Thursday, September 10, 2009

God.. and "Lies"


I love how Allen Iverson has invoked "God" as the reason he has meekly accepted a 1 year, $3.5 million deal with woeful and irrelevant Memphis Grizzlies. Iverson "Tweeted" the following...

"God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career."

Or, maybe your inability to share the basketball had something to do with that. Just sayin...

The fact that no NBA team other than this laughinstock would want a 34 year old still-lightning-quick "superstar" is telling. It confirms once and for all what many Iverson agnostics (note: I did not say haters, or critics) have said for years.

He simply doesn't make teams better.

Aside from the Dikembe Mutumbo year in Philly where they went the Finals (with some of the shadiest refereeing this side of Tim Donaghy, well documented here my Bucks faithful), Iverson has had virtually no impact on a team being truly good or great.

Oh sure, he scores like the devil. He makes insanely pretty highlight plays. But that's about it.

Had Iverson seen this coming, he could have pivoted his game the last few years into becoming a true point guard. A 12 dime, 8 shot a night guy. But what fun would that be?

If so, he could have been a key starter/backup at the #1 position in the NBA for a dozen teams. I still think nobody is quick enough to stay with him.

But at least "God" has a plan for him. I hope God also doesn't believe in practice.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A few thoughts on what constitutes a "lie."

As you probably know, a Republican Congressman by the name of Joe Wilson blurted out rudely to Obama during his address "You lie!"

Out of form, no doubt. Untrue? Not hardly.

The issue was Obama insisting that his "plan" does not allow for illegal immigrants to be covered under his "universal" health insurance plan. I know, there is specific languange in the bill saying just that.

But at the same time, Obama does not say that there is precisely NO MEANS TO ENFORCE this in the plan. In fact, a Republican proposal to require citizens to prove their legal status before entering the plan was defeated by Democrats in committee.

So at best, Obama is uttering very nice sounding half-truths.

It would be like you promising your mom: "I promise I will not drive to the mall tonite to hang out with my friends smoke pot."

And then instead, you simply WALKED to the mall and did the same thing.

Everybody with half a brain knows that illegals WILL be getting coverage they are "supposedly" not entitled to under this plan. If a police department decides not to buy ANY radar detectors, then you can guarantee that there will be speeding.

So I suppose it would have been more accurate to shout: "You are spewing half-truths!"

But I also suppose that comment would have packed less sting. It would still have been rude. Presidents who choose to abuse the truth, do so at their own peril, and will have to answer for it in due time.

10 comments:

  1. Czabe,

    Not only was Wilson flat out wrong in his assertion and here is why. First, there is no provision for any illegals to get health care coverage period, if there is please point it out without using tortured comparisons. Using your logic, since every system can be abused and/or tricked then Obama is lying WTF!!! Secondly, has a new law been passed that changes any of the previous laws about about hospitals treating everyone that show up in an emergency room? You must consider emergency room treatment health care for your logic to hold slightly true.

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  2. ke-

    Czabe laid out exactly why it was a half truth at best. Does Obama's plan force people to prove their citizenship to receive health care? No. Is there anyway to enforce the provision that no illegals receive health care? No.

    You're not following Czabe's logic, you're creating your own to make a stupid point.

    I don't want to pay for your health care. What if I showed up at your house and said, "You have no idea who I am, and I've done no service of any kind for you...but I've got a piece of paper here that says you owe me $40 out of every paycheck. I'll take that in cash, please."

    That's exactly what you're expecting others to do.

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  3. Who do you think adsorbs the cost of the uninsured? I bet you think the hospitals just eat that cost. How does one prove their citizenship using the current system that can not be gamed? Or do you mean catching them with the system currently in place?
    http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1665321.html
    hmmm, how would you suggest we changed the new feral guidelines that caught this guy?
    Wilson's outburst is on far shakier footing, even though the details of enforcement mechanisms for the bill have not been worked out. He was claiming something — benefits for illegal immigrants — that is expressly prohibited in the major legislative efforts in both houses of Congress.

