Daily Show—health care

Last night's Daily Show (August 20, 2009), had Betsy McCaughey, a woman who works for a medical instrument company of some kind, and who has a vested interest in keeping things the way they are—that is, profitable to the insurance and medical supply companies—and she is the one who has been charged with starting the "death panels" rumor. Of course she never called them death panels—but I haven't heard that she has spoken up to object to that.

Anyway, Stewart fairly eviscerated her. She was reduced to frantically rifling thru the massive volume of the written bill she brought with her to try to find support for her arguments.
It was fruitless. Jon Stewart was able to point out every one of her misconceptions, if that's what they were. Clearly, being a hack for a medical supply company has a negative effect on one's logical capabilities.

I guess I should give her props for having the nerve to come to his show, but that decision may just be a result of the deterioration of the aforementioned logical capabilities. If she really believed what she was saying, she was deluded and ignorant. If she didn't, she was mendacious to an incredible degree.

Speaking of mendacious, let's consider Senator Grassley of Iowa. He may vote against any health care plan because of the feedback he is getting from town meetings. The same town meetings that are being defiled by insurance company hacks who incite people with false rumors so that they forget what America is all about and shout down and refuse to allow serious debate. Also, he has been getting information from the Lewin Group, supposedly a "non-partisan" think tank which is studying health care. The Lewin Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Health Care, 2nd largest health care provider in the US, and of course, a company which profits greatly from the way things are.

In a video clip on the Rachel Maddow show, Sen Grassley, in response to an elderly constituent who confronted him with this information, said "I wasn't aware of that."

Iowans do not have a reputation for stupidity. Sen Grassley is an Iowan. Presumably, then, he is not stupid, especially since he has reached the political position he has. So how could he NOT be aware of what the Lewin group is and whence the information it provides? I'm afraid the only answer is that he is dishonest.

And yet, this is one of the people Barack Obama says is working toward a "bipartisan" resolution of the health care bill situation. I don't figure ol' Barack anymore. He may be a political "idiot savant," counting votes in Congress like Dustin Hoffman counting cards in the casino in "Rain Man," and knowing what he's got at any one moment, or he has some dirt on all those suckers and knows they will toe his line, or he is so desperate for bi-partisan support he is willing to overlook any evidence to the contrary of his desires.

Perhaps he is making a lot of bi-partisan talk now, and ready when the crunch comes, to say the hell with it and get the Democratic majority to get their act together and pass that gddm bill already and hell with the Repubicans.
I hope so.

Have you paid any attention to the expressions on the faces of the Fox news commentators and reporters? In all the clips I have seen, it just looks like they know they are being dishonest and delighting in it. Especially Hannity, the way he sits and tries to look casual.

What weasels.

that's it for tonight.