If you are a politicians, it is really tough to get votes from people if you are stealing their SUV's and then crashing them. However, this is exactly what happened to Idaho State Senator John McGee. The married man and father of one was out on Saturday in the Boise, Idaho area and decided after several drinks that he would stop by the home of some people he did not know and steal their SUV which had a trailer attached. In his defense, all the alcohol he had consumed probably made him think he was allowed to because he is a politician. Oh, and that he was a very good driver.
After driving a short distance, in the middle of the night, the Senator tried to turn the entire thing around in a driveway. He was unsuccessful, but was a success at getting it stuck and causing damage. He then abandoned the truck and got lost on the street where he was walking so walked back and forth hoping a door would open. When that did not work, he went back to the truck, got in and fell asleep where he remained until police showed up who had been called by two kids inside the home of the driveway where the truck was jackknifed.
Probably a family values guy.
If he's a Democrat, he'll be arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. If he's a Republican, eh. He'll become the GOP's 2016 Presidential candidate. Fucking Republicans.
ReplyDeleteWhat an idiot. You don't return to the scene of the crime!
ReplyDelete@Vicki - EXACTLY!
ReplyDeleteUgh. You know, I WILL judge politicians more harshly, and I WILL demand that they act with more maturity and common sense than the average person, because they've been elected largely based on an image they project. I don't really *care* what his politics are -- all I know is that he's a grownass man who drove wasted and engaged in theft -- and no one would willingly give a job to a person like that. This douchebag surely makes enough money to buy an expensive bottle of scotch and get drunk IN HIS OWN HOME and buy HIS OWN TRUCK during his downtime!
ReplyDeleteBut I dunno if this is some affront to "family values", though. If he had been found passed out with a hooker in his truck, that would be one thing. He wasn't taking pictures of his peen while sitting in the family's driveway and sending them to people.
This is just total idiocy.
Funny, my thought was if he is a Republican, 15 years in prison...while if he is a Democrat twitter pictures of his junk and future president of the US, after all he must have just been playing around.
ReplyDeleteBut we'll agree to disagree.
Yes, he's a grownass man! Are all these politicians mental cases? Is there something about becoming involved in politics that makes people crazy - even a grownass man?!?!?! This just gets worse. And kids have to call the cops on this guy! Not even grownass adults calling the cops?!?!!? Sad for his kid certainly.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me??? Ted Kennedy (a Democrat) killed a woman drinking and driving, and didn't even try to save her. He got off scott free. It runs both way and depends on who your connections are that get you off. It has nothing to do with being a demo or a rep. Look at what Obama is getting away with and he's a Demo. All Politicians are shady...let's try to remember that, shall we???
ReplyDeleteUh, I'm not American, but I try to keep up best I can with your politics...I'm a little lost though - what exactly is Obama getting away with that is criminal?
ReplyDeleteWait -- let me make a cup of tea. Can't wait to see which conspiracy theory is pulled out today. You DO know that Obama is a secret gay Hindu, right?
ReplyDeletePassing the Healthcare against the majority of the will of the people and the lack of votes in the Congress and Senate, the death panel, his fake birth certificate, all the heavy spending of the American people's money, the need to raise the debt ceiling for all his frivilous spending, the worsening of unemployment, the lack of a plan to fix the economy which he thinks if just fine, the plan to legalize illegals and he will for the votes so he can get re-elected...ah...that's what. Plus...many many many more.
ReplyDeleteI thought he was a cyborg created by the Illuminati to spy on the beef cartel.
ReplyDeleteLOL Vicki!!! I have to agree with you on that one.
ReplyDeleteamen Crila16. Right there with you.
ReplyDeleteYep, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed today. *sips*
ReplyDelete"The death panel"? Please elaborate. I'm Canadian.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I laughed out loud at your hindu comment, Kate! *L*
ReplyDeleteOk, he's a secret Muslim cyborg sent by the Mexican government to open the borders and let all the illegal immigrants in and force everybody to be gay and get abortions. And give up their gun rights.
