NBC Hires Cynical Race-Baiting Megyn Kelly in Multi-Year Deal

The NBC/Fox News convergence
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Credit: DonkeyHotey

The media news of the day is that NBC is continuing their swing to the right by hiring Fox News demagogue Megyn Kelly, for a multi-year deal that will see her hosting a one-hour daytime show, a Sunday news magazine show, and taking part in all sorts of miscellaneous NBC coverage.

I guess this is what we can expect during the Trump era, as cable news does its best to exploit what they see as the audience they think will bring them the most profit: the right wing bigots Kelly stoked and inflamed for more than a dozen years.

And inflame them she did, with her obsessive ranting about the New Black Panther Party (a tiny, completely marginalized extremist group that Fox News relentlessly demonized and portrayed as allies of President Obama), her bizarre, angry contention that Santa Claus and Jesus Christ must always and forever be portrayed as white men, and a host of other race-baiting, divisive Fox News talking points.

Here’s a sort of “worst of Megyn Kelly” compilation put together by Media Matters, a sampler of her toxic rhetoric. Is this just cynicism and exploitation by Kelly, or does she truly believe this racist garbage?

And does it even matter? In the Trump era, the worst people in this country seem to be in charge and they’re being richly rewarded for the hatred they’ve worked so hard to spread.

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187 comments
1
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:36:40am

Pardon me while I drift gently away from ever watching NBC News again.

2
I Would Prefer Not To  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:37:19am

Our Liberal media at work.

3
Ace Rothstein  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:37:34am

Last year, a biggie at CBS said that Trump was terrible for America but great for CBS.

4
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:38:28am

re: #2 I Would Prefer Not To

Our Liberal media at work.

Well, I guess they know which side the bread is buttered on, or as we say it in my family, which side their butt is breaded on.

5
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:39:18am

Crazy thing is, of their prominent on-air personalities, she’s probably the least horrible, and she’s really, really bad.

6
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:40:43am

Whatever she thinks personally doesn’t matter. She’s publicly pushing these positions, whether out of conviction or cynicism. She should be held accountable for them, but the GOP and right wing notion of personal responsibility doesn’t apply to them - only to their rivals/enemies.

So, she’ll cash in, despite being silent on the sex harassment until Carson stepped forward first.

She’ll cash in despite admitting knowing how the Trump cabal were manipulating journalists with pay-to-play coverage. She decided it better to write that in her latest book instead of report it on her widely available cable program.

In the end, it comes down to these people deciding that the best policy is whatever will enrich them most - everyone else be damned.

7
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:42:11am

SINGLE PAYER

8
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:42:36am

re: #3 Frankie Five Angels

Last year, a biggie at CBS said that Trump was terrible for America but great for CBS.

That would be CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves.

9
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:42:56am

re: #7 The Vicious Babushka

Do you support the repeal of Obamacare? RT if you do, and share what you want to see as the replacement.

chickens

10
weave  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:43:17am

Well there’s one benefit of this. People who keep claiming that this is a conservative nation because Fox is #1 in the ratings. It’s that way because all of the other networks have to share the viewership of the non-insane. At least if Fox has competition for that group, it should help kill their ratings finally.

11
jaunte  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:43:57am

re: #7 The Vicious Babushka

share what you want to see as the replacement

Years to think about what to replace it with, and they’re still floundering.

12
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:44:31am

re: #10 weave

Well there’s one benefit of this. People who keep claiming that this is a conservative nation because Fox is #1 in the ratings. It’s that way because all of the other networks have to share the viewership of the non-insane. At least if Fox has competition for that group, it should help kill their ratings finally.

But wait, I thought the liberal lamestream media was in charge.

13
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:44:32am

re: #11 jaunte

Years to think about what to replace it with, and they’re still floundering.

They are replacing it with SHUT UP AND JUST DIE.

14
Clearly a Country For Sick Old Haters  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:44:41am

re: #1 calochortus

Pardon me while I drift gently away from ever watching NBC News again.

I’d do the same, if I hadn’t already given up on TV news years ago.

15
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:45:16am

re: #11 jaunte

Years to think about what to replace it with, and they’re still floundering.

They are not floundering, just dissembling and trying to escape the fact that they did not intend to replace it with anything except More Free Market.

16
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:45:41am

re: #11 jaunte

Years to think about what to replace it with, and they’re still floundering.

Possibly because they don’t really want to find a replacement? Maybe?

17
jaunte  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:45:58am

“The flounder will see you now.”

18
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:46:09am

re: #15 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

They are not floundering, just dissembling and trying to escape the fact that they did not intend to replace it with anything except More Free Market.

MOAR UNREGULATED FREE MARKET does not create “competition” as wingnuts like to tell you, it creates monopolies and cartels.

19
jaunte  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:46:33am

“No free riders” was the cry when they used to call it Romneycare.

20
Feline Fearless Leader  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:46:59am

re: #18 The Vicious Babushka

MOAR UNREGULATED FREE MARKET does not create “competition” as wingnuts like to tell you, it creates monopolies and cartels.

And more networks lying to you as a default will multiply the truthiness of their stories.

21
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:47:15am

If I was Meet the Chuck I’d be worried about my job.

22
nines09  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:47:31am

Cult Of Personality gains momentum, looting will continue as planned.

23
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:47:33am

re: #14 Clearly a Country For Sick Old Haters

I’d do the same, if I hadn’t already given up on TV news years ago.

I’ve found their local news to be decent (though even that is sliding downhill over time.) I like to listen to the news while I cook dinner, but I may just stay tuned to NPR while doing that too.

24
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:48:23am

re: #18 The Vicious Babushka

MOAR UNREGULATED FREE MARKET does not create “competition” as wingnuts like to tell you, it creates monopolies and cartels.

Those might be the economic facts. But faith-based, trickle-down economics teaches us that the Free Market can do everything better than government, because, who are you going to trust, a government bureaucracy or a successful job creator?

25
Belafon  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:49:59am

re: #24 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Those might be the economic facts. But faith-based, trickle-down economics teaches us that the Free Market can do everything better than government, because, who are you going to trust, a government bureaucracy or a successful job creator?

Neither in the case of Trump.

26
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:50:38am

re: #14 Clearly a Country For Sick Old Haters

I’d do the same, if I hadn’t already given up on TV news years ago.

I hit the wall last summer after I saw candidate Trump on CNN telling people how exciting his rallies were while people were falling asleep at Bush rallies.

Within 20 minutes, CNN had an interview up with a woman telling them how she had fallen asleep at a Jeb! rally.

27
electrotek  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:52:17am

I think for me, my hate towards Megyn Kelly decreased quite a bit after she was a victim of attacks by Trump supporters.

28
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:52:43am

re: #18 The Vicious Babushka

MOAR UNREGULATED FREE MARKET does not create “competition” as wingnuts like to tell you, it creates monopolies and cartels.

Level playing field (GOP definition):

Individuals and families with limited incomes and assets are free to negotiate one-on-one with multi million/billion-dollar (inter)national corporations for terms of employment, health care and financial services.

Is that not what personal freedom is all about?

29
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:56:03am

re: #28 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Level playing field (GOP definition):

Individuals and families with limited incomes and assets are free to negotiate one-on-one with multi million/billion-dollar (inter)national corporations for terms of employment, health care and financial services.

