" Well duh...

Johnson, like most of his party, is on the record for being opposed to meaningful healthcare reform. Not a hard thing for him to do considering most of the protesters are of like mind.

When members of the Democratic party have attempted to hold town hall style meetings the vocal opponents have done their best to disrupt and shut down any communication, and some are even carrying guns to these events. Durbin made the right decision, regardless of how this Republican leaning paper feels.

I seriously doubt if this editorial board will be criticizing the actions of the more disruptive protesters. "

" JG/T-C Editorial Board...well said. "

" Senator Durbin's 'non-engagement' with his constituents over the health-care debate shouldn't strike anyone as odd.
Close observers, from over the years, of Durbin's political 'modus operandi' will tell you that when Durbin doesn't want to address a politically delicate issue, he won't engage it. Personally, I think Senator Durbin is a coward for not engaging his constituents over the health-care debate. "

" And do you think Sen. Durbin should ask the right-wing nut jobs in the audience to disarm first, or just paint a bull's eye on his forehead? "

" Oh please. More hard-nosed opinions from the JG-TC. "

" I can understand why Burris is hiding under his desk, cause he would get eggs thrown at him, but Durbin, the outspoken Washington "elite" that he is, should manage to "face the voters" who have legitimate questions regarding the health care debate. "

" Personally, I think Senator Durbin is a coward for not engaging his constituents over the health-care debate. "


Neo is well aware of what's going on with the town hall meetings. Despite neo's hyperbole, Durbin made a good choice in not wanting to get down into the gutter with that bunch of malcontents, who are acting like a bunch of spoiled little kids. Yelling and screaming (and carrying guns) is no way to discuss any issue in a civilized society. "

" Neo Con:"I think Senator Durbin is a coward for not engaging his constituents over the health-care debate."

I'm sure he's not AFRAID to face a crowd of people screaming obscenities, holding up pictures of Hitler, some packing heat just to add a little heft to the scene -- but why waste the time when there is not likely to be an intelligent exchange.

Johnson -- he has it easy. In a conservative district he's on the right side. He quotes the "non-partisan Lewin Group" studies, when he knows damn well it's owned, thru a subsidiary by United Health insurance. "

" Hound Dog:"Durbin, the outspoken Washington "elite" that he is, should manage to "face the voters" who have legitimate questions regarding the health care debate. "

Hmmm. Would you define "elite" for me?? or are you just using a word from the old Newt Gingrich list??
"who have legitimate questions" -- AS YOU DAMNED WELL KNOW, conservatives are determined to disrupt (it's sort of Chicago 1968 in reverse) any kind of discourse so there would not be an opportunity to deal with "legitimate questions".
Would YOU appear before a ranting mob, each person trying to out-scream the next: "Hitler", "Socialist", "Stalin",
"Marx"; some carrying heat openly just to prove that they have the power to ENFORCE their views if they get Really Pixxed. I do not doubt that there are nuts in this state who would assassinate Durbin if they had a chance, and some may be here......
A few of the irrational posts here???? "

" Does anyone out there remember Charleston Mayor Inyart making a comment to a standing room only crowd of disgruntled citizens? If I remember right, it was a public hearing about building the trailer park...oops, I mean University Village. Anyway, his comment went something like this. I believe that all the people tha DIDN'T show are supporters of this project....Sound familiar? "

" Personally, I think Senator Durbin is a coward for not engaging his constituents over the health-care debate. "

I'm sure everyone remembers that Bush would only talk to hand picked audiences, who had to sign loyalty oaths before getting in the door, so I guess by neo's ideas Bush would be a coward.

Wow, neo is now calling Bush a coward. Who would have thought? Better turn your Bush fan club card in, neo. lol! "

" Wonder what Johnson had to promise the JG-TC to get this wonder Public Relations piece printed? "

" Well I got an email this afternoon which said
Congressman Timot..."SUSPECTED SPAM" -- and sure enough it was from Tim Johnson.

Problem was the first line was an announcement of an appearance
AUGUST 29th, 2009 from "Congressman John Shimkus(sp?) representing the 19th Congressdional District".
If you roll down the page eventually you come to the 24th in Mattoon.

Tim on a spree again????? "

" HPotter:"I'm sure everyone remembers that Bush would only talk to hand picked audiences, who had to sign loyalty oaths before getting in the door, so I guess by neo's ideas Bush would be a coward."

