Sick Bastards

by: William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Sick Bastards
Mike Huckabee attacked the Obama administration's health care reform legislation, denouncing the provision requiring insurers to cover people's pre-existing conditions, comparing them to houses that have already burned down. (Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Aaron Webb, 111 Emergency, Christopher Najewicz)

A segment of Truthout's readership has made statements to me bemoaning the harsh tenor of my writing in recent weeks. To wit: I am too insulting and belittling in my descriptions of the Republican Party in general, the Tea Party phenomenon in particular, and the hatefully deranged nature of their philosophy in its entirety. It is a turn-off, they tell me, and serves only to drive people away who might otherwise be convinced by a more moderate tone. I might have been convinced to cool it down, to approach the matter with more balance and equanimity, but that's all over now. After this past weekend, the gloves are staying off, and anyone who doesn't understand why is just going to have to simmer in their disapproval.

It's personal now.

This past weekend, an event called the Values Voters Summit was held in Washington DC. It's a kind of big-tent showcase for the fundamentalist far-right base of the Republican Party, sponsored by such leading conservative lights as the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. Some of the featured speakers included Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Insane), Gary Bauer, Bill Bennett, the wildly fertile Duggar family, Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, anti-masturbation candidate and occasional dabbler in witchcraft Christine O'Donnell, Phyllis Schlafly, Mitt Romney, and of course, Sarah Palin.

You can imagine the sort of demented gibberish that came from the podium over the weekend, and frankly, most of it was too mind-numbing to repeat in any detail. Newt Gingrich did his little song and dance about how Islam is coming to eat your children. Christine O'Donnell reprised the nonsense about "death panels." One fellow, a senior aide to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), argued that all pornography is by nature homosexual, and therefore watching any form of pornography will make the viewer instantly gay. Gay people in general, a woman's right to choose and all things Obama took it in the chops, with plenty of birth certificate speculation to go around.

So, yeah, it was pretty standard stuff, given the roster of speakers who made the scene. But at one point during the event, new ground was broken in truly astonishing fashion. One becomes accustomed to cruel, insensitive, hate-filled rhetoric from the kind of people who dwell in this particular region of politics, but when Mike Huckabee took the stage, a whole new standard was set.

Now, I used to have a certain twisted affection for Mike Huckabee. I agree with virtually nothing he says, but I credit him for handing the 2008 GOP nomination to the very beatable John McCain during the primaries. The two most viable candidates, you will recall, were Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both of whom were jockeying for the all-important GOP base vote. But Huckabee was the darling candidate of that base, and kept getting 50% of that vote in every primary, which served to drastically undercut the Giuliani and Romney campaigns. Huckabee stayed in the race just long enough to ruin Rudy and Mitt before dropping out himself, and McCain won the nomination pretty much by default. The rest, as they say, is history.

Stay informed with free Truthout updates delivered straight to your email inbox. Click here to sign up.

After this weekend, however, that lingering affection has curdled completely. Huckabee took the podium at the Values Voters Summit to attack and denounce the Obama administration's health care reform legislation, which was par for the course as far as the event went. But Huckabee was not content merely to repeat the "It's a government takeover, let's repeal it" rhetoric, choosing instead to carve a bold new path into the annals of infamy:

When Republicans attack health care reform, Democrats like to counter by accusing Republicans of wanting to repeal a law that requires insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. According to Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, that's exactly right. People with pre-existing conditions, he explains, are like houses that have already burned down.

"It sounds so good, and it's such a warm message to say we're not gonna deny anyone from a preexisting condition," Huckabee explained at the Value Voters Summit today. "Look, I think that sounds terrific, but I want to ask you something from a common sense perspective. Suppose we applied that principle [to] our property insurance. And you can call your insurance agent and say, "I'd like to buy some insurance for my house." He'd say, "Tell me about your house." "Well sir, it burned down yesterday, but I'd like to insure it today." And he'll say, "I'm sorry, but we can't insure it after it's already burned." Well, no pre-existing conditions."

(Emphasis added)

Let's look at some numbers, shall we?

According to the American Heart Association, more than 81,000,000 Americans suffer from one or more forms of cardiovascular disease. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11,000,000 people in America currently suffer from some form of cancer. According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million Americans currently suffer from diabetes, and the Center for Disease Control has estimated as many as half of all Americans will suffer from the disease by the year 2050, thanks to our deplorable dietary habits. According to the National Parkinson's Foundation, between 50,000 and 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's Disease are diagnosed in America each year. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, some 400,000 Americans currently suffer from MS.

That's a pretty substantial portion of the population, with more being diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's and MS every day.

All of them, every single one of them, are like a house that has already burned down, according to Mike Huckabee and the sick bastards who cheered his comments. All of them, every single one of them, are not worthy of health insurance because they had the misfortune of getting sick before they got insurance. All of them, every single one of them, therefore, are not worthy of health care in any real form, unless, of course, they are wealthy and able to afford the staggering cost of ill health in America.

All of them, in short, every single one of them, can basically just go die in Mike Huckabee's world. They are not worthy of coverage, treatment or consideration. The five diseases I listed account for well over a third of the American population, and if Mike Huckabee or someone who agrees with him somehow becomes president someday, those millions of people should just dig their own graves and lie down in them.

