Humorous (or sad) EMail - Free House

[Mountaineer]

I received the following email that you may get a chuckle from (or it may invoke a bit of sadness or anger, depending on your political persuasion ... who knows).

... Mountaineer


I agree with the author that everyone should read this. But I know many won't. Those with closed minds cannot be reasoned with. But this does explain what's in the healthcare bill. If one reads it, one finds out what is  really in it. I charge anyone to say they have read it all. It is over 800 pages in the bound form. It takes a lawyer to understand a lot of it but, nonetheless, it is a worthwhile read to understand what has been given away to get a raw deal at best.

WANT A FREE HOUSE ?

I was in my neighborhood restaurant this morning and was seated behind a group of jubilant individuals celebrating the coming implementation of the health care bill.  I could not finish my breakfast.  This is what ensued:

They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes.  I heard the young man exclaim, “Isn’t Obama like Jesus Christ?  I mean, after all, he is healing the sick.”?  The young woman enthusiastically proclaimed, “Yeah, and he does it for free.  I cannot believe anyone would think that a free market would work for health care.  Another said, ‘The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can inherit all of the power.  Obama should be made a Saint for what he did for those of us less fortunate.”?  At this, I had more than enough.I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find, and approached their table. “Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for one moment?”?  They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation.  I stood at the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

“I would like to give one of you my house.  It will cost you no money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you live there.  Anyone interested?”?  They looked at each other in astonishment.  “Why would you do something like that?”? asked a young man, “There isn’t anything for free in this world.”?  They began to laugh at me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point.  “I am serious, I will give you my house for free, no money what so ever.  Anyone interested?”?  In unison, a resounding “Hell Yeah”? fills the room.

“Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice as to who receives this money-free bargain.”?  I noticed an elderly couple was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the old man shaking his head in apparent disgust.  “I tell you what; I will give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules.”?  Again, they looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces.  The perky young woman asked, “What are the rules?”?  I smiled and said, “I don’t know.  I have not yet defined them.  However, it is a free home that I offer you.”?  They giggled amongst themselves, the youngest of which said, “What an old coot.  He must be crazy to give away his home.  Go take your meds, old man.”?  I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further.  “I am serious, this is a legitimate offer.”?  They gaped at me for a moment.

“I’ll take it you old fool.  Where are the keys?”? boasted the youngest among them.  “Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms then?”? I asked.  The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they watched from the privacy of their table.  “Oh hell yeah!  Where do I sign up?”?  I took a napkin and wrote, “I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction.”?  I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature.  “Where are the keys to my new house?”? he asked in a mocking tone of voice.  All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

“Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere from this point forward.  You may only live in the house for one hour a day.  You will not use anything inside of the home.  You will obey me without question or resistance.  I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you.  You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature.  Your morals and principles shall be as mine.  You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith.  These are my terms.  Here are your keys.”?  I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumbfounded.

“Are you out of your mind?  Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?”? the young man appeared irritated.  “You did when you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you committed to the agreement.”?  The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him.  I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people.  “You can shove that stupid deal up you’re a** old man, I want no part of it”? exclaimed the now infuriated young man.  'You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends; you cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it.  I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared.  I am the power you agreed to.  I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to.  In short, I am your Master.”?  At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent.  “What I did to you is what this administration and congress did to you with the health care legislation.  I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain.  Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn; that you are entitled to, and that which you did not earn; that you willingly allowed someone else to think for you.  Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you.  You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee.  Your only chance of freedom is if your new Master gives it to you.  A freedom that is given can also be taken away; therefore, it is not freedom.”?  With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man.  “This is the nature of your new health care legislation.”?

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation and was surprised by applause.  The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, “Thank you Sir, these kids don’t understand Liberty .”?  He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, “You earned this one, it is an honor to pick up the tab.”?  I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled, and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Remember, four boxes keep us free: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.

[MediumTex]

I sat through a two hour health care reform seminar yesterday.

The way health care reform is unfolding is about as stupid as the free house idea.

Most people have no idea how dumb health care reform really is.  It's shocking, really, even if you are 100% in favor of government run health care.

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

[craigr]

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

I think that is intentional. Then they can come back in five years and take the whole thing over while pointing out how "the free market has failed to deliver" reasonable cost healthcare to all.

Also, I don't think any kind of health care reform can really happen without serious tort reform in the mix anyway. But with the trial attorney lobby deep into the democrat's pockets, that will never happen either.

Finally of course, nearly 50% of every dollar now spent on healthcare is from government programs of some type last I checked. So if the idea that costs should go down with government spending were true, shouldn't it have been doing it already now that at least half of every dollar comes from government control?

