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House narrowly passes health care bill

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Me too.

I was talking to my daughter in San Diego the other day. There was a young mother who didn't have health ins. Her baby daughter died from the flu because she couldn't get health care for her child. < :-)

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Congrats on the health care bill. Hopefully it will make it through the senate and provide relief for the tens of millions of uninsured, under-insured, and those risking medical bankruptcy.

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"Hopefully it will make it through the senate"

Well, why wouldn't it? Don't the Democrats have a majority in the Senate?

Assuming it does pass the Senate, how is the government going to pay for this trillion dollar debacle?

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I'm so lucky to see this wonderful, historic day; I thank God Almighty for the incredible blessing He has bestowed upon America this great day, especially upon our children!

It would be easy to gloat, to laugh outright at the Repubs with their "town hall meetings", their angry little red faces, their creaking, geriatric fists ineffectually swinging, to ridicule even more than usual the mewlings of "Sarge", the "not on my watch" idiocy of Badsey, the irrational hatred of the RomeoRamen's and WhiteHawks, but not today... not this wonderful, blessed day in which Americans have taken our country back from the precipice of Republican hatred, racism, and fear.

Today, we celebrate the rebirth of America, the rebirth of democracy, the rebirth of compassion, the rebirth of patriotism, and the defeat of conservative hatemongering. As proud as I am to serve the USA, and to have helped America survive the dark ages of President Obama's predecessor, I have never been prouder of my country than I am today.

Most gracious Heavenly Jesus, Americans tonight unite as one to give you the praise and glory for this wonderful day! God bless America!

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USAFdude, how is the government going to pay for this trillion dollar debacle?

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Read the bill, "Sarge". God bless you!

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"Read the bill."

Exactly the kind of cynicism that you can expect from the Democrat Party. Go read the bill - a bill that ran to over 2000 pages; the bill that party leadership declined to make available to the voting public, a full 72 percent of whom expect it will lower the quality of care we receive; the bill they had to pass at midnight, on a weekend,with a single token yea vote from the opposition. If this new plan is so grand why have those who crafted it exempted themselves and their families from the very healthcare they impose on taxpayers?

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The pollsters at Rasmussen found this last week that "Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters nationwide say passage of the proposed health care plan could lead companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their employees. Forty-eight percent (48%) say it's very likely."

The unintended consequences of what this alone will do to our economy should make any sane,educated,patriotic American shudder.

More jobs lost to overseas companies, more unionized bureaucracy - less ability to compete, and an incentive for small businesses to hire illegals. Unemployment is over ten percent at the moment. Obama ("it won't go above eight percent") lied about the stimulus, it was just a payoff to his cronies. Unemployment can now only climb higher, since any new healthcare legislation enacted adds an additional 8 percent tax on small businesses - the very sector that has in the past always been the engine that pulls the economy out of recession. Scared about the evil Bush-era FISA surveillance of foreign e-mail or phone calls were ya? Well, you're gonna love the government possessing all of your medical history. It's not like such info ever goes missing in the UK or anything, right? Past history of drug abuse? Mental health issues after your divorce? Had an abortion as a teenager? Shame if any of that should ever become public. No, stronger unions 'organizing the vote' would never resort to such underhanded ways. I mean, it's not like the Democrat Party intends to repeal the secret ballot in the workplace or anything, right?????

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Well, you're gonna love the government possessing all of your medical history.

Um, they kinda do already; it's called military health care. Never been a problem.

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I enjoyed that Huff Po piece. It's not what I would call serous journalism. It's a step above the Daily Kos, but at least they strive for some appearance of objectivity, in this case by including the quote below:

"The lasting image coming out of today's press conference is one of dozens of House Democrats standing proudly behind an incredibly unpopular Nancy Pelosi as she prepares to lead them off a political cliff," said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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"Um, they kinda do already; it's called military health care. Never been a problem."

The 'you' I was referring to is the average American voter on this forum, more than likely employed in the private sector, and therefore a wee bit more informed about economics, if only because they are much more affected by what the anti-small business, anti-capitalist Obama administration is trying to do to our economy.

