Thursday, August 13, 2009
Cream Calendar / National Skyline Fiery Furnaces' Show at Mercy Lounge Aug. 19 Now a Pro-Health Care Reform Rally
Posted by D Patrick Rodgers on Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Since I know you guys have been closely following my extensive coverage of The Fiery Furnaces in recent weeks, I thought I'd throw another of their curious undertakings onto the mounting heap of FF announcements. The Friedbergers recently posted on their MySpace page that each show they play in August--that includes their Aug. 19 performance at Mercy Lounge with White Rabbits--will ostensibly be a rally for Obama's proposed health care reform initiative.
Sure, we can disagree on the details. But Patriotic American Rock-n-Roll Fans must surely agree that our nation is in desperate need of health care reform. We need it for economic reasons, certainly. But we also need it if we are going to stay true to our values. Our values as Americans, that is. Because from our perspective, aren't we the most value-ble people in the world? That's got to have to do with the health of our persons, and not just the health of our pocketbooks. Come on down and pick up some information about how you can show your support for, and talk to your neighbors about, this patriotic, eminently capitalist-friendly thing called Health Care Reform! And you know, for better or worse, it's capitalist-friendly. And pro-Rock-n-Roll.
Not into Obama's proposed plan? That's OK, too.
By the way, if you happen to be a member of an anti-health care reform mob, why not come down and picket one of the Pro-Health Care Rallies 'N Rock Shows listed below? Us Patriotic Pro-Reform--which in this case just means Pro-American-- Rock-n-Roll fans inside the building will raise you a toast.
I wonder how into this rally idea White Rabbits are. (Via: P4K)
Comments (20)
Showing 1-20 of 20
This may be a deal breaker for some. Even those who already had plans to go.
Not very accessible, guys.
It would be cool if there were picketers though. I'd go the parking lot to watch that.
(And no I wouldn't pay the bullshit $3 to park. We are still in Nashville, right?)
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What if you are pro-health-care-reform, but anti-current- pending-legislation-health-care-reform? This band is lame.
politics and bands dont mix. thats why the clash are overrated. but hey im on vacation.
The best thing about this is who it's going to pull out of the woodwork. There's nothing more pathetic than right wing hipsters.
Your favorite band? They probably don't have health insurance.
I know lots of people who don't make much money that can afford health insurance, including people in bands, some of them my favorite bands, even. I guess they would rather spend their money on insurance versus sucking down 2-for-1 PBRs every night of the week. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Ryan, so you would support legislation that would prevent insurance companies from turning down people with pre-existing disqualifying conditions like type 1 diabetes, allowing all people who want to pay for health insurance to obtain it?
How about you tell me what COBRA premiums cost for people who are laid off from their jobs, so we can get a sense of what your poor friends really have to pay?
You're talking in anecdotes that don't even depict identifiable people. Back it up.
The OG DG, I would "support legislation that would prevent insurance companies from turning down people with pre-existing disqualifying conditions like type 1 diabetes, allowing all people who want to pay for health insurance to obtain it?" The key being if they want to pay for it and can pay for it. However, I do not support the health care reform bill being considered at this time.
I would consider myself an identifiable person. When I was between jobs, I got short term insurance from BCBS that was around $100 a month. That was/ is less than my cable/internet bill, and my cell phone bill. They currently have short term plans that run anywhere from $70 a month to $185 for a family of three. I agree that COBRA premiums are outrageous, but they are not the only alternative. HSAs are also a cheaper alternative to traditional insurance. The friends I am referring to are not poor, but they do budget their money so that they can pay for health insurance.
You're really going to argue that short-term insurance (which is more expensive than you state-- when did you have it?) and HSAs are sufficient to address the health care crisis?
Short term policies not only don't cover pre-existing conditions, they're only renewable for 2-3 years, and you have to renew every six months. I have a chronic disease (genetic, apparently) that I didn't know about a few months ago. Had I been insured on a short-term policy. I would have two more months of insurance, then my insurer could (and would) refuse to renew. And I would never, ever be able to get insurance again.
Yes, it's an option, and not a bad one when you're left with nothing else. But it's a failure as a solution to the mess that is our health care system.
