OB/GYN Love

September 7, 2004 8:45 AM

Does your OB/GYN practice his love on you? Apparently Mr. Bush thinks they're unable to do so because of trial lawyers like Mr. Edwards. This is pretty amazing. This is our president. Wow. Dude.
posted by Shike (96 comments total)

Practice their LOVE? WTF does THAT MEAN??????? Is he promoting rape by OBs? (Doubtful.) He's really got to be one of the dumbest man on the planet. Really. Was that written into his speech or was he ad-libbing?? His handlers must throw up when he says stuff like that.
posted by aacheson at 8:52 AM on September 7, 2004

You can hear it here (.wmv file.)
posted by homunculus at 8:52 AM on September 7, 2004

holy lord jesus.

jesus.
posted by glenwood at 8:54 AM on September 7, 2004

The appropriate response.
posted by homunculus at 8:54 AM on September 7, 2004

I love the Heartfelt Chest Gesture that Will Ferrell nailed in his own Bush impersonation.

This is all Clinton's fault for inspiring the Republicans to create a rival "caring" persona.
posted by inksyndicate at 8:59 AM on September 7, 2004

Damnit, I knew I should have changed careers.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:59 AM on September 7, 2004

What could he have meant? What word could possibly fit instead of "love" (that sounds even vaguely similar)? Odd.
posted by reklaw at 9:02 AM on September 7, 2004

Looks like George has started writing his own speeches.
posted by clevershark at 9:03 AM on September 7, 2004

As for the issue, and not the gaffe, the system we have definitely has problems which trial lawyers exploit. However, I would rather in live in a society where one has the right to pursue private justice where some mistakes happen, then one where the individual is powerless to sue, and the corporation is all-powerful.

As usual, it seems that both parties have taken positions that benefit special interests and not the average patient.
posted by cell divide at 9:03 AM on September 7, 2004

Putting the compassion back in compassionate conservative.
posted by xmutex at 9:04 AM on September 7, 2004

What a flip-flopper. W. was pro-lawyer in 1970 when he applied to UT Law School. Of course, they rejected him, so maybe that's why he's against lawyers now.
posted by herc at 9:05 AM on September 7, 2004

Sounds more like putting the passion back in compassionate conservative.
posted by papercake at 9:07 AM on September 7, 2004

The whole OB/GYN thing came up at his acceptance speech and now in another speech. The only explanation I can think of is that somewhere in the BC04 machine, there is a poll saying that OB/GYN's are a large voting bloc, and they have to, nay HAVE TO, court them. Or this is a crude way of combining doctors and women (who have to goto OB/GYN's (of course (duh))) into one short soundbite the President likes to make.
posted by plemeljr at 9:07 AM on September 7, 2004

Thank you, Shike and homunculus.
posted by Songdog at 9:08 AM on September 7, 2004

one of
posted by trondant at 9:09 AM on September 7, 2004

He means they love their profession.

I guess I'm supposed to make a FPP out of this:

praising the limited menu of a local cafe. Mr Kerry said it was perfect "for confused people like me who can't make up our minds about what we're going to eat"
posted by techgnollogic at 9:10 AM on September 7, 2004

THE PRESIDENT: [...]That's why a year ago, September, I went to Congress and
proposed $87 billion in funding for body armor, and spare parts,
ammunition, fuel, other supplies needed for our troops in combat in
Afghanistan and in Iraq. And that really important funding request
received bipartisan support. It was so overwhelming that only 12 United
States senators voted against the funding request. Two of whom are my
opponent and his running mate.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: Only four United States senators voted to authorize the use
of force, and then voted against funding our troops -- only four -- and
two of those senators were my opponent and his running mate. When asked to
explain his decision, he said, I actually did vote for the $87 billion
before I voted against it.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: I suspect here -- I suspect here in Poplar Bluff, not many
people talk that way. (Applause.) They then pressed him, and he said he's
proud of his vote. And finally, he said it was a complicated matter.
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
(Applause.)

After voting for the war, but against funding it, after saying he would
have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today, my opponent
woke up this morning with new campaign advisors, and yet another new
position. (Laughter.) Suddenly, he's against it again. (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE: Flip-flop! Flip-Flop! Flip-flop!

That's from later in the same official transcript.

You gotta love that "Flip-flop, flip-flop!" stuff. It's the sort of thing that will make our society look really, really wise to historians in the future.
posted by digaman at 9:10 AM on September 7, 2004

Feel the Love.