Yes I spend part of the year working in Colorado (leaving in the morning for the fall season in fact) so I read the Denver Post regularly.
Yes, there were 3 young folks at a G Bush rally in Denver a couple of years ago who had arrived in a car w a sticker "No blood for oil".
They had got their tickets from a REPUBLICAN Congressman in Colorado and were seated in the auditorium when they were accosted by a couple of men who presented themselves as Secret Service,
and demanded they leave at once.

It went into Federal court and it was disclosed they were NOT SS tho they were wearing the ear-plugs and lapel pins. One was a former White House aide, AND the two were given orders to remove the 3 by a CURRENT W House aide.

I do not recall the charge in court, could have been false impersonation of a federal officer, but there was quite an investigation, took a long time to get those guilty to 'fess up. I think they got off without punishment. H***,
Bush would have pardoned them.... "

" das wrote on Aug 24, 2009 4:52 PM:

" Wonder what Johnson had to promise the JG-TC to get this wonder Public Relations piece printed? "

I think Tim promised that they could enroll free in the government option. "

" Well the obvious is obvious Durbin could not care less about the opinions of his constituents. He has his political agenda and his political supporters the unions the gays the Chicago mob and such like and that is all he needs or cares about. Why should he care about peoples health problems and their concerns for the future? And someone might ask a question he would not want to answer! "

" Based on today's news, I would say that Durbin's comment about agents for our government acting like Nazis with captured enemies has been vindicated. Let's hope a full investigation takes place, and prosecutions take place where warranted. Water boarding Dick Cheney would be a good start. "

" Based on today's news, I would say that Durbin's comment about agents for our government acting like Nazis with captured enemies has been vindicated.
---
Good point, Harry. You can't get much more Nazi than threatening to murder someone's children. Bush and Cheney haff vays of making you talk.
You must be so proud, Republicans, that you finally turned Americans into Nazis. Congrats. "

" I have a story for those who claim over and over that the high cost of health care is largely due to "extra tests" because of fear of malpractice. I've claimed it MAY be because MD's profit IF they OWN the laboratory. There's a story in today's paper that confirms my assertion.
MDs at Urological Associates, a practice on the IL/Iowa border, in August 2005 ordered 9 CT scans, and in September ordered 8.
But then suddenly they began to rise as follows:
October 35,
November 41,
December 55.
WOW you're thinking, what epidemic has suddently hit that area?
No epidemic; what happened is that previously they had sent their CTs OUT to a laboratory.
THE INCREASE CAME AFTER THEY ***BOUGHT THEIR OWN CT *** according to documents acquired by the Washington Post.
The article continues, "A host of studies and reports by academics and the federal government shows that PHYSICIANS WHO OWN THEIR OWN SCANNERS ORDER *** MANY MORE SCANS THAT OTHERS WHO DO NOT.

This was supposed to be settled by the Stark Law in 1992 which prohibited physicians from referring patients to their own scanning. But there was an exception if the scanner was in the same building as the physician. The exception was made to allow physicians to keep an x-ray in their building for quick "first guess" at the problem. But since then scanners high tech allows much small machines, so many more MDs can use the "in-office" exception.

In fact GE Health, which manufactures the devices, has on its website physicians testimony about how it makes money. A W Virginia Md wrote, "We're already beating our pro forma (earnings) in terms of return on investment".
Surely this will end the claim that lawyers and malpractice increase the number of tests. "

" Cognitus, good riddance you are leaving Illinois for Colorado. Hope you take a look at the red numbers just released by the Congressional Budget Office. Obama and crew need to stop the spending. Get it? "

" Harry Potter wrote on Aug 24, 2009 8:13 PM:
" Based on today's news, I would say that Durbin's comment about agents for our government acting like Nazis with captured enemies has been vindicated. Let's hope a full investigation takes place, and prosecutions take place where warranted. Water boarding Dick Cheney would be a good start. """""


followed by a noose.. "

" For the last several years, politicians from both sides of the aisle have complained how entitlements such as social security and medicare have been such a strain on the budget. But now some of them think it is all right to add to that strain? Funny how things change. "

" " Cognitus, good riddance you are leaving Illinois for Colorado.

What class..... "

" Travel well, Cognitus. Bon voyage. Keep fighting the good fight. "

" The question to ask Johnson is, would he like to get rid of Medicare too? It is a government run health plan as well. Just look how it drove the private industry out of business.....NOT! "

" Speaking of health care and liars, Rush Limbaugh is at it again. This time he's talking about Obamas death book for veterans. In reality it's merely a VA pamphlet for veterans discussing living wills.