Is that not what personal freedom is all about?

Except that it’s only fair that me and mine get protections, unlike those other people over there.

30
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:56:24am

My take on it is that the GOP can’t come up with anything to replace Obamacare because Obamacare is what they came up with in the first place.

If they were smart*, they’d file off the O, B, A, and A, and put in T, R, U, and P, and fix the Medicaid Expansion - which all those states that refused it will now accept because the President will be a white guy. And the ‘bail out’ for insurance companies if the risk pool is more adverse than expected - that thing that Rubio killed.

Just that. Introduce a bill that changes all the names, fixes a few things, and leaves the rest of it intact, but under the GOP’s name instead of Obama’s.

Sure, some few Free Marketeers will object, but the mass of Trump voters are so gullible they’ll believe this is the ‘Terrific!’ replacement Trump planned all along.

* But if they were smart, they wouldn’t be Republicans.

31
Timothy Watson  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:57:05am

re: #27 electrotek

I think for me, my hate towards Megyn Kelly decreased quite a bit after she was a victim of attacks by Trump supporters.

I still say that she only went after Trump in an attempt to gain some respectability.

Just because you get bit in the ass by a monster you helped create, why should I feel sorry for you? I don’t feel sorry for cliched Disney villains who do the same thing.

32
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:57:13am
33
electrotek  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:59:40am

re: #31 Timothy Watson

I still say that she only went after Trump in an attempt to gain some respectability.

Just because you get bit in the ass by a monster you helped create, why should I feel sorry for you? I don’t feel sorry for cliche Disney villains who do the same thing.

I see your point on that, but I guess that’s just me. The hatred, attacks, and threats she received for her interview with Trump was so horrifying that even a critic like myself had to err on her side for the sake of morality.

34
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 11:59:59am

So. Megyn Kelly’s pretend fighting with Trump fooled someone at NBC.

And of course, this will probably go over about as pleasantly as a festering boil with a lot of people…

35
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:00:35pm

Get in line! We will…food lines…unemployment lines…

36
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:01:57pm

And Kellyanne follows Joy Reid apparently. Go figure.

37
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:02:39pm

re: #13 The Vicious Babushka

They are replacing it with SHUT UP AND JUST DIE. nutritious Soylent Green. Remember! Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

There ya go.

38
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:02:40pm
39
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:03:00pm

re: #35 darthstar

Get in line! We will…food lines…unemployment lines…

Lines for what? There will be no giving away of free food & free money to lazy moochers!

40
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:03:52pm

re: #38 Charles Johnson

She left off the “or else”.

41
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:03:52pm

re: #32 Charles Johnson

Gonna disagree a bit on this one, Charles. Trump really did sic the Pepe Nazis on her and it was pretty fucking bad.

42
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:04:40pm

re: #7 The Vicious Babushka

These fucking morons. Again they are making Trump out to cast himself as the savior from their own incompetence.

If the ACA is repealed, it will be despite themselves.

43
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:05:30pm

According to Reuters, the transition team “asked whether federal workers have altered biographic information kept by the department about immigrants out of concern for their civil liberties,” which DHS officials took to mean that Trump’s team wanted to make sure that they didn’t tamper with DACA records.

The transition team also asked the agency for information relating to immigration detention and an aerial surveillance program, named Operation Phalanx, which conservatives accuse the Obama administration of rolling back. That initiative, authorized by President Obama in 2010, was meant to intercept drugs and curb irregular migration along the southern U.S. border.

44
A wild WITHAK appeared!  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:05:37pm

re: #38 Charles Johnson

Fake account; that’s not Kellyanne. The ol’ capital-I trick.

45
Jack Burton  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:06:33pm

re: #7 The Vicious Babushka

SINGLE PAYER

[Embedded content]

Having these clowns have the only say in health care is extraordinarily dangerous. Having a bunch of democrats have the only say in health care is almost as silly. So…

ACA (call it by it’s actual name, if not call it ‘Heritage Foundation Care’, don’t let them pretend it’s not their idea) + Public option + a last minute amendment to the bill which bans Presidents named Klownstick from using Twitter while in office, with offenses being considered impeachable.

46
KGxvi  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:07:32pm

re: #6 lawhawk

Whatever she thinks personally doesn’t matter. She’s publicly pushing these positions, whether out of conviction or cynicism. She should be held accountable for them, but the GOP and right wing notion of personal responsibility doesn’t apply to them - only to their rivals/enemies.

I do kind of wonder with Fox News, how much of what they spout nightly is kayfabe. I’m sure there are some true believers among them; but I suspect more than a few are simply working a gimmick.

47
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:07:35pm

re: #34 darthstar

Turns out that’s not Kellyanne Conway, it’s a fake account.

48
Khal Wimpo (no longer entitled to his own facts)  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:07:48pm

re: #41 Scottishdragon

Gonna disagree a bit on this one, Charles. Trump really did sic the Pepe Nazis on her and it was pretty fucking bad.

Yeah, well, here’s the thing about that.

She was TOTALLY FINE with the rise of alt-right violent, deranged wackaloon stalkers … as long as they only aimed their deranged hate at lib’ruls.

But when the ugly chickens suddenly started coming home to roost and threaten HER kids?

Shit Oh Dear! Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Part & parcel of the whole right-wing fucked-up worldview: nothing’s a problem unless it’s a problem to me or my family. The rest of the world can go fuck itself, as long as I Got Mine Jack.

49
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:09:09pm

re: #21 Skip Intro

If I was Meet the Chuck I’d be worried about my job.

And Brian Williams, who is pretty much useless for what they pay him.

50
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:10:19pm

re: #48 Khal Wimpo (no longer entitled to his own facts)

Yeah, well, here’s the thing about that.

She was TOTALLY FINE with the rise of alt-right violent, deranged wackaloon stalkers … as long as they only aimed their deranged hate at lib’ruls.

But when the ugly chickens suddenly started coming home to roost and threaten HER kids?

Shit Oh Dear! Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Part & parcel of the whole right-wing fucked-up worldview: nothing’s a problem unless it’s a problem to me or my family. The rest of the world can go fuck itself, as long as I Got Mine Jack.

Yep. Like Cheney and LGBT rights - it has to happen to you, or somebody you care about for you to care.

51
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:10:20pm

re: #44 A wild WITHAK appeared!

Fake account; that’s not Kellyanne. The ol’ capital-I trick.

Fuck twitter.

52
KGxvi  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:10:44pm

re: #48 Khal Wimpo (no longer entitled to his own facts)

Shit Oh Dear! Heavens to Murgatroyd!

I always wondered how that was spelled.

53
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:10:53pm

re: #49 ObserverArt

Forgot all about him.

54
electrotek  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:11:26pm

re: #50 Blind Frog Belly White

Yep. Like Cheney and LGBT rights - it has to happen to you, or somebody you care about for you to care.

One fucked up aspect of human nature, isn’t it?

55
Sir John Barron  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:12:48pm

re: #7 The Vicious Babushka

Do you support the repeal of Obamacare? RT if you do, and share what you want to see as the replacement.

— Marsha Blackburn

What if I don’t, Marsha?

56
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:12:54pm

re: #54 electrotek

One fucked up aspect of human nature, isn’t it?

