The other Awards Obama will will this year...

[kandrathe]

Totalitarianism isn't "insidious". To my knowledge, there is not a single example in history of slow, creeping totalitarianism taking hold of a country. It has, in every last case, been a function of some kind of armed takeover, or at the very least, an obvious, sudden, revolutionary change towards authoritarianism.

Not always. There are many examples of nations where there is a non-military, non-revolutionary transition to a totalitarian state. Italy, Japan, Germany before WWI, North Korea, etc.

On the other hand, there are dozens of examples of democratic states enacting much more vigorous "socialist" reforms, especially in the field of health care, which have not come even close to totalitarianism. Some of the freest, least "totalitarian" countries in the world have highly socialized health care systems. So, the historical record appears to be the exact opposite of what you're suggesting, not that this should dissuade you from your doomsaying.

Right. But do they have a pay tsar who monitors executive salaries? Do they have legislation taxing executive bonuses at 90%? Do they have an executive branch that enacts defacto censorship, legislative hostility and "punishments" towards companies and organizations it determines are domestic "enemies". Of course, you would take this to the ridiculous extreme of bringing *kittens* and death camps into the same conversation. :rolleyes:

I'm afraid this kind of thinking is exactly the kind of nonsense Mr. Tomorrow is ridiculing. "We can't have health care reform, because health care reform will lead to the end of the free market, and the end of free speech, and death camps, and a boot standing on the human face forever!"

You equate health care reform with a government monopoly on providing health care, and borrowing 1 trillion dollars to pay for it (from Mr. Tomorrow).

Voting for a reconciliation of two existing bills isn't quite the same as voting for something non-existent. This is just the regular business in the bizarre world of having two equal houses whose functions overlap almost entirely.

Not quite. These are two vastly different Senate bills. This is not a reconciliation, this is merging two very different bills behind closed doors, with amendments, etc. So, what comes out of the sausage factory will not be what went in.

I'm actually one of those Americans who is *for* health care reform. I just believe that reform means simplifying the process, allowing companies to compete to sell a decent product, and enough government checks to ensure that the product is not fraud. I would remove the tax incentive for companies to offer health insurance (thereby penalizing people who want to have insurance not aligned with their jobs). I would encourage more direct negotiation between health providers and patients, and get the 3rd party insurers out of the middle. Whether it be Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, SChip or any other government program, they are many times more expensive than predicted, fraught with waste and abuse, and based (as is this one) on borrowing the money from Mr. Tomorrow.