Senator Murkowski. Oh, my. You may be a senator but you are ignorant. You pretend to know what you are talking about. But then you are a Republican.
Her anti-Canadian Healthcare System remarks at her Town hall meeting tonight show that she only thinks she is knowledgeable as she rants against the healthcare plan.
She related a story about which she drew the exact wrong conclusions and then said: THAT'S NOT THE HEALTHCARE I WANT!!"
Well, Lisa, from someone who does know, that IS the kind I want. Have you ever heard, Lisa, of "Best Practice?" Another myth.
And bonus at bottom: Murkowski's hypocrisy exposed by Anchorage paper.
Murkowski told about talking with a Canadian. He told her that doctors told him he would have to wait four years for a knee replacement. Four years!! She wails. Why would they do that? They want him to wait until he is 60!!!
SHOCKING!! WHY? It's NOT, they said, because they don't have doctors or facilities.
She assumes mistakenly that they want him to wait because they are rationing care!
Murkowski says: "THAT's NOT the KIND of HEALTH CARE I WANT!!"
For many reasons this is the most stupid response I can think of, Lisa M. Maybe she doesn't deserve Canadian healthcare. [I confess that I envy Canadians because my relatives who live there are very happy with it, they have good care, do not have to wait, and their childbirths and diseases have been managed well. Yep, no rationing problems.]
Oh, Lisa. Instead of finding out the actual facts it seems many people just leap to conclusions and then spread this kind of fear and misinformation.
The real reason is not rationing!
It is a BEST CARE PRACTICE DECISION:
They DO NOT WANT TO HAVE HIM HAVE TO HAVE THE SURGERY TWICE! For a very good reason. Joint replacements typically last ten years so they don't like to do it to people younger than 60. Even when insurance companies are paying the big bucks doctors do not recommend it to patients.
Senator Murkowski doesn't want the kind of health care where they do the surgery at the right time. She doesn't want the Best Practice Decision. She knows nothing about why the doctors made this decision. She wants to have surgery when she wants it no matter how badly it may affect her health in a few years down the line. I repeat. She is saying she does not want best practice.
Apparently she wants to have to repeat the surgery no matter the risks. She wants to risk:
* having a bad knee --because second replacements are never
as good as the first one.
* having an EXTRA major surgery and recovery.
* infection and possible death.
(I back this up with my own story below.)
Besides, being in the hospital can lead to major infections as it did with me. After one hip replacement I got MRSA, had to stay in hospital three weeks and had three weeks of IV powerful antibiotic at home.
Now. My sister's story. Sometimes having an infection like this leads to death as it did with MY OWN SISTER who died after an infection in her replaced knee weakened her and her immune system--after a miserable year of treating that infection (which included immobility and having a knee "revision"). She died because of all this a few months later, during heart surgery, and she had been an extremely active, vigorous person.
PLUS: One further major point. It might be better not to get a replacement at all. There have, it turns out, been too many of these lucrative/expensive surgeries. Unlike hip surgeries which are not exactly elective because you cannot live with a deteriorated hip and the pain, though you can with a knee. Trust me I've done both hips.
Recent research shows that maybe 50% of knee replacements should not be done because NOT doing it might be just as effective. I can attest to this from personal experience. Two bad knees. Replaced one and it did not go that well. Nerve damage, numbness, and stiffness. It always feels very odd. I chose not to do the other one which was actually in worse shape (bone on bone, no cartilage, bone spurs), and am glad I chose not to. It's usually okay and feels more normal than the replaced joint. Plus the ordeal of the surgery and recovery is very difficult. Plus in ten years you may need to go through all that again! The second joint will not fit as well and will have to be larger, more chance to damage nerves and get infection.
Oh, yeah, Lisa. You didn't know what you were talking about but I guess it fed your base. I can understand the ignorance. But when you get up there, as a fucking SENATOR, and advocate against healthcare, you damn well better know what you're talking about. Or sit down and shut up.
I'm so sick of all this damn misinformation. Rep. Moran, D-VA tonight at his TH read a list of ten myths(lies) about healthcare and refuted them with an actual written handout that also appeared on screen (C-Span). That was a great job, Congressman! Plus he sure knows how to be polite and keep his cool.
THEN THERE's Murkowski's record on slamming GOVERNMENT --she's so GOP--while she heaps praise on herself--as if she is responsible--for her pursuit of a billion plus in aid for her state. Beautiful article here.
Sen. Murkowski continues the congressional tradition of having it both ways: Get all the federal money you can get, while also complaining about federal spending.... she only helps fuel the current popular resentment of the federal government, a process she described to the Daily News editorial board Thursday:
"There is -- I don't know, call it a tipping point or a boiling point, where people are saying, 'Enough already ... You guys -- you're spending a heckuva a lot of money ... It's not only my money, but my kids' money and potentially my grandkids' money and are you sure you're getting it right?'"
BOTTOM LINE: Sen. Murkowski works to bring home federal money while playing to anti-government sentiment.
Yep. Bring it, Lisa. I suppose you do not like having a military or police either? They protect our safety, but you don't believe in government helping to protect our lives through healthcare?