ReplyDeleteClose?
Oh Vicki...Lack of an intelectual response with only silly ones. You must be a liberal.
ReplyDeleteBecause the fake birth certificate and death panels are so lucid and articulate.
ReplyDeleteYou must be a teabagging racist.
@kate- I think I love you now. LOL
ReplyDeleteLOL@Vicki
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Obama is spending way more on the military and actually is patroling the Mexican borders more fervently and insanely than Bush did. (This is fact and much to my sadness, since I voted for him.)
ReplyDeleteI will defend him by saying that WE FUCKING NEED National Health Care and sometimes the masses of people are uninformed and uneducated on exactly what that will entail. The Republicans stir small towns up with the whole 'Socialism' word and people foam at the mouth. So yeah, him passing the health care bill, in spite of some of the mainstream vote, is no biggie to me. I think I'll take his educated opinion on Health Care over Jim Bob in buttfuck, Nebraska.
I think I love Vicki too LOL!
ReplyDeletesilly rabbits
oh and death panels hehehehehehehehe that's so cute! people still believe that?
ReplyDeleteI heart Vicki. That's all.
ReplyDeleteDeath panel...it's in the new Healthcare reform law. Its says anyone over a certain age (I believe it was 63) will have to stand before the courts to determine whether they live or die if they need surgery or have an illness...for example. If you have a clogged artery or cancer, you will need to stand before the courts and fight for a reason for why you want to have the surgery and feel you should live. They will determine whether or not they will allow you to have the surgery or not.
ReplyDeleteCrila, you do know Fox "News" isn't the only news source, right?
ReplyDeleteI am SO glad I asked.
ReplyDeleteNo...I actually LOVE Herman Cain. He's my vote for 2012.
ReplyDeleteHere's a tidbit that I love to bring up whenever people think laws should be decided by the will of the people:
ReplyDeleteWhen interracial marriage was legalized in the US in 1967, 70% of Americans were against it. 70%!! (Footnote: Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed (GREAT book and much better than Eat Pray Love), which my mom has currently taken hostage, so I can't verify where that study was taken from.)
Just because it's the will of the people, it doesn't mean it's right. If that were the case, we'd still have Jim Crow laws in the South.
I agree with Jasmine -- we need to overhaul our healthcare system. Healthcare is a RIGHT -- not a privilege to only those who can afford it. This is AMERICA. We can, and should, do BETTER than what we're doing now.
And if you're so against "socialism," why don't you spend your free time protesting our socialized libraries, socialized public schools and socialized fire departments?
I <3 you, Kate. Very well said.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/palin-vs-obama-death-panels/
ReplyDeleteI had to go check for myself. It was so easy.
I think fire departments should be privatized. Only stupid people set shit on fire. I should not have to pay for their pyromaniacal ways.
ReplyDeleteCrila16, you are wrong. It does not say that ANYWHERE in the legislation. I don't know anything about you. You might be perfectly intelligent, kind, and compassionate. But I do know that you are INCORRECT on that point.
ReplyDeleteYou should educate yourself on what the bill really says rather than spread that particular bit of misinformation, which has been widely debunked.
I live in Idaho, although I am working on an escape plan daily. :)
ReplyDeleteOur current governor, many members of the legislature & a few appellate court judges/justices ALL have DUIs. Yet some are calling for this guy's resignation. Idaho is predominately Republican and significantly Mormon. These douchebags are such hypocrites. Remember Larry Craig? I'll step down...oh wait, no I won't, and I "was never gay."
Hope they all rot in that hell they believe in.
Democrat, Republican, Tea Party--it doesn't matter, if you are a politician it seems to me you are a douchebag. UGH!
BTW, at this point I find politicians on both sides of the aisle to be pretty disappointing. I wonder WTF this guy's problem was? That's some serious drinking, not to mention putting the others at major risk.