Yeah, but it’s all of a piece with the basic inability to conceive of anyone’s life or experience being different from their own.

57
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:13:38pm

re: #36 darthstar

And Kellyanne follows Joy Reid apparently. Go figure.

I don’t do Tweeting…but I bet she has a directory of “enemies” and Joy is in it.

58
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:14:03pm

Let Hillary go to the damn inauguration. It’s going to be hard enough for her as it is without everyone judging her for it.

59
gocart mozart  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:14:13pm
60
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:14:25pm

re: #48 Khal Wimpo (no longer entitled to his own facts)

Still doesn’t make it right or mean it was all a publicity stunt. She had serious death threat leveled at her…bad enough that Fox News called the Trump people to tell them that if she was killed by a Trump fan…it would reflect back on them.

61
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:14:38pm

re: #57 ObserverArt

I don’t do Tweeting…but I bet she has a directory of “enemies” and Joy is in it.

Isn’t that the fake Kellyanne?

62
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:15:55pm

re: #61 Blind Frog Belly White

Isn’t that the fake Kellyanne?

Just saw that as well…oh, darn…and it was so believable too.

63
Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:16:29pm

re: #47 Charles Johnson

Turns out that’s not Kellyanne Conway, it’s a fake account.

don’t care, reply stands.

64
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:16:33pm

re: #60 Scottishdragon

Still doesn’t make it right or mean it was all a publicity stunt. She had serious death threat leveled at her…bad enough that Fox News called the Trump people to tell them that if she was killed by a Trump fan…it would reflect back on them.

I don’t think he (he?) was saying it was okay. Just that MK only cared about it when it was her ox getting gored. More likely, she only BELIEVED it when it was her ox.

65
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:17:30pm
66
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:17:46pm
67
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:17:47pm

re: #53 Skip Intro

Forgot all about him.

Easy to do.

68
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:19:34pm

re: #66 Scottishdragon

Obamacare must be repealed and replaced! I am struggling to keep my health insurance.

Oh, honey….

69
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:19:38pm

re: #59 gocart mozart

Republicans will say that’s a great idea!

70
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:19:44pm

re: #65 Backwoods_Sleuth

TV journalism is garbage. Want to see real journalism? Read the Washington Post. They don’t have to beg for access from the Big Names like the tv assholes do.

71
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:20:11pm

re: #66 Scottishdragon

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who believe the ER is free if you don’t have insurance. People who are intelligent and well informed about many things, but have never lived without good insurance and don’t understand that a single ER visit can ruin people financially.

73
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:20:52pm
74
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:22:06pm
75
Eclectic Cyborg  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:22:11pm

This SO on point!

76
PhillyPretzel  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:22:43pm

OT: Charles the “stack” to the right of my screen name is gone again. I really would like to get into some of the stuff I have saved there.

77
Big Beautiful Door  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:24:12pm

re: #30 Blind Frog Belly White

My take on it is that the GOP can’t come up with anything to replace Obamacare because Obamacare is what they came up with in the first place.

If they were smart*, they’d file off the O, B, A, and A, and put in T, R, U, and P, and fix the Medicaid Expansion - which all those states that refused it will now accept because the President will be a white guy. And the ‘bail out’ for insurance companies if the risk pool is more adverse than expected - that thing that Rubio killed.

Just that. Introduce a bill that changes all the names, fixes a few things, and leaves the rest of it intact, but under the GOP’s name instead of Obama’s.

Sure, some few Free Marketeers will object, but the mass of Trump voters are so gullible they’ll believe this is the ‘Terrific!’ replacement Trump planned all along.

* But if they were smart, they wouldn’t be Republicans.

They just might do that in a couple of years when faced with the prospect of 20 million people losing their healthcare coverage and they have to get Democratic buy-in to “replace” Obamacare, because there is no way the GOP can pass a replace bill on their own.

78
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:24:53pm

So I have watched the first five episodes of Incorporated on SyFy…Pretty good show so far - a bit of Gattaca meets 1984 set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future. Megyn’s move to NBC reeks of sub-plot for this show, as our media is becoming homogenized for the Trump years.

79
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:25:24pm

re: #58 darthstar

Let Hillary go to the damn inauguration. It’s going to be hard enough for her as it is without everyone judging her for it.

Isn’t it sort of common for living presidents to attend out of courtesy to the office? Hillary just happened to be married to one.

Maybe she will get drunk and yell out a bunch of curses while The Don is trying to recite the pledge. Or hold up a big sign that says “You Suck!”

News reporter: “Ladies and Gentlemen, there seems to be a disturbance on the platform and someone is standing and yelling at the new President. Wait…I am being told it is Hillary Clinton and she seems to be giving a common though crude hand signal to President Trump and holding a sign. This is truly extraordinary!!!”

/

80
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:26:36pm

re: #78 darthstar

So I have watched the first five episodes of Incorporated on SyFy…Pretty good show so far - a bit of Gattaca meets 1984 set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future. Megyn’s move to NBC reeks of sub-plot for this show, as our media is becoming homogenized for the Trump years.

That’s not to say there’s nothing we can do about it. Not watching is a choice. I recommend it heartily.

Oh, and I just realized that my dad is losing his evening ‘girfriend’ on Fox as my mom calls her. He’ll recover. There’s plenty of other eye candy on Fox for him.

81
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:26:43pm

re: #71 calochortus

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who believe the ER is free if you don’t have insurance. People who are intelligent and well informed about many things, but have never lived without good insurance and don’t understand that a single ER visit can ruin people financially.

We had to dump nearly 15,000 dollars of ER bills when we declared bankruptcy in 2005. I had worked as a contractor and we didn’t have insurance.

So yeah…everybody else got stuck with those bills because we couldn’t get fucking affordable insurance and now that is what we are going back to.

BTW…forget about single payer. We are not going to see that in our lifetime, at least not with the GOP we have. They are going to repeal the entire 20th century and we are going to have to re-fight the fucking 1880’s with hyper militarized cops standing in for the Pinkertons.

82
Clearly a Country For Sick Old Haters  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:26:51pm

re: #34 darthstar

83
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:27:03pm

Wingnuts are so stupid they think there is an insurance carrier called “Obamacare”

84
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:27:49pm

re: #59 gocart mozart

[Embedded content]

Right out of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and Meaning of Life…I always knew it would come to this!

Brazil (1/10) Movie CLIP - A Receipt for Your Husband (1985) HD

Organ Donor

Edit…hit “post” before finishing the links, etc.

85
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:28:01pm

re: #78 darthstar

So I have watched the first five episodes of Incorporated on SyFy…Pretty good show so far - a bit of Gattaca meets 1984 set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future. Megyn’s move to NBC reeks of sub-plot for this show, as our media is becoming homogenized for the Trump years.

We are getting the Max Headroom future we didn’t want.

86
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:28:32pm
87
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:28:33pm

My niece, the one who posts all the ‘inspirational’ memes on FB, just posted one quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald, which starts out - “For what it’s worth…it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her he drank himself to death, dying before he reached her age.

88
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:29:40pm

re: #79 ObserverArt

She’ll be polite but I don’t expect her to look pleased or proud. And yes, as the wife to a former president (her choice there…could’ve fixed that 20 years ago) she’s basically obligated. It should be a mostly ignored footnote to the affair unless she does something like you snarked about…but I don’t see that happening.