Yeah, that's why I'm not polite to these people. My wife has multiple sclerosis, and Mr. Huckabee this weekend compared her to a burned-down house. My wife is a vibrant, active woman who deals with a terrible, terrifying disease that costs upwards of $50,000 a year to treat. Thankfully, my wife was already insured through work when she was diagnosed, but there are many thousands of people out there with MS who have no insurance, or who won't have insurance when they get diagnosed. If Huckabee has his way, people with pre-existing conditions will be treated as burned-down houses and essentially left to die.

To hear a man who gets treated like a legitimate voice in American politics basically consign my wife and millions of other Americans to suffering and death is to hear nothing more or less than flat-out hate speech from a presidential candidate. What Mike Huckabee suggested is tantamount to eugenics, to the extermination of "weaker" people simply because they are ill.

If this kind of talk isn't enough to convince Republicans that the fringe of their party is to be avoided at all costs, then nothing in the world will. There have to be at least a few unwell Republicans in the country, right? There have to be some Republicans with heart trouble, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's or MS, right? If so, those people had better start digging that grave for themselves, especially if they are stupid enough to support Mike Huckabee or anyone else who agrees with him.

Be polite to these people if that's your nature. It is not in mine, especially after the display this past weekend. These people are the sick ones, the ones with pre-existing conditions, and they should be barred from holding public office by the voters because of it. They are all sick bastards, and I have no interest in being nice about it. Do you know anyone with heart trouble, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, or some other illness like these? Maybe Alzheimer's?  If so, you shouldn't be nice, either. Someday, it may be you on the wrong end of such a diagnosis, and if people like Huckabee and his ilk have their way, dig a grave and lie down in it. You're a burned-down house, and your country has no use for you.

Creative Commons License
This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.





     

»



William Rivers Pitt is a Truthout editor and columnist.  He is also a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: "War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know" and "The Greatest Sedition Is Silence." His newest book, "House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation," is now available from PoliPointPress.


Comments

This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.



First of all - people buying

First of all - people buying insurance only after they get sick is already happening in Massachusetts, and the state run, obviously not-for-profit system is going broke. Exactly as would be expected. I.E. it is simply not possible for any entity to cover pre-existing conditions. Its not a matter of making a profit, its simple reality. If your whole pool doesn't have any healthy people in it, it doesn't work.

Next, George Washington:
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

I would add, seconding Erich Von Freemason - neither is it compassion! Davy Crocket knew this when he spoke out against government charity: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/ellis1.html

Atlas Shrugged was supposed to be a warning, NOT a newspaper!



I have a pre-existing

I have a pre-existing condition Mr. Pitt and I would be dead without my health insurance, which I have thanks to a charity that struggles every day to stay afloat. Every day I wonder when the letter will come telling me they can no longer afford to help me pay my very expensive health insurance premium bill.I am 36 years old. I think these "socialist" programs, like Medicaid, help people who are doing their best to get by. I'm not sitting around asking for hand-outs. I, like many thousands of American citizens, want to support myself. I am proud of my skills and the work I do, but just can't pay the high cost of health insurance. Without it should I just let myself die? Keep writing Mr. Pitt.



Ghouls like these heinous

Ghouls like these heinous people are gonna trot out the ultimate idiocy next: Having a pulse is a pre-existing condition.

Studies do show that the leading cause of death among the living is being born.



Personally, being on

Personally, being on Medicaid, I think it's a pretty poor program. I know things are so rough at this point, healthcare-wise, that people making 35,000. will be grateful to get on to this poor excuse of a program in another 5 years, but this is really throwing contempt and peanuts at the American people.

We should open up Medicare NOW, and have a system like other civilized countries; e.g. Canada, U.K., France, Italy, etc etc.

Health care is a right, not a privilege. And not only that, QUALITY health care is a right! Medicaid is, for the most part, health care in name only, and will be so even more in another 5 years, as millions more pour on to a program where they basically don't have the doctors to give the care.

Under the current bill going through, it will be even harder to get a single payer system in the U.S. If the Democrats were worth anything, they would use that power to pass HR 676 NOW, and stop using the rabid fanatic right as their excuse to get reelected.

Re another poster's statements. I like Brie and wine, but being on Medicaid, I sure as hell can't afford Birkenstocks. I had a horrible foot fungus infection for the past 3 years, at times, practically unable to walk, thanks to the lack of care under Medicaid and state programs. And because I had to wear 2nd hand shoes. And that's the least of our medical woes.

Put Congress on Medicaid. Tell the Democrats to shove it. OPEN UP MEDICARE NOW.



Excellent article and

Excellent article and definitely the right attitude. Keep it up!



The Republican Tea-baggers

The Republican Tea-baggers FOX News and the media seems to be quite successful by trafficking in harsh hateful meanspiritedness.
Seems to be the only language the American people understand.

The difference between them and (me) and the likes of Mr Pitt....is that they traffic in lies... and we don't.

Freedom of speech allows you to express hatred and racism and all the evil you want to shout to the world.... but freedom of expression should not extend to politicians lying without the loud and boisterous objection from every corner of the media.

Mr Pitt has every right, indeed responsibility as a media figure, to become Mr Pitt-bull as far as these tea-bagger republican evil scum are concerned. I applaud and admire his tone and tenacity.