ReplyDeleteKate...I 100% agree with you that we need a form of Universal Healthcare in this country, along with a choice for private. I just don't agree that this current healthcare forced down our throats which will go into effect in 2013 will be good for our country. I really feel that American's will regret Obamacare, whether you agree or not.
ReplyDeleteAs for socialism. it's great until you run out of other people's money. Socialism is the doorway to communism.
You can agree or disagree with my views, but I am entitled to them, which is what makes America so great.
Yes, Crila, you are entitled to your views. But stating something incorrect as a fact is hardly airing your 'views.'
ReplyDeleteThanks Dianne...but I am very well educated and the Death Panel does in fact exist in the reform package.
ReplyDeleteI have spent way to much time knocking down idiotic "facts" that Fox and others spew to bother anymore. If I want a legit view of what is going on in this country, I listen to the BBC. Otherwise, I just tell people to go to a couple of myth busting sites when they start their B.S. If they don't want to bother checking to see if what they are screaming about is true, than I am not responsible for how idiotic they look to others.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say you were uneducated. I didn't say you were stupid. I merely said you were wrong about a particular point. And you are. I see that you also believe in the whole fake birth certificate thing, which leads me to believe that arguing with you is fruitless.
ReplyDeleteThe death panel thing is so ridiculous. From what I know, this whole thing started because of discussion about end-of-life care. You know, a brain-dead 92 year old in a coma whose family is insisting on keeping him alive to the tune of millions of dollars in care. It WAS about creating a balance between necessary and unnecessary procedures for extremely elderly and infirm patients.
ReplyDeleteThen some radical conservatives got ahold of the idea, and suddenly something lucid and sane got transformed into crila16's "death panel", where if you get a cold, you have to stand in front of a tribunal who will rule that you don't deserve medical care.
It's ludicrous. It's actually beyond ludicrous, it's just plain wrong. You can shout about how it is in the reform package all you want - I want quotes. I want links. It's NOT THERE. At least, not in the way it's been described.
And seriously, the whole birth certificate thing? If you can't contribute rationally to the conversation, why bother? He is an American citizen. HE RELEASED HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE. Jesus, just deal with it.
Finally, I don't give a crap what the will of the American people is, if that "will" is wrong. Throughout history, major civil rights laws have been passed despite a majority of the American public being against them. They were WRONG, and if it was up to the "will", we'd probably still have segregated drinking fountains.
Rant over.
^^^^^wow^^^^^ now THAT was impressive!
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Anna, please rant whenever you want!
ReplyDeleteCrilla, there is a HUGE difference between socialism and communism. You *do* know that, right? Socialism is as far left-leaning as you can get, while communism is equally as far right. In simple terms: socialism = liberal; communism = conservative.
ReplyDeleteAnd, having read all 1200+ pages of the Obamacare bill, please point out to me where EXACTLY it mentions death panels... unless you're just trolling the post (then I have to say "congrats" getting so many of us to bite.)
I appreciate that. Look...the death panel term came from the president's description of the panel that will determine whether they feel a person can be helped through the surgery or if they should just be given a pain pill, because the surgeon panel feel the surgery will most likely not help the person. Some people don't want to be told that they think or don't think a surgery will work and want to be able to make the decision on their own. Palin (who I can't stand) came up with the term death panel and that is the term that just stuck. If you don't like it, don't use the term. But to me..that's what it is.
ReplyDeleteMary...I am very well aware. I didn't say socialism was communism anywhere in my post.
ReplyDelete@crila16 - have you ever heard of factcheck.org? You should check it out. It is non-partisan and does not receive funding from political parties. It is a project devoted to de-bunking fallacies and misinformation about America politics. I'm not an expert by any means when it comes to politics, but I have found the site to be very helpful when trying to understand certain issues...