We all love when a good band comes to Nashville, but you're not going to have a day job with insurance if you have to go on tour three or four months a year. And when you're trying to make ends meet and you're 20 and in a band, you can't afford things you don't need right now. So bands are a bad idea as a rational self-interested economic choice, but this fucking blog celebrates that choice.
I'm sick of hearing about benefits for young hipsters who had an accident befall them. But guess what? It happens. You're a real asshole if you're one of those people that for some kind of big-dicked free-market principle, you're going to make Bridget or Chuck or someone let their lives get ruined because of an accident or crime.
Of course, most right wing hipsters are either rich, or afraid of their Limbaugh-listening dads and secretly think everyone gay is going to hell, so I'm not surprised to read this sort of bullshit.
I guess I happen to believe in the big-dicked free market principle, most of the time.
I had short term insurance three years ago. The prices I quoted, however, were from the BCBS website I looked on this morning.
I did not say HSAs were the answer to the health care crisis. I don't have the answer. I just do not believe the option we're being served right now is the answer.
I am not rich, I am the sole proprietor of a small business. I am not a hipster, I don't believe in hell, and my dad voted for Obama. I've played in bands for 15 years, I have had health insurance for most of that time.
A $150 per month policy covers catastophic events. I know someone who has that policy.
I too celebrate the choice that people have to travel across the country and make $5 a day and enjoy themselves immensely. I also celebrate the choice that the factory worker makes to support his family. One of them will obviously have a better selection when it comes to health care options. It's a choice.
Your hostility is lame, but I guess that's all you've got.
The primary reason Built to Spill left Up Records for Warner Bros was that Doug wanted family to have health care.
ps. Fuck Ron Paul.
"I have had health insurance for most of that time."
You're a hero and an inspiration because you didn't get sick and find yourself permanently uninsurable in the gaps between your coverage, or at the time when your short-term coverage had to be renewed.
I've know plenty of small business owners who weren't totally self-interested, but those who think government is out to fuck them are some of the worst people on earth. Congrats.
I take it back, your hostility is adorable.
Sorry your life is miserable, if you move to Britain you can probably get the insurance coverage you'd like, and everything would be awesome for you! They have great food there, too, and the taxes are pretty low from what I hear.
Cheers!
Great, glad you liked it! I kind of like "America: Love it or Live with it." a little better.
If you'd like, you should come down to Melrose Pub next Sunday for a meeting of Nashville Right Wing Hipsters. We'll be talking about how awesome the Smiths would be if Morrisey weren't gay, and we'll be previewing our silk-screened Dick Cheney t-shirts. Our Parliaments will be lit with $100 bills, and we'll be drinking Yuengling out of the skulls of poor people.
Go fuck yourself dude.
It's ridiculous to argue for the "free market principle" as the solution for our health care problems, citing "the choice that the factory worker makes to support his family," as Ryan does. It's nice when people make choices that work out well for them; but we have government regulations to thank for the fact that so many hard-working workers (like this hypothetical factory guy) can get insurance in the first place. The law requires that if employers offer insurance to a given class of employees, they must offer it to *all* those employees.
If we instead allowed the free market to reign unfettered, employers would be able to pick and choose, buying insurance only for their star employees or highest earners. That's what many of them probably would do, and Mr. Hypothetical Factory Guy wouldn't get any insurance, if his employers think he'll stick around without it.
I'm just citing that as one example of why we already don't have a "free-market" health care system in the U.S., & wouldn't like it if we did. We don't have a free-market national highway system, either.
Oops that was me, not "anonymous." I am pretty swayed, though, by Ryan's argument that England has socialized medicine, and their food tastes bad. Coincidence... or something more??
Emily,
I am not arguing for the unfettered reign of the free market principle as the solution to our health care problem. I just said that I support the idea of the free-market system, period. Obviously there needs to be regulation. There already is, and there needs to be more in some areas and less in others.
The "hypothetical" factory worker I referred to was in regards to the idea that a kid who is 20 and in touring band can't get insurance. My point was that there are jobs that provide insurance, and there is a choice you make when you either take that job or decide that you want to get in a van and travel across the country. It is a choice that people make in a lot of cases. And I guess instead of factory worker, I should have said UPS. That is a terrible job, but they have great benefits. I was just pointing out that there are options out there for people.
Your sarcasm is awesome, though!
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