[Pointedstick]

I'm still astounded that there are any liberals who approve of Obamacare. It represents a huge, cronyistic giveaway to one of their most-hated industries--health insurance companies. Now a news story seems to come out every few days about how this or that regulation was poorly thought-out and produces perverse incentives, or that some tax turns out to be onerous and will do the opposite of what it was intended to do. The most recent story I read was about how the stated goal of universal coverage is being undermined by a subtle flaw in the bill that assumes the cost of family plans will be equal to the cost of individual plans. The whole thing is a huge mess that needs to be scrapped and re-done, but I haven't been hearing anything from the left about this.

I guess it's a little like how Republicans supported Bush's wars for years despite the their obvious absurdity. Gotta root for your own team while they have the ball.

[Benko]

PS your astonishment assumes things about liberals motives.  Those of us who assume liberals have motives other than their stated ones, are less surprised.

Edit:  my assumptions make this also a non-surprise:

Obama Administration Memo: Assassination of U.S. Citizens Completely Justifiable

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/KevinGlass ... s-n1505520

[Pointedstick]

Benko, I used to be a pretty hardcore liberal, so I can tell you a little about what makes liberals tick anytime you'd like. In my experience, liberals don't have any more shadowy secret motives than conservatives do. We all have our secret political goals that are far out of the mainstream that everybody would have to feign shock over should we ever accidentally admit them.

[dragoncar]

On the Internet, we call this a "Forward from Grandma".  This particular one reads like it was written by a 13 year-old.

[Lonestar]

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

I think that is intentional. Then they can come back in five years and take the whole thing over while pointing out how "the free market has failed to deliver" reasonable cost healthcare to all.

Also, I don't think any kind of health care reform can really happen without serious tort reform in the mix anyway. But with the trial attorney lobby deep into the democrat's pockets, that will never happen either.

Finally of course, nearly 50% of every dollar now spent on healthcare is from government programs of some type last I checked. So if the idea that costs should go down with government spending were true, shouldn't it have been doing it already now that at least half of every dollar comes from government control?

You are right on!  And in five years enter Hilliary R. Clinton.  If you remember her agenda during the first Clinton term, it was nationalized health care, not health care in the free market.  It will be applauded by the majority of Americans after Obamacare fails.  I can already hear "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" playing in the background.

[MediumTex]

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

I think that is intentional. Then they can come back in five years and take the whole thing over while pointing out how "the free market has failed to deliver" reasonable cost healthcare to all.

Also, I don't think any kind of health care reform can really happen without serious tort reform in the mix anyway. But with the trial attorney lobby deep into the democrat's pockets, that will never happen either.

Finally of course, nearly 50% of every dollar now spent on healthcare is from government programs of some type last I checked. So if the idea that costs should go down with government spending were true, shouldn't it have been doing it already now that at least half of every dollar comes from government control?

You are right on!  And in five years enter Hilliary R. Clinton.  If you remember her agenda during the first Clinton term, it was nationalized health care, not health care in the free market.  It will be applauded by the majority of Americans after Obamacare fails.  I can already hear "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" playing in the background.

I thought that was going to be the storyline from the next Planet of the Apes movie.

[rocketdog]

Most people have no idea how dumb health care reform really is.  It's shocking, really, even if you are 100% in favor of government run health care.

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

It's like the "Invisible Hand" described by Adam Smith (or the "Seen and the Unseen" as HB used to describe it).  The seen always appear beneficial... it's the unseen that you have to worry about. 

[MediumTex]

Most people have no idea how dumb health care reform really is.  It's shocking, really, even if you are 100% in favor of government run health care.

What we have with health care reform is a program that is guaranteed to increase costs when one of the initial problems the government was trying to solve through health care reform was rising costs.

It's like the "Invisible Hand" described by Adam Smith (or the "Seen and the Unseen" as HB used to describe it).  The seen always appear beneficial... it's the unseen that you have to worry about.

Part of the staggering stupidity of Obamacare is that even as health care costs are rising, doctors are making less money.

How weird is that?

[rocketdog]

This reminds me of when I lived in England for a brief time about 12 years ago.  After I had been there a while and gotten to know the family I was staying with, the topic of health care came up naturally in conversation.  Now, they had no idea what my politics were or my thoughts on the matter.  (Side note: In fact, I was over there during the whole Bush-Gore election debacle.  When they asked me who I voted for and I told them "Harry Browne", they all looked at me and said, "Who the hell is Harry Browne?"    That was a moment I'll never forget.  I'll also never forget when they told me they thought Bush should be elected because he "looked more presidential."  Yikes.)

