Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
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oftenwrong
Shirina
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Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
You've heard me rail against right-wing propaganda in my posts, and sometimes I was even able to show you the propaganda in action! Well, once again, this is one of those times. Enter Rick Santorum - again - making an idiot out of himself on the world stage:
A Dutch politician wants his government to publicly rebuke Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum for claiming that forced euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands and that the elderly are being killed against their will.
Earlier this month, Santorum brought up the subject of euthanasia at a forum hosted by conservative leader James Dobson. “They have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, but half the people who are euthanized every year, and it’s 10 percent of all deaths, half of those people are euthanized involuntarily in hospitals, because they are older and sick,” Santorum said. “So elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go to the hospital. They go to another country. Because they’re afraid because of budget purposes they will not come out of that hospital if they go in with sickness.”
Well now. Here we have Santorum either displaying ignorance of Dutch policies - in which case he should do his homework before proclaiming what those policies are - or Rick Santorum is LYING! And willfully lying!
The thing to pay attention to here is the fact that Santorum's little speech about forced euthanasia in Holland mirrors down to a "T" what right-wingers used to say about Obamacare. You know, "death panels" and nonsense like that. The right-wing argument (or should I say "propaganda") was centered around one clause in the "Obamacare" bill. That clause said that end-of-life care should be included as part of the package. It didn't say anyone was going to be killed or kicked out of hospitals because of "budget concerns." No, we'll leave THAT to the capitalists who wouldn't let anyone into a hospital without a fat wallet to begin with (to say nothing of kicking them out when the money runs dry).
This whole bizarre twisting of the truth was simply a scare tactic to turn everyone away from a bill that resembled NHS ... or SOCIALISM! OMFG! Or maybe it's Satan ... one can never know with Santorum! Poor old granny is going to be denied care or kicked out of the hospital simply because she costs too much to treat. Death panels will decide who lives or dies. Oh! You mean like the "death panels" embedded within insurance companies that pour over your documents in the hopes of finding a way to deny you coverage ... THOSE death panels? Those suits in big corner offices, those insurance execs who never spent 5 minutes in a med school classroom, who can override a doctor's decision on how best to treat a patient? Yes, those death panels.
And now here we have Santorum opening up his mouth and LYING about forced euthanasia on the elderly in Holland. Let's resurrect the old "death panel" argument and whip that dead horse some more. They're only Dutch, so what difference does it make if they get angry at Santorum's lies, right? Just as long as the American people believes him! Just as long as they get afraid again ... afraid of NHS, afraid of socialism, afraid of health care for everyone and not just the middle class folks who have to spend their kids' college funds and their own retirement accounts to pay for skyrocketing insurance costs.
So here it is, right-wing propaganda in action. Lie about what happens in other countries to scare the bejesus out of our own people. We don't want that here! No sirree! It reminds me of the right-wing Americans on Moonbeam's site who would actually tell Canadian posters how bad the Canadian health care system was, how long they had to wait, etc. Even though the Canadians were right there saying, "Uh, no, that's not how it is, we like our NHS," the right-wingers insisted that the Canadians were wrong. LOL!
Santorum just needs to stop ... just stop. Go home. Throw in the towel. I am so tired of being lied to. Granted, politicians lie - but those lies are usually about making promises that can't be kept. We, as the people, can usually tell the difference between realistic goals and rubbish used to pad a campaign speech. But Santorum is a different kind of liar. He just spits it out, right there on the floor. Here it is folks, a lie! And Santorum goes about his business as if his lie was justified. I think the lies are so bold that it catches Americans off their guard. "Wait ... could Santorum be right? Surely he wouldn't say it if it wasn't true ..."
And then we go back to believing that NHS is just another word for forced euthanasia and death panels. Ugh ... someone put a muzzle on this guy.
Link
A Dutch politician wants his government to publicly rebuke Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum for claiming that forced euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands and that the elderly are being killed against their will.