89
Joe Bacon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:30:23pm

Let me guess—she’s replacing Rachel on BSRNC…

90
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:30:39pm

Because of course they are. Never mind that the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act is already on the books, and it’s up to the President to submit a notice to Congress periodically that they aren’t moving it because of foreign policy reasons.

These people are truly out to dupe the gullible with their screeching.

And the diversions continue - between Trump gibberish, media malfeasance in reporting Trump gibberish, and the GOP pushing to repeal Obamacare without a replacement. And Trump supporters don’t have any memory of what things were like before Obamacare. They’ve been indoctrinated to think Obamacare is awful and ignore how insurers simply refused to cover individuals if they had preexisting conditions, the medical bankruptcies that ensued - both for patients and for hospitals, and no transparency on medical care costs.

GOP wants to roll all that back with nothing to replace it.

91
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:31:04pm

lawhawk you should block this one for factual dumbassery, insisting that “OC” is an actual insurance carrier==>

92
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:31:52pm

re: #87 Blind Frog Belly White

My niece, the one who posts all the ‘inspirational’ memes on FB, just posted one quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald, which starts out - “For what it’s worth…it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her he drank himself to death, dying before he reached her age.

Do it. Just post “He drank himself to death at 28” in reply.

93
makeitstop  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:32:26pm

re: #85 Scottishdragon

We are getting the Max Headroom future we didn’t want.

It’s Blade Runner minus the replicants.

94
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:32:33pm

re: #91 The Vicious Babushka

lawhawk you should block this one for factual dumbassery, insisting that “OC” is an actual insurance carrier==>

[Embedded content]

Exactly! There IS NO ‘Obamacare’ for any provider to accept or refuse.

95
darthstar  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:32:45pm

re: #89 Joe Bacon

Let me guess—she’s replacing Rachel on BSRNC…

They’re going to co-host a show called, “Get that woman off my set!”

96
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:34:04pm
97
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:34:24pm

re: #94 Blind Frog Belly White

Exactly! There IS NO ‘Obamacare’ for any provider to accept or refuse.

That creature also believes HURR HURR ANY UNEMPLOYED LAZY WELFARE MOOCHER CAN GO TO TEH ER FOR FREE!!!!!!

Blocked now.

98
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:34:43pm

re: #61 Blind Frog Belly White

Isn’t that the fake Kellyanne?

I was responding to Darth’s comment which came before that was cleared up. Comment still stands though…Kellyanne probably maintains an enemies list.

99
Timothy Watson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:35:33pm

re: #93 makeitstop

It’s Blade Runner minus the replicants.

But I was promised sexy fembots!

100
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:36:37pm
101
Clearly a Country For Sick Old Haters  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:36:54pm

re: #91 The Vicious Babushka

102
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:37:51pm

re: #92 darthstar

Do it. Just post “He drank himself to death at 28” in reply.

Nah. Don’t want to pee on her begonias. And he was 44, not 28, anyhow.

I have to bite my tongue a lot, figuratively speaking, with relatives. Today, my sister (that niece’s Mom) responded to ANOTHER of her inspirational meme posts with ‘God has a plan for us!’ What I DIDN’T reply with was “Given what I’ve seen of the world and how things go, believing some entity planned this makes me feel WORSE than believing there’s nobody at the wheel.”

But hey, if all I have to deal with are irrationally optimistic Christians as relatives, that’s not so bad!

103
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:38:30pm

I think it is raining steadily enough for me to go to the grocery store now. Perhaps I should have considered going this morning?

104
Charles Johnson  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:39:32pm

Good lord. That document by Dugin is absolutely horrifying.

105
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:39:34pm

re: #91 The Vicious Babushka

Already blocked.

Obamacare isn’t an insurance plan.

It creates a marketplace for private insurers that didn’t exist previously. Creates subsidies and incentives for the marketplace, and makes it more affordable for people to get coverage.

What keeps the costs from being lower? GOP refusal to expand coverage, refusal to do anything to encourage people to get coverage, and fixing things with the ACA that deserve to be fixed - not repealed.

The individual mandate and penalties are there to encourage people to get coverage rather than wait until they are sick and then cost even more (out of pocket and penalties). Larger pool of people in plan bends the cost curve and makes better mix of people for the insurer so they can cover more people for less. If only sick people get coverage, then the insurer pays out more than it can recover.

It’s as though all these people simply ignore what life was life for uninsureds before ACA, and how insurance companies gave crap policies that didn’t cover anything even when a person suffers a catastrophic event (illness, accident).

106
Belafon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:39:43pm

re: #102 Blind Frog Belly White

“God has a plan for us!”
“Yeah, to act like adults and take care of each other.”

107
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:39:48pm

re: #99 Timothy Watson

But I was promised sexy fembots!

And flying cars. Don’t forget the cool police spinners.

108
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:39:53pm

re: #76 PhillyPretzel

OT: Charles the “stack” to the right of my screen name is gone again. I really would like to get into some of the stuff I have saved there.

I don’t know if it’s possible…but is there a link to that you can bookmark just in case?

109
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:40:24pm

re: #104 Charles Johnson

110
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:42:14pm

re: #106 Belafon

“God has a plan for us!”
“Yeah, to act like adults and take care of each other.”

My personal take on the message of The Gospels: “Don’t be a dick.”

The message of The Epistles: “You can still be a dick sometimes.”

The message of the Old Testament: “God is a dick. Better hope he likes you.”

111
PhillyPretzel  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:43:14pm

re: #108 ObserverArt

My stack is back. Thanks

112
nines09  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:43:42pm

re: #87 Blind Frog Belly White

Some of the most eloquent were suffering the most.

113
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:44:10pm

re: #110 Blind Frog Belly White

Message of Revelations: “Oh, wow, man! That was trippy!”

114
sagehen  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:46:07pm

re: #60 Scottishdragon

Still doesn’t make it right or mean it was all a publicity stunt. She had serious death threat leveled at her…bad enough that Fox News called the Trump people to tell them that if she was killed by a Trump fan…it would reflect back on them.

Bad enough that she kept her mouth shut for the rest of the election about things she knew that would be damaging to his campaign.

Mission accomplished.

115
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:50:50pm

Checked over at Dreher just now…something I have done less and less of recently because I have much better things to do. I was wondering if he had seen this newest bit from arch crank Dugin (as Charles showed us above).

Not yet, I guess.

So today he is wanking about…Russian mystics and Medieval lifestyles for the angry white JD Vance Hillbilly types who need to buy his latest book:

The Russian Orthodox philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev (d. 1948) called for a “new middle age,” as I wrote in this blog post. Excerpt (from Berdyaev):

In reality the medieval civilization was a renaissance in opposition to the barbarism and darkness which had followed the fall of the civilization of antiquity, a chaos in which Christianity alone had been the light and the principle of order. For long it was believed that this complex and rich period had been a great void in the intellectual history of mankind and of its philosophical thought, when as a matter of fact these centuries had so many excellent thinkers and such diversity in the realm of their thought that noting like it can be found at any other epoch; the things which were substantial and living for them are counted as superfluous luxuries in modern times. A return to the middle ages is then a return to a better religious type, for we are far below their culture in the spiritual order; and we should hurry back to them the more speedily because the movements of negation in our decadence have overcome the positive creative and strengthening movements. The middle ages was not a time of darkness, but a period of night; the medieval soul was a “night-soul” wherein were displayed elements and energies which afterwards shut themselves up within themselves at the appearing of this weary day of modern history.