C'mon, someone had to say it.
posted by bwg at 9:13 AM on September 7, 2004

I'd say it's either a Freudian slip or he has some really strange ideas about what an OB/GYN does.
posted by destro at 9:17 AM on September 7, 2004

My goodness, I can't stand Bush, but it's plain that he was saying, "OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their [profession that they] love [and are dedicated to] on women across the country."
posted by PigAlien at 9:17 AM on September 7, 2004

A GYN in the hand is worth two in the Bush.
posted by DrDoberman at 9:18 AM on September 7, 2004

George had 4 years and a Republican Congress (both the House and Senate) to fix this. Why hasn't he paid attention to this before?
posted by clevershark at 9:19 AM on September 7, 2004

I could have sworn I've seen that engrish line in some Japanese Anime porn.
posted by Stan Chin at 9:21 AM on September 7, 2004

But I do think it's hysterical and worth poking fun at, mind you. I just wanted to point that out for anyone who might be confused.

As for attacking Trial Lawyers, well, he's protecting his insurance constituency and attacking his opponent at the same time. He picked OB/Gyns because it wouldn't look good to say, "Insurance companies are suffering smaller profits because of these lawsuits" and because OB/Gyns help women bring children into this world and everybody loves the poor, helpless children. I mean, if the OB/Gyns can't help women have children because of these nasty trial lawyers, women will have to give birth at home in the rice paddies again.
posted by PigAlien at 9:21 AM on September 7, 2004

This is nothing new. Bush says totally crazy things every day. The media largely ignores his comments. It's like how the media hid FDR's wheelchair from the public. If people saw every day the STUPID things Bush says, he would never have received the RNC nomination and Kerry would be challenging someone else today.
posted by fleener at 9:23 AM on September 7, 2004

What word could possibly fit instead of "love" (that sounds even vaguely similar)?

care? You can see him pause, looking for the right word. Almost every gaffe of his seems to be preceded by an akward pause, while he searches for the right word. I have sympathy for almost any poor public speaker, but I don't want my president to sound like this.

so, that means I can have a new president now, right? please?
posted by whatnot at 9:23 AM on September 7, 2004

"practice their love" = "practice their (be)loved profession?"

On preview: what PigAlien said
posted by dhoyt at 9:25 AM on September 7, 2004

He means they love their profession.

Yes, we know. The point is that "too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country" is an utterly shitty way of expressing that. Why should I listen to someone who can't express themselves clearly in their native language, particularly when clear communication is supposed to be a key part of their job?

I haven't watched the video: does he make one of his little pauses that means "I know I screwed that up enough to stop speaking for a few seconds, but I'll be damned if I'll correct myself"?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:26 AM on September 7, 2004

praising the limited menu of a local cafe. Mr Kerry said it was perfect "for confused people like me who can't make up our minds about what we're going to eat"

"If you can't tell the difference between self-deprecating humor and illiteracy, you just might be a Republican."
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:28 AM on September 7, 2004

Nice explication PigAlien. Maybe you can get a job as the official campaign translator, though I doubt his supporters really need one. I think they absorb his thoughts through some sort of base osmotic connection: death to muslims, lawyers are bad, science is wrong, jesus is right...
posted by Shike at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2004

Did you know that practicing their love is one of the fondest things that OB/GYNs are of?
posted by iconomy at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2004

Do you think a (woman) Ob/Gyn would be, on average, a good or bad lover?
posted by ParisParamus at 9:34 AM on September 7, 2004

(on average)
posted by ParisParamus at 9:35 AM on September 7, 2004

praising the limited menu of a local cafe. Mr Kerry said it was perfect "for confused people like me who can't make up our minds about what we're going to eat"

Umm... that makes sense, albeit a lame joke. What's your point?
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 9:36 AM on September 7, 2004

does he make one of his little pauses that means "I know I screwed that up enough to stop speaking for a few seconds

The pause comes as his synapses fire randomly just before saying it. There's no evidence immediately after that he was listening to his own words, or trying to make sense of them anyway.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2004

Look, I dislike Bush as much as most of the world but this was a stupid slip. Making it into more than it is seems kind of desperate to me.

