Teabaggers in Grand Rapids discuss distaste for providing healthcare for people who don't deserve it

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Run time: 01:57 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nzZUV11Lzg   Posted on YouTube: April 11, 2010 By YouTube Member: WOODTV8 Views on YouTube: 448   Posted on DU: April 12, 2010 By DU Member: Amerigo Vespucci Views on DU: 10789

 
So if the woman in this clip succumbs to a chronic illness and her treatment eats up all of her financial resources, I assume she'll decline any additional treatment she hasn't "earned."

At least that's what I gather from her very articulate statement.

:eyes:

[HughBeaumont]

1. When they say "doesn't deserve" . . .

. . . do these fossils mean "everyone except Republican White Men and Women such as ourselves"?

Because I'm thinking, that's exactly what they mean.

[county worker]

10. They mean anyone who cannot live on what the earn.

This whole thing is coming down to a "let them die" kind of attitude. It is mean and self serving. As the middle class shrinks the fight of the ever disappearing slice of the pie gets meaner and meaner.

[FedUp_Queer]

49. Teabaggers

Look, I get it. I get that they are pissed at what has happened with the theft of government. I get it. I get the corporatization of our political process. Can I denigrate that perspective? No. Democrats have been complicit in that, too. However, what I can't get is something that seems oddly implicitly explicit or explicitly implicit. One...all I saw there, all I, for one, have ever seen is a single person of color at these events. No immigrants. I think that is really what's going on here. They don't like "those people." They don't want "those people" taking what's "theirs." I'm not saying anything new. I just wish someone "Journalist" would ask these questions:

1) when you say liberals want people who don't work to have "your money," what do you mean?

2) what do you think of the bank bailouts, which the Bush administration pushed?

3) what do you think of the deregulation of the financial markets that began with Reagan?

4) when you say you want to "take America back?" From whom? Who "took" it and who are "they?"

5) Where are the people of color here?

6) Where are the immigrants?

7) When they say they want to "restore the constitution?" Which part?

We should all insist on this. Write to journalists. Write to our congresspeople. This country is in a very bad way. Don't let the economic flash in the pan numbers fool you. The fundamentals are so bad that we really need to literally rebuild. That being said, we need to know what we are up against and stop letting them hide behind the platitudes they spew and force them to lay their cards on the table. Just which "people" are they looking out for anyway?

[amyrose2712]

54. +1

[barbtries]

72. great post

welcome to DU :hi:

[vduhr]

79. Answers to #5 and #6

People of color and immmigrants are not there because they know they are not welcome so they stay away - it would be like joining the KKK.

[mstinamotorcity]

82. Very observant Fedup

Now you are getting your fire started,welcome to DU:hi: What you must learn about the M$M(main stream media) is that in some ways its tied into all that is wrong on so many levels. It took for the country to go almost bankrupt before they would start looking into what was going on and what has been going on for about forty years. It took a lot of people getting hurt for a lot of Americans to wake up. Sometimes when I look at those tea baggers I sorta, kinda,slightly feel a little sorry for them.The reason, they claim this utmost sense of patriotism and honor and the anger they express through ignorance means that they too one day could see the light.And as violent as some of them appear to be,what do the repugs think will happen when they figure it out. Some of their fears are legitimate ones that they truly believe (not the bimbo on the video,she's stoned ) exist. The Republicans and big corp have taken their fears and used them against them. They have taken all their opinions of what it is to be different than an old white man with loot and turned them into socialism,government takeover of health care and "this Presidents agenda ",the Reid,Pelosi hostile rule of Congress and Obama and his regime. Whatever negative that they can say without using the words we all know they want to say. And do you hear them when they say " I don't want them taking my hard earned money." Maybe I need to go get my purse and fish out my glasses because all those teabaggers looked like preferred Walmart customers.:* :* :*

[fascisthunter]

84. well stated

[BEZERKO]

91. I think part of the problem with our side is

we've tended to avoid the ethical arguments, and for good reason. When one side is invokes god and the other side invokes facts, figures, and acronyms, guess which side is going to win. We've got to stop being afraid of taking on the ethical arguments.

[Wetzelbill]

92. Good stuff!

[BrklynLiberal]

101. ..and I would like to add: Where did your ancestors come from, and how wealthy were they when they

came here? Not too many Native Americans in these ranks I would guess.

[veganlush]

117. exactly. the loss of real journalism

..is really starting to have it's corrosive way with our system.

[indy legend]

119. It means what it has always has to these self righteous, greedy hate-filled bastards

"I have mine. FUCK YOU" and every one else.

[tclambert]

66. They're resurrecting the concept of "the undeserving poor," like Eliza's father in My Fair Lady.

Of course, really, they think all poor people are undeserving, because their God, the god of money, has not judged the poor sufficiently moral to bless them with any wealth. There actually are people who believe wealth is proof of moral superiority, a tangible sign of God's approval.

[ipfilter]

87. This is implied doctrine throughout the church of mammon.

[SemperEadem]

67. The next thing we're going to hear coming from the "lynch mob" political party

is "Let them eat cake".

[abelenkpe]

114. Brooks: Let Them Eat Work

Brooks: Let Them Eat Work

Matt Taibbi

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/

Unlike 90 percent of America, I was rooting for Duke last night. This was widely cast as a class conflict — the upper crust Dukies against the humble Midwestern farm boys. If this had been a movie, Butler’s last second heave would have gone in instead of clanging off the rim, and the country would still be weeping with joy.

