On Nov 6, 9:32*am, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:47:43 -0500, Tosk





wrote:
In article ,
says...

On Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:19:51 -0600, thunder
wrote:

One of the problems with Yucca Mountain, it's 30 year old technology. *
The proposed Generation IV reactors produce much less waste, and with
reprocessing may make the whole concept of a nuclear waste repository,
such as Yucca Mountain, unnecessary. *It's my understanding that Yucca
Mountain hasn't been permanently discared, but they are having a blue-
ribbon panel look at it with modern day eyes. *There may very well be,
cheaper, safer, ways to accomplish it's mission.

It's sure nice to see a liberal who puts some thought into a topic.

I agree with this post and would add, is intellectually honest if not
wrong sometimes

And I concur with that also. Intellectual honesty seems quite rare in
that side of the aisle, but it does exist in this case.
--
John H

Do you mean like "death panels"

Or, At the behest of the oil and coal barons, Republican propagandists
first attacked the bill as an "energy tax" that would force American
consumers into abject poverty. They referred to an independent and
reputable study by scientists at MIT in their initial attacks, but a
co-author of the study told Congress that they were distorting and
misrepresenting its findings.
And so they came up with a "study" by some of their own. William W.
Beach, David Kreutzer, Karen Campbell and Ben Lieberman - the
"experts" cited by Ms. Montes - are all on the payroll of the
infamously right-wing American Heritage Foundation, a conservative
propaganda machine. This is roughly equivalent to citing Bill O'Reilly
as an "expert" on journalism.

Or do you mean: As CNN reported, McConnell recently made a speech to
the Senate referring to the "bureaucrats who run Canada's health care
system" and using the Kingston General Hospital as an example of the
horror of Canada's health care. KGH supposedly had waits of 340 days
for knee replacement and 196 days for hip replacement. McConnell also
fussed that Ontario's wait time for breast cancer surgery is three
months. CNN did interview Dr. David Zelt, KGH's chief of staff, who
pointed out the wait times are actually 91 days for hip replacement,
109 days for knees, and that these aren't the average wait times, but
the time that nine out of 10 people have had the procedure. Many have
them done much faster. For breast cancer surgery, the wait time at KGH
is 23 days, across Ontario it's 34 days.
..

David Drissel's diary :: :: Lie #1: President Obama and Congressional
Democrats are seeking to “nationalize” health care, which will result
in “socialized medicine.”

The Truth: Fear-inducing buzzwords such as “nationalization” and
“socialized medicine” are not accurate descriptions of Obama’s health
care approach. In reality, Obama and Congressional Democrats are
advocating that health care remain primarily in private hands, but
that the government should design a "health insurance exchange" and
“public option” to cover most of the estimated 46 million uninsured.
In addition, Obama is promoting new regulations to reduce escalating
health care costs, guarantee the portability of insurance policies,
and limit the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage simply
because of preexisting conditions.

Lie #2: "Universal health care” is overly bureaucratic and results in
a “government takeover” of health care.

The Truth: The U.S. is the only country in the industrialized world
that does not have some form of universal health care. But
“universal” is not synonymous with a “government takeover.” Though
some countries such as Great Britain and Canada have indeed
nationalized major components of their health care systems, other
countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have found ways in which
to cover everyone while also retaining a strong private insurance
system. In this regard, Obama and a majority of Congressional
Democrats have endorsed a relatively moderate approach designed to
reduce bureaucratic red tape in both private and public health care
institutions. Under such a plan, no one will be compelled to switch
from his or her insurance company to a public option.

Lie #3: Health care reform will result in the rationing of care, thus
depriving people of important medical services.

The Truth: Insurance companies are actually the ones who are
currently rationing health care in the U.S. Every day, countless
thousands of Americans are denied payment for needed operations and
treatments by health insurance companies. In contrast, there is
nothing in any of the major Democratic proposals that would ration
care. This is simply another scare tactic designed by conservative
special interest groups to forestall any major reform of the system.

Lie #4: Health care reform, as proposed by President Obama and
Congressional Democrats, will supply illegal immigrants with health
care coverage.

