Monday, October 03, 2011

Death Panel Says Dreadfully Sorry...

...about letting your mom starve to death.
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8 comments:

Walt Taylor said...

Hate to burst your bubble, Bob, but this kind of horror story is easy to find right here in the US of A, too. Your use of "death panel" is one of those Fox-News-y faux connections that sound good to the base but are devoid of meaning.

10/04/2011 08:56:00 AM
Bob said...

@wally: I'll continue to refer to the actions of an uncaring health care bureaucracy as a death panel whether you approve or disapprove.

I warn you, also, that constantly referring to Fox News when you comment on my posts will simply cause me to retaliate in kind, accusing you of parroting MSNBC or DNC talking points whenever I reply to your comments. I'll break you of sucking on those particular eggs.

10/04/2011 09:30:00 AM
Walt Taylor said...

Yep, you've made it clear that you do not watch Fox News. But the gratuitous and illogical use of "death panel" is reminiscent of their tactics, whether you like it or not. The fact that your response doesn't address my point, just my impertinence in disagreeing with you at all, speaks volumes. As always, if you would prefer your comments to be limited to the "right on, Bob" variety, just say the word.

10/04/2011 10:04:00 AM
Bob said...

@Walt Taylor: it seems that your only point is that the US system has similar problems, which is not a valid reason for turning health care decisions over to the same sort of bureaucracy that we find in a DMV or DSS office.

10/04/2011 10:14:00 AM
Walt Taylor said...

No. My point was that this sad case was not the result of Britain's socialized medicine, but happens here too, and has absolutely ZERO to do with "death panels".

10/04/2011 10:43:00 AM
Bob said...

@Walt Taylor: And my point has always been that a de jure death panel, with flint-hearted individuals sitting in plush boardrooms and deciding who lives and who dies based on the cost of various medical treatments and procedures is really no different than a de facto death panel in which incompetence, negligence and apathy achieve the same result, and that such a system is more likely to be found in a government-run system than in a private system. Here in the US the perfect example of government-run health care in in the VA Hospital system; it is the rare VA facility that compares favorably with its private counterparts, and of the US military hospitals, only Walter Reed and Bethesda, which serve government officials such as the President, Congress, etc., have the sort of reputation that is comparable to private facilities.

10/04/2011 11:49:00 AM
Walt Taylor said...

There you go! Finally, a real argument, instead of threatening me with sucking eggs or whatever that was about. So: if the definition of "death panel" in your mind is incompetence, negligence and apathy, then forget Obamacare, we've already got death panels! And your givens are far from given. Whether or not it's fair to characterize Obama's health care system as "government-run", it's a real stretch to say it would be the equivalent of your average VA hospital, which is 100% government-run. If there's anything like real death panels in the US, it's the bureaucratic shenanigans of the insurance companies, whose horrors could keep your British tabloids busy.

10/04/2011 12:36:00 PM
Bob said...

@Walt Taylor: actually, Walt, I've read somewhere that Medicare is responsible for more denials of procedures/treatments than private health insurers. I'm not really interested in spending the rest of the afternoon researching it, though, although you're welcome to, if you so wish.

10/04/2011 01:05:00 PM

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