Oh, it gets better…

That’s Berdyaev. As I put it then:

bloggable-ben-op-coverThe Benedict Option is the term I use to describe this rising movement for a new Middle Age, a spiritual revolution in a time of spiritual and cultural darkness. The monk was the ideal personality type of the Middle Ages. Few of us will be called to the monastery, but all of us who profess orthodox Christianity are called to rediscover a monastic temperament, putting the service of God before all things, and ordering our lives — our prayer and our work, and our communal existence — to that end. We are going to have to recover a sense of monastic asceticism, and do so in hope and joy, together.

Dreher’s No Sexy Times For Queers!!! monastery better have wifi and ale or else he is going to change religions again.

116
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:51:09pm
117
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:52:46pm
118
Amory Blaine  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:53:17pm

re: #81 Scottishdragon

Exactly right. You’re not a patient, you’re a mark.

119
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:53:39pm

re: #116 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Ford Focus is the best-selling vehicle OUTSIDE THE US.

120
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:56:15pm

sigh…

121
Tyrion  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:57:13pm

re: #105 lawhawk

I’m admittedly not that smart when it comes to the insurance market but I have recently purchased an Anthem plan on the exchanges and finding out my doctor doesn’t take that particular Anthem plan but does others. In researching, it seems to me that the reason these hospitals and doctors are not taking plans from the exchange is because it cuts into their profits. Is that a correct assumption?

I had some nurse tell me it was the paperwork and turn around of payments. Still doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to deny people treatment.

Anyway, any enlightenment would be welcome. I don’t mind switching doctors but it pisses me off that my now ex-doctor doesn’t take the Anthem plan on the exchange but does take other Anthem plans.

122
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:57:18pm

re: #117 lawhawk

[Embedded content]

Kellyanne says a lot of things. Many of them are pure bullshit. What price will SHE pay, or anyone else in the Trump Administration pay, if it turns out she’s wrong? Any?

123
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 12:57:41pm

re: #88 darthstar

She’ll be polite but I don’t expect her to look pleased or proud. And yes, as the wife to a former president (her choice there…could’ve fixed that 20 years ago) she’s basically obligated. It should be a mostly ignored footnote to the affair unless she does something like you snarked about…but I don’t see that happening.

It’s no time to lose my sense of humor. In fact it can be a good tool to take on politics.

So, I am going to try to ramp up my political images and use this fine site as a base to attack our new President and Congress as best I can. I figure it can be my little part since I am getting too old to actually run for any office, etc.

I always remember my father talking about Will Rodgers and his takes on politicians. I didn’t understand when I was young, but as I became more aware I dug up some old Rogers political humor and listened. He was a gentle poker of politicians…but that was to get the point across to the most people without them turning off their ears.

Here is an example for anyone unfamiliar with his humor…often times delivered as he stood on stage twirling a rope and dressed as a cowboy.

You know…some things never change.

Will Rogers - Congress And Law

124
Amory Blaine  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:00:06pm

re: #104 Charles Johnson

Good lord. That document by Dugin is absolutely horrifying.

[Embedded content]

But hey guys let’s just wait and see, it might not be so bad.

125
Pawn of the Oppressor  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:00:51pm

re: #104 Charles Johnson

Good lord. That document by Dugin is absolutely horrifying.

[Embedded content]

Pure Rousseauian political psychosis. He’s another fucking nut looking for Ragnarok. This is how worlds get burned down… They’re telling us what they want to do, and some people refuse to believe it.

126
Big Beautiful Door  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:02:34pm

re: #121 Tyrion

I’m admittedly not that smart when it comes to the insurance market but I have recently purchased an Anthem plan on the exchanges and finding out my doctor doesn’t take that particular Anthem plan but does others. In researching, it seems to me that the reason these hospitals and doctors are not taking plans from the exchange is because it cuts into their profits. Is that a correct assumption?

I had some nurse tell me it was the paperwork and turn around of payments. Still doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to deny people treatment.

Anyway, any enlightenment would be welcome. I don’t mind switching doctors but it pisses me off that my now ex-doctor doesn’t take the Anthem plan on the exchange but does take other Anthem plans.

Perhaps he simply isn’t in the network for the plan you purchased, but I don’t really know. Some health insurance policies keep premiums low by using narrow networks of doctors.

127
CuriousLurker  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:03:49pm

re: #121 Tyrion

I did a page on that a little over an hour ago. If you read the source article over at MSN MarketWatch it explains a lot of what’s been going on with providers joining/dropping out of the exchanges as well as what to expect if the GOP “repeal and delay” the ACA.

128
sagehen  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:04:00pm

re: #121 Tyrion

I’m admittedly not that smart when it comes to the insurance market but I have recently purchased an Anthem plan on the exchanges and finding out my doctor doesn’t take that particular Anthem plan but does others. In researching, it seems to me that the reason these hospitals and doctors are not taking plans from the exchange is because it cuts into their profits. Is that a correct assumption?

I had some nurse tell me it was the paperwork and turn around of payments. Still doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to deny people treatment.

Anyway, any enlightenment would be welcome. I don’t mind switching doctors but it pisses me off that my now ex-doctor doesn’t take the Anthem plan on the exchange but does take other Anthem plans.

Insurance companies decide how much they’re willing to pay for procedure X or prescription Y. They publish these price lists in secretive proprietary brochures. The hospital, clinic, pharmacy etc look at all the brochures and decide which plans they’re willing to be part of and which they’re not.

The plan that pays $15K for labor and delivery will have more doctors/hospitals willing to sign on than the plan that pays $6K.

129
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:05:43pm
130
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:06:05pm

re: #104 Charles Johnson

Good lord. That document by Dugin is absolutely horrifying.

The only thing missing is the Evangelicals’ ultimate wet dream of a white Jesus walking down from the clouds.

131
Amory Blaine  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:07:23pm

This is a chance for all of us to start hunting them.

132
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:07:57pm

re: #121 Tyrion

I’m admittedly not that smart when it comes to the insurance market but I have recently purchased an Anthem plan on the exchanges and finding out my doctor doesn’t take that particular Anthem plan but does others. In researching, it seems to me that the reason these hospitals and doctors are not taking plans from the exchange is because it cuts into their profits. Is that a correct assumption?

I had some nurse tell me it was the paperwork and turn around of payments. Still doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to deny people treatment.

Anyway, any enlightenment would be welcome. I don’t mind switching doctors but it pisses me off that my now ex-doctor doesn’t take the Anthem plan on the exchange but does take other Anthem plans.

All the insurance companies have multiple offerings, whether they’re PPO, HMO, or ACA plans. Insurance paperwork is bane of all medical offices, regardless of which insurance plan - and I can imagine that some insurers are better with paperwork than others, especially on reimbursement to docs and hospitals. That’s why some docs don’t want to deal with some insurers/plans.

Insurers also want to get some docs into their plans so as to tout that they’ve got them (premier hospitals/docs). There’s a tension between the paperwork and the ability to pay.

