oselle | (no subject)

John McCain has just selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

I don't know anything about Palin and I don't want to know anything about her. As far as I'm concerned, this is a smoke-and-mirrors act. She was chosen solely to take some of the rich old geezer stink off of McCain, to make him look a little more hip and, I'm sure, in the hopes of luring away some of those supposedly disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters (because all they wanted to do was vote for a woman -- any woman -- right?)

I don't give a shit who McCain's running mate is, he's still the guy who'd be president. Everything about McCain is wrong for this country. Everything. He's a hot-headed liar, a filthy rich old country-clubber, golf-carting around in Ferragamo loafers while the country rots and claiming, nope, nuthin' wrong here! He has no knowledge of and zero interest in the lives of the vast majority of Americans and he has no ideas and nothing to offer except four more years of decline, decay and destruction. And if the citizens of this country are stupid enough to elect him...what can I say? They deserve what they get. I'm just sorry I'm gonna be getting it along with them.

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My stomach literally folded in on itself when I heard about McCain's pick.

My only hope is that those 'smart' and disgruntled Hillary supporters can see through the disgusting ruse nominating a female running mate is.

Personally? I think the disgruntled Hillary supporter storyline is one that's been blown out of all proportion by a press eager to create a little intrigue so they don't have to talk about anything real. All week I've been reading the blogs of people who were actually in Denver and they said there's no "rift" in the party and there's nothing but support for Obama. If McCain's camp is betting on really sewing up the female vote because they've got a woman on the ticket, I think they're in for a surprise.

What concerns me is that this move will just make McCain look like less of a doddering old fool, and I KNOW the "liberal media" is going to pick this up and run with it -- "See! He really IS a maverick!" The Democrats need to keep HAMMERING away at who McCain is and what he really stands for so that the whole election doesn't get framed as "Experienced Maverick" vs. "Charismatic Empty Suit."

It's futile, right, to hope people will just be SMART? God, I'm shifting from pessimism to cynicism as the morning moves on. I've just read a mini biography on Palin and they made sure to mention that the last of her five children was born with Down's Syndrome. How much should we bet this gets paraded out for the press?

*grumbles*

the last of her five children was born with Down's Syndrome.

That's just great. Considering McCain's health policy advisor said yesterday that there are no uninsured people in America (http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/28/mccains-solution-to-health-care-crisis-redefine-uninsured/), maybe someone will ask Palin how she'd care for her retarded kid if the local emergency room was her only "insurance?"

Oh, Christ...that's just...I can't even BRAIN that kind of nonsense. Really, people? I mean, look. I'm forty years old. Grew up for most of my life in reasonable comfort at the lower end of the middle-class spectrum; in want of many extras but not in need of many necessities. But even at forty, I see terrible changes within this country. In the past twenty years, with little exception, we have become a nation of blind men with a box of band-aids - fixing problems with a tax rebate here and a welfare reform there. Like Obama said in his speech last night, it's impossible to move forward into the 21st century with a 20th century system.

I just signed up yesterday to pay $242 out of (my thinly lined) pocket to maintain my health insurance through Cobra. Even still, $1500 deductable and $500 out-of-pocket up-front on prescriptions.

*dramatically knocks wood and prays for good health*

But...but...why do you even need Cobra? You've got plenty of insurance down at the emergency room right? To quote John Goodman...Voila! Problem solved!

I'm the same age as you and I've seen things go downhill too, from the day-to-day stuff, like the price of groceries, to the really big stuff like oh, I dunno, the way THE FUCKING PLANET IS DYING. If McCain wins...I don't know. Maybe the EU will mercifully invade us and install a provisional government.

A couple of years back, I had a really serious health emergency and wound up in the hospital for over a week. My bill (before insurance) included ER treatment, CT scans, surgery, medications, blahblahblah, and came out to well over $100,000, of which I paid something like $300.

I couldn't help but think that, had I been without insurance, I would have promptly committed suicide after my release from the hospital. How do we ask people to pay those costs for necessary medical care? Without insurance, even with a very genrous payment plan, I'd have been in debt for the rest of my life.

Clearly, we as Americans receive some of the best healthcare available in the world, but we also pay dearly for it, ESPECIALLY when we're not insured.

I don't know who can look at that system and say it's not broken, except maybe someone to whom $100,000 is a portion of an annual salary and not a large chunk of a lifetime of earning.

Clearly, we as Americans receive some of the best healthcare available in the world

While America may offer some of the best healthcare in the world, I'd say most Americans don't receive it. Even those of us with insurance often have healthcare decisions made for us that are not necessarily what we or our doctors would think was best, and I know that I've sometimes gone without doctor visits or prescriptions because the copays are just too high or for other reasons. Like right now, I'm job-hunting and I keep postponing a mammogram because God forbid I was diagnosed with cancer and then got a new job and hence different insurance...pre-existing condition and I'd be shit outta luck.

Compared to other first-world nations, America usually ranks near the bottom in terms of healthcare. There's great healthcare here, but an awful lot of people have no access to it.

I don't know who can look at that system and say it's not broken

It was recently reported that $100,000 is not even half of what the McCains pay annually just for servants. So that tells you exactly what sort of person thinks there's nothing wrong in America.

*wipes away the horrid spiderweb of truth*

How did it all get to seem so futile?

I totally get you as to the 'pre-existing condition' bullshit. Part of the reason I needed to do the Cobra thing; otherwise I'm screwed.

And, the $200,000 plus McCain pays for servents - could some of that be incurred from travel between his seven residences?

I understand the something like $235,000 goes towards Cindy McCain's personal assistant and assorted housekeepers, groundskeepers, pool boys and whomever else filthy rich people need to keep their mansions shiny and their asses wiped.