Graceless Rush
Rush Limbaugh and his cronies are despicable. He can’t even seem to apologize properly for assuming that Michael J Fox was acting in his recent political commercials.
“So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act, especially since people are telling me they have seen him this way on other interviews and in other television appearances.”
Start sharpening your sword, Rush. You’re about to fall on it.
Technorati Tags: Rush Limbaugh, Michael J Fox, Parkinson’s disease, political ads
Rand Corp. Report on Consumer-Directed Health Care
The verdict is mixed (PDF document) – some good, some bad. Interesting discussion about consumers feeling uninformed to make good decisions about halfway through the document, reporting on a study by Rand Corp..
In my opinion, consumer-directed health care is ripe to create a market of adverse selection in the health care industry, since it is likely to be the young, healthier patient who opts for the HSA approach, leaving those with chronic illness still in the traditional insurance pool, and that appears to be the case.
My prediction: This will prove to be one of the Bush Administration’s longer-lasting legacies to this country, particularly when health care costs triple in the next 10 years.
Washington Post: Most employers save around 10% on health insurance costs, mostly due to the cost shifting to employees. The “consumer” who benefits the most from these plans is the employer.
Technorati Tags: consumer-directed health care, HSA, adverse selection
Advertising Terror
Via Crooks & Liars, Keith Olbermann’s most recent commentary on the new Republican fearmongering ad.
This is one of Olbermann’s best commentaries yet. Some of his more recent have been a little too shrill and harsh for me, but he nails this one right to the floor.
Something to ponder:
The dictionary definition of the word ‘terrorize’ is simple and not open to misinterpretation: “To fill or overpower with terror; terrify; coerce by intimidation or fear.” Note please that the words ‘violence’ and ‘death’ are missing from that definition. For the key to terrorism is not the act-but the fear of the act. That is why bin Laden and his deputies and his imitators are forever putting together videotape statements and releasing virtual infomercials with dire threats and heart-stopping warnings.
But why is the Republican Party imitating them? Bin Laden puts out what amounts to a commercial of fear; the Republicans put out what is unmistakable as a commercial of fear.
Why indeed? It worked for them in 2004 and they’re counting on it working in 2006. The only way to counter a tactic like this is to reject it and get rational about what’s really important in this election — balancing an out-of-control paranoid administration with a counter-voice of reason.
Technorati Tags: Keith Olbermann, advertising, terror, republican fear tactics, campaign advertising
Sphere: Related ContentLet’s talk about the real issues
Dave Winer wants to know why we can’t “have an election where we talk about something other than Karl Rove’s marketing slogan.”
The Rove Marketing Slogan is “Surrender and wave the white flag.”
Now why would we want to do that? Particularly now? Dave’s right — it’s a classic avoidance technique to distract from the real issues that we SHOULD be talking about, which is why engaging in this conversation is fruitless. What makes sense is for the Democrats to LEAD on issues and toss out some innovative and maybe even controversial ideas for voters to consider. AND talk about.
Technorati Tags: scripting news, karl rove
Sphere: Related ContentSeven responsibilities of citizens in a democracy
This article by Jerome Yoman was in our local paper today (one-time free registration is required to read it) and I thought it was great. I’m going to give the bullet points here, but it’s worth reading in its entirety:
- Inform yourself beyond the spin doctors and partisan pundits
- Stand up for the ideals this country was founded on.
- Resist totalitarianism.
- Strengthen government as the voice of the people.
- Speak out for separation of church and state
- Hold government officials accountable morally, not just fiscally.
- Vote. Just do it. Register today. Monday is the last day for Californians to register. If you’re not registered, go do it.
Technorati Tags: politics, citizenship, responsibility, Ventura County Star, voter registration
Sphere: Related ContentBush’s America isn’t mine
Dave Winer is on a roll this morning:
Scripting News: Bush’s America
Yes, you want to have a person with morals with his finger on the button. And no, the Republicans we elected are not those people.
…the war is between Bush’s evildoers and the good folk, except his enemy lives in the minds of American cities, in educated people who care about and think about the future. His philosophy asks people to think with their emotions, to ignore what they see and believe what he wants us to believe. I wasn’t raised that way.
Me either. The tactic that Bush loves best is simply to repeat some lie or distortion of fact over and over and over again until it becomes a mantra that he hopes will replace the truth. The continued assertion that the war in Iraq had anything to do with Osama bin Ladan and al-Qaeda is one. Another is the insistence that we are winning Iraq despite mounting and irrefutable evidence to the contrary.
And yet again, Dave has it right when addressing the classic Bush tactic when all else has failed:
If I say you complain a lot, then I can do whatever I want, and if you complain, I just point my finger and laugh — See I was right! Everyone has a good laugh, and we ignore whether there was cause to complain. This kind of slop is creeping into discourse everywhere, the cultural influence of Bush Republicanism is going to live long after he is history.
Technorati Tags: Scripting News, George Bush, Iran, morals, ethics, politics, Iraq
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