But this is why life is not a movie. The rich are not always spoiled. Their success does not always derive from privilege. The Duke players — to the extent that they are paragons of privilege, which I dispute — won through hard work on defense.

snip

David Brooks: Yes. I was going to say that for the first time in human history, rich people work longer hours than middle class or poor people. How do you construct a rich versus poor narrative when the rich are more industrious?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like this?

I love this. First wall street pressures companies to merge in order to compete in the global marketplace. Which leaves many with no job. Then they encourage big businesses to offshore and outsource to compete in the global marketplace, leaving many more with no job. Then wall streets models don't go as expected tanking pensions and bringing about a global financial meltdown which ends up leaving even more with no job. But hey, if you're out of work and poor because of the policies of some rich well to do bastard, you're just not industrious or working hard enough at the job you lost because of their folly. Sounds a lot like Let them eat cake to me.

but Maybe it's just me?

[Raineyb]

85. Usually that's code for "Them colored folk"

Because offering these things never seem to bother people back in the days when only white people could take advantage of them. As soon as people of color start trying to take advantage of them as citizens they rules change and suddenly you have to "earn" these things and "deserve" them. (Things like college education, breaks on home mortgages etc)

[rurallib]

2. Sounds just like my SIL

don't see her very much. Saw her right after Christmas and she blurted that one out.
I told her that someday she may need so if I were her I would be careful what I say. Then we left.

[The Hope Mobile]

48. Sounds like my sister - who actually lives there! Infuriating! nt

[perdita9]

3. So Poor People don't deserve Health Care

What else don't they deserve: education for their children, access to libraries, FDIC protected bank accounts?

I'm so sick of the Conservatives using spite to try and deny people basic services!

[AlbertCat]

11. What else don't they deserve:

Water
food
clothing
housing
protection



I wonder if this young girl could pay for her double mastectomy and follow up on what she earns?

Ignorance ain't pretty....

[Demeter]

29. And Jobs!

they especially don't deserve jobs.

[OnionPatch]

90. No, according to my brother in law, there are plenty of jobs out there.

Poor people just aren't willing to do them. I asked him, like what jobs? And he said things like "fruit picking and stuff". So, basically, poor people are supposed to work for slave wages, without health care and no complaining! Basically, I think they just want slavery to return.

:puke:

[bigwoolymammoth]

110. Poor people are supposed to work...

for whatever wage they can get and be happy to get it. That is the first step towards getting out of the poorhouse.

[OnionPatch]

130. If only it were just a "step" for most people.

Unfortunately, it's so easy to be trapped into slave wage jobs. For every story that ends successfully with the person "pulling themselves up" with their bootstraps, I can tell a handful of stories where the person is trapped in poverty. When you have to work two jobs just to eat, it's kind of hard to find the extra time to get more education. When you work jobs without health care, even a minor illness can set you back financially for years, sometimes for a lifetime. One has to work hard AND have a lot of good luck to pull themselves out of poverty.

[jberryhill]

132. Tough to do when you are sick

...which is a leading cause of becoming poor.

[lark]

104. Think you got that one wrong

They totally want poor people to have jobs. Just jobs with criminally low pay and no benefits - i.e. slave labor. That's why they hate teachers unions, really any kind of union because they pay those po' people too much $$. They realize ignorance is the best way to accomplish this, so try to privatize education too.

[amyrose2712]

55. Don't deserve to live, it seems. nt

[Nightjock]

4. I can't believe all the free press

these racists get! At the end of the newscast, the reporter says you can go to the tv stations website for info on the next teabagging event! WTF?

[activa8tr]

8. This must be a Fox News local station.

People in Michigan are hurting with unemployment, but voting for Tea Bagger won't help them on single bit, even if the Tea Bagger won the election.

[moonbatmax]

38. YUP!!

WoodTV, channel 8 in Grand Rapids.

Bit of a Jesus town up there, I've heard tell,
but I think they've got a FEW progressives in the area, too.

It's an all right place to visit, on occasion,
and fifty miles away is about the right place to live.

[The Hope Mobile]

47. Actually, 50 miles away is Holland which is even MORE backward. nt

[Turborama]

63. Hey, at least the news ticker didn't say "Over a million people showed up to rally" n/t

[V_Byl]

80. It's NBC actually.

Proud this came from where I live. :sarcasm:

I don't post too much on DU, but figured I'd make an appearance and say we're not all fundies in GR, only about 98% :)

The city itself goes Democratic in every election for the last 20 years or so, but all the suburbs are super conservative white bread area... and there are a lot of burbs :)

[Enthusiast]

95. This is the very reason

for the creation of the Tea Party. They siphon off the votes of the justifiably disaffected voters.

And who is not dissatisfied? But the Tea Party movement gets their talking points from right wing propagandists. And the entire media is as complicit as they were leading up to the Iraq War. The Media behaves as if the Tea Party is a genuine grass roots movement. The Tea Party movement is NO GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT.

[barbtries]

73. that was my response exactly!

local news is now pushing the tea parties?! will they also post about the next anti-war rally, pro-choice event, gay pride march?? somehow i don't really think so.

i don't know if there is hope for this fucked up country. not with this media.

[liberation]

5. I wonder if these people were en route to their church...

... the irony would be doubleplusgood.

[Crowman1979]

6. Not surprised, since Grand Rapids is the home of ScAmway!

[dchill]

7. This "Downer" posits a good (unasked) question:

How does one go about achieving the status of "deserving" health care?

[activa8tr]

9. To give you a partial answer, (in jest), I think one has to be white and

non-Muslim, English speaking, and a Christian churchgoer.

Also, one cannot be one of those, left wing liberal types.

[tomm2thumbs]

14. +1 - that's' the formula alright... 'Sharon Downer'... that says it all /nt

[dchill]

40. "non-Muslim, English speaking, and a Christian churchgoer."