Huckabee's comment regarding

Huckabee's comment regarding preexisting conditions is the best argument I've heard yet for considering health care a public good, which should not be subsumed under current free market dogma. (Truth be old I'm also anti-capitalist.)

Hopefully this quote will be picked-up by single payer and other heath care activists, because it demonstrates their contempt for poor and working people and the quixotic quest of reforming health care within the market paradigm.

BTW, don't listen to all the faint of heart wishy-washy liberals, continue to tell it as you see it.



What can you say for a group

What can you say for a group of people whose animating passion is denying healthcare to fellow citizens?

Nothing bad enough.



Sorry to say this but in

Sorry to say this but in every other developed country health care at least on a basic, necessary to life level health care in regarded as a human right, not a commodity to be bought & sold in the marketplace. In every other developed country the death penalty has been abolished & in every other country, period, the international system of measurement is in common usage by the people. If the system can not & evidently it can not be changed significantly for the better for the great mass of people with the Democrats holding the level of power they have, it can not be changed from the inside. It's more than the government, it's more than the corporations, it really is the people & despite my positive experiences with individual Americans, as a nation, I think the world would be a lot better off without you.



Wrp didn't use any nasty

Wrp didn't use any nasty words really. Sick bastards is the perfect description. I rediscovered George Carlin recently. Have a look on youtube.com and hear what he has to say about America. That is the tone that is needed!



It takes virtue to really

It takes virtue to really listen to the (other side) and courage to respond, even to your detriment. Every human being has a pre-existing condition and that realization is unbelievably lost on the loud minority led by unscrupulous pundits wringing the meager funds out of the pockets of emotional, largely poor followers.



"Vice is a monster of so

"Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,/ As, to be hated, needs but to be seen./ Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, / We first endure, then pity, then embrace." A. Pope
(Cardinal attributes were feminine; virtue, like vice, was feminine).



Re: healthcare and the

Re: healthcare and the bible. To von Freemason 04:10: Nowhere in the bible did I see that after he healed the leper, Jesus sent him a bill.



Thanks Mr. Pitt spot on.

Thanks Mr. Pitt spot on. I'm not being nice about it either. Gloves remaining off till the country is reclaimed from the stewardship of evil.



Pitt's comments with all of

Pitt's comments with all of his vitriol? (try justifiable anger) are completely deserved and more of us need to speak so directly. One of the problems with many progressives is that we insist on playing "nice" with folks who's only goal and desire is to make the rich yet richer while brining great harm and even early death to not only the hard-working people of this nation but the nation itself.
Face facts, this is a nation run by a gang of thieves who hire our elected legislators to pass laws that directly benefit their continued profit taking. The economy is collapsing, the recovery is happening only for the rich and if someone can point out a significant difference between 3rd world dictators trying to flee their burning nation with suitcases full of gold and those who run our economy, I'd be glad to read it. They look the same to me.



Why are so few of you

Why are so few of you willing to sign your name to your words?

A pre-existing condition is not a house burned down, it's a torn screen, a leaky faucet, a burnt-out light bulb. Everyone's house has that kind of problem once in a while, and you do what you can to fix them as you go. P.S. Huckabee, why don't you give up your golden health insurance... we pay for it whether we ourselves have insurance or not, but you can afford to pay for it yourself (providing your "house" hasn't already "burned down").

I have supported nationalized healthcare, single-payer, socialized medicine -- whatever you want to call it -- for many years. Our current for-profit medical corporations (I refuse to call it a "system") would be happier if we were all dead as long as we kept paying premiums.

Look how hard they are fighting spending just 85% of every healthcare dollar on -- wait for it -- HEALTH CARE! That leaves 15% for administration and profit. They say that's not enough but it would be if they cut out the profits and the multi-million dollar CEOs.

Some say the idea behind any type of insurance is to pay a little regularly to guard against a financial calamity. After you suffer a calamity, it is too late to buy insurance.

And I say, Yes, but a calamity doesn't necessarily or automatically equal a calamity FOREVER. You have a house fire, you lose some stuff, it's scary, but you replace the wall and whatever else is damaged, get the smoke cleaned out of various surfaces, and you go on living there... you don't abandon the house. Even people whose houses DO burn to the ground often rebuild on the same foundation... are those houses uninsurable? Of course not.

My cervical cancer could be considered a pre-existing condition, but don't you think most reasonable people, and medical experts, would consider me CURED since I had surgery for that cancer in 1988 and it's never recurred? Outside of the first three years when a slightly different test was required for monitoring, I have had exactly the same medical care in that department as anyone else of my gender for years and years. WHY should I be denied insurance for THAT? Under Huckabee's system, I would be, but doesn't that seem stupid? The examples go on and on.

Not to mention, OK, my husband's diabetes is a pre-existing condition. Without regular medical care, he will be dead inside five years. Is it moral to deny him medical care for something he did not cause or choose? What are we supposed to do?

Ultimately, YES, I would like to pay taxes that provide EVERYONE in this country with a reasonable standard of healthcare. If you take away the profits, the CEO salaries, and most of the administration (the NHS spends ~5% on administration annually), that leaves a lot more money for providing healthcare. Also, such a system would reward doctors and facilities for KEEPING PEOPLE HEALTHY, thereby REDUCING the amount of care they need. Our current non-system system rewards doctors for doing tests and procedures, with no requirement that the tests and procedures benefit a patient's health. THAT is true insanity and it costs an unsustainable fortune.