Insurers play games to try and keep their costs down, so they’ll drop docs/hospitals from their coverage lists - or docs/hospitals decide that they can’t handle more people so they don’t want to pick up patients with insurance brand X.

Then throw in on top all that the fact that most docs don’t know how much meds cost, and that’s increasingly a huge burden for folks, so they’ll prescribe stuff, and not always realize that the drug that they’re choosing is far more expensive and perhaps marginally better than a far cheaper alternative.

Heck, most docs don’t even know what various tests costs (especially hospital tests), unless they own the machines themselves - in which case the costs can vary greatly from place to place.

We know more about health care costs b/c of Obamacare giving a hint at what transparency on costs is like, but there’s a way to go. GOP wants to roll all that back.

133
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:08:31pm
134
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:08:41pm

re: #130 Myron Falwell (no relation)

The only thing missing is the Evangelicals’ ultimate wet dream of a white Jesus walking down from the clouds.

Walking??? Pffft. Hoveround mobility scooter!

135
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:10:24pm

re: #131 Amory Blaine

This is a chance for all of us to start hunting them.

Did Dugan really say that? I don’t want to ruin my day reading that treatise.

136
Amory Blaine  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:11:04pm

re: #135 Myron Falwell (no relation)

Yep, it’s in there.

137
Scottishdragon  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:12:27pm

re: #135 Myron Falwell (no relation)

Did Dugan really say that? I don’t want to ruin my day reading that treatise.

Yes. I read it. It is basically the Cliff’s Notes of Mein Kampf with less The Jews did it!

138
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:15:26pm

re: #136 Amory Blaine

re: #137 Scottishdragon

Well fuck. Might as well invest in bomb shelters and iodine stocks.

139
Tyrion  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:16:46pm

re: #132 lawhawk

My ex-doctor use to see me for my yearly checkup and if he thought something was wrong he would just send me to a specialist. Now, I understand they want to help but in one case, he sent me to a specialist about my foot and the guy saw me for, maybe 5 minutes, and I get a bill for over $200. Nothing wrong, just looked at my foot, brushed it with a well..a brush to see if I had feeling then said, “You’re good to go”. $200! and that was after my crappy PRE-Obamacare insurance.

So, in reference to what you said at the bottom of the post, this Doctor I had didn’t seem to realize how much all this costs me for something that probably didn’t need to be done.

It just rankles me that all these people get all bent out of shape about “Obamacare” and most don’t even know what it is, plus the debt harpies want to bring down costs but yet when you try something, they go all crazy.

140
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:19:42pm

re: #71 calochortus

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who believe the ER is free if you don’t have insurance. People who are intelligent and well informed about many things, but have never lived without good insurance and don’t understand that a single ER visit can ruin people financially.

It goes beyond that: a community hospital that has a high rate of ER visits from people who cannot pay is a major drain on local resources and leads to higher rates for the folks who can pay.

The only rule is that an ER cannot turn you away for emergency care. Abolishing ACA will ensure that people who could be easily treated with medication or therapy that might cost in the hundreds will ignore those conditions until they require an emergency that costs in the thousands, and those costs will be passed on to the public.

141
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:22:34pm

re: #140 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

It goes beyond that: a community hospital that has a high rate of ER visits from people who cannot pay is a major drain on local resources and leads to higher rates for the folks who can pay.

The only rule is that an ER cannot turn you away for emergency care. Abolishing ACA will ensure that people who could be easily treated with medication or therapy that might cost in the hundreds will ignore those conditions until they require an emergency that costs in the thousands, and those costs will be passed on to the public.

Only the utterly indigent are treated for “no pay” at the ER. Everyone else is billed for everything they own until they become utterly indigent.

142
Belafon  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:25:18pm

re: #140 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

It goes beyond that: a community hospital that has a high rate of ER visits from people who cannot pay is a major drain on local resources and leads to higher rates for the folks who can pay.

The only rule is that an ER cannot turn you away for emergency care. Abolishing ACA will ensure that people who could be easily treated with medication or therapy that might cost in the hundreds will ignore those conditions until they require an emergency that costs in the thousands, and those costs will be passed on to the public.

It’s estimated that, because Texas has so many uninsured, that those of us with health care pay about $1000/year more than we would if everyone was covered.

143
ObserverArt  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:28:24pm

re: #142 Belafon

It’s estimated that, because Texas has so many uninsured, that those of us with health care pay about $1000/year more than we would if everyone was covered.

Yet the average American dumb ass never figures all that out. There is one big reason doctors, hospitals and insurance agencies never want anything close to single payer.

$$$$

Yours and mine.

Politicians get bonus money.

144
CuriousLurker  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:28:41pm

Breathless Daily Caller headline: Video Shows Ivy League Students Supporting Planned Parenthood Funding For Female Genital Mutilation 😱

It’s an AFDI video. No, I didn’t bother watching it as Pamela Geller is even less trustworthy than James O’Keefe, especially when it comes to anything involving Muslims (and make no mistake about it, we Muslims live inside Geller’s head 24/7).

Just letting you guys know in case you encounter wingnuts ranting about it.

145
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:29:46pm

re: #142 Belafon

It’s estimated that, because Texas has so many uninsured, that those of us with health care pay about $1000/year more than we would if everyone was covered.

And that is exactly what ACA was created to address: to lower that extra “indigent bonus”.

But ACA is seen as somehow “immoral” because it violates some abstract concept of Free Market Principles..

Then if we want to be truly Free Market-consistent, let us abolish the ER law and allow hospitals and clinics to turn people away unless they can show proof that they can pay up front.

146
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:30:51pm

re: #144 CuriousLurker

Breathless Daily Caller headline:

All I needed to see lol. Thanks for the heads-up.

147
lawhawk  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:31:09pm

And if you’re transported to the ER, you might find out that while the hospital takes your insurance, but the ER doesn’t, because it’s a separate legal entity and has its own practice group and billing.

You can then deal with the wonders of getting billing and fighting over coverage that you had no control over because an ambulance took you to the nearest hospital, which you normally consider would have your insurance.

That happens more than you know, and those who are uninsured end up having to pay out of pocket or get hounded by collection agencies. Those with insurance end up somewhat subsidizing all those who don’t, but even there the costs aren’t entirely transparent. Then there’s a whole separate mess over doctors taking Medicare/Medicaid, and their complaints over reimbursements not being enough to cover their costs/charges.

At the same time, you can have hospitals with comparable levels of skill/regard and the costs for care at each are wildly divergent.

You can get a simply appendectomy at one and the cost will be $10k before insurance. At another, it could be $6k. Or 20k. With the same outcomes.

That’s what a lack of transparency also means - people end up paying far more for care when they have the option (they can pick lower cost if they know it exists).

MRI tests have same thing - the machine costs X to purchase, so running tests is simply function of how much to profit and make back what it cost to purchase. And yet, some facilities will charge 2x as much (or more) as others for comparable equipment used in the test.

148
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:33:22pm

re: #147 lawhawk

And if you’re transported to the ER, you might find out that while the hospital takes your insurance, but the ER doesn’t, because it’s a separate legal entity and has its own practice group and billing.

You can then deal with the wonders of getting billing and fighting over coverage that you had no control over because an ambulance took you to the nearest hospital, which you normally consider would have your insurance.

