[Rhodes22-list] Political Reply to Michael Wager...

[Tootle]

Mike said, "I think that there is a misconception about what a forum can or
should be. I became frustrated by being lectured by a certain political
mindset seemed to take it upon themselves to indoctrinate the other
participants in the forum with their particular views, to the exclusion of
almost all else."

Mike you were not around at the inception of this forum.  Non sailing topics
were at the heart of moving the forum off a sailing only topics medium to
Michael Meltzer’s free for all.  The political issues were incited by
certain original members.  During election years the volume of election
related issues increases dramatically.  But even then boat related topics
were posted and discussed.  As people see the days getting longer they begin
to think about sailing in the days ahead.  That is the real explanation for
the sailing related topics in the past week.  The volume of posts will
decrease as boats go in the water.  

Like many, I am a product of the northeast liberal educational system.  Many
in the educational system teach or indoctrinate students to correct social
and economic viewpoint.  This correct viewpoint is called by some
‘Politically Correct’.

For those espousing political correctness, those that have, accept or
endorse other social and political ideologies are absolutely wrong, no
exceptions.  Until a couple of years ago, I accepted the PC idea that
everybody should be free to have their say.  That is until I found that by
allowing everyone to have their say and have others accept their viewpoint
meant that mine or others views were no longer tolerated.  This politically
correct way of thinking resulted in loss of freedoms for me and others.  

So I now say that tolerating ‘politically correct’ views that reduce my or
others freedoms is wrong.  It is wrong to the degree that it must be
challenged.  Accepting the politically correct view is just being a sheep
(sheeple), so I hear you saying “Baaa”.

This is illustrated by two politically correct topics, but not limited to
them.  First is Al Gore, Global warming and his solution.  I do not deny
that some global warming may be occurring and that humans may have some
effect.  However, an honest evaluation of history shows that global warming
and cooling have occurred before human’s intervention.  A current
illustration of his hypocrisy is Arctic ice. 

Are you aware that, “Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea
ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew
to a close.” (National Snow and Ice Data Center)   Yet the new
Administration in Washington touts global warming as an issue of great
government concern and reasons to control citizen’s use of resources. 
Belief in Al Gore’s agenda unnecessarily diminishes freedoms of Americans.

And another issue of which I have inside experience is ‘Health Care’.  Many
on this forum advocate national health care.  One former list member
advocated a minimum floor of health care.  Stan in the past has endorsed
national health care.

On the west coast there is economist who writes regular columns in the press
and which are available on line.  Recently Thomas Sowell addressed this
issue in a book review.  Read as follows:

"This is an emergency book review." 

“Before you do anything else, make a note to read "The Top Ten Myths of
American Health Care" by Sally C. Pipes. It might literally save your life,
by checking the political stampede toward a government-controlled medical
profession — usually presented politically as "universal health care." “

“It is one of the painful signs of our times that millions of people are so
easily swayed by rhetoric that they show virtually no interest at all in
finding out the hard facts. Any number of other countries already have
government-controlled medical professions. Yet few Americans show any
interest in what actually happens to medical care in those countries.”

“Instead, we are being lured into a one-way process — much like entering a
Venus fly trap — by the oldest of all confidence rackets, the promise of
something for nothing.””
 
Fortunately, Sally C. Pipes is one of the few who has explored the reality
of government-controlled medical treatment in Canada and other countries.
Among the things she discovered is that new life-saving medications that go
immediately into the market in the United States take a much longer time to
become available to Canadian patients — if they ever get approved by the
bureaucrats.”
 
“No doubt that lowers the cost of medications — if you count costs solely in
money terms, rather than in terms of how many people literally pay with
their lives when the bureaucrats are reluctant to buy new pharmaceutical
drugs, while they can continue to approve obsolete and cheaper drugs for the
same illnesses.” 

“Cancer survival rates are higher in the United States than in Europe. A
recent report by the Fraser Institute in Vancouver estimates that annually
tens of thousands of Canadians seek medical treatment outside of Canada,
even though treatment is free inside Canada and they have to pay themselves
for treatment elsewhere.” 

“Other studies show that waiting times for surgery are months longer in
Canada, Britain and Australia — all countries with government-controlled
medical care — than in the United States.” 

“Among the many issues explained in plain English in "The Top Ten Myths of
American Health Care" are why pharmaceutical drugs cost so much, why it is
misleading to talk about uninsured Americans as if they do not get medical
care, and how politicians make existing insurance more expensive by blithely
mandating coverage that people would not voluntarily pay for with their own
money, if it was left up to them.”

“In various states, these mandated coverages include alcoholism,
acupuncture, breast reduction and treatment for baldness, among other
things. You may just want insurance to cover you in case you get hit with
some big-time medical problem, but many state laws will not allow an
insurance company to sell you that "major medical" coverage, without all the
add-ons that politicians and special interests have come up with.”

“The net result is more expensive insurance, which in turn can mean more
people being uninsured.” 
“As with so many government programs, "the poor" are used as a political
justification for imposing government-controlled medical care on everyone.
But "The Top Ten Myths of American Medical Care" shows what a fraud that is.
First of all, the average uninsured American has above-average income — and
people living in poverty are already eligible for Medicaid.” 

“There are of course some serious problems with Medicaid, as there is with
government medical treatment at Veterans Administration hospitals and with
Medicare. But such things only highlight the dangers of having the
government take over the rest of the medical sector, given its dangerous
failures where it is already involved in medical matters.” 

“The lure of something for nothing may be seductive when you are in good
health. But it can become a bitter irony when you are waiting for months for
surgery to relieve your pain or when your life hangs in the balance while
some bureaucrat decides whether you can get the best medication or something
older and cheaper.” 

“"The Top Ten Myths About American Medical Care" can literally be a
life-saver. What it reveals is unlikely to be told by the mainstream media
or by other enthusiasts for the magic phrase "universal health care."”
A sailing forum is appropriate for discussing such issues because the truth
is hard to find in the main stream media.  What is ‘politically correct’ is
often a narrow biased view.
  
I ask you, were you informed about the arctic ice as well as the plight of
polar bears?

Are you one who believes that the government’s funds (that is money) is the
governments and not the taxpayers?

Ed K 






 

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