Have some compassion. Have some creativity. Figure out how to make healthcare more about health and less about profit. If we're the greatest country in the world, shouldn't we be able to figure out how to be #1 in HEALTH? We're currently ranked #37, according to the World Health Organization.

Go read this http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-healthcare.htm and tell me again how great we are. It's a disgrace. I can't believe that anyone defends it!



I am not about to defend

I am not about to defend Huckabee on this one, however, I would like to hear the entire speech to insure that the sound byte that has been played ad nauseam wasn't taken out of context.

Huckabee's comment illustrates the folly in government making mandates such as "pre-existing conditions" on private health insurance companies. With this mandate, what is preventing people from purchasing health insurance only after being diagnosed with a particular illness? In a way, Huckabee is right in his assessment. This is why I believe that this entire "Obama Care" bill should be scrubbed and replaced with a single payer health care system open to all Americans. In other words, Huckabee is making a strong case for single payer. Go figure!



The Sick Bastards in the

The Sick Bastards in the tent are no different then the Sick Bastards who are in charge of our government.The only difference between President Obama and Sarah Palin, is that he is smarter and has a better presentation. We have a government of the Corporations, for the Corporations, and by the Corporations.

Working people were sick, and tired of the Bush Administration. The ruling class needed a different strategy. That is how Obama got his job. They needed to put a man in charge who looked like a liberal, so that the liberals, and progressives would slow down, and put to rest oppositions to their shenanigans. Obama is working for the same people that Bush worked for. He is doing the bidding for his keepers, just like George Bush did. He has followed all of the Bush initiatives and carried many of them a step further. Look at what he does, not what he says. He has not closed Guantanamo, and if he ever does, it will not be until they have a suitable replacement for it somewhere else. Torture continues, and he has blocked lawsuits that could revile to the public things about the US Torture Programs. He has insulted human inelegance by claiming that details of these horrible crimes would endanger National Security. Our National Security, and our image as a Free and Just Nation are greatly endangered by keeping these crimes secret, and not holding to account the criminals who committed them.

Don't fret, this is the United States of America. Every four years we have an election and if we don't like our leaders we can vote them out. What a joke! Elections in Corporate America, are nothing more than a TV game show. Only people who represent Corporate America get to be on the show. If they fail to win over the boob tube people with propaganda, they will simply steal the election. They have dune it twice before, and they will do it again if necessary. People don't seem to pay much attention to stolen election when Television doesn't tell them much about it.

May be another country could broadcast television from satellites to the American people, and tell us what is going on. They could call it Television free America. I guess most of the countries that could afford to do this are in cahoots with the US . If someone did do that, the US Military would just shoot down the satellites, and Corporate Television would tell us that the threat to our freedom has been destroyed.

We do have the Internet, but if things keep going the way they have been we won't have it for long.

Peace. Keep the faith.



GOP..... The real death

GOP..... The real death panel.



We all have a fatal

We all have a fatal pre-existing condition. It is called life. I don't feel burned down yet.

It does worry me that so many of my fellow citizens think these yahoos are ok. Some of them even vote for them. But probably not as many as our crazy touch screen electric voting machines count.



Dear Yankee Comrades; The

Dear Yankee Comrades; The Growth of naked fascism on the Right in the USA is mirrored exactly, throughout the West, but,in my own experience, even more excruciatingly in Australia and the UK. The same social dynamic underlies the phenomenon in these countries-years of increasingly rapacious elite larceny, the destruction of trade unions(real ones, that is) and the accelerating immiseration of the vast bulk of the population. The share of GNP going to labour, the people who actually make everything in society, has fallen by around 10% or more, the loot transferred to the parasitic, hereditary, ruling elite.
Instead of investing this money in production at home, the parasites have preferred investment in slave wage regimes,conspicuous consumption and financial speculation, hence the insolvency of the financial system. The Tea Party phenomenon, and its imitators in Australia and the UK, is assiduously stoked by these Rightwingers, with Murdoch prominent in all these countries, to divert popular rage.'Divide and rule',the parasites' oldest trick.
Why do the elites act like this? Because they are psychopaths,who hate other people . They have no human empathy, are indifferent to the fate of others, are afflicted by gigantic egotism,and a readiness to lie without conscience-all the symptoms are there in ever more florid form. All our countries are in deep, deep, spiritual trouble. There is a distinct whiff of sulphur in the air.



I just recalled an old joke,

I just recalled an old joke, that might make it easier for the parasites to exclude everyone on the basis of 'pre-existing condition'. 'Life is a sexually transmitted disease with 100% mortality'. And, to those brave souls who have pointed out that insurance is simply not viable if you only insure the ill, and the healthy opt out of the huge expense while they can, do you not see that that is precisely why private insurance, through a plethora of competing private, for profit,insurance companies is unviable, and that universal health coverage through taxation, hypothecated to health maintenance and care in ill-health preferably,is vastly more humane? Or does humanity not come into it?



Give em hell Mr Pitts, its

Give em hell Mr Pitts, its about time someone from the left did. So sorry about your wife, thank g-d she has you to champion her.



Rage has it's place in a

Rage has it's place in a world filled with cynical and disingenuous "reasoning" masked with "patriotism" and steeped in religiosity. I am happy to see Truthout kick some right wing ass.