ReplyDeleteThis particular issue was addressed here:
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/12/let-the-distortions-begin/
Again, I'm not an expert, but I find the site helpful.
please Crila-
ReplyDeleteIf you've know anything about our health care RIGHT NOW you would know that every single day people WITH INSURANCE have to cajole and convince the shitty shitty HMOs and the like to get surgery they need.
Why dont u watch Sicko and see if you still think this version of health care we have going on right now is better than 'Obamacare', as you put it so disdainfully.
We have a version of 'death panels' going on the daily in America, but Republicans with their big Medical buy outs, never mention that.
(To be fair, I know Hilary Clinton has gotten buy outs now too, sadly). Is no one on to be trusted to act honorably? sheesh
No, you said "Socialism is the doorway to communism." All I was doing was pointing out that it's impossible.
ReplyDeleteSorry, my last post was a response to Crila
ReplyDeleteSorry Mary. I mispoke. you are 100% correct. I was 100% incorrect. I completely apologize.
ReplyDeleteTo correct what Anna said, the 'death panel' meme came from the fact that the healthcare bill will ensure that healthcare providers are reimbursed for their time when they have discussions with their patients about end-of-life issues. The goal is to make sure that physicians are incentivized and not penalized for taking the time to talk through these issues with their patients.
ReplyDeleteThis will help avoid situations in which extreme (and very costly) measures are provided simply because the patient's actual wishes are not known. The bill does not establish some type of panel that decides that this person should live, the other should die, etc. It is designed to help YOU the person and consumer have a fruitful conversation with your physician.
In any case, people are naive if they do not realize that for-profit insurance companies regularly decisions about what will and will not be covered. That's a whole nother discussion.
There's a whole lot of stupid in the comments today but Mary Stewart-McGovern, you are the queen of stupid for the day. Communism is not "far right" you drooling nitwit. Jaysus. Second prize to the "healthcare is a right" people. No, it isn't. Full stop. Our rights are defined by our Constitution. There's no "right to healthcare" in there no matter how much you wish there was. Over the years, the government has set up programs designed to assist the truly needy and, predictably, the truly greedy (both in the public and private sector) have taken advantage of them. Now the zeitgeist is that well we might as well just assume that no one can plan for their own healthcare and assume that the government will take care of it. Bad idea. See, e.g., the UK's system and the endless complaints that arise from the reality of government healthcare. Look away all you want, some day that's going to be YOU in the government hospital. Also, whoever said that if we don't want socialized medicine we should also have to give up socialized libraries, fire departments, and public schools, like it's some sort of package deal. No. Decisions about funding libraries, schools, and fire departments are (or should be) decisions made at the local and/or state level, not the federal level. Some areas do without. A lot of commenters on here have been watching far too much Comedy Central and/or MSNBC.
ReplyDelete__-__=__ said...
ReplyDeleteAre all these politicians mental cases? Is there something about becoming involved in politics that makes people crazy
This is what I wonder every time some new scandal comes out. I find it very hard to take any politician Republican or Democrat very seriously.
P.S. I think there might be more to the story about "having a few drinks". I have more than "a few drinks" on numerous occasions and I never get the urge to steal anyone's friggin' car, but whatever. Can't wait to hear the excuse this one's got.
Amartel, if you're going to call me out (by the way, look up the definitions to both "socialism" and "communism" and get back to me), I'd HIGHLY recommend you know something about me and my beliefs first. Go back to Faux News and get your next talking point.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do know there is no given right to healthcare - I NEVER said there was, honey. In fact, all I did was post two definitions.
