Tuesday 18 August 2009

Heal Thyself


The furore over President Obama's healthcare plans in the US has unexpectantly compelled the British public to make an objective view of our NHS. And it has been reassuring to see the overwelming response has been in defence of our non-discriminatory, free-at-the-point-of-use system.
The Insurance lobby in the US has established an effective propaganda programme unashamedly using maliciously false information about the NHS, such as anyone over 59 cannot get treatment for heart disease. The liberals made their usual mistake of thinking the arguments should be self-evident. They should be but that's not how American politics works. Sometimes the loudest guy wins the debate.
The healthcare row has re-energised the right, just at the point they were looking only relevant to gun-toting nuts and conspiracy loons. But their problem is they have to keep lieing and telling bigger lies. Sarah Palin ex-Governor of Alaska and prospective Republican candidate for 2012/6 said Obama's plan would include establishing 'death panels' where disability and infirmity would disqualify people from living any longer.
Fox News has been banging the drum for the (billion dollar profit) insurance companies simply because they detect some vulnerability for Obama. Sometimes it is difficult to remember these presenters of barefaced lies about healthcare reform actually claim to be journalists, offering a "fair and balanced" critique.
Glenn Beck (above) and Sean Hannity are the most rabid and hysterical of all Fox broadcasters. Beck has leapt in support of the Palin's preposterous and sickening assertions about nazism. Here he reads out quotes of people who have tenuous connections with the White House while simultaneously waving posters from 1930s Germany.
Beck's has shouted long and hard about America having the "best health system in the world". Putting aside the 46 million with no coverage, there are also a million bankruptcies a year caused by their coverage running out. Beck himself underwent surgery in 2007 and made several features about how terrible the health system was, even for a millionaire like him.
Eventually Beck's huge gob tripped him up when he said, on a separate issue, Obama was a racist who held a "deep-seated hatred of white people." Several sponsors didn't take kindly to his insulting of the office of the President and withdrew their contracts with Fox. So it look like the skids are under Beck but only indirectly for what he actually said. As is often the case in the US, it is the buck which comes before integrity.