There are more important and tangible issues to focus on than a slip of the tongue.
posted by fenriq at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2004

Well, fenriq, in all fairness to all here, I think people here aren't making this into more than it seems. Bush is famous for his gaffes. I think people just find this one gaffe particularly funny because of its double-entendre nature. Of course, don't ask the pres what a double-entendre is.
posted by PigAlien at 9:43 AM on September 7, 2004

i don't know, pigalien, you're adding in more words than were in the sentence to begin with. That's pretty generous.
posted by Space Coyote at 9:44 AM on September 7, 2004

Slips of the tongue aside, though, I still ask -- afte four years of his party having control of the executive and the legislative branches of government (and evidently the judicial one as well) why isn't that problem a thing of the past already?

If George had done something about it instead of spending so much damn time on vacation he could have the problem, er, licked by now. Unless of course he never bothered to do anything about it just so it could be used as a campaign theme.
posted by clevershark at 9:46 AM on September 7, 2004

And earlier in the week, in Erie PA:


THE PRESIDENT: We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to
complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September
and proposed fundamental -- supplemental funding, which is money for armor
and body parts and ammunition and fuel -- necessary, money necessary so
they can do their work. And we received great bipartisan support. That
means both Democrats and Republicans supported it -- except for 12 members
of the United States Senate voted no.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

Official transcript.


Money for body parts. Is that some sort of eBay arrangement?
posted by digaman at 9:52 AM on September 7, 2004

What if President Bush purposely says these kind of things to occupy yoo lefty intellectual types; distract you from attacking the real substance of his platform?
posted by ParisParamus at 9:57 AM on September 7, 2004

...distract you from attacking the real substance of his platform?

Only PP could find substance in the President's platform...
posted by clevershark at 10:01 AM on September 7, 2004

What if President Bush purposely says these kind of things to occupy yoo lefty intellectual types; distract you from attacking the real substance of his platform?

This could be an excellent tactic in the debates. If he continues talking complete and utter gibberish all the time, Kerry won't be able to corner him on specifics.

Bush: "Eggplant ectoplasm wankel rotary engine."
Moderator: "Senator Kerry, your response?"
posted by Armitage Shanks at 10:03 AM on September 7, 2004

What if President Bush purposely says these kind of things to occupy yoo lefty intellectual types; distract you from attacking the real substance of his platform?


Then he would truly be a manipulative genius. [tip of the hat]
posted by drezdn at 10:03 AM on September 7, 2004

Paris has a point. If anything, these gaffes may actually be part of his platform. Move on, and perhaps engage Bush in actual debate about the role of lawyers in society.
posted by weston at 10:04 AM on September 7, 2004

WHERE IS THE LOVE, the love ... the love ...
posted by Peter H at 10:05 AM on September 7, 2004

He knows who Rome is. Rome is the mob. He will conjure magic for them and they will be distracted. And he will take their lives. And he will take their freedom. And still they will roar. The beating heart of Rome isn't the marble of the Senate. It's the sand of the Colosseum. He will give them death. And they will love him for it.
/gladiator
posted by sciurus at 10:06 AM on September 7, 2004

"Of course, don't ask the pres what a double-entendre is"

Well that's an entendre that's been doubled, in other words, you have an entendre, and then you have another one so you are entitled to all the benefits of 2 entendres.
posted by 2sheets at 10:06 AM on September 7, 2004

(His usual stump speech says OBGYNs are "giving up practices they love" - he transposed it.)
posted by CunningLinguist at 10:09 AM on September 7, 2004

What if President Bush purposely says these kind of things to occupy yoo lefty intellectual types; distract you from attacking the real substance of his platform?

You mean like how he kept going on about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" to distract American citizens from his poorly-planned war?
posted by turaho at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2004

LOL, love that 2sheets.

sciurus, I think the same thing ALL the time. That's exactly what's happening. This George Bush totally reminds me of Joachim Pheonix.
posted by PigAlien at 10:16 AM on September 7, 2004

There are more important and tangible issues to focus on than a slip of the tongue.

Fuck it. Bush has twisted completely innocent Kerry quotes into sleazy criticism for months now--and it's actually worked. People don't care about the issues, they care about stupid shit. Give 'em what they want. Fire all torpedos. Empty all the barrells. I refuse to go quietly into that good night.
posted by jpoulos at 10:21 AM on September 7, 2004

And of course:
Tribal sovereignty in the 21st century.
posted by Peter H at 10:26 AM on September 7, 2004

jpoulos: I feel your pain.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:26 AM on September 7, 2004

There are more important and tangible issues to focus on than a slip of the tongue.