I hope the GOP is so far gone this time that they lose in November instead of taking over Congress. But this is America and Americans love being lied to. Really! It's seduction into sleep. We need a dose of reality. We need more voices that repudiate the Right, and we might even survive.



Yes, keep exposing the sick

Yes, keep exposing the sick bastards and don't hold back. Sickness is not pleasant, and it may not be "nice" to expose it and tell it like it is. But it must be exposed to have any chance of a cure. And if people don't realize how sick these people are, their sickness will spread. One reason it has already spread so far is that too many liberals and moderates are too afraid of offending anyone. But there is nothing wrong with offending these offensive people, who not only constantly offend the millions of people who are not like them but promote suffering and death in so many ways.



The Huckster's point is

The Huckster's point is worth pursuing a bit: Why should a company whose primary purpose is to make money (preferably lots of it) do anything that would reduce profits, if such action could be avoided? It is important that we do not conflate health insurance with health care. And the above question should make it abundantly clear why insurance companies should be removed from the whole business of health care. Long past time for single payer.



"Nice liberals" who know

"Nice liberals" who know what the "right thing is" and then talk about "reaching across aisles" or being courteous to snakes like Huckabee -- need to get a grip. You're arguing about courtesy?

When these characters are talking about how they don't give a shit if you're dead, because a human being is the equivalent of a house? It's time to WAKE UP, folks!

They mean that about you, about your beloved partner, the elderly, and the children and infants. If they were going to literally stick a knife in someone you love, right in front of you, would you want to "reach across the aisle" and be civil with such SATANISTS IN PREACHERS CLOTHING ???



I am a 60 year old man with

I am a 60 year old man with Parkinson's and I get the same sick replies from the right-wingers in my office; "I don't want to have to pay for YOUR healthcare".
The interesting thing is, if they or one of their loved ones were suffering, they would not hesitate to demand help. The Repubs and their Tea Party drones are nothing but frauds. KEEP EXPOSING THESE FRAUDS!!!!!



Keep the gloves off! As far

Keep the gloves off! As far as the Tea Baggers are concerned, they don't realize how pissed-off Progressives are at them for wanting to return to the Bush Era and the policies that flushed this country down the toilet! Get out and out-vote the Tea Gaggers in November! Put them in their place: the 20% minority of Amerikans who want a Fascist Dictatorship, which happens over my dead body!



I'm refusing to vote for the

I'm refusing to vote for the Democrats if they didn't support single payer. If this country can't get its shit together enough to hold our government accountable to THE PEOPLE -- as they do in France and Canada and U.K. and Italy and SO ON in the civilized world -- then they deserve the rabid right.

I'm not voting for people who wouldn't fight for myself and my family.

And I will encourage others to do the same.

You should, too, William. The sickest bastards are the Democrats because they allow the right to run the show so they can make their deals with the health insurance industry. And as Americans die or develop worse conditions because they can't afford medical care.



@19:15 I can't find anywhere

@19:15

I can't find anywhere in the Bible where it says that Republican philosophy and politics represents the Word of God on earth.

The very fact you'd create a discussion about what the Bible does or does not say about political topics shows what an exceptional moron you are.



Mr. Pitt, Have you looked

Mr. Pitt, Have you looked into other treatment approaches to MS besides "regular" allopathic medicine? Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nutrition Medicine are among the best when practiced by a competent, broadly/deeply educated person who works with integrity.
They may or may not be covered by so-called health insurance, but I wouldn't let that stop you from getting care. Good luck, Marnie Vail



Go, Professor Pitt! No, you

Go, Professor Pitt! No, you Republican trolls, I haven't read the article yet but I don't need to in order to go "Go, Professor Pitt!" any and every time TruthOut puts up one of his articles. For 10 years he has been honest, analyzed in depth yet with wit and style, and shown more compassion in his meanest posts than y'all can manage when you're behaving yourselves. I LIKE the way he pushes your buttons and you go off all frothing . . . it shows he's doing everything right. So, Go, Professor Pitt, and you Republican trolls: nyah . . .



Mr. Pitt, please read

Mr. Pitt, please read this.

I have read through every comment so far, and I haven't found one that has this right. You got so angry that you forgot to explain what is wrong with what Mike Huckabee said. The fact is, Huckabee's premise is correct, but his conclusion isn't.

Yes, insuring one's health after getting sick is like insuring a building after it has burned down. Now, what follows from this?

For starters, if someone moves, he gets new insurance, but he has a new house. If someone changes or gets laid off or fired from a job, however, they don't get a new body, and they might not be able to get the same insurance they had on their old job. You could have made this point with your wife: she did insure herself (i.e. she has a job that covers her), but if she loses that job, she may not be able to get a job that will cover her pre-existing condition.

Secondly, the free rider problem, which is what Huckabee is referring to, is a real problem, not one to be dismissed out of hand, which is what you appear to be doing. If insurance companies have to insure people who are already sick, they will go out of business unless everyone is compelled to get insurance. What Huckabee doesn't mention is that this very problem is solved by the mandate in the new health care bill that everyone be covered. During the election, Obama argued that he was opposed to this mandate, but he changed his mind after he was elected because otherwise nothing would stop people from waiting to get sick before they become insured.