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If the bill is so grand why did they need to ram it through at midnight?

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What I would really, really like to read is the super nifty Huff Po piece that will explain, using facts and figures, how the Democrats can deliver a plan that increases the quality of my health care, covers 36 million new patients, won't change my existing health plan a bit, will ensure coverage of any pre-existing conditions, and will come in "deficit neutral."

Can you help me out, USAF dude?

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To All Americans who live and work in the private sector in Japan,

You need to be aware of this. ACA is requesting that all members and supports email, fax and/or write their Senators in support of a change in legislative language to the bill "Americas Health Future Act of 2009" authored by Senator Max Baucus In the September 16th version of this bill there is wording which would cause great hardship on American citizens living outside the US. The wording would leave Americans overseas exposed to paying an excise tax regardless of whether they carry health insurance via overseas health providers. The purpose of the proposed excise tax is to encourage all Americans who benefit from the US health program to participate in its financing. Americans residing overseas can not benefit from the US health system so for them the excise tax is just that -- a tax with no counter-part service. Currently the maximum excise tax per family for non-participation is $1,900.

Please use to letter they have and send to your Senator. The house version that just passed does exempt Americans that are living overseas and using their respective countries health care plans but the Senate version DOES NOT. If you want to get stuck with a $1,900 dollar tax a penalty on you for living and working overseas then ignore my post. If you think this is totally outrageous send the e-mail form they provide. The clock is ticking now and soon the Senate will reconcile their version with the house version that just passed. If this slips through the cracks because we ex-pats didn't speak up then were going to eat $1,900 thousand dollars out of income because we didn't buy a stateside insurance policy that we couldn't use in the first place.

I happen to have coverage as a Military retiree and this will not effect me. But even though I have tangled with many 'progressives' on this site over the years that live here in Japan. This just ain't right and consider this a gift from a conservative in Japan who is looking out for you after all.

The link and the form.......Please pass it on to all ex-pats that you know of living in Japan and working in the private sector. Uncle Sam is out to get you to pay for Health Care Reform back home and he didn't even bother to tell you that.

http://www.aca-czech.com/news/please-help-aca-to-insure-that-americans-overseas-are-not-unfairly-taxed-to-support-health-care-reform/

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"Read the bill." Exactly the kind of cynicism that you can expect from the Democrat Party. Go read the bill - a bill that ran to over 2000 pages

So what you're saying is that you are too lazy to make sure that the claims you make are actually true. You want everyone else to provide you with facts and figures rather than trouble yourself to read the bill for yourself.

You know what I think? I think you really don't care about health care reform and secretly support it because if things ever went bad for you and your loved ones, you know that at least your health needs will be covered. All this stink you are raising is because your a Republican who does not want to support the Democrats in any shape, way or form. And it's not only you ... it is most the whiners who make outlandish claims expecting others to adhere to a higher standard than what they expect of themselves.

There are undoubtedly flaws in the health care bill, but since the GOP under Bush did nothing to address the very real problems with the current system it was left to the Dems to reform it. You had 8 years and you blew them away.

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hehehohohaha,

You prepared to lose 1,900 dollars out of your salary to support your democrats?

Read my post and what Health Care Reform really means for ex-pats overseas.

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Clearly the ex-pat issue needs to be addressed and I am sure it will be. The focus has been on Americans in-country. Health care needs of ex-pats from all over will be an issue that will undoubtedly garner more attention.

And no I would not be favorably disposed to paying twice for health care. However, I hope that the campaign to address this ex-pat issue is bi-partisan. Hard to imagine someone not supporting it.

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Mission: Founded in 1978, ACA (www.aca.ch) is a non-profit, non-partisan, volunteer association whose mission is to defend the rights of Americans living overseas. ACA is dedicated to:

· Providing assistance and information to private US citizens living and working outside of the United States

· Representing their interests before the US Congress, Administration, the press and all US citizens living at home.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ACA has a worldwide membership base and a global network of country contacts. The association draws on more than three decades of rich experience and knowledge of laws affecting private Americans living overseas.

It doesn't get more Bi-Partisan than that Hehehohohaha.