Earlier this month, Santorum brought up the subject of euthanasia at a forum hosted by conservative leader James Dobson. “They have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, but half the people who are euthanized every year, and it’s 10 percent of all deaths, half of those people are euthanized involuntarily in hospitals, because they are older and sick,” Santorum said. “So elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go to the hospital. They go to another country. Because they’re afraid because of budget purposes they will not come out of that hospital if they go in with sickness.”
Well now. Here we have Santorum either displaying ignorance of Dutch policies - in which case he should do his homework before proclaiming what those policies are - or Rick Santorum is LYING! And willfully lying!
The thing to pay attention to here is the fact that Santorum's little speech about forced euthanasia in Holland mirrors down to a "T" what right-wingers used to say about Obamacare. You know, "death panels" and nonsense like that. The right-wing argument (or should I say "propaganda") was centered around one clause in the "Obamacare" bill. That clause said that end-of-life care should be included as part of the package. It didn't say anyone was going to be killed or kicked out of hospitals because of "budget concerns." No, we'll leave THAT to the capitalists who wouldn't let anyone into a hospital without a fat wallet to begin with (to say nothing of kicking them out when the money runs dry).
This whole bizarre twisting of the truth was simply a scare tactic to turn everyone away from a bill that resembled NHS ... or SOCIALISM! OMFG! Or maybe it's Satan ... one can never know with Santorum! Poor old granny is going to be denied care or kicked out of the hospital simply because she costs too much to treat. Death panels will decide who lives or dies. Oh! You mean like the "death panels" embedded within insurance companies that pour over your documents in the hopes of finding a way to deny you coverage ... THOSE death panels? Those suits in big corner offices, those insurance execs who never spent 5 minutes in a med school classroom, who can override a doctor's decision on how best to treat a patient? Yes, those death panels.
And now here we have Santorum opening up his mouth and LYING about forced euthanasia on the elderly in Holland. Let's resurrect the old "death panel" argument and whip that dead horse some more. They're only Dutch, so what difference does it make if they get angry at Santorum's lies, right? Just as long as the American people believes him! Just as long as they get afraid again ... afraid of NHS, afraid of socialism, afraid of health care for everyone and not just the middle class folks who have to spend their kids' college funds and their own retirement accounts to pay for skyrocketing insurance costs.
So here it is, right-wing propaganda in action. Lie about what happens in other countries to scare the bejesus out of our own people. We don't want that here! No sirree! It reminds me of the right-wing Americans on Moonbeam's site who would actually tell Canadian posters how bad the Canadian health care system was, how long they had to wait, etc. Even though the Canadians were right there saying, "Uh, no, that's not how it is, we like our NHS," the right-wingers insisted that the Canadians were wrong. LOL!
Santorum just needs to stop ... just stop. Go home. Throw in the towel. I am so tired of being lied to. Granted, politicians lie - but those lies are usually about making promises that can't be kept. We, as the people, can usually tell the difference between realistic goals and rubbish used to pad a campaign speech. But Santorum is a different kind of liar. He just spits it out, right there on the floor. Here it is folks, a lie! And Santorum goes about his business as if his lie was justified. I think the lies are so bold that it catches Americans off their guard. "Wait ... could Santorum be right? Surely he wouldn't say it if it wasn't true ..."
And then we go back to believing that NHS is just another word for forced euthanasia and death panels. Ugh ... someone put a muzzle on this guy.
Link
Shirina- Former Administrator
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Join date : 2011-10-07
Location : Right behind you. Boo!
Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
Umm.... it probably doesn't matter what emerges from Mr Santorum's mouth, since his chances of becoming President of the USA are about the same as mine or our dog.
oftenwrong- Sage
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Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
Let me be absolute clear on this subject. As a Dutchman I am not only offended by this idiot, I am also saddened.
Against the will of most Dutch our government supported the US together with the British government on Irak and Afghanistan. This is the thanks we get from the conservatives not only in the states, but also in the UK as well. I am very angry about it.