Oh - Republican.

[thesquanderer]

23. It's answered in the video clip itself

She refers to the people who don't deserve it as people who don't work.

[Turborama]

61. She said that people who don't work don't deserve a pay check. The question was about health care.

n/t

[thesquanderer]

74. So actually, she didn't say there are people who don't deserve healthcare

She said there are people who don't deserve a paycheck (those who don't work).

Though the general gist of her argument seemed to be that those who don't work for things (which could include health benefits) don't deserve them.

[jwirr]

39. Yes, dear lady - what must I do to be saved? On second thought if

I have to put up with the likes of her - I do not want to be saved.

[valerief]

12. Isn't it nice to see these mental midgets get non-stop press?

NOT!

[midnight]

22. I almost couldn't bare the slowness of this women being interviewed about

not wanting her money, her parents, or sibling's money to be used for someone else to receive healthcare. When did Americans become so greedy?

[valerief]

24. When Fox told them to get greedy, I think. nt

[GoCubsGo]

30. When did Americans become so greedy?

From Day One. Just ask the Native Americans.

[amyrose2712]

57. +1001

[axollot]

102. Greed is good. That 80's mantra. n/t

[CLANG]

13. These people are incapable of thinking.

Most people have no trouble looking at a situation and seeing how they themselves could potentially be affected. Not the TeaTHINKERS! They have no useful brain. Left to their own devices they would become extinct without liberals bailing their asses out from time to time.

[Bitwit1234]

27. And that's the deal in Virginia. When

a republican takes office the state almost goes bankrupt. Then it takes two terms of a Democrat to bring it out of the whole. Then it starts all over again. When when these buttholes learn. Never.

[Joanne98]

15. Selfish little B*&^%T

We need to get someone to write a new bill for Congress. We can call it..

The "Opt out of Socialism Act"

All these teabaggers who are collecting guvmit checks can volunteer to give them up!

[AlbertCat]

36. The "Opt out of Socialism Act"

Can we include a clause that so called "Pro-lifers" must adopt 5 unwanted babies?... or 2 unwanted teenagers.

We can rename it the "Get real" act.

[Political Bitch]

121. That's freakin' GREAT!

Can we get Bernie Sanders to introduce it? The Bernie Sanders Get Real Act of 2010! WooHoo!

Provisions:

Give American citizens the opportunity to-

Opt out of all 'socialist' programs, including but not limited to:

(1) Access to Police and Fire Department intervention, or investigation of any crime committed against those opted out of
programs

(2) Access to any hospital or medical professional who receives funds from any government program
(this would include ANY doctor or other professional who received federal student loans or Pell grants
to fund their education)

(3) Access to any emergency response intervention using ambulances or other services from any entity receiving any federal,
state, or local funds

(4) Access to any treatment or drug developed partially or fully by entites who receive ANY government funding

(5) Access to public roads, lands, streams, rivers, or any other public-owned common areas

(6) Access to public Head Start programs, schools, colleges, or financial aid opportunities featuring or receiving
government funds

(7) Access to courts, public defenders, or any other legal avenue provided for by government

(8) Access to any program receiving government funds, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps,
temporary aid to needy families (TANF), Child Support Enforcement, etc.

Opt in to a 'no cash, no care' plan, whereby no service will be rendered unless it can be paid for immediately.

An additional provision provides for those in this program to be mandated to adopt at least five (5) children, with greatest emphasis on adoptions of children born to women who were unable to pay for prenatal or postnatal care due to their enrollment in the 'no cash, no care' plan. Further, any pregnant woman can be required by the hospital to sell her child to pay for prenatal and birth expenses. These children may not be sold for more than the amount owed for care.





Look, I know I haven't covered a lot of stuff, and that this is just an exercise in 'blah, blah, blah' but these people really need to understand what they're talking about when they call things 'socialist'. Once again, Political Bitch says :wtf:

[LeftinOH]

16. Grand Rapids area: origin of both the DeVos family (Amway) and Prince family (BlackwaterXe)-

a whitey-white and very Republican part of Michigan.

[fascisthunter]

17. another know-nothing moron being taken for a ride..."Be One of Us!"

idiots

[happygoluckytoyou]

18. IN A RELATED STORY ---> DENTAL CARE for teabaggers.... for BOTH TEETH ! ! !

[proReality]

19. "Doesn't deserve"...

Sounds like she's part of a Death Panel to me.

[GoCubsGo]

31. Yep.

Too bad she's too stupid and self-centered to realize just what a hypocrite she is.

[dchill]

41. Exactly.

:thumbsup:

[mrfocus]

20. She urgently needs to get the "No Cash - No Care" wristband

...at least this way she'll be able to die "nobly" and in full alignment with her principles when her resources run out.

[JDPriestly]

21. Assuming she is a Christian, I would advise this young woman to read

Matthew, chapters 5-10, which recount how Jesus healed one sick person after the other.

And in particular, she should read this instruction from Jesus to his disciples:

Matthew 10:1

And he (Jesus) called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 HEAL THE SICK, RAISE THE DEAD, CLEANSE LEPERS, CAST OUT DEMONS. YOU RECEIVED WITHOUT PAY, GIVE WITHOUT PAY. 9 TAKE NO GOLD, NOR SILVER, NOR COPPER IN YOUR BELTS, 10 NO BAG FOR YOUR JOURNEY, NOR TWO TUNICS, NOR SANDALS, NOT A STAFF; FOR THE LABOURER DESERVES HIS FOOD. . . . .

I added the caps to emphasize.