And to address another point. Hard to imagine the Democrats not being aware of this when they were the ones that inserted it in the Senate version in the first place.

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And to address another point. Hard to imagine the Democrats not being aware of this when they were the ones that inserted it in the Senate version in the first place.

Agreed. Where were the Republicans on this? Or did I miss their strenuous objections on behalf ex-pat Americans?

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"All this stink you are raising is because your a Republican who does not want to support the Democrats in any shape, way or form."

I regard myself as an independent.I have voted more times Democrat than Republican.But these days I support Libertarian or Republican candidates. I am watching closely how the so-called blue dogs conduct themselves. I want very badly to believe that the 2 main parties, their present differences notwithstanding, essentially both want what is best for America. Reid, Pelosi and Obama are, using the Democrats of my youth as standards, unrecognizable as such to me. I cannot support a party that wants to nationalize 1/6th of our economy, further divide citizen against citizen, and cynically and treasonously use health care "reform" in an attempt to make my country a single party banana republic.

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I cannot support a party that wants to nationalize 1/6th of our economy,

Is that true? 1/6th of the economy? What a scam health care is!

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Sailwind - thanks for that link.

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Well 1/6 of the economy would be an indication of how bloated the current system was allowed to become. Crying about the reform of that bloat is a bit disingenuous since bloat was there under for the last administration to do something about but instead chose to do nothing about it.

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I don't care what the friggin Democrats pass, I'm not going to pay into a U.S. government health care plan that I'm not going to use.

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Go sarge.....civil disobedience is the way forward. Join your local tea-baggers!

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Sarge,

I don't care what the friggin Democrats pass, I'm not going to pay into a U.S. government health care plan that I'm not going to use.

Your going to have to. It is mandated and if you don't you could end in jail for one year and a 25,000 dollar fine.

Chairman Max Baucus's bill includes the so-called individual mandate, along with what he calls a $1,900 "excise tax" if you don't buy health insurance. (It had been as much as $3,800 but Democrats reduced the amount last week to minimize the political sticker shock.) And, lo, it turns out that if you don't pay that tax, the IRS could punish you with a $25,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both.

Under questioning last week, Tom Barthold, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, admitted that the individual mandate would become a part of the Internal Revenue Code and that failing to comply "could be criminal, yes, if it were considered an attempt to defraud." Mr. Barthold noted in a follow-up letter that the willful failure to file would be a simple misdemeanor, punishable by the $25,000 fine or jail time under Section 7203.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574439243760133458.html

Here is the main site again for American Citizens Abroad and their current newsletter addressing this issue.

http://www.aca.ch/nu/nu181.pdf

Scroll down abit for the Health care Current Status for the details.

Also again for all Americans living in Japan and working in the private sector. Please use this link below and use their sample to write your Senator A.S.A.P.

http://www.aca.ch/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=327&Itemid=2

This bill has already passed the house and will soon be in the Senate hands to reconcile the bill. If you don't take action soon and let the Senate version go through as it is with the language it has in it, YOU WILL BE STUCK PAYING 1900 dollars for not having health insurance that isn't U.S Government approved. I post this not as a left wing issue or a right wing issue. I'm posting this as an American issue and dammit this just ain't right, let your local Senator know..... It is your hands to try and do something about this unfairness in this legislation for those of us who work overseas and the window is closing fast folks very fast.

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Go sarge.....civil disobedience is the way forward. Join your local tea-baggers!

Thanks for chiming in Madverts.....Can I borrow 1900 dollars from you?

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It's funny how the liberal posters ... are now screaming bloody murder when they found out "Change you can believe in" will cost them at least $1,900 in taxes or fines. Liberals are so compassionate -- but only when someone else's money is being used...

And who would these phantom liberal posters be? No one is screaming, there is no panic, the sun will rise in the east as it always has. The health care plan is not perfect and the imperfection will have to be dealt with as they are made known. So put your pants back on, comb your hair and come and join society.

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A vote of 220-215 isn't a vote, it's a heart attack.

But despite the tireless efforts of the anti-American GOP to block millions of ordinary Americans from having access to universal healthcare - which the majority of developed counrtries provide to their citizens - the vote was won.

