Snoopy:  Sounds a lot like the US.

Artful Dodger:  The SNL skit was funny.  Maybe it was a year premature, but he won the award; so, GET OVER IT.

Artful Dodger:  As a supporter of Obama generally, I agree he should not have been voted a nobel peace prize 1 month into his 1st term.  Having said that, however, I hope he gets more support for his multilateral approach to diplomacy..

Here is an article covering both sides of this issue.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20091009/ARTICLES/910099987/1083/ARTICLES?Title=President-Barack-Obama-wins-Nobel-Peace-Prize-

(V):  What you say is all true.  But, the point that stands out to me is that he is 1st Republican, to the best of my knowledge, to speak out against this lunatic fringe.  I'm sure he will get pummeled as a "traitor" from the shrill voices on the far right.

He may of risked his re-election in my state, but Sen. Graham left no stone unturned.  He managed to diss Limbaugh, Beck & the "birthers" in one sitting.  It's about time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_DMTbfbdE

(V):  I doubt it.  Despots like Mugabe manage to stay on there throwns regardless of outside pressure or how much their own people suffer.

(V):  I agree with that statement.  Much of what is spewed by Beck, Limbaugh & their colleagues on right represent reckless & irresponsible speech.   Beck himself has stated he fantasized on his show about killing someone.  The statement was of course hypothetical but irresponsible.  

As for disturbed people going on shooting sprees from obsessing over this type of garbage, it has already happened.  Last year a man who walked into a Unitarian Church in Knoxville TN & opened fire.  He said he did it to kill "liberals" in the trenches.  The authorities found books & literature written by these "shock-jocks" on the right.   I happen to know some of the people affected.  So don't give me this crap about how they care only about policies.  No, they can't be directly blamed for such acts.  Ultimately, it was done by the individual.  But, these instigators, who are paid great sums of money to get people in a frenzy, can incite violence & they do!  We Americans need to be  a little more careful who we worship.

(V):  Agreed.  And the "compromise" failed to get the 3 Republicans "negotiators" on board.  Democrats will have to do this reform on their own.  Hopefully, they will come up w/ something significantly better than the Baucus Bill, which is the insurance companies dream.  And public option is still on the table through other bills.

(V):  Interesting question.  NASA funds have been cut drastically lately also.  I think future plans for lunar exploration have been scrapped for time being.

(V):  It's very hard to find bipartisan solutions when the goal of the GOP is to make Health Care "Obama's Waterloo".  He is going to have to work within his own party.  Unfortunately, the Dems are not all in agreement either on the public option because of misinformation put out by the insurance lobby, & people don't want to be educated.  They'd rather scream at town hall meetings.

Jim Dandy:  Could you share what is it that you find interesting about the Swedish system?  Perhaps we could go from there.

Vikings:  What is the basis for making such sweeping conclusions about Obama?  Where do you get your information?

(V): I agree with you about Obama's approach to listen to all sides, but the problem is that the opposition doesn't give a rat's ass about listening to him.  They would rather listen to radical right talk shows & call him names than do what is right for the country.  The pres. now needs to spell out his plan for reform like he did tonight & stick by it.  The Republicans have had their fun.  It's time for the Democrats to govern.

(V): You mean u missed one side of the aisle sitting on their hands or holding up papers through most of the speech.  In addition one idiot congressman yelled out "You lie!" during the Pres. speech.  In case you didn't notice,  those were the Republicans. They only care about destroying this president.

If President Obama wants to pass reform, he will have to do it w/ Democrats only, & they are not lockstep.

Artful Dodger:  That's all the Republicans care about is destroying this presidency.  Well its not going to work!

Tuesday:  I agree!  And that fact was clearly apparent during this so called debate over whether President Obama should be allowed to address school children about doing their best in school.  The right-wing "shock jocks" polluting our airways ought to have no credibility now.

Czuch:  Last time I checked the gov't was run by people as opposed to robots.  Yes, there exists corruption & inefficiency,.  But, it can't be any worse than private insurance companies.  You raise hypotheticals about not enough Drs. practicing to take care of everyone.  Well, its already happening because Drs don't want to deal with the red tape & dictates of the PRIVATE insurance cos.  They have to hire numerous office people to deal with the filing, & they may not get paid for many months while the insurance cos. question everything..  It's significantly simpler with  Medicare & Medicaid.

Its time at least for a public option to compete w/ the greedy & inefficient private payers.  If they can't compete with gov't & cover everyone effectively, let them go out of business & leave us with a single payer.  We will still be able see your private physicians under the system as it's proposed now.

(V):  Here is an article about Pfizer settlement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pfizer_settlement

Czuch:  Well, I'd rather be called an "idiot" than behave like an insensitive "moron".

It's">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082101778.html?referrer=facebook

It's not all "socialists" out there & shouldn't be dismissed as such.  But unlike America, all these countries assume Heathcare is a right, not a privilege for some.  They also do it at less cost than the US.  And don't give me that nonsense that the poor can get care in the ER.  That is not a viable option & takes up space for true emergencies. 

Artful Dodger:  I'm sure you can find similar examples of abuse in nursing homes in the US.  They aren't the majority, like the abuses reported in the British NHS are not the majority cases there.  Any amount of that type of neglect or abuse aren't acceptable anywhere & remedies are paramount, but it doesn't represent an entire system.  As pointed out in your article, over 92% of patients in the British system rate their care as good or excellent.

Pedro Martínez: They can't admit that anything is wrong with the US as it is now.  It would be "unpatriotic".  Besides, admitting anything is wrong might lead to (gulp!) socialism.

Übergeek 바둑이:  Many Americans are being brainwashed by the big insurance cos. & their pawns.  They are being fed countless distortions about the systems in Canada, the UK & elsewhere because the insurance cos. have bought off the media, commentators & many of the politicians.  For this reason, you see so much fear & hysteria at town hall meetings that many of them can't be conducted in a civilized manner.

Übergeek 바둑이:  Bullying is a big problem in the US.  Some states have passed laws against it.  Emails & online behavior can be included in the evidence.  I don't know who much it is being enforced & how effective they are.  But, u are correct, it's important for parents to be in touch w/ their kids behavior - both online or off.

Artful Dodger:  Well, I'm glad u can recognize Cronkite's ability to report the news w/out bias.

The author of the AIM commentary was obviously hostile towards WC for expressing his opinion on the Vietnam War during his reporting days, one of the few times WC expressed an opinion on the air.  The commentary was thus laced with distortions & quotes taken out of context.  No one questions that WC's personal views were liberal leaning, and I'm perfectly fine w/ that.  But to claim he was in league w/ the old Soviet Union, for example, is quite a distortion IMHO.

As far as defeating people in the so-called "war of ideas", I cite Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck & other darlings of the far right as targets for defeat.

Artful Dodger:  So!  He joined some "liberal" organizations following his retirement.  That makes him an evil man in the eyes of arch-conservatives & organizations like AIM.  Can you even substantiate half the stuff in this right-wing commentary anywhere else other than such biased musings?

Czuch:  Trickle down usually means trickle on.

Übergeek 바둑이:  All good points.  Things are hardly ever as simple as they appear.  There will be enough blame to go around if the economic policies fail.

Artful Dodger:  What is the difference between a strereotype & a category?