PolitiFact: Romney says Americans pay more and die sooner

The statement

"The lifespan of the average American is less than that of people in nations that spend far less (on health care). . . . To put it bluntly, we spend more and die sooner."--Mitt Romney in the book No Apology
The ruling

In his new book, No Apology, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney devotes a chapter to health care policy — a topic that animated his tenure as governor of Massachusetts.

Romney passed a health care overhaul that was designed to get his state as close to universal coverage as possible.

While he does not support President Barack Obama's health care proposal, he does agree in his book that the U.S. health care system has problems.

"The lifespan of the average American is less than that of people in nations that spend far less" on health care, Romney wrote, adding, "To put it bluntly, we spend more and die sooner."
The first place we looked was the statistical archive of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group that represents 30 advanced, industrialized nations, mostly in Europe, Asia and North America. Scholars consider OECD figures to be among the most reliable for international comparisons on health care.

The OECD's most recent figures, for either 2005 or 2006 (the year varies by country), show that the United States ranks 24th — well under the average level for the 30 nations studied.

Specifically, life expectancy in the United States was 77.8 years. (Japan was tops with 82.4 years in 2006.) The life expectancy in Canada is 80.6 years. Canada, of course, has a national health care system. The World Health Organization ranks the Canadian health care ystem 30th in the world.
the US is ranked 37th.

Now, we'll look at health care expenditures. There are two ways to measure this — by expenditures per capita, or by expenditures as a percentage of GDP. However you measure it, we're No. 1 — by a mile.

Using the first measure, the OECD reports that the United States spent $7,290 on health care per capita in 2007. The only two other countries where per capita health care expenditures exceeded even $4,000 were Norway and Switzerland.

Here are some other health care facts. Other than South Africa, America is the only developed country in the world that does not provide healthcare for all of its citizens.

Yet, the US ranks 26th in infant mortality and 24th in the number of healthy years a person can expect to live - putting America’s healthcare system in the company of Cuba and Slovenia rather than Canada and Western European nations.

According to Reuters, France, Japan and Australia rated best and the United States worst in new rankings focusing on preventable deaths due to treatable conditions in 19 leading industrialized nations, researchers said on Tuesday. More than 100,00 deaths could be prevented each year if our medical system performed better.

source: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/politifact-romney-says-americans-pay-more-for-health-care-but-die-sooner/1077270

source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071202181726AAufewm

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Sarah Palin And Entourage 'Like Locusts' At Oscar Gift Suite

The former Alaska Governor has gone Hollywood and may be taking some of it with her when she leaves. There are rumors that she's shopping around a TV show with reality producer Mark Burnett. Recently Palin and her entourage were seen in the Oscar gifting suite.

While the group was loading up on freebies, the Los Angeles Times reported that, "Palin's middle child, Willow, got her hair styled, receiving a blowout from Erick Orellana of the Chris McMillan Salon." Chris is Jennifer Aniston's longtime hairstylist.

The Times also indicated that Palin was supposed to donate $1,700 along with all of her gift items to the Red Cross, which is currently helping with relief efforts in Haiti and Chile.

But E! Online insists, "we can assure you she did not give up any of her swag." They quote an unnamed vendor who claims that upwards of 20 people from the Palin camp swarmed the event. "They were like locusts," he told the entertainment news outlet.

According to AOL's Pop Eater, publicist Ben Russo of EMC/Bowery said, "she kind of cleaned the place out." They list out a number of her swag-grabs, including United Hair Care products, jewels from Pascal Mouawad, Skagen watches and a whopping 40 pairs or AIAIAI earphones.

It didn't stop there. HollywoodLife.com reports that she also picked up a blue Kenya robe from designer Jenna Leigh, facewash and a pair of foam Bandal sandals.

Or, in common-sense language, Palin and her handlers, "practically cleaned out the suite." Another unnamed source from HollywoodLife.com says that the former Vice Presidential candidate was intent on spreading all that wealth around her own circle." She insisted every person in her huge entourage get something which included assistants, nannies, and security.

Rightardia guesses Palin learned little when she and her family ran up $150,000 in charges at Niemann Marcus during the 2008 presidential campaign. Palin pigs out again.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/palin-at-oscar-gift-suite_n_485101.html

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Athiest Agenda: UTSA students are butting heads over a "bibles for porn" program

kens5.com | San Antonio News,

by Stacia Willson / KENS 5


Posted on March 3, 2010 at 5:39 PM Updated today at 6:45 PM

An atheist agenda group has been handing out adult magazines in exchange for any type of religious scripture.

University officials allowed the program because they say it's a first amendment right.

However, many students said they are offended by the program.

The atheist agenda group has done the "smut for smut" program in years past.  This time around they handed out about 40 adult magazines for religious texts.

source: http://www.kens5.com/news/UTSA-students-are-butting-heads-over-a-smut-for-smut-program-86279942.html

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Obama goes to bat for veterans

 President Obama has proposed nearly $60 billion in his budget for veterans’ health care.

The national commander of Disabled American Veterans, Bobby Barrera, gave Obama a baseball bat to thank him for “going to bat for veterans,” said David Autry, the group’s deputy national director of communications.

Barrera, a combat-disabled Marine Corps veteran, and Obama had a “very good meeting that went well beyond a photo opportunity.” They discussed difficulties with veterans’ benefits claims as well as efforts to help homeless and unemployed veterans.