Obama and the Democrats notch up another big win for ordinary Americans.

And thank God the way is now clear for the U.S Congress to begin serious debate on setting an emmissions reduction target in time for Copenhagen next month.

But I'm confident the GOP and their conservative no-hopers will go all out to block that as well.

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Obama and the Democrats notch up another big win for ordinary Americans.

Not for those ordinary Americans living overseas though it seems.

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The GOP is a total joke - one of their top minions screamed yesterday that this bill was the greatest "threat to freedom" he had ever seen, meanwhile his party's near total lack of support for this bill would have RESTRICTED FREEDOMS of ordinary Americans to manage their health, and don't get me started on how the GOP and their conservative base have been hellbent for years to RESTRICT THE FREEDOMS of women who want abortions.

The GOP is so hypocritical - not to mention disfunctional - it's just not funny any more, but that said, watching them is hilarious. :-)

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Sailwind - The U.S.government will have to get the Japanese police to arrest me and then extradite me to the U.S. if they want to jail me for refusing to pay into a U.S. government-run health care program I am never going to use. Unless Madverts comes up with $1,900 for me, ha ha ha!

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"The GOP is a total joke"

That must be why the House barely passed this health care debacle even though the Democrats have a majority.

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The proposed bill "provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans" (John Dingell).

U.S. population is estimated at 304 million. That leaves 12 million uncovered.

I see little to crow about.

But then, this was never about providing for all, as promised. It is a power grab.

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They're going to spend a trillion dollars and still 12 million will not be covered. Incredible...

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House of Representatives...REPRESENTING!!!

Way to go.

I see the ODS is in full swing here but that will not discourage me. This is a very happy day for true Americans.

Taka

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Going to sign off for the night, but I can't reiterate this enough to all you ex-pats that live in Japan. Please write your local Senator and get them to change the language in their version of their Health care reform bill to match the version that the House just passed, to reflect who has to have a U.S Government approved health insurance plan and who would be legally exempt........You are going to be screwed over big time with this bill if the Senate doesn't change its version. Be prepared to bend over and really take one in the shorts, Folks.

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And why is it again that the repubs are against this?

Orrin Hatch said it best when he recently did something rather uncharacteristic for a repug. He told the truth when he said that republicans aren't worried about health care reform failing, they are worried about it being a success because they know a grateful nation will turn to the Democratic party and the republicans will lose even more relevence.

Honestly, I'm far from surprised that the republicans would stick it to Americans in order to attempt relevancy.

Taka

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I see the ODS is in full swing here but that will not discourage me. This is a very happy day for true Americans.

You got 1900 dollars for ex-pats working in Japan that aren't retirees and working here in the private sector Taka?

They could use it when the bill hits.

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Yeah I do Sail but so many of those expats claim to be all about personal responsibility, so I think they should just pull themselves up by the bootstraps to make it happen, just like they tell others to do.

If it's too tough for you and you need more help on your resume to find a better job to pay for it, I'll bail you out again. No worries.

Taka

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@"Orrin Hatch said it best when he recently did something rather uncharacteristic for a repug."

"Repug", like "tea-bagger", really makes liberal contributors here sound adult. I can't help noticing that beyond the usual vague self-congratulations for Democrat magnimity with other people's money supporters of this monstrosity are unable to answer the simplest of challenges. If the bill is so beneficial why was passed at midnight, on a weekend? Why have the authors exempted themselves and their families from its innumerable regulations?

If such a quote from Hatch exists I suspect it was removed from context. Hatch probably fears what the authors of the Federalist Papers warned against:legislators bribing the electorate with entitlement programs. The unimagined horror of a Federal Reserve able to print billions in fiat currency makes this all too real. Both lead to the gradual dismantling of the republic form of government fought for, to replace it with its historical opposite and inferior, an oligarchy.

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Thanks Taka for going personal on our friendship and not addressing what is going to be a real hardship on those Americans who will have to buy an insurance plan in the States that they are never going to be able to use in Japan or if they don't face penalties and possible jail time.

Your concern for the 'little guy' over here is noted.