Back to my story.  I explained to them that the U.S. had no national health care system, and casually asked what everyone thought of England's health care system.  I was expecting them to extoll the virtues of a state-run health care system, but I was about to be surprised at what they told me. 

The elderly (late 70s) woman who owned the house scoffed at my question. 

"It's brilliant so long as you're not in a hurry," she said. 

I asked her to elaborate, and she went on.

"Suppose you have a heart condition," she explained, "and you need surgery straight away.  Too bad it might take 6 months before they can get you on schedule."

"So then what, you die waiting?" I asked with a nervous laugh.

"Maybe so," she said with a shrug.  Then she added, "Unless of course you've got the means." 

Now I was intrigued.  "Means?"

She looked me in the eye.  "It works like this: the doctor says you need heart surgery straight away, but the state-run hospital is backed up 6 months.  So then he says he can get you the surgery straight away if you're able to go outside the system."

"How do you go 'outside the system'?" I pressed.

She laughed.  "You pay the doctor for the surgery directly so he doesn't have to wait in line to get paid by the government!  Anybody with money knows that, so they pay for what they need and everybody else without the means has to wait in line.  They all do it, or most of them anyway.  The doctors I mean."

The thing that shocked me the most was how matter-of-fact she was about it, as if that's just the way it was and there was nothing more to be said.  I can only imagine that's what will happen here as well: if you're on the government's health care system, you'll take what they give you.  But if you have a more urgent need and the means to get it taken care of quickly, you'll take care of it outside the system.  Sort of like with the mail: if you're not in a hurry, go ahead and send it USPS.  But if it absolutely positively needs to be there overnight, you're going to pay extra and send it Fedex.

[MediumTex]

She laughed.  "You pay the doctor for the surgery directly so he doesn't have to wait in line to get paid by the government!  Anybody with money knows that, so they pay for what they need and everybody else without the means has to wait in line.  They all do it, or most of them anyway.  The doctors I mean."

I always think about all of the cosmetic surgeons who I assume rely very little on insurance for the fees for the services they provide (simply because insurance doesn't cover most of them) and how much easier their lives must be.

If you want to purchase their service, you simply go purchase it.  If not, you don't.  No insurance hassles.

[Benko]

And what surprises anyone about any of this?

[MachineGhost]

It's like the "Invisible Hand" described by Adam Smith (or the "Seen and the Unseen" as HB used to describe it).  The seen always appear beneficial... it's the unseen that you have to worry about.

nudge, nudge!
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[MediumTex]

Obama Administration Memo: Assassination of U.S. Citizens Completely Justifiable

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/KevinGlass ... s-n1505520

Obama is doing this to protect us from terrorists.  Do you want the terrorists to win?

That would make a great Mad Lib:

[fill in the current political leader] is doing this to protect us from [fill in the current state-defined enemy].  Do you want the [fill in the current state-defined enemy] to win?

[Pointedstick]

Don't forget the coda: WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!

If it saves just one life…

[MediumTex]

Don't forget the coda: WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!

If it saves just one life…

Sweet little puppies are being abused RIGHT NOW because [fill in the appropriate animal cruelty prevention bureaucracy] doesn't have proper funding for animal cruelty prevention efforts.

Are you so heartless and cruel that you would sit by and do nothing as the little puppies squeal from the pain that their abusers are inflicting on them?  Are you really that cold?  Call now (have your credit card ready).

[Benko]

Y'll may like to make jokes but:

Drones +

Laws to curtail public ownership of guns +

The Social Security Administration Is Buying (more ammo) 174,000 Rounds Of High-Powered Ammunition
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2918853/posts

[MediumTex]

Y'll may like to make jokes but:

Drones +

Laws to curtail public ownership of guns +

The Social Security Administration Is Buying (more ammo) 174,000 Rounds Of High-Powered Ammunition
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2918853/posts

I am trying to poke fun at the idea that we are going to outlaw an entire class of weapons because a handful of people went crazy when they happened to be holding those weapons in their hands.

I think these stories about government agencies purchasing ammo are just noise.  Any agency that has a law enforcement division is going to buy ammo.

Drones in U.S. skies (or any skies outside of a hot war with an identified enemy) are an unfortunate development for many reasons.  It's a combination of the acceleration of the surveillance society and the machines taking over.  I don't like it.

[Pointedstick]

Y'll may like to make jokes but:

Drones +

Laws to curtail public ownership of guns +

The Social Security Administration Is Buying (more ammo) 174,000 Rounds Of High-Powered Ammunition

Equals what?

Business as usual, methinks. Especially the last two.