plans for “reforming” health care. (Why the scare quotes around “reforming”? If you don’t know the answer to that, please turn off your computer now and read George Orwell on “Politics and the English Language.”) But I, too, am weary of the tu-quoque quality of this words-words-words substitute for debate. No one, it seems, manages much traction, however sharp his arguments and observations. Camp A never seems to get a foot into the hearts and minds of Camp B, and vice-versa.

In this situation, it seems wise to turn to the real experts — not the Ph.Ds. and pundits and policy wonks. No, they’re responsible for the miasma of tedium that has settled over the subject of “health care ‘reform’” like a narcotic draught. I mean our society’s real sources of wisdom and enlightenment, our celebrities. What do they have to say about ObamaCare?

A friend sent me a list of celebrities who supported Obama’s plan to nationalize health care. What do they have to say on the subject? Here’s the list:

Patrick Swayze
Michael Jackson
John Hughes
Farrah Fawcett
Walter Cronkite
David Carradine
Bea Arthur
Senator Edward Kennedy
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
“DJ AM”
Natasha Richardson
Karl Malden
Billy Mays
Steve McNair
Les Paul

Oh dear. None of them can be contacted for comment. Does it matter? I mean, is it relevant? In the case of some, they had just come to the end of a long road. Michael Jackson seems to have drugged himself, or was drugged, to death. But poor Natasha Richardson, had she been skiing in Aspen instead of Vancouver, would likely be alive today. Her cerebral hematoma was “very treatable,” one US neurosurgeon observed, only you have actually to apply the treatment, not wait for 4 hours before admitting the patient to the hospital. That would almost certainly have happened in the U.S. as its health care is currently structured. In Canada, waiting is business as usual. No matter what side of the debate one is on, you know that if the Democrats get their way, the delivery of medicare care in the America will become more like its counterpart in Canada and Great Britain. Do we really want that? Ask Natasha Richardson.

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6 Comments

1. David Thomson:

Natasha Richardson’s death shows the extent of the left-wing Hollywood crowd’s infatuation with Democratic Party politics. They don’t seem to give a damn that she likely died because of Canada’s inferior medical care. Even her own husband Liam Neeson is disgracefully quiet. The hell with the death of his supposedly beloved wife. Providing continued support to the leftist agenda seems to be of far greater importance.

Oct 6, 2009 - 8:39 am 2. Gaffe Prices:

Nationalized Health Care: it’s a killer

Oct 6, 2009 - 11:11 am 3. Dave:

You idiot. Natasha Richardson did not die in Vancouver. You are another example of why we Canadians love our border that seperates us from you. She was offered to be taken to the hospital but refused. We do not handcuff people and take them to hospital if they fall on the slopes. Tommy Douglas is the founder of Health Care in Canada. He was voted by Canadians as the greatest Canadian ever. Don’t bash our system. I pay $70/mo. for health care insurance and go to my doctor’s any time I want as often as I want and I never see a bill. I had emergency surgery 3 times, and numerous elective surgeries and I’ve never seen a bill. There is no debate in Canada about health care reform and the need to take on a more American style system because yours is pathetic. Your’s such an idiot.

Oct 6, 2009 - 11:12 am 4. runbei:

Oh, well, these people have the collective brain power of roughly a fart – and they aren’t very good-looking.

Oct 6, 2009 - 2:29 pm 5. Inrptrn:

“You are another example of why we Americans love our border that seperates us from you.”

Indeed.

Oct 6, 2009 - 2:46 pm 6. David Thomson:

“She was offered to be taken to the hospital but refused.”

Natasha Richard did indeed turn down immediate help—and then she passed out. It took roughly three hours to drive her to get proper medical help. Most people in the United States are usually flown by helicopter in similar circumstances. This may have made all the difference.

“…and numerous elective surgeries”

A large number of Canadians require more than mere “elective surgeries.” This is why they often travel to the United states. Canada is a second rate country when it comes to serious medical needs. Their American neighbors usually rank number one in the world.

Oct 6, 2009 - 7:29 pm