The Truth: The main House bill, HR 3200, actually bans the coverage
of illegal immigrants. According to Section 246 in the bill, any type
of health insurance exchange or public option would forbid payments
"on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United
States."

Lie #5: Health care reform proposals endorsed by President Obama and
Congressional Democrats will mandate “death panels” for elderly
patients, thus encouraging euthanasia.

The Truth: There is absolutely nothing in any of the bills before
Congress that would provide for death panels or euthanasia. What HR
3200, Section 1233, actually states is that Medicare would be required
to pay doctors for consultations with patients about "advance care
planning," such as living wills, hospice care, etc. The American
Medical Association, which has endorsed the Democratic approach to
health care reform, has noted that such consultations would be
strictly voluntary and not result in any type of rationing of care or
euthanasia for seniors.

Lie #6: Democratic proposals for health care reform include a
provision that would allow the U.S. government to access patients’
bank accounts and related financial records.

The Truth: Section 163 of HR 3200 entitled "Standards for financial
and administrative transactions" requires the government to set
"comprehensive, efficient and robust" rules for electronic
transactions, thus reducing expensive and duplicative paperwork. This
is one of several provisions that are designed to cut administrative
costs and red tape in the health care bureaucracy. This provision
only covers companies involved in medical billing and not individual
patients.

Lie #7: The U.S. cannot afford any new, expensive government programs
that will fuel the deficit for years to come.

The Truth: Currently, the U.S. has the most expensive health care
system in the world. Every year, health care costs continue to rise,
while insurance companies raise premiums and other out of pocket
expenses for average consumers. Health care costs result in sixty
percent of all bankruptcies in the US. One major reason why health
care is so expensive is due to the approximately 46 million Americans
who are uninsured that tend to visit emergency rooms for even minor
ailments. As the most expensive place to receive care, ERs drive up
the cost of health care in general. With universal health care, ER
visits would almost certainly decline, thus saving huge sums of
money. Maintaining the status quo will only fuel the federal deficit
since health care inflation is having a dramatic impact on the rising
costs of Medicare and Medicaid. Besides, Obama has promised not to
sign a bill unless it is deficit-neutral. Health care reform is
designed to eliminate waste and duplicative procedures, thus actually
saving taxpayers money in the long run.

Lie #8: The U.S. has the best health care system in the world; thus
there is no need for any major changes in government policies and
regulations.

The Truth: Among 191 countries, the U.S. ranks 37th for performance
in health care and 15th in overall attainment of health care needs
(according to a 2000 World Health Organization study). The U.S. also
ranks 26th in infant mortality rates among industrialized countries,
according to recent OECD figures. The OECD found that the U.S. comes
in last among industrialized countries in the fairness of financial
contributions to health care. As the WHO report states, “the impact
of failures is most severe on the poor everywhere, who are driven
deeper into poverty by lack of financial protection against ill-
health.” The Commonwealth Fund found in 2007 that U.S. health care
ranks last compared with five other nations (Canada, Britain,
Australia and New Zealand) "on measures of quality, access,
efficiency, equity, and outcomes.”

Lie #9: Insurance companies would be unable to compete effectively
with a government-backed “public option,” thus driving such companies
out of business.

The Truth: In many countries around the world, a dual system of
private insurance effectively co-exists with government-funded health
care programs. Such private-public hybrids are the norm in countries
such as Germany and the Netherlands. In contrast, the current private
insurance system in the U.S. is overly bureaucratic and monopolistic,
thus driving up health care costs. A public option would provide a
more competitive market for health care, thus pressuring insurance
companies to lower their rates. The idea that the private sector
cannot compete with the government has been proven wrong in other
sectors of the economy such as education (with private schools
competing against public schools) and postal services (with FedEx and
UPS competing against the U.S. Post Office).

Lie #10: Obama’s health care reform proposals will cut Medicare
benefits for the elderly.

The Truth: Obama and Congressional Democrats are proposing cost-
saving measures in Medicare and Medicaid that target waste, fraud, and
inefficiency. The plan envisions huge savings in these programs by
changing procedures for billing and paperwork, with a particular
emphasis on ending overpayments to insurance companies. As many
experts have noted, the Obama/Democratic plan will not reduce Medicare
benefits in any way, shape, or form