Spring Break
Countering gov. stupidity with facts
Seth Stern
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Opinion
I am a fan of comedian Lewis Black. Over the course of my adulthood, he has done quite well identifying the stupidity of whichever power is currently holding office, both as a stand-up comic and as a guest on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
"There has to come a point, where Democrats and Republicans, where we see a piece of footage, and we just agree, on what the f**k reality is," Lewis said during his HBO special, "Red, White and Screwed."
Two of my esteemed colleagues in the editorial section of the paper, Kevin Hollinshead and M. Alex Stephens, have demonstrated habits I find both alarming and ignorant. Now relax boys, I know you both to be intelligent young men, and Alex, is it true the guys from "South Park" asked you to be the voice of Chef after Isaac Hayes died?
Like my fellow columnists, Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow and Bill Maher, and any other person failing to recognize anything good about the opposing party while failing to recognize significant flaws in their own party, irritate the hell out of me while demonstrating intellectual bankruptcy.
Let's look at the facts.
Congress established the Post Office in 1775, and after 234 years, they are running a budget deficit of $7 billion in 2009. Bill Maher had a guest a few weeks ago who defended the Post Office saying he did not see how FedEx or UPS could get a letter from one coast to the other for 44 cents.
This was unforgivably stupid and Maher should have made the point that the Post Office cannot pull it off for $0.44 either, but Maher is a liberal, so he agreed.
Social Security was established in 1935 and Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Forbes magazine estimated its unfunded liabilities at $107 trillion. These are the two best examples of exactly what is going to happen if the government becomes involved in health care.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938, Freddie Mac in 1970. They are both broke. Both played significant roles in the housing collapse that started in 2007.
"There has to come a point, where Democrats and Republicans, where we see a piece of footage, and we just agree, on what the f**k reality is," Lewis said during his HBO special, "Red, White and Screwed."
Two of my esteemed colleagues in the editorial section of the paper, Kevin Hollinshead and M. Alex Stephens, have demonstrated habits I find both alarming and ignorant. Now relax boys, I know you both to be intelligent young men, and Alex, is it true the guys from "South Park" asked you to be the voice of Chef after Isaac Hayes died?
Like my fellow columnists, Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow and Bill Maher, and any other person failing to recognize anything good about the opposing party while failing to recognize significant flaws in their own party, irritate the hell out of me while demonstrating intellectual bankruptcy.
Let's look at the facts.
Congress established the Post Office in 1775, and after 234 years, they are running a budget deficit of $7 billion in 2009. Bill Maher had a guest a few weeks ago who defended the Post Office saying he did not see how FedEx or UPS could get a letter from one coast to the other for 44 cents.
This was unforgivably stupid and Maher should have made the point that the Post Office cannot pull it off for $0.44 either, but Maher is a liberal, so he agreed.
Social Security was established in 1935 and Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Forbes magazine estimated its unfunded liabilities at $107 trillion. These are the two best examples of exactly what is going to happen if the government becomes involved in health care.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938, Freddie Mac in 1970. They are both broke. Both played significant roles in the housing collapse that started in 2007.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 6
Ben Miller
posted 11/06/09 @ 12:48 PM MST
While the anarchist implications of Mr. Stern's article are appreciated, the poor argumentation is disturbing, especially in an article titled "Countering Gov. (Continued…)
Skeptical White Man
posted 11/06/09 @ 3:33 PM MST
I would suggest the implication is that no government program should operate if it only operates at a loss. AMTRAK would have failed were it a privately owned entity, but explain to me how the War on Drugs even COULD generate a profit and maybe then I can defend my fellow Libertarian's points. (Continued…)
jimmy
posted 11/06/09 @ 6:35 PM MST
"It is a fact that the health care system in this country is screwing people."
What a moronic statement.
Is it the insurance companies Ben? Or the doctors? Maybe the nurses? Perhaps the pharmaceutical companies? Who is "screwing" people? . (Continued…)
sneed Hearn
posted 11/07/09 @ 11:03 AM MST
Mr. Miller saying "It is a fact that the health care system in this country is screwing people" does not make it one any more than it would be a "fact" for me to say Mr. (Continued…)
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