Yes, we should make this a more sensitive campaign.

Or, what jpoulos said.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 10:26 AM on September 7, 2004

But... 2sheets... wouldn't an "entendre" be french (especially in this case)? So, wouldn't we not want two if it?

*blinks innocently*
posted by mmahaffie at 10:26 AM on September 7, 2004

On Fox, it's pronounced "double intender".
posted by Armitage Shanks at 10:29 AM on September 7, 2004

Stupid SOB was drunk....again.
posted by cookie-k at 10:36 AM on September 7, 2004

Even if one were to agree that if you add eight words or so to the sentence it makes sense, one still hs to wonder what exactly he means. Are there really that many frivilous lawsuits again't OB/GYNs of all people? Most of the cases I hear about seem to be pretty serious, often dealing with doctors who engage in inappropriate behaviour. Or is this some big problem in the states--you know, like that crazy summer a few years ago where you had all those shark attacks, except that you didn't but that's of little importance now. What's important is the dems have a lawyer on the ticket! A LAWYER! What are common people like us supposed ot think of some guy suing big corporations? We love big corporations. That's why we love Dick Cheney and GWB. We all love big corporations and helping them out, since they're at such a disadvantage in the american marketplace...

Seriously, if this works, I'll no longer feel bad for believing Americans are, by and large, shamefully and willfully uninformed.
posted by The God Complex at 10:37 AM on September 7, 2004

There is definitely a lot of money spent defending stupid law suits. The problem, however, is how do you eliminate the stupid ones without eliminating the meritorious ones. It's not really possible (beyond the mechanisms already in place), so the whole "litigation crisis" polemic is BS.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:43 AM on September 7, 2004

There are more important and tangible issues to focus on than a slip of the tongue.
Fuck it. Bush has twisted completely innocent Kerry quotes into sleazy criticism for months now...

Double fuck it. Even without the Bush campaign's reprehensible tactics, these "slips of the tongue" happen constantly because, sad to say, Bush is a complete airhead. I'd love to see Bush get challenged at a stump speech by any heckler he hadn't managed to quarantine miles away from him, and be able (and willing) to spar with them like Kerry:

At the same time, he said, wages are down by $1,500 for "the average family." One heckler then shouted, "Yeah, Kerry, you're really average." Kerry pounced on the comment, replying: "No, I'm privileged, and my tax burden went down. I don't think that's right."

But what happens when Bush is asked a simple question, by a reporter at a press conference?

I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it. John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could've done it better this way or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet. ... I hope -- I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.

Problem is, not only can he not think on his feet, he can't think on his ass.
posted by soyjoy at 10:45 AM on September 7, 2004

" As for the issue, and not the gaffe, the system we have definitely has problems which trial lawyers exploit."

Cell Divide, is there any support for that statement, or is that just something you heard a grown up saying and you thought it sounded important enough to repeat. What part of "the system" constitutes a "problem" that "trial lawyers" "exploit." If by "problem" you mean incompetent medical care and if by "exploit" you mean competently representing injured patients, then you may have a point after all.
posted by Outlawyr at 10:49 AM on September 7, 2004

There is definitely a lot of money spent defending stupid law suits. The problem, however, is how do you eliminate the stupid ones without eliminating the meritorious ones. It's not really possible (beyond the mechanisms already in place), so the whole "litigation crisis" polemic is BS.

Agreed.
posted by drezdn at 10:52 AM on September 7, 2004

From soyjoy's link:

Patricia Romano of Canonsburg told Kerry that she has had 11 throat surgeries and must pay so much for prescription drugs that she had to get a part-time job at age 70.

Hecklers drowned out Romano at one point. That prompted Kerry to say, "While the Bush people were rudely shouting, we had a 70-year-old woman trying to speak" about runaway costs of prescription drugs.

I sure hope the President puts an end to frivolous throat surgeries.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 10:56 AM on September 7, 2004

Are there really that many frivilous lawsuits again't OB/GYNs of all people?

Not sure of the exact numbers, but they'd be involved in the birthing process. If your kid is born with some kind of defect, who's to say it wasn't malpractice on the part of the doctors involved? I would not be at all surprised to learn that OB/GYN's have extremely high malpractice insurance and are in fact frequent targets of questionable litigation.