Many people get covered these days even if they don't have insurance. They go to the emergency room, get treated, and then don't pay because they can't afford it. Right now, insured people are paying the cost of this in higher premiums. Since this is a nation that does not like to let people die on the streets even if they made the bad choice when they were healthy not to get insured, mandating coverage is the only fair way to solve the problem.

These are the reasons why Huckabee's conclusion does not follow from his premise. Simply demonizing the man without explaining why he is wrong may be red meat to the faithful, but it is insufficient for thinking people who are bothered by irresponsible people who save money while playing Russian Roulette with their own lives. You owe everyone a better explanation than you gave them.



Correction on my previous

Correction on my previous post.

After reading my post, I realize that I wasn't clear when I said that the free rider problem is solved "by the mandate in the new health care bill that everyone be covered." What I meant by that is not that everyone is required to be insured but that everyone is required to buy health insurance, with government help provided in case people cannot afford it.



cheap used car

Great Blog. I add this Blog to my bookmarks.



purses buydesignerpurses

I'm sure the best for you for gift buydesignerpurses-0121 to take huge discount



zFp8am0ZZwk

gRn3jd8RQio coach outlet http://www.cheap-coach-online.net/#8428 coach outlet online



6wXykO8kg

outlet hogan http://www.hoganscarpehome.com/#1q8w hogan interactive



4lKdgV9qj

hogan interactive http://www.hoganscarpehome.com/#8e9d scarpe hogan



7V7gcBOdrh

nfl jerseys cheap cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale cheap jerseys



mYi6nu8ACwj

Wholesale jerseys nfl jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys nfl jerseys from china cheap jerseys nfl jerseys cheap



Zyxqiero

ray ban uk http://www.raybansuk-outlet.net/ ray bans uk ray ban sale



5uBcjX5yw

michael kors handbags on sale http://www.michael-kors-us.net/#0069 michael kors handbags outlet jwq5uiL



Jvsrdugtv

http://www.macmakeup-outlet.com/ michael kors outlet michael kors handbags



Aawqnpgm

http://www.mac-outlet-us.net/ Ledicgye wholesale mac makeup



6uRguF5jd

http://www.michael-kors-us.com/ 6D3ltADwrw Dheqzlxsv



uph7erU

louis vuitton outlet online http://www.luxurybagsstore.us/#4146 louis vuitton outlet 0J5sbGWyjt



7lDsqF8fb

mac cosmetics wholesale http://www.macmakeup-outlet.net/#8268 mac make up rwv6uaT



5S0cmNHxrq

http://www.mac-outlet-us.net/#88264 mac make up Pynfwknu



4dVegK8qv

michael kors handbags on sale http://www.michael-kors-us.net/#4326 michael kors handbags outlet jWp5di8RKpd



wSx3ou8HKfv

http://www.michaelkorsweb.us/#5942 michael kors handbags on sale michael kors outlet online



Vwhuogfr

http://www.miumiu-jp.net/ miu miu ミュウミュウ 財布



8H2dhXPoke

http://www.miumiu-jp.net/ miumiu バッグ www.miumiu-jp.net miumiu ミュウミュウ



xHv4pn5QTni

http://www.burberrybags-japan.com/#11813 83610



bJi3bl3WQcx

http://www.prodaoutletjp.com/#93815 4913



yip7ogL

http://www.coachbagsjp.net/#67710 4247



Fgyhiaipb

http://www.toryburchbagsjp.net/#7054 トリーバーチ トート 韓国 トリーバーチ



kEt5wm8TCdv

http://www.coachbags-japan.com/#14810 coach アウトレット コーチ バッグ アウトレット



christian louboutin sale oVf5ce1SFsr

christian louboutin outlet louboutin shoes christian louboutin uk http://www.christianlouboutinus.net/



Eulqmldgh

http://www.japan-coach.net/#5161 コーチ バッグ メンズ coach



8rCbpV8oq

http://www.coachbags-japan.net/#6436 coach 時計 coach 時計



1I6sfGSiyw

http://www.miumiu-jp.com/#4424 ミュウミュウ 通販 miumiu 新作



aIv4vf6TYgc

http://www.miumiu-jp.net/#6640 miumiu miumiu サングラス



Ljygfycbg

http://www.prodaoutletjp.net/#61634 プラダ トート プラダ ショルダーバッグ
http://www.burberry-japan.net/#43326 バーバリー バック バーバリー トレンチ
http://www.burberrybags-japan.net/#89188 バーバリー シャツ バーバリー



sDo8xu4VJvc

http://www.coachbagsjp.net/#2094 コーチ ポーチ coach 時計



Wfgnsbnhd

http://www.burberrybags-japan.net/#2485 バーバリー トレンチコート バーバリー コート メンズ



wEq2ws6XBfk

mulberry bags outlet http://www.mulberry-factoryoutlet.net/ mulberry uk



Ezevtkfi

http://www.burberry-japan.net/#8648 バーバリー 香水 バーバリー スーツ



aWv8do4TCpw

http://www.burberrybags-japan.com/#7395 バーバリー ベルト トレンチコート バーバリー



swq5piV

http://www.burberry-japan.net/#9226 バーバリー バック バーバリー ベルト



Xmnuhmkck

http://www.coachbags-japan.net/#4420 コーチ メンズ コーチ 新作



Unxywkvuy

http://www.coachbagsjp.net/#0632 コーチ メンズ コーチ メンズ バッグ
eamater watche tout de suite trie allcartier la dona de watche caabalance watchetudor prince see people watche colt watche.



