Po-Political Post: I am fucking pissed

I'm gonna veer away from punk rock stuff for just a minute if I could. So Saturday night the House passed a health care bill. I use "a" instead of "the" health care bill because to me it's not at all what I wanted and once it hits the Senate, it will be a shell of what I thought I was going to get when I went to the polls last November. Now here's the part where everyone is going to hate me. Health care should be free. To all citizens and people. In every country. Period. I see a lot of stuff on facebook about how people hate this idea and that "a public option" is socialism and a lot of other nonsense. Facebook to my mind is not the place for political bullshit. That's why I have this blog. I will now address this issue one bullshit notion at a time. Let me start by saying I am in no way a drinker of the Obama kool-aid. I believe that he has not nearly done enough on this issue or the economy. Not to mention there are still two wars being financed by American tax dollars, and people still dying or being horribly mutilated as a result. So basically as a proud lefty, the guy hasn't gone far enough. Never mind the apologists who will say "change takes time" or "we still have a lot of work to do". "Change" does not mean giving the corporate slime that ran this country into the ground since 1930 more money when New Orleans is still in shambles. I could keep going, but I got other things to yell about. I knew the hope and change rhetoric was bullshit, but I voted for free health care and an end to two wars, one of which completely unjustified. SO therefore, I am not happy.

Now to address the issue at hand in more detail. Health care is a right. It may not be covered under our constitution, but I believe strongly that if we are going to keep living under the creed, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness" then a healthy American people should be priority one. Now I see and have read about many critics on the right who say that it's unconstitutional, that congress has no authority to regulate the health care industry, blah blah blah. Well, congress also then has no right to allow Verizon and AT&T to listen in on your phone calls, or monitor your library card a la the Patriot Act now do they? Yet, these same people were practically slobbering over the idea that you can lock someone up for what they read. As long as were safe right? These same people probably still wish women couldn't vote, or that the civil rights movement never happened. I also hear (and this is my favorite) a lot about how this is socialism and Obama is a socialist. This is not the 1950's. Using old Commie bating fear tactics is not only outdated but it was never right to begin with. I hate to break this to everyone (especially you free market types, god bless you) but this country is run under a mixed economy. What that means is that we purposely set up our system to have elements of the free market and government regulation, which people like Glenn Beck love to call socialism. Glenn Beck can't fucking spell socialism. We are the only nation in the industrialized world that does not have universal health care for its people. This is unacceptable and to me that is the very definition of tyranny. Being controlled by any private corporate interest is. Just ask anyone who has been denied coverage because of a "pre-existing" condition. Is that not tyranny? Denying someone basic medical care because they have a chronic illness?
Another argument against the public option is the cost. Well that is all fine and good, no one wants to pay more money to the government. The argument is we have no way to pay for it, the deficit will skyrocket, the world will end before Jesus has time to come back and save us all, yeah yeah I get it. Wanna know a really easy way we could pay for universal coverage? It's not that hard really. End our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both wars have cost in 9 years way more than universal coverage ever would. And I'm not even gonna touch the human cost. But wait, I must be crazy. This is American foreign policy. We would much rather sacrifice human life than to save it. Especially if we can open up a few more markets in the third world. Every street corner in Baghdad just needs a Starbucks otherwise the whole thing will just collapse.

Now to address those that want universal health care to die (it already has good job). First, the Libertarians. I understand the want for less government involvement and the want for more freedoms. I also rather enjoy your belief that you live under tyranny. You do, you are absolutely right. However, your definition of how you live in tyranny is a bit different than mine. You think capitalism is the greatest thing on Earth. I think it's one of the worst, next to Taco Bell. Disagree? Take a look at what free trade and unregulated capitalism has done to the third world. Or fuck that, take a look at what it did to our country just a year ago. Also, when you quote Thomas Jefferson on freedom, I can't take you seriously. Like at all. Thomas Jefferson was a founding father, the author of the Declaration of Independence, and a slave owner. The hypocrisy is almost laughable. Next up we have the Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Fox News etc. I shouldn't even dignify these people by mocking them, but I will because it's fun. The last book Glenn Beck read was probably See Spot Run, and Rush Limbaugh is a fat fuck who should take the hot dog out of his mouth before he chokes on that and his own bullshit. Oh, and let us not forget the Tea Party people. I guess racism is still a profitable business to you fine patriots. Let's face it, that is really why these people are out there. It isn't like they're trying to even hide it. Just read some of their poorly written slogans on their signs, or the lovely depictions of Obama's likeness they like to create. Their racism is absolutely charming.
Lastly, we have the one politician I can honestly say I hate. Joe Lieberman. He has been quoted as saying, (I'm paraphrasing, sorry) that he will make sure the health bill will not make it to a vote. Which means he wants to filibuster. A filibuster in layman's terms is when a congressman(woman) stands up and talks until they effectively "time-out" the bill, forcing congress to move on to other business. Try it asshole. You aren't Jimmy Stewart (ask me about the reference). It is not even a secret that Lieberman's wife works as an insurance company exec. Nor is it a secret that the health care industry has Lieberman in their pockets collectively. Guaranteed when he loses his Senate seat he will work for one of them as a lobbyist. You want corruption? Here it is in all it's disgusting glory. Lieberman should be ashamed of himself, but he isn't.

So before I go let me say this. The House Democrats are all patting themselves on the back for passing a watered down health bill. I never actually thought it would pass but somehow it did. The Senate will murder it and nothing will actually change. People still won't be insured, we will still pay for these same people when they go to the hospital, and the corporate American way prevails again. Maybe next time we should actually research the people we vote for before blindly going to the polls. Maybe those of us on the leftward side of things should speak up and say something to those we elected. But this is my opinion. You don't have to agree and most likely, you don't. That's OK because this is my blog. Go write your own fucking blog if you don't like it.



Listening to: Aus-Rotten, Antiproduct, Los Crudos