tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post3221737197461447833..comments2024-03-25T13:42:25.771-05:00Comments on Advance Indianaâ„¢: It's Time To Play The Conspiracy Card AgainGary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-7213182237763956102009-08-22T07:41:53.362-05:002009-08-22T07:41:53.362-05:00That was a learned discourse in response to somebo...That was a learned discourse in response to somebody's question, but it wasn't mine. What I asked was IS MEDICARE SOCIALISM? That's a yes or no question, but NOBODY, including you, will answer it because it would require you to advocate the repeal of this system. Opponents of a single-payer system self-delude to act like SOMEHOW Medicare is different then Obama's plan when it's not. The basic Medicare coverage provided is provided to all without ANY private dollars being paid to anybody. It is all taxpayer funded, as you admit, AND only the truly dishonest will say people cover their own costs when we KNOW they don't, as you also admit.<br /><br />You won't say it because people will realize how much they LIKE "socialism," and you lose your bogeyman. But, for the record, you should because you don't even know what socialism means. It's state or common ownership of enterprises. In neither Medicare nor an Obama health plan does the government own the hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies, and in neither does it employ the physicians. People who oppose any healthcare reform also use the term "socialized medicine" interchangeably a lot. Anytime somebody has to purposefully confuse terms to prevail in a debate, I get suspicious. <br /><br />All I ask of you, AI, it to have the intellectual honesty to call what bothers you "the expansion of the welfare state" because until you and every other opponent of the Obama plan are ready to ask for the repeal of Medicare publicly, you sure don't mind "socialism" as you define it.Chris Wordenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00558836541249077077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-27150584121914858852009-08-21T09:38:39.160-05:002009-08-21T09:38:39.160-05:00IPOPA, Medicare is indeed a government-sponsored h...IPOPA, Medicare is indeed a government-sponsored health plan for the elderly. You and I and every other working American pay taxes throughout our working careers to support a health insurance plan for us when we retire. It is not complete coverage. Medicare recipients need supplemental insurance, and there is considerable private insurance interaction with this public insurance program. Because of the growing number of elderly, the system already faces financial collapse. There simply aren't enough working Americans to tax to support the growing costs of the current system. Obama wants to put everyone under a government-run plan. He'll have to blow up Medicare as we know it to even come close to finding the money to pay for it. We'll have to see the tax burden expand well north of 50% of our earnings to meet the demands of this new entitlement program. I believe government already takes too much of the money I earn. We will make a complete transition to a socialist country if this plan is enacted, make no mistake about it. If that's what you want, then fine. I suspect there will be a taxpayer revolt unlike anything you've ever witnessed in this country, however, if he forces this plan through Congress as he seems determined to do.Gary R. Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-77064222247220717612009-08-21T08:54:08.513-05:002009-08-21T08:54:08.513-05:00Gary, you are right and wrong about the Tea Party ...Gary, you are right and wrong about the Tea Party Movement, which I studied and traced since February when it began. <br /><br />The Tea Party movement DID start from an arm within the Republican Party, although I don't think it was an "official" thing the party was doing. But the tea party website templates were set up all across the country before there were organizers in each city. <br /><br />By mid-summmer the movement morphed into something outside of Republican control and a far bigger thing than anyone imagined...Mr. and Mrs. Main Street woke up from their long slumber in apathy. <br /><br />Now Mr and Mrs Folks (armed with the Internet)are learning that the two parties are the different sides of the same filthy coin.<br /><br />My hope, which I know you do not share, is that the Libertarian party will continue to pluck Republicans who realize that their party is never going to serve them or its core principles first.<br /><br />The Republican Party is lost and only from the ashes will a Phoenix rise. <br /><br />One day, even you might become so fed up with the Republicans that you jump ship. Regardless, I remain a fan of your blog.M Theoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01892309818226431745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-68511137818907784902009-08-21T06:58:14.281-05:002009-08-21T06:58:14.281-05:00I had to Google to figure out who Michael Smerconi...I had to Google to figure out who Michael Smerconish is.<br /><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/politics/why_conservative_talker_michael_smerconish_endorsed_obama_97889.asp" rel="nofollow">Why Conservative Talker Michael Smerconish Endorsed Obama</a><br /><br />"Philadelphia radio talker Michael Smerconish, a life-long Republican, swears he's not using his Obama endorsement today [Oct 17, 2008] to land a fulltime spot on increasingly liberal MSNBC."<br /><br />"Smerconish's radio contract expires Dec. 31. Buzz says he won't re-sign unless the station takes him national. His exclusive deal with MSNBC is up in the spring. He appears three times a week, on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" and on David Gregory's "Race to the White House."<br /><br /><br />Seems like the 2nd act of 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' just played itself out.Downtown Indyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239811599722585898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-2686016012867613052009-08-21T06:44:49.121-05:002009-08-21T06:44:49.121-05:00Is Medicare socialism?Is Medicare socialism?Chris Wordenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00558836541249077077noreply@blogger.com