Anyone who claims to be a Christian and agrees with this woman that people should only receive health care if they can pay for it needs to read the Bible more carefully. Jesus taught his disciples to heal the sick without charge.

[Moonwalk]

34. Needs to read the Bible? Sorry. Won't do any good. Haven't you heard of the Conservative--

Bible Project? :eyes:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html

Conservatives would view that passage you just quoted as Liberal Spin--politically correct propaganda written by liberals to make Jesus appear liberal, not what Jesus really said. Remember what Glenn Beck told viewers about their churches and pastors, "Run from those who preach 'social justice!'" There is a whole new crop of conservatives intent on rewriting not only American History and Science, but the New Testament so they can have their cake and eat it, too. They can have Jesus say what they want him to say, not (presumably) what he say.

[Joe Bacon]

51. Yeah, and I'm sure this will be in the Conservative Bible!

Republicans talk the Jesus talk BUT they ALL walk the Ayn Rand Walk. They mutated Jesus into Je$u$ and added a couple more chapters to their Bi-BULL named "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shurgged".

And lets remember those RepubliCON Je$u$ talking points!

I was hungry and you told me to get off my "lazy ass" and work. You didn't care that I was elderly, disabled or orphaned.

I was thirsty and you said the "invisible hand" of the free market would stimulate an entrepreneur to invest in a beverage company that would relieve my thirst.

I was a stranger and you despised me because of the color of my skin or I was gay or lesbian.

I was naked and you had me arrested for lewdness.

I was ill and you told me that I should have bought a better health insurance policy, even though nobody would sell me a policy because of my pre-existing condition

I was in prison and you cheered because it was my third strike.

That's what RepulbiCONs believe. That's NOT what I believe!

[Moonwalk]

93. Oh, Bravo Joe! You Nailed It! (Right to the Ayn Rand Cross!)--

:yourock: --Did you create this or find it? And has it been widely posted around?

Kudos if you thought that all up! It's awesome!

[Joe Bacon]

98. I gleaned them from my family

Sadly, all of my family save for a cousin and a brother in law have all mutated into hard core right wing Republicans who spit out the latest Fox talking points their preachers give them every Sunday. Oh they wear their crosses on their sleeves and bullshit about their "personal relationship" with JC and his Sonshine Band, but they ALL walk the Ayn Rand "Look Out for #1 And Fuck Everyone Else" walk.

[Enthusiast]

97. Very nice post, Joe Bacon.

"That's what RepulbiCONs believe."

You nailed it!

[bleever]

106. Very well said.

:thumbsup:

[Moonwalk]

124. Have we your permission to spread this "New Conservative Bible" passage around?

I'd love to share this with a few folk!

[Joe Bacon]

125. Please feel free to share it!

Feel free to quote and modify it as anyone sees fit! :-)

[SemperEadem]

71. however, at the end of the book of revelations,

it also says:

18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

They proceed in their pride and hubris at their own soul's peril. See, they're not going to read that far or lend themselves to understand it... and besides, the false prophets (any pastor/preacher/priest who espouse this nonsense) and their followers, according to this book they supposedly follow, will be outted:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity"
(Mat. 7:15-23).

[Moonwalk]

96. Alas, the problem with such passages is that the other side can quote them as well--

--and assert that YOU are the one who added in or removed things, messing up the meaning. That you are the false prophet. That's certainly what the Conservative Bible Project is asserting that liberals have done with the New Testament. Luckily, they're going to change it back to the way it oughta be. And they fully expect the man at the gate to say to THEM that they can enter Heaven, while denying it to you, because you're a corrupt tree.

Which is why religious arguments are among the worst for convincing anyone of anything. We can't even show them glaciers melting and get them to admit the world might be warming up...how can we possibly show them such passages and get them to admit that THEIR work (not ours) is one of iniquity?

[JDPriestly]

128. I quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.

Do conservatives contend that King James was a liberal?

[Moonwalk]

131. It's not a matter of conservatives seeing the KJB as liberal in this instance--

--it's that the quote you presented is one that can be used by either side. You presented a quote that said "beware" of those who "add things" (or erase things). Conservatives could use that VERY QUOTE to assert that Liberals have "added" (or erased) things to the Bible. And that what they're doing is NOT adding things (or erasing) but correcting them--getting rid of those false additions or omissions. This is, in fact, what the Conservative Bible Project asserts. So quoting this passage to conservatives isn't going to make them blush and say, "Gosh, darn it, you're right. I'm fooling around with god's word and I shouldn't." It'll simply make them say, "You see! The Bible itself tells us that we're right in getting rid of all those additions those evil liberals put into the Bible, corrupting god's word with their lies!"

And how are you going to prove them wrong when even the KJB goes against this quote in that it modified passages, changed them, and mistranslated the Bible--sometimes deliberately (for example, King James insisted that the word "poisoner" be changed to "witch" because he hated and feared witches. So the quote "You shall not allow a poisoner to live" became "you shall not allow a witch to live."), sometimes accidentally, and sometimes because the translators were working with an already wrong/bad translation. The King James guys were, after all, working from Greek and Latin bibles that the Roman Catholic Church had translated, edited and modified (in one instance, they'd mistranslated the hebrew word for "rays of light" coming out of Moses' head to mean "horns" thus giving every Christian at the time the misconception that Jews had horns!).

Which raises the ultimate problem--it's quite clear that every version of the Bible has been modified, changed, re-interpeted, edited, given additions or had parts erased (look at the original Dead Sea Scrolls some time--or consider the gnostic texts which the Catholic church left out). Given this, can anyone quoting the Bible ever successfully argue that this is exactly what Jesus (or god) said? That no one has added/subtracted or changed anything?