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  4. Just a quick thought: Japan has "universal" health with little problems. I currently costs 8% of GDP and if they increased it to 9%, the doctors would make a huge profit. The US spends 17% GDP currently. Seems like a home run to me. And Japan isn't a socialist country, is it? Still love the Czabe!

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  5. Czabe, Links to the committee story, language in the bill that allows illegals to game the system, or the republican proposal, por favor?

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  6. Just a quick thought...the US hasn't had "universal" heatlh care for the last 200 plus years and is the greatest nation in the world....

    Also, I find it funny that you're not willing to give me $40 out of every paycheck. Sure, I didn't actually do anything to earn it...but it's my right to have it, I say. Sure, the Declaration of Independence only mentions life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and the Constitution makes no reference to government health care...but those are just pieces of paper anyway. Who cares if they laid the framework for a truly free people? It's time to do what Ashton Kutcher says and pledge allegiance to Obama (even though we fought a war in 1776 specifically so we wouldn't have to do that sort of thing).

    Again, sorry. You'll have to be like everyone else and pay for your goods and services in this (still) capitalist country.

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  7. What system for any service public or private is totally fraud proof???
    Good to see Mr Payne you ignored the story of federal guidelines on patient identification, but if that keeps you on your point keep ignoring the facts.

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  8. T. Payne

    Then by your logic (stranger coming to my house asking for money for the doctor) then I can also not want my of taxes to pay for our national defense or education or police/fire crews. If you don't want taxes to go to health care, can I say I don't want our taxes to go to corrupt Iraqi politicians? I guess what I'm trying to say is that we elect people to represent us AND manage how our taxes are spent. Right now the DEMS are the elected majority and they want to spend our taxes on health care. Would it be better to instead give us the money they intend to spend on health care? Sure, but I seriously doubt that refund would cover private insurance rates (if you can prove me wrong and show me a breakdown of how much a refund would get if they simply turned over the money to fund health insurance to every American and show that it would pay for our insurance rates for the rest of out lives, then I'll shut up). Kind of like that $600 refund we received in 2008 was supposed to stir the economy last year. That was nice, can we have some more please?

    Also can you define what makes us the greatest? Not trying to being un-American, but what is the metric for basing that characteristic on? Elections? Cost of living? Hollywood movies?

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  9. The problem with universal healthcare is people who don't deserve it will get it. I have no problem spending tax money to give people with little or no health insurance as long as they are at the very least "trying" to contribute to society. The sad thing about this country though is that it's the opposite, everyone demands everything instead of working for it. Didn't a famous Democrat once say "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!" When did that turn into "ask not what your country can do for you, just take it and blame someone else!"

    I have no problem giving free or cheap healthcare to someone out there who is trying to get a job, or maybe has a job with just crap benefits, because at least they're contributing to it. I do have a problem giving free healthcare to Joe Shmo Crackhead who would rather sip on a Milwaukee's Best rather than attempt to get a job. The bad part is, it seems the latter of those two will be the majority reaping the benefits of national healthcare.

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  10. National defense is necessary. Health insurance for someone who either can't afford it or doesn't bother paying for it is not.

    Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Where does "free health care (unless you have the money to pay for someone else's)" fit into that?

    As for what makes this nation the greatest in the world...there was a time not long ago that we were a truly free people. This nation was founded on the idea of limited government, individual responsibility, hard work, and ideas like: "The government that governs least governs best." "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." "A well regulated militia necessary to the security of a free State [hint: Obama is not the State], the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." "I solemnly swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from enemies both foreign and domestic."

    Freedom makes this country the greatest in the world. The government has been slowly taking that away for years and we've done nothing about it. We have a president who bows to kings and videos that suggest we should "pledge to be of service to President Obama." Sorry, Lefties...I submit to no man. That was the whole point of that little war we fought in 1776.

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