Doesn't change the fact that Bush is the antithesis of the "Great Communicator" he'd so like to pretend that he is.
posted by willnot at 11:03 AM on September 7, 2004

Well, AWOL obviously can't speak coherently without eight or ten handlers feeding him a script.....but, hey, if he wants to try to run for reelection on a Republican platform that women and babies injured by incompetent physicians and a greedy health-care industry can't get a day in court...good luck selling that to the people of America.

Bush's babbling stance fits in pretty well with Republicans "practicing their love" by going down on anyone who waves a few dollars in their face.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 11:04 AM on September 7, 2004

According to this page over half of all malpractice lawsuits are OB/GYN related. I didn't read enough to determine whether the page is biased in any way -- it's just the first numbers I found in a google search.
posted by willnot at 11:07 AM on September 7, 2004

The whole frivolous lawsuit issue has become an urban legend. Everyone thinks its true simply because they've heard it repeated ad nauseum. The problem is that the 'frivolous lawsuits' get a disproportionate share of media attention, such as the McDonalds hot-coffee lawsuit. What the average person fails to realize is that 'frivolous lawsuits' constitute a minute percentage of all lawsuits. There is a process for bringing a case to court that works quite well. Any case that comes to court has already been reviewed before being allowed to proceed.

Concepts of liability and malpractice are also changing, and it is society, through the courts, that should be allowed to decide this. What was once written off as, "oh well, Doctors are human and mistakes are made and some things are beyond our control" has now become, "Doctors have great access to a wealth of information and have a responsibility to their patients to stay up to date. A more modern, reliable and safer method was available and the doctor neglected to use it."

When insurance becomes a matter of profit, anything that costs the insurance company more money eats into their profits. Drive through any insurance company parking lot and count the number of luxury cars. Should your insurance premiums be paying for medical care, or should they be paying for luxury cars and political lobbying? Ask yourselves where the REAL frivolity exists.
posted by PigAlien at 11:14 AM on September 7, 2004

The problem is that the 'frivolous lawsuits' get a disproportionate share of media attention, such as the McDonalds hot-coffee lawsuit.

...which wasn't frivolous either.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 11:21 AM on September 7, 2004

Amen, PigAlien- the problem lies squarely with the insurance companies, who are an enormous lobby with deep ties to the Bush camp. Doctors require insurance for malpractice, and pressure them to settle when sued, which raises their premiums. Malpractice lawyers know that an insurance company will pay $X for complaint Y, so they just play the game in the best interest of their client, knowing that to do otherwise costs time and money and increases risk. Meanwhile, the insurance companies keep getting richer. And, on the other side, health plan providers dictate what they'll pay for for given injuries, which takes control of providing good medical care out of the doctors and puts it in the hands of the insurance companies, who can basically set their own profits.

Problem is, it's a difficult problem for the average taxpayer to grasp. Far better to pin it on those eeeeeeevil lawyers. And it's not AT ALL a coincidence that Edwards is one.
posted by mkultra at 11:25 AM on September 7, 2004

According to this page over half of all malpractice lawsuits are OB/GYN related.

Well, they shouldn't force their love on others.
posted by Peter H at 11:28 AM on September 7, 2004

Bush: "Eggplant ectoplasm wankel rotary engine."

Holy shit! I think I got that in an e-mail message earlier today. Bush is channeling spammers now?
posted by mkhall at 11:34 AM on September 7, 2004

Outlawyr, that's exactly what I meant. Lawyers are like hackers, they discover holes in the system and exploit them for their own ends. This is a natural course of action in a capitalist society. Of course, 95% of lawyers don't work this way, but as long as you have an imperfect system, lawyers will be there to exploit those imperfections.

If you read what I wrote carefully, I am saying that I really don't have a problem with that, as I would rather have a system where individuals are free to sue corporations, and courts are free to decide the merits of such suits, and have a few mistakes, then one where the corporations dictate who can sue them and for how much.

Perhaps you take personally the lexicon of "exploit" and "problems" but I didn't mean it in a negative or positive way-- it's reality and lawyers confront that reality, it's their job.