The funny part is that this pamphlet was approved and implemented during the Bush administration, and for some reason Rush didn't mention that.

An yes, Rush's GOP co-leader Sarah (and Fox news of course) have climbed on board with this one too. lol!

Lying to seniors about phony death panels, death books and of course guns at health care meetings is about all the disgruntled GOP can do these days.

Ronald Reagan was the first Republican to go after Medicare and his party has been trying to destroy it for years. Gingrich wanted to cut it's funds drastically to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. And now Michael Steele, head of the RNC, is saying they are trying to protect Medicare from the Dems. Hilarious. "

" When members of the Democratic party have attempted to hold town hall style meetings the vocal opponents have done their best to disrupt and shut down any communication, and some are even carrying guns to these events. Durbin made the right decision, regardless of how this Republican leaning paper feels.

HEHEHE How does it feel when the shoe is on the other foot Harry? I love hearing you whine like a little baby "

" Would YOU appear before a ranting mob, each person trying to out-scream the next: "Hitler", "Socialist", "Stalin",
"Marx"; some carrying heat openly just to prove that they have the power to ENFORCE their views if they get Really Pixxed. I do not doubt that there are nuts in this state who would assassinate Durbin if they had a chance, and some may be here......

What a stupid gesture! You my friend needs to see a pysco doctor right away. "

" Durbin proves once again that he's a spineless idiot. That anyone would vote for such an incompetent coward is incomprehensible. "

" I have several clients who are medical doctors. Most earn less now than they did ten years ago, even though the revenues of their practices have increased. The reason: malpractice insurance has skyrocketed. Tort reform would go a long way in reducing costs... so would allowing insurance companies to compete in all states. "

" Durbin campaign slogan:

Cowardice you can believe in! "

" Hi there, right wing geniuses. This is a thread about Congressman Johnson, not Senator Durbin. Perhaps you might like to reread the article? "

" No, lefty, it's about not avoiding voters on health care issues. That immediately brings Dick "The Wimp" Durbin to mind. You should read the article yourself. Maybe a reading course could upgrade your skills to adequate. "

" http://www.OpenCuba.org


logon, sign the petition! "

" even steven wrote on Aug 25, 2009 3:35 PM:
"Tort reform would go a long way in reducing costs... so would allowing insurance companies to compete in all states. """"""


states decide who's going to sell insurance within their boundaries. if a company isn't allowed in, it's because the state chooses not to license or approve their plans for one reason or another. and usually that reason is LOBBYISTS!! "

" BW wrote on Aug 26, 2009 8:36 AM:
" No, lefty, it's about not avoiding voters on health care issues. That immediately brings Dick "The Wimp" Durbin to mind. You should read the article yourself. Maybe a reading course could upgrade your skills to adequate. """""


it's about avoiding radical rightwing nuts who want nothing but disruption. "

" BW, again, where is the mention of Durbin.

Thanks again for your tip on the reading course, but obviously from someone of your literary and analytical acumen, such advice should be taken with a grain of salt. *head pat.* "

" Try the 6th and 7th paragraphs, einstein. "

" Try to defend him all you like, Durbin is a coward. Guess those old people scare him to death. Sadly, we can see who will be voting him in again. The bright lights on these blogs and the people who don't pay enough attention along with the dead in Chicago cemeteries. "

" If you're dead in Chicago but not in a cemetery, can you still vote? "

" Yes, Durbin is scared.

Please. Don't give yourself too much credit. "

" Lobbyists representing seven of Wall Street's top 10 bailout beneficiaries and their trade associations made more than $6 million in campaign contributions to members of Congress and hosted no fewer than 70 fundraising parties between Election Day and June, according to a new analysis by Public Citizen.
"This is what Durbin probably meant when he said the banks own the place," said Public Citizen's Taylor Lincoln.
And that's the way it works, folks. Instead of trashing Durbin, you might try listening to him tell you the truth about health care. "

" Congressman Johnson might not avoid voters, but he did a darn fine job avoiding ANSWERS during Wednesday night's Town Hall Meeting. Several times during the meeting, Congressman Johnson bemoaned the fact that the current bill, as stands, doesn't allow for amendments and changes and he opposes it on these and other grounds. However, four seperate people (including myself) asked him to suggest any changes or amendments he would LIKE to make to the bill and he avoided the questions in a variety of huffy and indignant ways, usually arguing the semantics of the question rather than the substance. Republican talking points became an effective screen during hard questions. "America is the greatest."" No illegals."" No abortions.", but nothing to address the over-riding concerns the audience faced and the simple truth that people choose to go without healthcare in this country because it has become so expensive that only the wealthy have access. The middle class find so many insurance restrictions to prevent access. The poor (the ever-growing majority) simply have no choice. No freedom. Not even the dignity of a straight answer from an elected official. "

" Us and them still seems to dominate many important issues. Instead of trying to have meaningfull bipartisan work on something like this, some want to sit back and see how many spokes they can knock out of the wheels, or even wheels they can knock off the track.