ReplyDeleteSo to sum up, Obama hasn't done anything criminal or against the law, right?? You know, like this douchebag? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm an American living in New Zealand, and I've experienced universal health care first hand. I personally find it terrible, but maybe that's related to the country. Anyone who wants anything done quickly uses private insurance, because if you go in the public sector for treatment, you'll be waiting months, even for direly needed procedures. People have died waiting for treatment. Also, they have a law here that says if you have an accident, you have to use ACC (accidental compensation coorporation, a government organization), and you can't use your private insurance. What does that mean? Well, as I found out, it meant that you are at the whim of the system with no options but what they give you, and you have little to no say in your treatment. I broke my humerus falling off my horse, a complete, displaced, transverse fracture. They put me in a sling and left me that way for 7 weeks because they wanted to try conservative treatment first. I sent my xrays back to the US and my father and uncle, who are doctors, consulted with multiple orthopedic surgeons, and all said I needed immediate surgery. My surgeon here didn't care, and it took over 5 weeks to get a 2nd opinion. I don't know if anyone has ever broken a humerus, but it is beyond painful. After 7 weeks, when it wasn't healing, then I got surgery. By law, I wasn't allowed to use my private insurance to get the surgery I needed, so I was forced to suffer for weeks until the doctor decided to actually treat me. I missed school, and was essentially bedridden because every time I moved, you could see the end of my humerus poking against the muscles of my arm. It took over a year to get full movement back in my arm due to the delay in treatment, and my elbow was frozen for months. Had I gotten the surgery I needed right away, none of that would have happened, and I would have only be laid up a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that the US system is far superior, although in this instance it would have been, but universal health care is not all it's cracked up to be, at least not here. I'd be interested to hear what other people who have universal health care in their country think of their system.
Sorry this was so long, I get really charged up about universal health care.
I wish that crila could realize that that when she says the 'against will of the people' what she really means is "against the will of the Republicans". The dems and most of the independents were ok with healthcare for all.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of her rant is straight out of one of those Fox News commentator's mouths -- or maybe out of all of them. Obama committed crimes, HAHAHA yeah, right. Face it kiddo, he's elected and he will be elected again and all your lies can't stop it. Only he can, if he moves any further to the right.
Hi Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI live in Australia and we have both. In case of an emergency, you get transported to a public hospital. You let them know you have private health insurance, and often that gets you a private room in a public hospital, or you can be transferred to a private hospital. In my home town the public and private hospitals are on the same bit of land, so transfer is easy.
On the birth certificate issue with Obama, in Australia we don't care. If you are good, and you are here, then we will vote for you. We had an American be the NSW State leader, we were fine with it. I am much more concerned about the job they are doing than where they were born.
Hi feral (waving at you from across the Tasman),
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my accident, I was also sent to the public hospital, and when I had my first surgery on my arm, I stayed in the same public hospital. Are yours there as bad as the ones here? I had a room with 3 other people (all ladies over 80, including a very senile one), one bathroom for the entire floor, and no TV or radios in the room. It was awful! When I had my second surgery, I got to go to a private hospital (separate from the public one), and it was like a luxury hotel. So very nice. I don't know why I got to go private the second time, maybe my surgeon took pity on me!
So glad you liked my rant. *curtsy*
ReplyDeleteDianne, thanks for correcting me. I clearly got a bit off track with my understanding of how this all began. I completely agree that insurance companies do this all the time, decide who lives, who dies, who gets what treatment. It boggles the mind that folks will trust a for-profit company to decide what is best, but run shrieking from the thought that the government could do the same thing.
Not that I'm ready to automatically trust the government, but people seriously believe that an insurance company has any concern other than their shareholders? Please.
Melanie, I've experienced universal health care when I lived in England. Luckily, I never had to put it to the test, as you have. Sounds like you've had a poor experience, and that sucks. I heard similar things about the British health care system - i.e., anyone who can afford it gets private health care, people often wait for procedures, etc.
Clearly sub-standard care isn't ideal. However, I currently have NO health care. Haven't had any for two years, since I graduated graduate school. Since then, I've been very, very lucky, but that luck could run out tomorrow. And if I had an accident and needed surgery, my medical bills would quickly become astronomical - and I would have very little choice in the matter, other than to not be treated at all.
I will take substandard tax-funded health care over no health care at all. Or health care that will leave me and my family homeless and in thousands of dollars in debt.