That happens more than you know, and those who are uninsured end up having to pay out of pocket or get hounded by collection agencies. Those with insurance end up somewhat subsidizing all those who don’t, but even there the costs aren’t entirely transparent. Then there’s a whole separate mess over doctors taking Medicare/Medicaid, and their complaints over reimbursements not being enough to cover their costs/charges.

At the same time, you can have hospitals with comparable levels of skill/regard and the costs for care at each are wildly divergent.

You can get a simply appendectomy at one and the cost will be $10k before insurance. At another, it could be $6k. Or 20k. With the same outcomes.

That’s what a lack of transparency also means - people end up paying far more for care when they have the option (they can pick lower cost if they know it exists).

MRI tests have same thing - the machine costs X to purchase, so running tests is simply function of how much to profit and make back what it cost to purchase. And yet, some facilities will charge 2x as much (or more) as others for comparable equipment used in the test.

Because when you are unconscious and a team is operating on you, you are supposed to know that the anesthesiologist is not “in network” and demand a “network” member.

149
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:33:54pm
150
Patricia Kayden  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:36:52pm

re: #1 calochortus

Pardon me while I drift gently away from ever watching NBC News again.

Didn’t think I could do it but I’ve cut off all cable and non-cable news. Kind of miss Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and Joy Reid but will not reward MSNBC with my support since they provide Joe & Mika with 3 hours to promote Trump’s regime each weekday.

What does Megyn bring to NBC? She’s not a great journalist and has always been a Rightwing shrill. So now we have three cable news outlets which are operating from the Republicans-are-always-right angle. It’s a shame that Gore sold Current TV because there are no liberal news outlets. Thank goodness for websites like LGF.

151
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:37:13pm

re: #148 The Vicious Babushka

Because when you are unconscious and a team is operating on you, you are supposed to know that the anesthesiologist is not “in network” and demand a “network” member.

The point is that the common good (medical care) is being subjugated to some perverse profit-generating scheme.

My girlfriend’s cousin is a doctor, a pain management specialist in Texas. He just bought himself a cozy 16,000 square foot house.

Unless we abolish ACA, he will never have a chance to move out of that hovel into something more spacious!

152
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:37:27pm

Shocked face, etc.

153
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:38:06pm

re: #152 Myron Falwell (no relation)

Shocked face, etc.

[Embedded content]

She will be in charge of the “Enemies List”

154
nines09  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:38:36pm

re: #132 lawhawk

You put it much more eloquently than I could. I posted something here a while back about my kid and what we went through. I can’t dig it up. It got a lot of tweets.

155
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:40:17pm

re: #153 The Vicious Babushka

She will be in charge of the “Enemies List”

For once, someone cast in their proper role.

156
Dave In Austin  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:41:47pm
157
jeffreyw  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:43:03pm

“God has a plan for us, and it was working great until that fucking Noah spoiled it all!”

158
baileylamb  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:47:37pm

re: #71 calochortus

Even with insurance sometimes you still have to.go to the ER to receive basic care. We were sent there (Children’s) November by our pediatrician. It was the only way baby girl could receive some medication she unexpectedly needed.

To be fair when baby irl woke up that day it was obvious that she’d probably have to go to the hospital (blue lipped). But we tried to avoid it (and the bill) by going to the Dr. first (asap).
And this is a healthy child btw, who for whatever reason, was having a bad respiratory day. Like had never happened before and hopefully won’t again (knock on wood).

Kids fall, they break bones, all kinds of stuff happens. I can’t think of any kid I know who never had an ER visit. But these Republicans know this.

159
Dave In Austin  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:48:45pm
160
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:50:18pm

re: #159 Dave In Austin

Low gas prices — not Trump — are why Ford is axing Mexico plant. ]

Trying to explain that is like trying to explain why cheap fracking - and not government safety and environmental regulation - has killed the coal industry in WVa.

161
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:50:25pm

re: #150 Patricia Kayden

It appears Megyn is going to NBC, which isn’t much consolation. Heard a rumor that MSNBC may want Greta for the 6pm slot, though. (gag)

What does Megyn bring to NBC? They could have picked out a mannequin at Macy’s and put behind it a tape player that occasionally spurts out racist or fascist stuff. What really would be the difference?

But that’s the culture Roger Ailes instilled at Fox… visually appealing airheads who say horrible stuff. Which is why Tomi Lahren is a lock to replace her at 9pm.

162
electrotek  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:53:41pm

So my friend, a Muslim who is proudly serving in the US armed forces, received a rather hateful message from one of Trump’s brownshirts:

Edit: she set it to Friends Only, normally her posts are public.

163
Patricia Kayden  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:53:42pm

re: #34 darthstar

Kellyanne’s tweet is exactly why President and Secretary Clinton SHOULD NOT be attending Trump’s inauguration. I don’t care if it’s the custom. Trump is not a normal President. He will be uniquely dangerous for minorities and foreign relations. The Clinton’s shouldn’t be normalizing him.

Trump called her a nasty woman, promised to imprison her, called her “Crooked Hillary” and now she’s going to show up at his inauguration as if he’s a regular joe? This is after he encouraged rally attendees to physically assault protesters, asked Russia to hack into her computer, promoted birtherism, made racist/sexist comments, lied about seeing Muslims celebrating 9/11, etc.

Naw. She should stay home and boycott the inauguration like many of us will be doing on January 20th. Very disappointed.

164
Dave In Austin  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:53:45pm

re: #161 Myron Falwell (no relation)

It appears Megyn is going to NBC, which isn’t much consolation. Heard a rumor that MSNBC may want Greta for the 6pm slot, though. (gag)

What does Megyn bring to NBC? They could have picked out a mannequin at Macy’s and put behind it a tape player that occasionally spurts out racist or fascist stuff. What really would be the difference?

But that’s the culture Roger Ailes instilled at Fox… visually appealing airheads who say horrible stuff. Which is why Tomi Lahren is a lock to replace her at 9pm.

And Tomi is way more venomous…….

165
Patricia Kayden  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:56:07pm

re: #152 Myron Falwell (no relation)

How nice that Omarosa’s bootlicking is now being rewarded with a cushy job. Having no decency or conscience paid off handsomely for her. Now her 15 minutes of fame which started with his reality show can be stretched for at least a few more years.

166
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 1:58:51pm

re: #164 Dave In Austin

And Tomi is way more venomous…….

Tomi is nothing but venom. Megyn at least could and can mask her venom.

167
baileylamb  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:05:18pm

re: #104 Charles Johnson

Good lord. That document by Dugin is absolutely horrifying.

[Embedded content]

Is this guy on drugs? Also, this qualifies as some nonsense if you get my drift.

168
nines09  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:09:17pm
169
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:21:24pm

re: #168 nines09

That was a quicker fold than even I expected.

170
nines09  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:28:32pm

re: #169 Myron Falwell (no relation)

That was a quicker fold than even I expected.

John drifts off……Snaps awake……”I said WHAT??!??”

171
teresa  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:30:48pm

Well the complete takeover of NBC is complete, it will now be fox lite and as soon as this season of Grimm ends, since it’s the last season ever, which also makes me hate them more, then I will never turn on NBC again.

172
The Vicious Babushka  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:30:54pm

LOL Marsha Blackburn’s Obamacare Twitter poll is now 2-1 against repeal.