[JDPriestly]

127. Thanks.

[Swagman]

78. yeh well Jesus was a Liberal !

[applegrove]

25. That is what it is all about. The "other" who doesn't deserve help. Americans

have been taught for a generation to hate poor people.

[wisteria]

26. She is young, spoiled and stupid. She does not understand the issue at all.

She just thinks she and her parents have to work so lazy people can get things for nothing. You know, that means there is less money to spend on the princess. And, I leave it to your imagination as to whom she views as lazy and unwilling to work. Sadly, there is a lot of ingorance in America.

[VPStoltz]

28. I'm sure the wealthy were equally disgusted when they had to provide and education for this trash!

[eecumings]

32. If the teabagger "morans"

actually believe what they shout and what they put on their crude signs, then they should stop using all government programs. Immediately. Stay out of public schools. Do not use Medicaid/Medicare. Do not use unemployment insurance. Do not go to libraries (liberries). Do not drink the water. Do not flush a toilet (Oops! perhaps they don't). Do not drive on public roads. Do not use government currency. Do not walk on public sidewalks...Well, you get the idea. But they don't have a clue.

[Skittles]

33. correct

what's painful is knowing what they say is directly fed to them by the likes of rush, sarah, glenn, sean - it's not even good propaganda yet they just eat it up

[ErikJ]

35. COUNTER PROTEST APRIL 15TH!

I urge everybody to attend your local April 15th Tea Party with signs like
"Tax the Rich" and on the back side saying 400 RICHEST AMERICANS PAY LOWER TAX RATE THAN YOU DO!"
(the 400 richest average tax rate is 16%!)
or"2/3 of American Corporations paid no federal tax!"



OR STOP SOCIALISM-END MEDICARE!
STOP SOCIALISM-END SOCIAL SECURITY!

[jwirr]

37. They are referring to the double predestination theology which

assumes that anyone in trouble is being punished by God. What thrills me is that very few people in life escape some kind of trouble and what comes around goes around. They will get their turn and then they will realize their false prophecy. These idiots are just one step from being phelps.

[Moonwalk]

122. I seriously doubt that when they get their turn--

--they will realize their false prophecy. These are the sort of people who when their turn comes, they blame others for it. So if this woman loses her job and has to go on unemployment, she won't admit that she's now one of the "undeserving." She'll simply say that she's unemployed because undeserving illegals stole her job from her. Or because evil socialists caused this terrible situation of less jobs, etc.

Now and then people have St. Paul moments when they get a revelation and realize how wrong they were--and time, experience and age sometimes does the same. But most of the time, people don't get that wake-up call and don't realize irony when it's staring them in the face (how else could so many GOP carry on affairs while arguing for family values?). I promise you, that if Jesus himself appeared to these people and said, "What you believe is wrong and evil," they'd convince themselves (or let themselves be convinced by their Faux News Saints) that the vision came from the devil and they shouldn't listen to it. It had to be from the devil since what it's telling them isn't something they want to believe is true...right? :eyes:

[jwirr]

126. You are no doubt correct - hell if Jesus tried to tell them that they

would crucify him.

[MindandSoul]

42. This is so ridiculous! Anyone who deservers to live deserves to receive

the health care they need to live to their full potential

The Constitution gives us the right to "the pursuit of happiness."

How can a mother "pursue her happiness" if he child is sick and she has no means to access the needed health care to make him better?
How can a woman who finds a lump in her breast but doesn't have the money or the access to a mammogram "pursue her happiness," while she watches the lump grow, day by day, and she fears that it may be cancer, that it may be malignant?

How can a man whose family depends on his work be happy and continue to perform his job if he cannot afford the medication that he needs to remain healthy?

I know, the Constitution doesn't directly refer to "health care" as a right. . .
But then again, the Constitution was written at a time when "health care" consisted mostly at amputating a limb, or administering "Old women's remedies" or watching the 50 year old "elder" die for lack of remedies, or having to make a decision between saving the mother's life or the life of her infant during hard labor.

Is that all our wise forefather envisionned for us???

I don't think so!

[amyrose2712]

58. I don't think they believe the poor deserve to live"nt

[MindandSoul]

59. If this is true, then there isn't much that can be said to someone without

a conscience!

Yet, for anyone with a brain. . .it is clear that the "poor" also participate in the economic wellbeing of this country!
There is a whole sector of the economy (the "grey" economy) that would disappear entirely without the poor. . .the "second hand" shops, "second hand" cars, Good Will industries, even many of our fast food places would see their profit plummet (that may be a good thing. . .I will admit that much!).

Many doctors would have to close their practice if it were not for the Medicaid patients.

And. . ."WE," the middle class, would become the "under class" who is treated poorly and seen as "unworthy" by our wealthier compatriots!

[HappyCynic]

43. Think of the children...

Anyone who believes that those who don't work don't deserve health care should seriously think about the children. After all, children do nothing to "earn" health care (or any of the other government funded programs). By the logic used, there should be no health insurance programs or subsidies for children. If they can't pay their own way, then it's up to the parents to pay the full cost. If the parents can't afford that, well, they shouldn't have had the kids in the first place.

And if anyone actually thinks that way, they should check themselves in to the nearest psychiatric institution (and, to stay true to their beliefs, pay for all the resultant care out of their own pocket).

[moonbatmax]

44. "Deserve" has become such an ugly word.

An arrogant sneer at anyone not fortunate enough to have been born into wealth and privilege.