I've looked into buying private health care, and the cheap plans are unbelievably shitty. Plus if you want vision, dental, or especially maternity care, prepare to spend hundreds per month. (Please, if anyone has a good cheap plan that contradicts this, please let me know! I'd love to be wrong!) We just can't afford it.
Speaking as a Canadian with universal health care, I LOVE it and am proud of it, as are most everyone else I know here. My bestie (an American in Seattle) is incredibly jealous of our healthcare system and our minimum wage. It is NOT socialism and Canada is certainly not walking through the door towards communism, I can promise you that :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right Anna, some health care is better than none, even if it is substandard. I'm not saying that the US shouldn't have it, I just wanted to point out the sucky parts of it too. It won't fix all the problems, is the point I was trying to make.
ReplyDeleteAnd NZ is lucky. You get 6 months maternity leave from work, which I can't wait for when I finally get pregnant. Also, they now have free dental care for kids under 18 (or maybe younger, can't remember off the top of my head). That doesn't cover braces, however, but it's a step. There are some pretty bad teeth down here, it's like looking at the Big Book of British Smiles.
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ReplyDeleteWow lots of good discussion here today. I personally always felt that the Constitution didn't include medical care because there were more lawyers and politicians writing it up but also because at the time towns were small and had limited care anyway-all the advancements we have today weren't even a thought back then! And was there even insurance? So to claim about rights in a document that was created before that...I've always felt is very short sighted. It'd kind of be like holding me to being in love with Donnie Walhberg forever and ever (ie, my diary 1989)
ReplyDeleteAnd while I'm not completely thrilled with the presidency he hasn't done anything more criminal than his predecessors-let's be realistic here. I think the nature of the office makes you bend where you thought you wouldn't and in terms of spending, again, we have two unfunded theaters of war and that has been going on YEARS before that man even campaigned. So, feels very disingenuous to lay it on his feet when I think we, the American people, need to look at our apathy towards government and what has created all these policies and allowed the aforementioned drunk driving thieving bafoon to take office.
And for Health Care. Sigh. Private insurance only works if you can afford it; if you're above the threshold for Medicare but below the ability to pay for private insurance out of pocket you're SOL. I think not being able to seek/get treatment is more of a death sentence than any so-called "death panel" no? It's a business-that's where the discrepancies lie. If we practiced more proactive health care and preventative medicine and provided people with medications/procedures to curb debilitating illness, the system WOULD work. I got cancer at 23, trust me I know the ins and outs of the system-my insurance is now refusing to pay for a second pap smear because I'd had abnormal ones before and they're calling it preexisting. YES. They really are (and I'm fighting them on it). I pay my premiums, I work, and that's a routine test! and they're putting me through the ringer!But think about how much LESS costly it is to cover the 200 dollar test, catch any abnormalities and be able to take care of them in an in-office procedure than letting it get so bad I'd need chemo again (I had NHL not cervical cancer). Just a thought.
Lots of good rants guys! Could we have death panels that just go ahead and kill whoever we want killed? Regardless of their health?? I think that might help the political process!
ReplyDeleteVote out every single incumbent in this entire country! Doesn't matter if they're Dem or Rep, vote them out. Vote in anybody else.
And now, for something completely different: How about a read on Political Ponerology? It's all about how politicians control the masses with their propaganda. An interesting read, especially the second part, here:
http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/political_ponerology_lobaczewski.htm
Happy voting ya'll!
Good points, Diet Girl...
ReplyDeleteThis is a great thread, well minus the Dem/GOP bullwinkle.
ReplyDeleteI've read HR 3200, and from what I can remember there isn't an actual meantion of a "death panel" per se, but there is a team of people at a hospital (can't remember the name) who decide what/who is/has priority. The insurance companies also have these panels for the same purpose. Personally, I'd take the governments "death panel" over a private insurance companies because, at the very least, the government isn't really in the business of looking after their bottom line like a private company is.