173
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:33:58pm

so much angst on twitter about the Clintons attending the inauguration.
I wouldn’t, but I’m kind of a spiteful old fart.
I fully expect the Obamas to attend as well.

mind you, I mean attend only the official ceremony, not any of the lame celebrations.

Because they are adults and leaders, not sore losers.

174
Belafon  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:36:17pm

re: #172 The Vicious Babushka

LOL Marsha Blackburn’s Obamacare Twitter poll is now 2-1 against repeal.

I think that was the same problem Ryan had when he tried to do the same thing.

175
calochortus  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:38:24pm

re: #158 baileylamb

Even with insurance sometimes you still have to.go to the ER to receive basic care. We were sent there (Children’s) November by our pediatrician. It was the only way baby girl could receive some medication she unexpectedly needed.

To be fair when baby irl woke up that day it was obvious that she’d probably have to go to the hospital (blue lipped). But we tried to avoid it (and the bill) by going to the Dr. first (asap).
And this is a healthy child btw, who for whatever reason, was having a bad respiratory day. Like had never happened before and hopefully won’t again (knock on wood).

Kids fall, they break bones, all kinds of stuff happens. I can’t think of any kid I know who never had an ER visit. But these Republicans know this.

And when you get there, the doctors do whatever and charge whatever and you have to pay it because they deemed it necessary to do the whatever.
It’s like being hungry and going to the diner where they might give you a bowl of stew and some nice bread and charge you $10 or they might decide you need the lobster and champagne for $200. Their choice.

176
Blind Frog Belly White  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:38:26pm

re: #173 Backwoods_Sleuth

so much angst on twitter about the Clintons attending the inauguration.
I wouldn’t, but I’m kind of a spiteful old fart.
I fully expect the Obamas to attend as well.

mind you, I mean attend only the official ceremony, not any of the lame celebrations.

Because they are adults and leaders, not sore losers.

It’s basically what WJC signed up for when he got elected, and HRC signed up for when she stayed married to him - living ex-Presidents have certain ceremonial duties. This is one.

177
BeachDem  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:39:38pm

re: #102 Blind Frog Belly White

Nah. Don’t want to pee on her begonias. And he was 44, not 28, anyhow.

I have to bite my tongue a lot, figuratively speaking, with relatives. Today, my sister (that niece’s Mom) responded to ANOTHER of her inspirational meme posts with ‘God has a plan for us!’ What I DIDN’T reply with was “Given what I’ve seen of the world and how things go, believing some entity planned this makes me feel WORSE than believing there’s nobody at the wheel.”

But hey, if all I have to deal with are irrationally optimistic Christians as relatives, that’s not so bad!

Love when you can
Cry when you have to…
Be who you must
That’s a part of the plan
Await your arrival
With simple survival
And one day we’ll all understand…

There is no eden or
Heavenly gates
That you’re gonna make it to
One day
But all of the answers you seek
Can be found
In the dreams that you dream
On the way.

Dan Fogelberg - Part of the Plan

178
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:44:40pm

re: #176 Blind Frog Belly White

It’s basically what WJC signed up for when he got elected, and HRC signed up for when she stayed married to him - living ex-Presidents have certain ceremonial duties. This is one.

Remember, Herbert Hoover attended FDR’s inauguration.

179
BeachDem  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:44:50pm

re: #122 Blind Frog Belly White

Kellyanne says a lot of things. Many of them are pure bullshit. What price will SHE pay, or anyone else in the Trump Administration pay, if it turns out she’s wrong? Any?

She might only get to be on CNN 13 times a week to LIE instead of 14.

180
Anymouse  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:45:55pm

House GOP drops plans to gut Congressional watchdog agency.

huffingtonpost.com

They received an onslaught of criticism on the telephone, social media, the media, &c. This is going to be a long session, trying to watch for other swill like this they try to slip through beneath notice.

Several other groups, including the conservative Judicial Watch, called the move “shameful.” The nonpartisan group Common Cause even pointed out that exactly 11 years ago, lobbyist Jack Abramoff ― whose crimes helped lead to the creation of the OCE ― pleaded guilty to charges including fraud conspiracy and tax evasion. (Abramoff told Politico Tuesday that Republican’s efforts to gut the ethics watchdog are “exactly the opposite of what Congress should be doing.”)

181
Anymouse  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:46:39pm

re: #172 The Vicious Babushka

LOL Marsha Blackburn’s Obamacare Twitter poll is now 2-1 against repeal.

She’ll seek to repeal without replacement her tweet.

182
Myron Falwell (no relation)  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:47:38pm

re: #170 nines09

John drifts off……Snaps awake……”I said WHAT??!??”

John McCain is Grampa Simpson to a T.

Grampa Simpson “Ah Death”

183
Backwoods_Sleuth  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:53:49pm
184
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:55:32pm

re: #122 Blind Frog Belly White

Kellyanne says a lot of things. Many of them are pure bullshit. What price will SHE pay, or anyone else in the Trump Administration pay, if it turns out she’s wrong? Any?

She lies as well and as easily as Trump, and has done so for decades. So, no price at all. Whatever principles she once had were sold off long ago.

185
wrenchwench  Jan 3, 2017 • 2:57:13pm

re: #147 lawhawk

And if you’re transported to the ER, you might find out that while the hospital takes your insurance, but the ER doesn’t, because it’s a separate legal entity and has its own practice group and billing.

You can then deal with the wonders of getting billing and fighting over coverage that you had no control over because an ambulance took you to the nearest hospital, which you normally consider would have your insurance.

MRI tests have same thing - the machine costs X to purchase, so running tests is simply function of how much to profit and make back what it cost to purchase. And yet, some facilities will charge 2x as much (or more) as others for comparable equipment used in the test.

I’m lucky to live in a country that (so far) transports a person to the ER first, and gets the answers to all the questions later.

I had signed up for insurance for the first time since I had an employer cover me (1990-95) in the August before I was hit (thanks Obama!). I had not yet picked a PCP, so I had been assigned one who had retired. I hadn’t gotten around to picking another by that fateful late Oct. 2014 date. The helicopter crossed state lines, which only caused a bit of confusion later, when I needed a followup MRI to make sure I was healing OK. We took the 2 or 3 hour drive to the hospital where I had my hair cut in the Intensive Hair Unit, and they wouldn’t do the MRI because my ins. wouldn’t cover it. So we drove back and arranged to have it done at the local hospital, then we went back to the far one to have it read. Everything looked good to them. Mr. w was so nice about it. Kept saying it was worth the trips.

They wouldn’t let me out of the rehab hospital until I had a PCP to go to. I picked an un retired one. She moved to Utah after I saw her once. Saw another one. She got promoted out of the practice after one visit. Now I need another one. The hardships of rural heath care. I’m hoping it doesn’t get a lot harder.

186
Skip Intro  Jan 3, 2017 • 3:00:58pm

re: #153 The Vicious Babushka

She will be in charge of the “Enemies List”

You got that right.

187
Feline Fearless Leader  Jan 3, 2017 • 3:21:10pm

re: #115 Scottishdragon

Someone has to also remember that most of the monks were *not* commoners. And they owned lands and controlled serfs and peons like the rest of the nobility.


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