Simply showing up, doesn't mean issues and citizens aren't avoided just the same.

The figure one trillion over 10 years seems huge, when its lumped together in those basic talking points terms. Lets break it down a little. 100 billion a year, for 10 years, will be 1 trillion. The population listed for the country in July 08, was 304,059,724. Dividing 100 billion by that, comes to 328.88.

So the 1 trillion over 10 years, is going to cost 328.88 a person per year to insure everyone. Many people pay more than that a month for insurance already. Many folks without insurance, or who get pre existing conditioned out of coverage, see their prosperity, life savings, and lives shortened or decimated under the current system. If 328.88 per person per year can impact that, the return on the investment is likely to have many far reaching substancial gains.

Doom and gloom aside, if the insurance, health care, and drug companies looked at the big picture, making less off of many more people is more profitable, and sustainable. This is true for many things. Many industries have priced themselves out of profitability, and want mandated or propped up profit margins, rather than responsible business models driving their bottom lines. Best products for the lowest price, has given way to get as much as possible from what ever market share can be won day to day. This is not a sustainable method, and never will be.

If whatever is done, isn't done right, responsibly, and not catering to few at the expense of many, this is doomed to fail. If the final plan, is not tied to a constitutional amendment, with a sustainable means of funding it, Priorities can change, cuts and revisions can make it no better than medicare or VA has often been. This plan, needs to shore up those programs too. Make the insurance and other industries have something to compete with, or see the same issues have this unravel, in a short span of time.

Something needs to change, and one party is more worried about who may get credit for something that could actually work, than being responsible negotiators to making the best possible plan in the world, like anything we do should be. They have the opportunity to combine stuff that works, scrap things that don't, and make this work and strengthen the country, its economy, and populations productivity.

Who stands to gain what, if this is not done as good as it could and should be? Why are they so afraid of standing up for citizens, rather than special interests. Why were the first folks consulted, the same ones that have created many of the issues in the first place? Reform should include the industries it impacts, but should it be dictated and guided by the same hands that made the situation need reformed in the first place.

They could scrap the govt insurance option, and make it illegal to deny any coverage they offer to anyone, for any insurance company in the business. That would not necessarily impact what they charge, but that could need legislated too. They can't keep having it both ways, and fleecing the masses like they do which has largely gone unchecked.

Some seem to like the situations and circumstances that exist, and are affraid of upsetting the apple carts of a few so many can keep footing all the unscrupulous bills. "

" $17,000 hospital bill for a broken wrist, and don't even have the premantent cast on yet?
Mr. Johnson do you think our current health care system is working?
For all the greedy souls out there just wanted to let you know you're already footing the bill for the impoverished. "

" Looks to me like Johnson's just fuleing the fire. Adding to the mass hyseria. "

" The Obama administration doesn't care about healthcare or they would not try to bring in a much worse system. It's about government control of another sixth of the economy. Having taken over the banks, car industry, access to our bank accounts, etc. isn't enough for the insatiable appetite of the king of the world. "

" Do you consider your personal finances private information? Would you feel comfortable having even more government bureaucrats given access to your private financial information (the IRS is privy to it right now)? If the health care takeover bill passes:

Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income, the number of dependents, and "other information as is prescribed by" regulation. That information will be provided to the new Health Choices Commissioner and state health programs and used to determine who qualifies for "affordability credits."

Section 245(b)(2)(A) says the IRS must divulge tax return details -- there's no specified limit on what's available or unavailable -- to the Health Choices Commissioner. The purpose, again, is to verify "affordability credits."

Section 1801(a) says that the Social Security Administration can obtain tax return data on anyone who may be eligible for a "low-income prescription drug subsidy" but has not applied for it. "

" Looks to me like Johnson's just fuleing the fire. Adding to the mass hyseria. "

You got that right, and aided and abetted by talk radio and the oh so fair and balanced folks at the comedy news channel (Fox news), who has made it their mission to distort everything about any health care reform. "