However, I do have friends who are doctors and there is definitely a problem with the system which cannot be put at only one doorstep. It's too simplistic to say it's all the fault of insurance companies or all the fault of attorneys. Both of them are in business to make money, and neither is served by putting Doctors out of business or reducing the incentives for Doctors to practice certain types of medicine. We will all benefit by some reform of the system, but no one will benefit by the special interest pandering of both the Democrats and the Republicans.
posted by cell divide at 11:35 AM on September 7, 2004

Armitage, I realize that the McDonald's case is not truly a frivolous lawsuit given the extenuating circumstances. However, the truth remains that regardless of any extenuating circumstances the lady spilled the coffee on herself and this is what the general public considers frivolous. It is a good example of what people think are frivolous lawsuits, which is why I used it. The majority of cases do not fall into this category.
posted by PigAlien at 11:38 AM on September 7, 2004

Surely you realize that even Kerry knows he can't win this election. He knows America, however dumb it may be, wants to reelect the President; this is just Kerry's method to assure his Senate seat for as long as he wants it; to become the new Ted Kennedy.
posted by ParisParamus at 11:41 AM on September 7, 2004

In response to those asking about OB/GYNs and malpractice: whatever you may think should be done about the lawsuits the fact remains that malpractice insurance for OB/GYNs and nurse midwives is rapidly becoming prohibitively expensive.
posted by Songdog at 11:42 AM on September 7, 2004

Songdog- it's not just OB/GYNs. My father is a general surgeon (internal organs not covered by any other specialty- a lot of emergency operations, like appendectomies, fall under this) and was forced out of his PA practice (where there is no reform) a few years ago because his skyrocketing insurance premiums made it essentially unprofitable.
posted by mkultra at 12:06 PM on September 7, 2004

He knows America, however dumb it may be, wants to reelect the President;

On the contrary. The country really wants to kick the bum to the curb, they're just not convinced that Kerry's the man for the job. Of course, nearly half of likely voters polled are convinced, so I don't see where you pull such ludicrous statements from, PP.
posted by jpoulos at 12:07 PM on September 7, 2004

Jpoulos: where do I pull them from? Where have you been?! From the How Can I Creatively, Indirectly Tweak People On Metafilter Department?, of course.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:20 PM on September 7, 2004

In other words, you pull them from the same mine from which you pull your entire political philosophy. Namely, your ass.
posted by Optamystic at 12:45 PM on September 7, 2004

Optamystic: that was really unnecessary!
posted by ParisParamus at 12:48 PM on September 7, 2004

Sorry man, just joshin' ya.
posted by Optamystic at 12:50 PM on September 7, 2004

practice the love.
posted by quonsar at 1:13 PM on September 7, 2004

Surely you realize that even Kerry knows he can't win this election. He knows America, however dumb it may be, wants to reelect the President; this is just Kerry's method to assure his Senate seat for as long as he wants it; to become the new Ted Kennedy.

What the fuck does that even mean? Every creditable poll puts Bush and Kerry as virtually even, if you count the margin of error. You may be a fan of Bush, and hey, we all have opinions, but that just slanderous bullshit.
posted by SweetJesus at 1:56 PM on September 7, 2004

PP was just trying to get your kids to go under the bridge so he can eat them. Don't feed him.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:06 PM on September 7, 2004

All across America, proctologists can't practice their love for fear of catching the gay.

(I could'nt resist the gay either)
posted by moonbird at 3:58 PM on September 7, 2004

Wait, there are trolls on MetaFilter? You mean some members aren't interested in engaging in an enlightening discussion of the posts and would rather just troll for unwary Mefites so they can pull them into their ego-eddy's?

For shame. And really, if you get your jollies by trolling, perhaps you should consider seeing how much bleach you can drink in one sitting.
posted by fenriq at 4:38 PM on September 7, 2004

My understanding of the issue:
Insurance premiums for doctors have skyrocketed in the past couple years, far outstripping payouts. The reason premiums have increased (often, according to my cousin the D.O., 50% annual increases) is that the stock market isn't doing all that great - yeah, it has its moments, but it's no longer the sure bet it was a few years ago. Problem is, the ins. companies feel the heat to continue to post yearly profit increases commensurate with those from the Internet boom years, when they could re-invest the premiums and make beaucoup bucks. The only place to make up those profits is on the "consumer" side - the premiums.
posted by notsnot at 4:49 PM on September 7, 2004

Peter H linked to it, but I find the fact that Jesse Jackson was making fun of Bush afterwards to be the kicker.