iEd2de5IVvq

http://www.burberry-japan.net/#6575 バーバリー マフラー バーバリー ブリット



Uyxuuvyci

http://www.prodaoutletjp.net/#27071 プラダ 財布 リボン プラダ 財布 リボン
http://www.burberrybags-japan.net/#11875 バーバリー ハンカチ バーバリー 財布
http://www.miumiu-jp.com/#55870 miumiu 名古屋 miumiu 財布 がま口



Vjbnviga

http://www.mulberry-factoryoutlet.net mulberry sale mulberry outlet uk



jdv4dyE

http://www.coachbags-japan.com/#2388 コーチ 店舗 コーチ メンズ 財布 コーチ バッグ 新作 楽天 コーチ コーチ 新作 coach 時計



rIo2tb0NMhw

http://www.prodaoutletjp.net/#6176 プラダ デニムトート プラダ バック プラダ 店舗 プラダ バッグ プラダ 財布 メンズ プラダ リュック



Wclfedze

http://www.japan-coach.net/#2322 コーチ キーホルダー コーチ ポピー コーチ ポピー コーチ バッグ 新作 コーチ メンズ コーチ 財布 メンズ



jpf1tfK

http://www.prodaoutletjp.com/#1994 プラダ 店舗 プラダ バッグ 新作 プラダ リュック プラダ 店舗 プラダ バッグ プラダ 財布 メンズ
ee the reult of teting done by way of means of NIDA, in mention to Amphetamine ue/abue



cBj7be7FOsq

http://www.macmakeup-outlet.net/ maybelline mac eyeshadow palette maybelline mac makeup wholesale mac makeup classes sephora makeup



3Q6noKQghn

http://www.mulberry-factoryoutlet.net/ mulberry outlet womens bags mulberry house



8nEicS8sv

http://www.discount-michael-kors.net/ michael kors purse michael michael kors michael kors handbags michael michael kors michael kors perfume michael kors bags



kids golf clubs

womens golf clubs cheap golf clubs junior golf clubs cheap golf clubs http://golfmonster18.com/category.php?id=57



fjb8nxB

http://www.michaelkorsweb.us/ suwezy michael kors on sale hdgg michael kors on sale



yBg5ch3UQtl

http://www.toplvonlinestore.com/#57419 louis vuitton official website louis vuitton official website louis vuitton handbags on sale louis vuitton outlet



bVl6fu7CTwc

http://www.bestlvhandbags.net/#85883 authentic louis vuitton handbags louis vuitton official website louis vuitton outlet louis vuitton outlet store



eSu7di2BNax

http://www.christianlouboutin2u.net/ 9yEroN9jn cheap christian louboutin



8A2aeNKdlm

http://www.christianlouboutin2u.net/ cmh6zxA christian louboutin sale



ebu3dqG

http://www.mikekorsonline.us/ qhakir michael kors outlet cgre michael kors outlet



tgf6fnC

http://www.ghdukoutlet.com/ xgkrbc ghd straighteners ptjyde ghd hair straighteners



0E1znAWgnt

michael kors handbags 9fOdoM michael kors handbags on sale 0qEkvZ michael kors handbags on sale iT4t4 http://www.michael2u.net/



hch5cdK

http://www.christianlouboutin2u.net/ 2W8dpEMsct louboutin outlet



lKt8cy6KBum

http://www.christianlouboutin2u.net/ Bcxglmibg christian louboutin uk sale



Vhsvchrh

http://www.mikekorsonline.us/ bgiyob michael kors sale jwwl michael kors outlet



bfb7wuE

http://www.michaelkorsweb.us/ aqufsx michael kors on sale cjlo michael kors handbags



4aTpdL6sc

mulberry handbags dH5c0 mulberry bayswater pL9p2 mulberry factory shop 5pLitE http://www.mulberryfactoryuk.net/



2kXmoE5pa

http://www.michaelkorsweb.us/ ppxqnk michael kors outlet jiwo michael kors handbags on sale



4G5hkFDlsm

mulberry sale qNjg mulberry uk 3uEsyN mulberry bayswater dW1m9 http://www.mulberry-factoryuk.com/



Yzwqeubfb

http://www.ghdukoutlet.com/ kerxgz ghd sale kjsnsc cheap ghd



lag0ncO

http://www.ghdukoutlet.com/ gowimp ghd hair straightener rwhywn cheap ghd



Vwptukbqp

http://www.mikekorsonline.us/ yicapv michael kors handbags bxtt michael kors handbags on sale



nqt6ntM

christian louboutin sale uk eHjg christian louboutin uk sale 6eEjvZ christian louboutin uk 1rBgiA http://www.christianandlouboutin.net/



6N7bpTSrcn

christian louboutin uk kBkp christian louboutin sale bFym christian louboutin shoes yS7l6 http://www.christianandlouboutin.net/