To them, nobody "deserves" money who doesn't already have it, and nobody "deserves" anything they can't afford. Obviously, if these freeloaders "deserved" anything, they'd already have it. Everybody just gets whatever they "deserve" automatically, and nobody gets anything they don't "deserve". That's the way it works, you see?

Of course, nobody bothers asking what the rich did to "deserve" their vast fortunes, because obviously, nobody gets rich who doesn't "deserve" to be. Whether you really did work 40-80 hours a week digging ditches (yeah, that'll make you rich in no time!), pushed papers in an office, or just managed to get born into the family fortune, you clearly earned your way into The Good Life, so you "deserve" the money, the riches, the power, etc. Of course, if you didn't manage to save enough of that meager paycheck every week to retire in anything remotely resembling comfort, you clearly didn't "deserve" to.

It's a nice little Get Out of Anything Free card for anyone who wants to judge without obligation. All you have to do is say people don't "deserve" whatever is asked for, and you're off the hook! You don't even have to explain why they don't deserve it, or why you "deserve" your own good fortune. The answer's already spelled out: nobody "deserves" anything they don't already have! See how easy it is?

Such a horribly convenient word to say, "I got mine, so screw the rest!"
It's just a pity these people never seem to get what they really deserve.

[Lautremont]

45. I think we can quote Clint on this one:

"Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."

[The Hope Mobile]

46. So embarrassing to be from there. nt

[FedUp_Queer]

50. One more question

I have to ask: Do these people really want to live in a country where we turn people away from a hospital who can't pay for it?

[tmyers09]

52. Just who the fuck is somebody to determine who "deserves" health care?

What is that criteria? Exactly what kind of job should one have? Exactly how hard does somebody have to work to get the label "hard-working"? Maybe if someone was white, or a Christian, or a heterosexual, then they would achieve the status of being "deserving" of health care.

These are some sick, twisted fucks we have on our hands. A real sad group of individuals, incapable of empathy or understanding towards somebody "not like them".

[radhika]

53. Right wingers have apparently decided who deserves what....

and probably can't imagine that many of us see no redeeming value to THEM! But, here's the diff. We'd still allow them to have healthcare - because that is what a society does. It takes the whole motley crue of us under the umbrella; life goes on for everyone with less chaos and pain. It's sort common sense humanity - as opposed to Palin's meme of 'common sense conservatism'.

[iamthebandfanman]

56. i dunno bout you guys but

i was taught sharing when i was in kindergarten.

people are so selfish..
amazes me how self entitled most people are.

whats being implied here is that people who want something for free must be lazy and dont want to earn a living.

its jealousy.

jealous that theyve had a hard life and theyll be damned if someone will have it easier because they 'earned' it..

they just dont realize they arent the only ones who had/have a tough life and work hard everyday to try and maintain it..

[V_Byl]

118. Why do you think CON's hate public schools?

Can't have the kiddies being indoctrinated into socialism in Kindergarten...

[tango-tee]

60. Listening to that young woman made me sick, angry and sad all at once.

I don't get it. I simply don't get it.

I cannot wrap my head around these people's reasoning (or non-reasoning, should I say). And I feel helpless in the face of so much ignorance. How do you cure this all-pervasive ignorance? Trying to provide any of them with the facts places us squarely in the enemy camp.

[Shining Jack]

62. K&R

Me myself and I mixed with racism and ignorance.

[Faygo Kid]

64. As a native Michigander here, no surprise. Southwest Michigan sucks.

Hard core right wing. Nasty stuff, and that young woman is a sterling representative of her area.

[handmade34]

77. I left Michigan when I was 29

and moved to Vermont... smartest thing I ever did

[Locrian]

65. "stupidest" people on the planet

These people want so desperately to be part of the "winners" (people who have money) that they can't see who is screwing them over.

And of course to them the "losers" (people w/o money) are slackers and "those" people - in their mind they will do anything to prevent being associated with "them".

So they twist it in their tiny minds that the poor are screwing them over, and the rich are their best friends. Sad. The stupid: it burns.

[SemperEadem]

68. she needs to be asked

"Are you a Christian and do you believe in The Word of God (tm), Jesus and what he said?"

If they answer "yes", then the next question should be:'

When Jesus said "whatsoever you do to the least of you, that you do unto me...", do you agree with what your Lord, Master and Savior has said about taking care of those who are less fortunate than you? If you don't, then why are you calling yourself a Christian if you refuse to obey what he has ordered you to do?"

Whatever happened to "goodness and mercy" being extended to ALL of God's children? Or do you feel God's children look just like you and no one else? No one else's beliefs in God matter if they don't look like you?

and

If you are pro-life, then how does one maintain their "life" without access to health care? Are you willing to submit your health issues to 'death panels' from your political party who determine who is fit to receive health care and who isn't? If not, then stfu and sit down.

See, there is a universe of difference between a Christian and "church people", who are xtians in name only--they are more bound up by satan than anything else.

[SemperEadem]

70. if she believes that only a certain caste of people in this country

are deserving of health care, then she and those who think like her ascribe to the very mentality that drove the lower classes/non-noble/non-gentry europeans across the sea--that only the upper caste of people are deserving and entitled and the lower classes/lower castes deserve serfdom. She's a monarchist at heart and this country fought a war to get out from under that bullshit.

[LuckyLib]

99. You are so right. Christianity needs to be the mirror that is held up to them.

Disgusting hypocrites.

[onlyadream]

69. notice how the local news included the voice of reason

which shined a light on how stupid the teabaggers are.

That was great! :)

I'm sick of people thinking that Fox News is Fair and Balanced. They should be sued for misdirecting the American people with lies.

[truth2power]

75. EVERYONE deserves health care!!!! End of story....

Fscking trolls!! :mad: :mad: :banghead: :nuke:

I'm in a very bad mood this morning, and this didn't help.