BRENT MERRILL: As you saw today at the president's conference, the leader of the free world does not understand tribal sovereignty. What would you do in your estimation, Reverend, what would you do and how would you advise tribes to educate our folks, just exactly what tribal sovereignty is?

JESSE JACKSON: The President explained. You just didn't understand. Sovereignty is sovereignty. You understand? It's like in sovereignity. If you are on a reservation, you have been soverized. Your Ph.D. is in soverbication. You understand? I don't think you understand.

BRENT MERRILL: You're right. I didn't understand that.

JESSE JACKSON: Well, needless to say -- needless to say that the sovereignty of American – Native American tribes are federally protected rights. As long as Native Americans were perishing on those reservations it didn't matter to states. But now that you have gaming on the reservations and economic development on the reservations, and indeed in some states voting on the reservations, the state now wants to impose itself on the federally protected sovereignty of the states. It has nothing to do with education, per se. It has to do with a legal relationship between federally constructed contracts or treaties, and states would not have the right to interfere with those federal territories. That is the real answer to that.

There's a difference between having trouble with the language and having trouble with knowledge.
posted by john at 5:15 PM on September 7, 2004

My OB/GYN is also a friend, and even though she's never been sued in her entire practicing time as a doctor, her insurance rates have more than quadrupled in the last few years. She's had to add more and more doctors to her practice just to be able to do the volume that keep the doors open. It's insane.

And Texas is one of those states that the insurance companies were able to buy a constitutional amendment that limits malpractice awards to a max of 250K. No matter how egregious the case of malpractice it is.

For instance, there's a case where a woman was told that she had a rare cancer, was about to die, and that the only way to treat it was to immediately enter the hospital, remove her jawbone and replace it with bones from some other part of her body...I want to say legs, but I could be misremembering. Anyway, tons of surgery, insane amounts of pain and physical therapy...and then it turns out that nobody along the line had double checked the sample, or run secondary tests before rushing her into surgery. Turns out, she never had cancer at all. It was someone else...who subsequently died...who had the cancer.

But, because of "tort reform", all that woman is entitled to is a measly 250k.

And have doctor's rates insurance rates got down after the amendment was passed? Nope...they went up again. Insurance companies lost a fortune when the dot com bubble exploded and they're making it up on the backs of everyone who comes into contact with them.


Bush: "Eggplant ectoplasm wankel rotary engine."

Well, there can only be one response at that point. "Wavy line, wavy line, lotus blossom, duck."
posted by dejah420 at 7:45 PM on September 7, 2004

For all the blame thrown at the insurance companies raising rates for losing money in the stock, that's a bit unfair since in the years they did well investing doctors (and other insureds) paid less for their policies. That's the way our insurance industry is structured and as long as investment values follow the business cycle through ups and downs, so will policy premiums.
posted by billsaysthis at 8:31 PM on September 7, 2004

The republican attacks just keep coming. Yesterday it was the President, who even in this thread is able to change a buffoonish statement into an attack on John Edwards. Today it is the Vice president on the attack. According to Cheney, if W(rong) is not elected, the terrorists will be coming once again....

How low is this election going to go? When will the democrats start taking advantage of these gaffs? It's being handed to them on a silver platter--and they are ignoring it.
posted by barrista at 10:02 PM on September 7, 2004

Isn't it interesting that such an amazing statement has not been picked up by major media outlets? I have been searching for our "liberal media" and have not found them in about....oh the last four or five years or so.
posted by barrista at 10:05 PM on September 7, 2004

All I know is that, if I start hearing Barry White music and I see a set of gynecological stirrups nearby, I will start running. And I'm a man!
posted by jonp72 at 12:11 AM on September 8, 2004

Isn't it interesting that such an amazing statement has not been picked up by major media outlets?

barrista, are you talking about the Cheney terrorist "threat?" Because at the time you were typing that, and for some time before and after, it was the top story on Google News, with dozens of links to coverage by major media outlets. Maybe I misunderstood what you were referring to, though.
posted by soyjoy at 7:46 AM on September 8, 2004

What the fuck does that even mean? Every creditable poll puts Bush and Kerry as virtually even, if you count the margin of error. You may be a fan of Bush, and hey, we all have opinions, but that just slanderous bullshit.

It means that statistics and polls can't measure certain intangibles; it means the New York Mets were, earlier this summer, three games or less out of first place.
posted by ParisParamus at 7:55 AM on September 8, 2004