Xlbknedk

christian louboutin sale mBsf christian louboutin sale uk cVor louboutin outlet 0fVlsT http://www.christianandlouboutin.net/



fGs5gz9IKkj

http://www.mulberryfactoryuk.net/#8802 Qbgkeuzag mulberry handbags oif2grA mulberry Ahqdszfj mulberry bag



sHk6wa1BLmx

http://www.mulberry-factoryuk.net/#3872 eqd2wcA mulberry bags sale Boqcjlnyv cheap mulberry bags 9X5raZFrla mulberry bags



8fCbcM5pr

http://www.christianandlouboutin.net/#58277 louboutin shoes christian louboutin sale



Fmuhncwqg

http://www.mylouisvuittononlineshop.com/#98051 louis vuitton bags discount louis vuitton handbags cheap louis vuitton handbags authentic louis vuitton handbags



hvih gmhhi udwlhbpo

http://www.sexy-onsale.net/#wrt sexy costumes sexy lingerie thongs spicy lingerie



huu3vpZ

http://www.christianandlouboutin.net/#83008 louboutin uk louboutin shoes



Fiwsvrumn

mulberry handbags,mulberry bags,mulberry,http://www.mulberryoutlet-factory.net/#50765



Huufachwf

www
www
here
link
post



gjnx jrbbf xcrgnqqx

http://www.sexy-onsale.net/#wia spicy lingerie erotic lingerie bras sexy lingerie



Ivqcpkint

mulberry handbags,mulberry outlet,mulberry outlet york,http://www.mulberryoutletfactory.com/#63748



zri5xkQ

mulberry , cheap mulberry bags , cheap mulberry bags , http://www.mulberryoutletfactory.com/#87074



eeg9coU

http://www.lvlouisvuittonstore.com/#73575 louis vuitton official website louis vuitton handbags outlet cheap louis vuitton bags louis vuitton official website



zfjg tbzkv heyzlgsf

http://www.sexy-onsale.com/#xgv spicy lingerie thongs couples costumes sexy underwear



Jwtfjelty

ghd sale , ghd straighteners , ghd straighteners , http://www.ghduk-sale.com/#48386



4W1ggMDstg

michael kors handbags, michael kors handbags, michael kors outlet, http://www.michael-korsus.net/



0pSezG8wl

ghd stockists , ghd hair straightener , ghd repairs , http://www.ghduk-sale.net/#03463



Nkodzhep

mulberry outlet, mulberry bags, mulberry, http://www.mulberryoutletfactory.com/



Amtgfwot

michael kors handbags, http://www.michael-korsus.net/



5gAaaT6iw

michael kors handbags, http://www.michaelkorsus.net/



0N9jsAOoxh

mulberry factory shop, mulberry bags, mulberry outlet, http://www.mulberryoutletfactory.com/



Vklogvoa

mac wholesale, cheap mac makeup, mac cosmetics, http://www.mac-online.net/



4J9wbAYeuj

mac lipstick, mac makeup store, cheap mac makeup, http://www.mac-online.net/



sYd2em7BRyg

michael kors handbags, http://www.michael-korsus.net/



wmt5xoB

michael kors outlet, http://www.michaelkorsus.net/



oox9mfA

michael kors outlet, http://www.michael-korsus.net/



csv2gnR

cheap michael kors, cheap michael kors, cheap michael kors, http://www.michaekros4u.com/



eaf4qbK

michael kors outlet, michael kors handbags, michael kors purses, http://www.michaelkorsus.net/



Ucqwaeeur

ghd stockists, http://www.ghdhairoutlet.co.uk/



Hpajaebq

ghd straighteners, http://www.ghdhairoutlet.co.uk/



9jYpoA6ck

michael kors, michael kors outlet, michael kors purses, http://www.michael-korsus.net/



xya8zeR

ghd straightener, ghd, ghd hair straighteners, http://www.ghdhairoutlet.co.uk/



3V5asJEyse

tiffany and co outlet, tiffany & co outlet, http://www.tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us/



Tfdezomji

mac cosmetics outlet, http://www.mac-online.net/



Lrfnkiyjp

mulberry uk, http://www.mulberrybagsdiscount.co.uk/



Zcejhauxl

ghd, ghd straightener, ghd, http://www.ghdhairoutlet.co.uk/



Uvulbdvl

tiffany & co outlet, tiffanyjewelryoverstock, http://www.tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us/



hww0jjG

mac cosmetics wholesale, mac cosmetics outlet, mac lipstick, http://www.mac-online.net/



Abfusrlni

tiffanyjewelryoverstock, tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us, http://www.tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us/



7iBlgA7ed

tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us, tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us, http://www.tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us/



3bEcuO9mg

panties, corset, http://www.sexyonline.co.uk/



rsx2ckA

redbottomshoeus.net, http://www.redbottomshoeus.net/
theredbottomshoe, http://www.theredbottomshoe.com/
http://www.ghdonlinestore.co.uk, http://www.ghdonlinestore.co.uk/



hlq0qmR

theredbottomshoes.co.uk, http://www.theredbottomshoes.co.uk/



6T7pqBNzwb

tiffanyjewelryoverstock, tiffany online, http://www.tiffanyjewelryoverstock.us/



vso1dsI

redbottomshoeus.net, http://www.redbottomshoeus.net/
ghdonlinestore, http://www.ghdonlinestore.co.uk/
http://www.theredbottomshoe.com, http://www.theredbottomshoe.com/



1cCspV6vp

redbottomshoeus, http://www.redbottomshoeus.net/