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Not for those ordinary Americans living overseas though it seems.

And everything in America should come to a screeching halt to pander to you and a very small minority of Americans, Sail. You guys' sense of entitlement never ceases to amaze.

All you have to do to get free health care for life is move back to the country you claim to love.

Oh.My.God. The horrors.

Get over yourself.

Taka

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"All you have to do to get free health care for life is move back to the country you claim to love."

Free? There is no such thing as free health care. If it were free Pelosi and her gang would not need to include the threat of imprisonment for families that refuse to abide by the regulations hidden within the 2000 pages of this bill. Good God they have some of you brainwashed.

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victimcrat - "The proposed bill "provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans" (John Dingell). U.S. population is estimated at 304 million. That leaves 12 million uncovered."

Compared to how many more million who were left unsheltered under GOP rule?

See how your argument doesn't exist?

And when Sarge asked where is the money coming from, he needs to be asking why he voted for the Iraq war that drained $1-2 trillion that would have been useful for this bill, but thanks to votes of people like Sarge, that money is gone.

Thanks Sarge - you are a big part of the problem you decry!

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victimrat,

Sailwind is a Navy retiree. His health care is free for life if he returns to America.

No worries however. The truth has a liberal bias.

Taka

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Taka,

You've gone personal in your attacks on me as of late. I have to conclude that any rational discussion on real issues that will effect ex-pats who have chosen to live and make a go of it in Japan for whatever reasons they have decided to, in my case my Japanese wife and I are are raising her 8 year old grand daughter between us and it would be impossible for us to move back to the States until she is old enough to be on her own, will be impossible with you from now on.

Good night Taka.

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Why does the bill come with historically unprecedented attacks upon our FREEDOM? Why the threats of jail sentences for families who refuse to buy insurance? Where in our Constitution and Bill of Rights are such sweeping powers granted to elected officials? Why do I, as an expatriate American, have to help pay for a system that will provide hospital care to people who are in my country illegally and yet threatens my fellow tax-paying native-born Americans with jail time and fines if they refuse to comply with a set of laws whose provisions the legislators that drew it up are not bound to ?

It is madness.

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"So either that means you aren't really sounding adult or you are too stupid to know that it is the DemocratIC Party."

You might be surprised by the number of liberal sites that appear when you search

" I voted Democrat because "

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Sail, it seems that your oppostition to this bill is based more on your own narrow self-interests and the interests of U.S. ex-pats living in Japan than on the 50-odd million Americans who would have remained without health insurance had your wishes been granted.

How do you spell 'selfish?'

I really do not understand what it is that the GOP/Conservatives think is fundamentally "wrong" about a healthcare bill that EXPANDS coverage to a greater number of Americans than the current system does.

The GOP/conservatives claim on one hand to want to safeguard and protect their "freedoms" and yet on the other hand they are more than willing to RESTRICT the freedoms of 40-50 million Americans.

The GOP is the part of the people.

Problem is, those 'people' aren't Americans.

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victimcrat - "Why does the bill come with historically unprecedented attacks upon our FREEDOM?"

Rationale like that is bizarre, bordering on disturbing.

victimhood. This bill presents an EXTRA choice - an extra insurance option for Americans.

Read that as 'one more choice.'

How can you twist that to think it is an "attack upon our FREEDOM?"

You've clearly been taking to heart the warped talking points of House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who said yesterday, “This bill is the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen."

And then failed to follow up with a reason why.

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victimcrat - "It is madness."

It's madness that it will increase the percentage of Americans covered by health insurance to a record high 96%.

What is 'madness' is that you are against that and against helping your fellow Americans.

But that's the GOP/conservative way.

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correction to my 12.04 post - "The GOP is the partY of the people."

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You want everything changed because of your circumstances and yet care not a wit for all of those Americans without health care.

