CNN recently published an article stating that 45,000 people die every year because they don’t have health insurance. So did Reuters. Neither article linked to the actual study (it can be found here). Liberals have been quick to spread this statistic, but not so quick to spread some of the other statistics found in the same report:
- Less educated people (those with less than a 12th grade education) without insurance are 50% more likely to die than educated yet uninsured people.
- Uninsured current and former smokers are 3-4 times more likely to die than uninsured non-smokers.
Instead, the CNN article starts the article with one of three sad stories (you can almost hear the strings in the background):
- A freelance photographer died from a ruptured appendix.
- A woman died from undiagnosed heart disease.
- Another woman died from an undiagnosed problem that is still unknown.
All tragic and sad. And all probably unnecessary. But, two of these deaths happened due to choices each of them made. The photographer was a healthy male that thought he knew his body better than he really did. The mid-life woman died from a disease that a healthier lifestyle may have prevented. The third death may have never been diagnosed, and insurance may not have made a bit of difference. But these sad stories all serve a purpose, they all are used to justify legislation that liberals want.
I think that there needs to be some sort of public plan. But I don’t have a single reason to trust that a government option would compete fairly with existing insurance companies and health providers. By low-balling its prices and by legislating ridiculous requirements to be considered a “qualified” private plan, the government can complete its stated mission of driving insurance companies out of business and become the single payer provider that Obama wants.
Why not extend Medicare/Medicaid to all adults? Well, part of the problem is that the current version of Medicare is short of its liabilities by a mere $38 trillion.
Did you know that people who fly are more likely to die in a plane crash than people that don’t fly? And women that don’t perform regular breast exams are more likely to die than those that do perform regular exams. I think that you are stating the obvious by saying that “people without health insurance are more likely to die than those with health insurance.” Ya’ think?
Let’s look at this in a different way. If 45,000 people die every year because they don’t have health insurance, and we supposedly have 47 million people uninsured… oh wait, the president recently adjusted this number to 30 million. If we have 45,000 dying out of 30 million uninsured, 99.85% of the uninsured are not dying due to their lack of insurance. Does this merit a multi-trillion dollar plan that us, our kids and their kids will be paying for?
- Nearly 43,000 people died in car accidents in 2005 (source)
- Almost 2,500 people die every day from heart disease. (source)
- More than 9,000 people were killed in 2006 by illegal aliens. (source)
- Nearly a million sex offenses were committed that same year by illegal aliens. (source)
- Almost 1,500 people die every day from cancer. (source)
- About 17,000 people die in every year from aids. (source)
Many of the deaths above were preventable. But where is the liberal angst and cries for government intervention to mandate heart disease funding or, god forbid, more secure borders?
My point is that death is a part of human existence. It is tragic, painful, yet often preventable. But stifling the most advanced health care industry on the planet with legislation and bankrupting our country instead of letting the free markets be free is simply not the answer. Neither is fining people that choose not to have health care.
I think we can make insurance more affordable and better for all Americans by doing three things:
- Allow citizens to shop for insurance across state borders. This will instantly increase competition between insurance companies, which will cause the bad companies to fail or reorganize, and will increase patient choice while lowering costs.
- Cap medical lawsuits (tort reform) so that doctors can focus on properly treating patients instead of practice defensive medicine.
- Motivate insurance companies to extend coverage to the poor by providing tax breaks to insurance companies that cover a certain percentage of its customer base that are below a certain income level.
Many of us to the right of center tried to warn Americans about Obama’s background. After all, the press didn’t do any research on him that was substantive, nor did they dig into the oh so many characters that helped Obama develop his political platform. Therefor I present this flashback video that I created last summer. There are more, and will be more new ones. The politically disinterested and apathetic need to WAKE THE HELL UP before the next election.
RFC Radio’s own Fingers Malloy was quoted in the New York Times, as was one of the new and fast rising stars of the conservative blogosphere, Smart Girl Politics. Our legitimate grassroots efforts are paying off folks, keep spreading the good word!
Here’s a brief clip from Malloy’s interview with Michelle Malkin:
My 
friend and fellow conservative activist Kevin Jackson is a rising star in the world of conservative political watch dogs. He’s been aroud the country speaking at tea parties, and was on Glenn Beck last week. Kevin is one of those rare black conservatives, and he has a refreshing viw of the world. Check out his speeches on YouTube, and then order his book if you like what you hear.
My journey to the Glenn Beck inspired 9/12 Tea Party was truly memorable. Like so many of the people I met I felt compelled to be there, just like the characters from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” that were drawn to that flat-topped mountain. I am so happy that I made the trip and will try to convey to you the emotions that I felt.
The morning began at Freedom Plaza at Pennsylvania and 12th around 10 a.m. My brother-in-law dropped me off near the corner of the plaza and I immediately blended in with thousands of sign-carrying patriots. People lined both sides of the street, and the plaza itself was jam packed. Cameras and cell phones were snapping pictures and the energy was tangible. I made my way toward the plaza and looked for a Texas flag so I latch onto a group.