[and-justice-for-all]

76. Deserve it?!!! DESERVE IT?!!!!

:mad:

[feslen]

81. so...this includes THEM...right?

I love complaining hypocrites!

[fascisthunter]

83. elitist know-nothing snob... who the hell is she to condemn people

because she "thinks" she knows who will be seeking healthcare and why they can't afford it. My, what an arrogant overjudgmental jerk.

Let me clue you right wingers in on something: you are no better than the lowest form of life on this planet, and so the same applies to all of us... get over yourselves and start treating people like your equals!

[CHelms]

86. Sharon Downer?

So that's what Chris Crocker is calling himself these days?

[vduhr]

88. I just love when I see their signs that parrot...

"I'm here for my granchildren", or when I saw Coburn yesterday using a child's photo to argue about how extending unemployment without paying for it would make the children have to pay for it in the future. First, what about healthcare for her grandchildren NOW! Second, Coburn's arguement doesn't help the families who are trying to provide for their children NOW!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

89. well, maybe she lose her job and then get run over by a bus?

[defendandprotect]

94. Delusions of a "meritocracy" created by right wing --

and/or racist delusions --

[Enthusiast]

100. Heartless asshole.

Typical Republican.

[axollot]

112. Yep. Notice how many are on Social Security or some other pension?

What about that for their grandkid's future? Where's their pension?

cheers
Sandy

[BrklynLiberal]

103. Such irony...such hypocrisy..such stupidity!!!!

It will be very interesting to see how her feelings would change if SHE were one of "THEM"...financially strapped, ill, unemployed, and hungry.

It is always "US" and "THEM" to these folks. They are sooo easily manipulated by the repukes that it is really scary.

This is an example of a sociological experiment gone bad. The problem is that this is for real...not in a classroom.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/
On the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in April 1968, Jane Elliott's third graders from the small, all-white town of Riceville, Iowa, came to class confused and upset. They recently had made King their "Hero of the Month," and they couldn't understand why someone would kill him. So Elliott decided to teach her class a daring lesson in the meaning of discrimination. She wanted to show her pupils what discrimination feels like, and what it can do to people.

Elliott divided her class by eye color -- those with blue eyes and those with brown. On the first day, the blue-eyed children were told they were smarter, nicer, neater, and better than those with brown eyes. Throughout the day, Elliott praised them and allowed them privileges such as a taking a longer recess and being first in the lunch line. In contrast, the brown-eyed children had to wear collars around their necks and their behavior and performance were criticized and ridiculed by Elliott. On the second day, the roles were reversed and the blue-eyed children were made to feel inferior while the brown eyes were designated the dominant group.

What happened over the course of the unique two-day exercise astonished both students and teacher. On both days, children who were designated as inferior took on the look and behavior of genuinely inferior students, performing poorly on tests and other work. In contrast, the "superior" students -- students who had been sweet and tolerant before the exercise -- became mean-spirited and seemed to like discriminating against the "inferior" group.

"I watched what had been marvelous, cooperative, wonderful, thoughtful children turn into nasty, vicious, discriminating little third-graders in a space of fifteen minutes," says Elliott. She says she realized then that she had "created a microcosm of society in a third-grade classroom."



"A Class Divided" is one of the most requested programs in FRONTLINE's history. First broadcast in 1985, it is being rebroadcast in 2003 as part of FRONTLINE's 20th Anniversary Season.

Watch the program in full in Windows Media and RealMedia



Elliott repeated the exercise with her new classes in the following year. The third time, in 1970, cameras were present. Fourteen years later, FRONTLINE's "A Class Divided" chronicled a mini-reunion of that 1970 third-grade class. As young adults, Elliott's former students watch themselves on film and talk about the impact Elliott's lesson in bigotry has had on their lives and attitudes. It is Jane Elliott's first chance to find out how much of her lesson her students had retained.

"Nobody likes to be looked down upon. Nobody likes to be hated, teased or discriminated against," says Verla, one of the former students.

Another, Sandra, tells Elliott: "You hear these people talking about different people and how they'd like to have them out of the country. And sometimes I just wish I had that collar in my pocket. I could whip it out and put it on and say 'Wear this, and put yourself in their place.' I wish they would go through what I went through, you know."

In the last part of "A Class Divided," FRONTLINE's cameras follow Jane Elliott as she takes her exercise to employees of the Iowa prison system. During a daylong workshop in human relations she teaches the same lesson to the adults. Their reactions to the blue-eye, brown-eye exercise are similar to those of the children.

"After you do this exercise, when the debriefing starts, when the pain is over and they're all back together, you find out how society could be if we really believed all this stuff that we preach, if we really acted that way, you could feel as good about one another as those kids feel about one another after this exercise is over. You create instant cousins," says Elliott. "The kids said over and over, 'We're kind of like a family now.' They found out how to hurt one another and they found out how it feels to be hurt in that way and they refuse to hurt one another in that way again."

[burning rain]

105. It'd be grand if every one of these teashaggers could fall gravely ill...

and be screwed out of adequate treatment by their insurance companies. And it would be so perfect if there were someone there to ask them, as they lay dying, "So, how's that rugged individualism <'white privilege' if the dying teashagger's a racist into the bargain> workin' out for ya?"

[BrklynLiberal]

107. Here is a great set of "guidelines " for Ms Downer and her ilk.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8128358


excerpt................