Pure conjecture on your part. If you would actually read my posts from the very first one you would realize the only thing I want changed is that the Senate version will be reconciled with the house version that just passed. The House version does not force ex-pats who live in Foreign countries and are enrolled in their respective countries health care systems and are paying into them the added penality of being forced to buy U.S health care plans that they will never use. The Senate version as it stands will, if you are unable to grasp how wrong that is not just for ex-pats in Japan but Germany, Canada, Britain the world over then I guess it is all about 'me' after all. I do care about people who do not have health insurance and I strongly believe the best way to get there is Tort reform first so the cost of medical care could actually reflect the true price involved instead of the lawyer inflated added costs in the first place over 200 billion a year last I checked, but that ain't going to happen with this bill both house and Senate versions. Since I am a realist and think this bill is going to pass even though I don't agree with it with it's approach I can at least try to change part of it that I feel is totally unfair and the House version agrees with me.

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Sailwind - "I do care about people who do not have health insurance."

That, ladies and gents, pretty much says it all - not just for Sailwind, but for the entire GOP and their conservative followers.

Tonight, the Democtatic party stood up and said "We care" and sent the loser GOP packing.

There's 303 million Americans out there.

And Sail, something else to think about - IF you were in a situation where you didn't have your USN-funded pension and your healthcare costs were nearly bankrupting you, how - may I ask - would you feel if someone like Taka said "I do care about people who do not have health insurance."

Comforted, I'm sure.....

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So in conclusion ... the Republicans are more irrelevant this week then they were last week.

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The GOP is mindboggling in its contempt for human need. Listening to all their arguments it's clear that in America, all they see is that health care is an avoidable cost of doing business. Nancy Pelosi and the House leadership deserve credit for shepherding this bill through the floor for the principles it stands on to improve health care for all Americans.

The GOP has proven once again they are a complete joke.

But that's something they excel at and have done for years. :-)

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And Sail, something else to think about - IF you were in a situation where you didn't have your USN-funded pension and your healthcare costs were nearly bankrupting you, how - may I ask - would you feel if someone like Taka said "I do care about people who do not have health insurance."

And he added that he thought Tort reform was the best way to get there I'd feel he was sincere. What would YOU think?

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Sailwind, sorry, can you rephrase your last comment in a way that makes sense and is grammatically correct?

Thanks.

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Tort reform? You mean like they did in Texas?

You've got to be kidding.

Texas is ranked 46th in the nation in health care. 25% of it's citizens don't have health insurance.

Yeah, tort reform has done a bang-up job.

Taka

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If I was in the situation that you described and a person stated to me that, " I do care about people who do not have health insurance" and then proceeds to offer what he or she feels would be a good solution to help those to be able to obtain it and make it more affordable, in my case Tort reform would be the best first step to make it that happen, then I would feel that person was very sincere in his or her beliefs and would either think it was a good idea or a bad one.

Moderator: Readers, please keep the discussion civil.

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Good day for Obama, a bad day for America. Good thing, Republicans stood firm against this, sad, only 39 Dems had the courage to vote against it. On the plus side, passing this means the Dems will probably lose the house in 2010.

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This is only the first step in correcting the horrors of the previous administration. How wonderful it is to see Americans taking back our country from the brink of Republican-led destruction. And that's only in the first year, gang; just imagine how much America is going to improve under seven more years of President of the United States of America Barack Hussein Obama!

God continue to bless America!

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This is only the first step in correcting the horrors of the previous administration. How wonderful it is to see Americans taking back our country from the brink of Republican-led destruction.

lol, so funny. I know you're being serious here, but its so wrong its funny. Thanks for the laugh.

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It's only half way there. We're not finished yet.

But I'm enjoying watching the insurance companies squirm like maggots. < :-)

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Seems a wee bit premature for a victory lap by the liberals.

The House version (which is only an outline, btw) must now go to the Senate where they will debate their own version of Obamacare. Then should it pass there'll be more debate to reconcile their different versions into one bill followed by more debates and votes.

In the end, Obama, Reid and Pelosi will wind up stamping their feet and shaking their li'l clenched fists blaming the republicans for the democrat super majority's failure when their beloved House version of a socialism style healthcare system for the U.S. fails to pass.

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"Tonight, the Democtatic party stood up and said "We care" and sent the loser GOP packing."

Indeed. Nothing says "We care" like ramming through at midnight on a weekend legislation which will invade and impact nearly every facet of the average citizen's life, but which legislators and their families are immune from.