Being alone (the wife and kids were sadly back in Texas), I was able to maneuver quite easily through the crowds. The march was supposed to start at 11:00 or 11:30, but as I made my way toward the forward end of the park I noticed that crowds were already marching due to the massive inflow of people pouring into the plaza from various side streets. The march was underway!
THE MARCH
As I walked down Pennsylvania Avenue I was amazed at the positive energy I felt, and was truly entertained by some very creative signs. There was NO astroturf here, all of these signs were handmade. I passed groups from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia and Connecticut as well as a few groups from Texas. But since I was making such good time I kept moving forward hoping to get a good spot to watch the speeches.
Along the way I didn’t see a single pro-Obama sign, or any organized dissenters or protest protestors. Chants were varied and equally energetic: “Can you here me now!” — “Throw them out!” — “We want our country back!” — “You Lie!” — and of course, “USA! USA!” Noticeably absent was the press. No cameras, reporters, etc. It was as though the event was invisible.
Some of the best signs I saw included a life-sized Obama cut out with two clear plastic TelePrompTer screens; a Nancy Pelosi poster with an over-sized mouth for people to throw tea bags into; a gorup of people holding up letters that spelled “ENOUGH”; and a group carrying a huge American flag horizontally as they walked. Costume of the day went to a trip of partygoers: a man wearing a huge dreadlocks wig and fake marijuana leaves on is chest labelled “Green Czar,” a woman wearing a flesh-toned body suit and a clear plastic cover labelled “Transparency Czar, and a curvaceous woman wearing a tight t-shirt strategically labelled “Boob Czar.”
THE RALLY
As we approached the Capitol the crowd was being routed through an entrance to the right side of the grassy area between the reflecting pool and the capitol steps. I was too late to make it into the central area stage front, so I worked my way to stage left. As I walked around looking for a good view a woman was waling around with a megaphone announcing “the official police estimate is 1.2 million in attendance.” I thought that this was a bit unusual, since it was still only 11 a.m. and I thought it was too early for a count to be determined yet. Honestly, I felt that this was a liberal plant trying to spread false information, but perhaps I’m just a skeptic. I saw that same person about an hour later announcing “1.5 million according to park police.” I’ll never know… but I still remain skeptical of that individual.
After a few minutes on the grass I decided to head back to a more central location to get a better view and hopefully grab a spot on one of the statues. I swam against the flow of the crowd and made my way to the Garfield statue a little stage left of center. I climbed up and established the position that would be mine for the remainder of the day. Next to me was a lovely woman named Sandy (a United Airlines flight attendant) and her husband. They were from South Carolina. To my left was a gentleman from California, and below me was a guy from Ohio. As I positioned my backpack on the head of a lower statue I heard someone call my name. Then I heard someone yell out my company name! Lo and behold, I looked down to see not one but TWO of my coworkers from San Antonio, Texas! Here I am in the midst of realistically a million people at a single event and ten feet away from me are two coworkers. What are the odds?
As I started snapping pictures and noticed that the crowd was growing much bigger behind me. The crowd reached back as far as I could see in all directions. But still, no press to be seen. Eventually the speakers started and I was very pleased to hear a crisp, clear sound system. My vantage point was a good one, and I actually was able to sit for the entire event while still being able to see everything.
All of the pre-speech energy and crowd noise disappeared almost instantly when the national anthem was announced. Hats were removed, hands placed over hearts, and the entire crowd sang in a beautiful unison voice. After the anthem completed a large group in the heart of the crowd started to chant “USA! USA!”, something that always give me goosebumps. Then the speeches began. There were politicians, a few musical performances, and lots of speeches from people like you and me that until recently were not actively involved in politics or watchdog efforts. But still, the most moving portion for me was when the entire crowd sang the national anthem.
At one point a small group called “People of Faith for Health Care Reform” showed up all holding identical blue signs. There were about twenty in the group, a dozen had signs. They stood off by the side for a little while, then left. I noticed the next day that there was a picture of them in the Washington Post, next to two pictures of tea party groups. Despite the fact that there were one million of us and twenty of them, yet they received any coverage at all, never mind a photo in the paper, is just another sign of the ridiculous media bias we face today.
The speeches, occasionally interspersed with video and musical segues, lasted almost three hours. The entire event was broadcast by C-SPAN and can be found here. As “God Bless America” played over the speakers the massive yet peaceful crowd left as orderly as they arrived. Eventually the place was mostly empty with just a few stragglers staying behind to cling to the last fragments of remaining energy. As you have probably seen by now, the mall and Capitol areas were kept clean by the responsible actions of all of the attendees, unlike those that trashed the grounds during the Obama inauguration. (This isn’t necessarily an indictment of democrats or Obama supporters, it just is what it is.)
I spent the rest of the day walking around the mall, occasionally entering various Smithsonian museums. I ran into more patriots and we shared our similar views: this was a magical event attended by wonderful people with the best of intentions and a deep desire to return America to the country our founding fathers intended to create. Sandy, I’ll see you next year!