<snip>
Look, it's time for these people to exercise a little personal responsibility. If they don't like socialism, fine. They should just stop relying on it. Don't wait for anybody else. Take some personal responsibility, dammit! Here's how. This 10-point list is not a comprehensive guide-personal responsibility means finding things out for yourself! It's just a guide on getting started, so you start to get the hang of recognizing and rejecting socialism wherever it is But be warned, if you limit yourself to just these ten steps, the socialist will win. So start here, but don't stop! Don't stop until you've destroyed every vestige of socialism in your life. Teabaggers everywhere, take heed! This is how to throw off the shackles of socialism, once and for all! Spread the message far and wide! Defeat socialism in your own life. Don't wait for anyone else to do it for you!

(1) If you live in subsidized housing, like Gregory Lee Giusti , move. Into the street, if necessary. But not to a shelter. All shelters receive government support one way or another-either getting money directly from the government, using government-subsidized resources, or being subsidized via the tax code.

(2) If you're on food stamps, tear them up, throw them away, and don't get any more. Just starve. Food banks are a no-no, just like shelters. All non-profits are government subsidized through the tax code.

(3) If you're on Medicaid, or your children are on SCHIP, just say no! Pay out of pocket or get sick and die. Like the man said, "Give me liberty AND give me death!"

(4) If you are on Medicare, drop out. Refuse to use your Medicare card, and pay for all your medical expenses yourself. You can try to get medical insurance, of course. Good luck with that. Aside from supplemental Medicare coverage, you'll probably have to go to Switzerland, or something.

(5) Pull your kids out of school. Obviously, public schools are socialist. But so are charter schools that receive public money. And even purely private schools employ teachers who went to public school. Yes, I know it's shocking, but it's true! So, no school! It's socialist, through and through.

(6) Stay off the streets. Almost all streets, roads and highways in America are socialist. Private roads are incredibly rare, so unless you live on one, stay off the streets entirely. Besides, you can't buy gas without paying state and federal taxes.

(7) Stay off the sidewalks. They're just as socialist as the streets, if not moreso.

(8) Stop using municipal water. Municipal water is socialist. Use only commercial bottled water for cooking, bathing, clothes-washing, etc.

(9) Tell the fire department to screw off. Notify your local fire department that if your house catches on fire, you do not want them to come. They're socialists, after all. You'd rather have your children die a horrible death.

(10) Tell the police to screw off, too! Notify your local police department that you don't need their help if anyone steals your stuff, or tries to kill you or anything like that. In fact, you'll kill them if they try. You've warned them politely... this time!

So that's it, folks! Spread the message far & wide. No one can free you of socialism but you yourself!

[ellenfl]

108. nationwide tour? how do those 'tourists' support themselves while touring? eom

[Gwoppi]

109. "Jane? You magnificently ignorant slut."

eom

[boycottfaux]

111. Betcha she's still in college

Wonder how long she has been working for her 'hard earned
money'??  Very nice of her employer [and all their employers]
to give them the day off to protest . .

People on DEATH ROW receive taxpayer funded healthcare . .

[PatSeg]

113. So its okay for greedy insurance companies or

Big Pharma to get her "hard earned money". Of course her insurance company will drop her in a heartbeat, but she is oblivious to that. Come the day that adversity comes to her life, she will be first in line demanding the government help HER because she deserves it. Sadly she won't see the hypocrisy in her behavior. She's different. She's entitled. Those other folks are lazy and want something for nothing.

She doesn't see that health care reform is for her as well as the undeserving poor. She is young and extremely naive.

[abelenkpe]

115. OK can someone please explain to the teabaggers

that they were already paying for health care for the poor and unemployed under the old system. When one has no health insurance they are forced to go to the emergency room for basic care. Often they had to wait until a simple problem became life threatening (and therefore much more expensive to treat) before receiving care. That was one of the reasons why health care costs were spiraling out of control. (Also bloated CEO compensation and administration costs) So they were paying regardless. They were already paying!!!! It's always been that way. Insurance is socialist in nature. It pools the money from all participants and pays it out to those who need it when they need it. Because insurance is tied to employment as thousands and thousands of well paying jobs have been lost due to thirty years of globalisation and outsourcing, thousands have lost insurance or been forced to buy insurance at individual rates. With fewer people: fewer people working, fewer people able to afford insurance, and aging participants in the pool costs go up. The model was broken. Reform was necessary. Reform will save that snotty ignorant hateful piece of shit's life one day. Why can't she understand that?

[veganlush]

116. I've always found it ironic..

..the same people whose despise the notion of Darwin's theory embrace it wholeheartedly when it's applied to economics. Survival of the richest and death to those who fail, at any point, to pull themselves up sufficiently by their bootstraps.

[EnviroBat]

120. Jeebus, I graduated from High School in Grand Rapids.

Back when I was young I had no idea what a fucked up part of the country I was living in, I never paid attention to it. All I wanted out of life was food and to get laid.

when I look at what the place has become it makes me sick. My high school girlfriend is a raging RW'inger now. I can't believe she turned out that way, but she married some scumbag who was 30 when she was 17. After I left there, I lost sight of her and the town.

That place sickens me now...

[andym]

123. Somehow I don't think Medicare for All would satisfy these folks

not even a public option. They would only be interested in charity, to which they probably would not contribute!

[FrenchieCat]

129. Why is this stuff even posted here?

Seems like everyone and their mother who wants to insult this President
shows up in one of the DU forums. Why is that? Is it supposed to make
them feel bad that their words are being spread far and wide,
even by way of a Democratic forum? I don't know about others,
but I'm worn out on this Obama hate that I see and hear about everywhere....
when I know damn well that more folks approve and disapprove of him.
I find this obsession for wanting to see and hear what every single asshole
has to say about President Obama quite weird.