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Molenir, Laughter, in the way you use in your 3:41 am post, is merely a defense mechanism for those with no argument. Show us proof that my post is "so wrong its [sic] funny." Bets anyone?

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"a jobs-killing, tax-hiking, deficit-exploding bill"

Yeah, it is.

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Nothing says "We care" like ramming through at midnight on a weekend legislation

Have you been sleeping the last 12 months? Did you miss Obama's presidential campaign last year? Are you out of touch with reality?

No one rammed anything through. All that happened was a bill passed the House and will now go to the Senate. Settle down. America is still America, the sun still rises in the east.

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Sail, You want everything changed because of your circumstances and yet care not a wit for all of those Americans without health care. They are supposed to just get by with what we have today. Yeah, it's personal because you want it all about you. Until you grow up and see this is an American thing and not a Sailwind thing, you'll be treated accordingly. Taka

To be fair you could also grow up and realize that american culture is based upon the individual rather then the group. You would know that for example the individuals needs and wants are considered more important then the group in the US. You say grow up, I say get over it, that is just how individualist the american culture is. I don't think it is fair taka to send someone like sailwind to jail for one year or fine him $25,000 because of the fact that they don't want to sign up for some type of health insurance plan in the US that they will never use because they live in japan. It would be like going to someone from the UK who lives in the US and then having the UK government have a warrant out for their arrest and threatened to put them in jail for one year because they didn't pay into the NHS or some other health insurance plan while they lived in the US, that is dumb.

I mean if you think it is such a great idea then tell me why not a single country in the world is trying to do this that has a single payer system or a nationalized health care system where if you don't live in the country you still have to pay into that system or some type of health insurance in that country that you will never use and if you don't we either fine you and or send you to jail as soon as you return back to the states.

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You should also be aware to taka that under the senate bill, unlike the house of representatives bill, that once you are dropped or leave a private health insurance plan you have to wait 6 months before you can join the federal government plan.

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Sailwind:

Thanks for bring this to our attention. I am a strong supporter of health care reform with a mandate, but it seems obvious that americans living abroad should not have to buy american insurance if they already have insurance abroad. although at the moment I am not living abroad, i plan to write my senators and congressperson to support language in the final health care bill that exempts us citizens living abroad from any mandate.

Thanks again,

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GenkiDessuka,

Your Welcome...It isn't about me but us. I'm exempt from this though my twenty years of service to my county, but you and others are not, make your voices heard, you do not deserve a damn health care excise tax for living in Japan.

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big study in todays news about how the US healthcare stats are sinking like a stone, despite $5 billion a day being spent on healthcare in the US. By far the most of any country.

How many examples does it take for the clueless wingers to get it, the current system benefits only the greedy insurance companies and pushes people out into the cold. That is why so many people die in the US due to no healthcare.

Read it and weap wingers, your GOP healthcare plan is so simple, do not get sick and if you do die quickly. 20,000 babies die a year due to poor US healthcare, something you anti-choice republicans need to think about. You guys want the kids born but then let them die due to lack of healthcare and support for the republicans in the pocket of insurance companies. So typical of conservatives.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jul/17/internationalaidanddevelopment.usa

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How many examples does it take for the clueless wingers to get it,

I don't know, you guys are so far off in left field that you aren't even visible anymore.

Read it and weap wingers, your GOP healthcare plan is so simple, do not get sick and if you do die quickly.

Obviously you failed to read it. As that is not the plan. Thats the Democratics spin on the plan, which is far more substantial, and realistic then the one the Dems passed. In fact it also addresses issues that the Dems are cowering away from, that would have a real impact on healthcare. Things like Tort Reform. But with them in the pocket of the trial lawyers, we really can't expect much from you loons.

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It's funny how the liberal posters stuck up for Barry Obama and his band of radical whack-jobs and demanded health care for all (gang bangers, welfare mamas, et al.)are now screaming bloody murder when they found out "Change you can believe in" will cost them at least $1,900 in taxes or fines. Liberals are so compassionate -- but only when someone else's money is being used...

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