Another topic in the meeting was the administration’s $125 billion budget for Veterans Affairs, roughly half of which accounts for discretionary spending intended for health care, Autry said.

source: Politico.com

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Guess who won: Bachmann v. Grayson?

Civility reigned Wednesday during a health care debate between Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on "Larry King Live."

Bachmann: An up or down vote is a good thing, Larry. It's just how many votes will it take. Will it take 50 votes or will it take 60 votes...
King: Well what's wrong with majority rules?
Bachmann: Well because that's not how the Senate works. The Senate works with 60 votes, and now what the president is promoting is a nuclear option which is 50 votes.
King: But it used the majority rules on the Bush tax cuts.
Bachmann: Well, the House uses straight majority rules, the Senate doesn't. So what this means is that the Senate has to break their own rules in order to pass the bill.

Story continues below

King: And that's wrong?
Bachmann: Oh, I think so. Sure.

Grayson responded:

My esteemed colleague from Minnesota is entirely wrong. There's nothing in the Senate rules that prevents reconciliation. It's been used 22 times overall and 14 times by Republicans. If it's good enough to provide tax cuts for the rich -- twice unter Bush -- it's good enough to provide health care for all Americans.

See the link for the video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/grayson-bachmann-debate-h_n_485078.html

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NASA: Earth's true colors

Photo: NASA

The image of North America were produced by researchers at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center. it used images from the Terra satellite more than 700km (435 miles) above the Earth's surface.

The Blue Marble series was pieced together from thousands of images taken over many months by the satellite's remote-sensing device Modis. The Modis imaged every square kilometre of the Earth's surface.

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Democrats have the GOP paln for the 2010 elections

The RNC slides are very revealing and indicate what national and state offices the GOP will contest. It reveals the GOP political strategy for 2010. What an intelligence bonanza!

Here is Rightaridia's favorite slide:

The Direct Marketeers are the Tea Baggers, the Ditto Heads, Evangelicals and other useful idiots. These are undereducated folks like Sarah Palin. Many are still fighting the Civil War and most of them live in the South and the West.

After seeing the slides and the stupid way the RNC compromised the presentation, I am inclined to think Republicans aren't particularly bright.Here is the ploitico link to the complete RNC presentation: http://www.politico.com/static/PPM136_100303_rnc_finance_leadership.html

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Politico Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on 'fear'

The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.

In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives.

To read this article in its entirety and to view slides from the presentation visit Politico.com.

Politico must be gettting thousands of hits on this because Rightardia was unable to open the poltico web page.

Update: Rightardia finally recovered the web page form Politico. Here is some more ov the story: 

The presentation explains the Republican fundraising in simple terms.

"What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate...?" it asks.

The answer: "Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.

 one of the RNC  slides

One page, headed “The Evil Empire,” pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.

Sarah Palin: The wrong prescription to America's ills

Let's take a look at the three things that Sarah Palin thinks America needs. First, gas prices are now very low and more drilling will not necessarily produce lower prices. Once the gas prices rose to historic highs during the Bush era, demand dropped. The Obama plan to produce energy by more alternative means seems to be the long term solution to americans' energy needs rather than the GOP energy solution to short term corporate profits.

Second, tax cuts are the one trick Republican pony. Spending increases and programs like unemployment insurance and increases to food stamps and WIC are more effective than tax cuts. FDR got America through the Great Depression and World War 2 by raising taxes on affluent Americans, not by cutting them. The Obama administration has been following the recommendations of the Moody's economists.

Do you really trust the GOP to cut your taxes? This was the outcome of the Bush era tax cuts. The middle class actually saw a tax increase according to the CBO, but the top 20 per cent of Americans actually got their taxes cut. The unwarranted tax cuts of the Bush administration also put the government into the red, doubling the deficit.

Rightardia does agree with Sarah Palin that America's spirits need to be lifted, but not by a cheer leader like George W. Bush. Obama needs a cause that Americans can get behind, but not another war.
 
The Great Recession is a dangerous time. The last time the world went into a huge economic turn-down, it led to World War 2. To make matters worse, a fool like Sarah Palin has suggested that Obama could be re-elected by starting a war with Iran.

It would be difficult to invade Iran without staging from Iraq which the US will withdraw from next year. Iran is a very mountainess area and the US would have to cross the formidable Zagrev mountains to invade the country.

Iran is bordered by the Caspian Sea that the the Russians would use to resupply the Iranians. The possibility of a war with Russia would greatly increase if the US were to invade Iran.

During World War 2, the Germans had assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, night vision goggles and other superior armament, but they still lost the war.

The US makes quality weapons, too, but  quantity usually prevails over quality in a large scale war. By the end of World War 2, the Germans had nearly 3,000,000 of its citizens under arms. The Russians had 30,000,000.

People win wars, not weapons systems. A war will not resolve the Great Recession. America needs to get behind our president. A lot of work needs to be done and the election of more ideologic right wing Republicans to the House and Senate in 2010 will not hasten the recovery.

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Class Warfare 101: Democrats restore unemployment insurance to 400,000 Americans

Here is the list of conservative losers who wanted to throw 400,000 Americans out on the street. EVERY 'Nay' vote is a Republican. In the good old days politicians like this would have been tarred and feathered and driven out of town on a rail.

Here is the list of naysayers: Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennett (R-UT), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Coburn (R-OK), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX),  Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Hatch (R-UT),  Johanns (R-NE), McConnell (R-KY), Risch (R-ID), Sessions (R-AL), Thune (R-SD). 

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