May I refer to this show from NBC.
Rachel Maddow Show
Against the will of most Dutch our government supported the US together with the British government on Irak and Afghanistan. This is the thanks we get from the conservatives not only in the states, but also in the UK as well. I am very angry about it.
May I refer to this show from NBC.
Rachel Maddow Show
ZegmaarPatrick- Guest
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
It amazes me (but I'm not surprised) on how little most US politicians know about the rest of the world. Maybe they should escape the US bubble and go back packing for a year or so before moving into politics and putting their foot in it all the time
blueturando- Banned
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Join date : 2011-11-21
Age : 57
Location : Jersey CI
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
blueturando wrote:It amazes me (but I'm not surprised) on how little most US politicians know about the rest of the world. Maybe they should escape the US bubble and go back packing for a year or so before moving into politics and putting their foot in it all the time
The number of Americans who have a passport, according to the most recent statistics issued by the State Department in January of 2011, is 114,464,041.Given the country’s population of 307,006,550, about 37% of the population has one. This means that nearly 2 out of 3 Americans can’t even fly to Canada, let alone travel to anywhere else in the world. You have to agree that a population being so insular as that is bordering on a third world mindset , that statistic is outrageous for the leading superpower of the world. The likes of Mitt Romney , Rick Santorum , Newt Gingrich don't need to be clued up with stats like that :affraid: :affraid: :affraid: Ron Paul I'm sure knows , but the poor guy is fighting an unfair battle with the mainstream media daily , RP get's my vote 100%.
Scarecrow- Deactivated
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Join date : 2012-02-23
Location : Midlands.
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
blueturando wrote:It amazes me (but I'm not surprised) on how little most US politicians know about the rest of the world. Maybe they should escape the US bubble and go back packing for a year or so before moving into politics and putting their foot in it all the time
Blue
I cannot agree more with you and your summary. its just frightening to here what the Rep party know about world issues...
Stox 16- Posts : 1064
Join date : 2011-12-18
Age : 65
Location : Suffolk in the UK
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
The Yanks are good at trying to butter up anyone who stands against their wishes, and to sneer at the allies. The behaviour of their courts against european countries - the military courts in paticular - is disgusting.
I for one am peed off in the extreme for their ridiculous British and bad teeth jibes.
All because of a SIMPSONS EPISODE for God's sake.
Then you have dickheads like Ricky Gervais and Hugh Lawrie and umpteen other Brits pandering to the view as if it's any more valid.
I for one am peed off in the extreme for their ridiculous British and bad teeth jibes.
All because of a SIMPSONS EPISODE for God's sake.
Then you have dickheads like Ricky Gervais and Hugh Lawrie and umpteen other Brits pandering to the view as if it's any more valid.
Phil K- Guest
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
If you take politics completely out of the question, think about certain issues from a pure common sense point of view, not with Conservative or Liberal tinted galasses on, but as a human.
SO HERE IS THE QUESTION >
Did Barack Obama do the right thing when he stood up in Cairo and said that there is no reason why the Muslim world and the west cannot be friends, why we cannot work together for the good of the world. ?
NEXT QUESTION
If there are people in the west who oppose what Mr Obama said in Cairo, then where are we most likely to find such people ?, would it be in the Democratic Party of the United States, or would it be more likely to be in the Republican Party. ?
There are large elements within the Republican Party of the United States of America who are as extreme as anyone anywhere in the world, and there are lots of people in that party who would jepordise peace and make the world a lot more insecure.
As a European I fear Rick Santorum as much as I fear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
SO HERE IS THE QUESTION >
Did Barack Obama do the right thing when he stood up in Cairo and said that there is no reason why the Muslim world and the west cannot be friends, why we cannot work together for the good of the world. ?
NEXT QUESTION
If there are people in the west who oppose what Mr Obama said in Cairo, then where are we most likely to find such people ?, would it be in the Democratic Party of the United States, or would it be more likely to be in the Republican Party. ?
