Logic Behind the Health Care Protests

I found a great article that describes very well the logic that drives a lot of the protestors of the proposed health care reform. It doesn't apply to all of the protestors and there is for sure a great number of people who are genuinely unsatisfied with the way things are turning in this country.
Needless to say, the amount of misinformation often fabricated by those who have a stake in maintaining the status quo, falls on a fruitful ground and often flourishes on its own. Let's take the "birthers" movement or however you call those gathered around that idea. It has been verified over and over again, that President Obama was born in the United States, and yet the "birthers" are chanting their mantra, like their ears were blocked completely from facts.
The quote that resonates with me after reading the entire article is the following:
"... elites exploit the crazy for their own narrow interests."
The rest is very worth reading.

source: ISN Zurich

category: US domestic | posted by: Norbert | comments: 1

Quote - Leader

"Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position."
- Brian Tracy

category: International | posted by: Norbert | comments: 1

Afghanistan - White Phosphorus Use

Anyone who still doubts that the Taliban is on the rise in Afghanistan and the border region of Pakistan should learn about one of the recetn attacks (July 4, 2009) that the Taliban paramilitaries launched on a small US outpost in Paktika province (Eastern Afghanistan).
The US troop station was a scene of an intensive and sudden attack. The US soldiers were not only outnumbered but were faced with rockets, mortars and artillery projected phosphorus, not to mention light arms. The coalition forces were saved by an air strike that dispersed the attackers, but the scene was left with 2 US solders dead and several others wounded. The use of phosphorus is especially alarming. I can't recall hearing about any such attackers attempted before by the Taliban. It is an indication that they are able to acquire ever more sophisticated weaponry.

category: International | posted by: Norbert | comments: 0

Health Care Reform Protests

Health Care Reform is a tough issue for all of us here in the Unites States. We don't want to wait in long lines to get to the specialists, we don't want to lose the coverage for some trivial reason and we also do not want to pay too much for a good health insurance plan. On top of that there are justified concerns about the possibility of government's direct involvement into how the whole health insurance system will work in the future.
That's why I think we should have an opportunity to discuss this issue openly. Not only on TV and radio talk shows, but give everyone a chance to meet with their congressional representatives and hear all the pros and cons. Unfortunately there seems to be an organized effort on part of the conservatives and those who strongly oppose the Obama administration to undermine this whole debate. Lot's of accusations have been made on who stands behind those organized efforts, and it seems like at least some of them are legitimate.
One of the leaders behind those organized efforts is Mr. Rick Scott, a former hospital CEO. He is using his own money and founding from his supporters to run the Conservatives for Patient's Rights movement. He and his supporters are strongly opposing the proposed health care reform put together by the Obama administration. One thing everyone should know about Mr. Scott is that the company that he founded and worked for for many years was fined 1.7 billion dollars in fines, after an investigation into it's illegal practices of over billing state and federal health plans. That is not a mistake, the figure is 1 point seven billion, with a "b", in fines. That is by far the largest fine ever imposed on hospitals. The question I cannot seem to find reasonable answer for is, why do people follow someone who stole that much money from the government, from us, from our tax money???

source: CNN

category: US domestic | posted by: Norbert | comments: 2