There are large elements within the Republican Party of the United States of America who are as extreme as anyone anywhere in the world, and there are lots of people in that party who would jepordise peace and make the world a lot more insecure.
As a European I fear Rick Santorum as much as I fear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
witchfinder- Forum Founder
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Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
Rick Santorum doesn’t train to drive airliners into buildings. The level of fear should equal the level of threat.
I fear terrorist murderers who, as I type, train to wreak destruction on civilization, far more than I fear any politician. Remember, if you’re old enough (or read the history if you were not alive when it happened), the coerced exit of Richard Milhous Nixon from the White House. When impeachment was looming, a delegation of Conservative Republican U.S. Senators took a little trip to the White House to speak with Mr. Nixon. As they exited, they were ambushed by reporters with questions.
The leader of the delegation, Mr. Conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater, answered one key question. When asked how he would vote in Nixon’s trial, if it came to that, Goldwater said that he would vote to convict Nixon of “high crimes.” Nixon resigned shortly thereafter, aboard Air Force One, thirty something thousand feet over Middle America, at High Noon.
Presidents are not God. Presidents are not “the Messiah”, a term repeated to me ad nauseoum though the winter of 2008-2009. Presidents are not the emperor. Presidents are not the king. Presidents are officials, indirectly elected by We the People of the several states of the United States of America, and ultimately answerable to We the People through our elected representatives in the U.S, House of Representatives, which in August 1974 stood ready to impeach Richard Milhous “I thought I was King” Nixon, and the U.S. Senate, which in August 1974 stood ready to convict Richard Milhous “I am not a crook” Nixon of “high crimes” and boot his behind out of our White House.
ROB- Guest
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
RockOnBrother wrote:
Rick Santorum doesn’t train to drive airliners into buildings.
Well, not so far as we know.
oftenwrong- Sage
- Posts : 12062
Join date : 2011-10-08
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
ZegmaarPatrick wrote:Let me be absolute clear on this subject. As a Dutchman I am not only offended by this idiot, I am also saddened.
Against the will of most Dutch our government supported the US together with the British government on Irak and Afghanistan. This is the thanks we get from the conservatives not only in the states, but also in the UK as well. I am very angry about it.
May I refer to this show from NBC.
Rachel Maddow Show
I cannot agree more with you Patrick...I too have many Dutch friends who are totally offended by this man...right too in my view..but then we too have idiots and whats more in the last election found two of them in office
Stox 16- Posts : 1064
Join date : 2011-12-18
Age : 65
Location : Suffolk in the UK
Re: Open mouth, insert foot, offend the Dutch
Rick Santorum is history, so "it don't matter none." None of the remaining three Republican candidates have ever exhibited the geopolitical acumen I believe a President of the United States ought to have. Even Rodham Clinton, who I respect as SECSTATE but disdain as presidential material, understands that a president needs to "court" certain leaders and certain nations. Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich couldn't successfully court the most desperate spinster.
I think the Republican Party self-destructed on its own lingering disdain for Black Americans. Baby Bush tried to show the way by appointing two Black Americans to the highest executive office, Secretary of State, to which a president can appoint someone, and one Black American to the highest "inner circle" foreign affairs post, National Security Advisor, within the White House ranks.
But did the oh-so-Barack Hussein Obama-obsessed Republican power mongers listen? Oh, no! Many put their (literal) money on Ms Bachmann, whose speeches and comments on nationwide TV featured the "Obama Four-Step", which goes "word one, word two, word three, Obama, word one, word two, word three, Obama", ad infinitum, ad nauseoum.
Meanwhile, heavyweight foreign affairs expert Dr. Condoleezza Rice sits quietly ignored, perhaps because she has had the audacity to publicly state that Obama's handling of foreign affairs has been more than competent. Sometimes telling the truth gets you ignored at the dance.
ROB- Guest
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