Those of you who have been unemployed realize that businesses are always trying to figure out another way to punish you for committing the crime of being unemployed while not being wealthy, but hey, this has got to be the worst: one of our elected congresscritters is working on another way to further disenfranchise you. According to a news story that was published today, Senator Tom Coburn (a rethuglican from the proud goat-roping state of Oklahoma) is actively seeking to prevent people from protecting themselves from genetic discrimination. HUH??
Okay, let's just pretend that you have lost out in the great genetic lottery and as a result of genome screening associated with your latest job search (just as employers require you to pass a credit check now), you are found to harbor a gene that predisposes you to the possibility of developing an expensive little disease in the future. Well, gee, what's an employer to do? According to Coburn's narrow-minded, blame-the-victim world, you will have no legal recourse when you find you are denied a job because you've been betrayed by your genes!
Is this guy insane, or is he just so filled with hatred and spite for anyone who might possibly become ill at some point in the future that he cannot see beyond the greenbacks spilling out of his oversized medical doctor's wallet? Since the average person harbors a dozen or so genetic flaws, why would he think he is um, er, genetically perfect?
An internal memo obtained last Thursday from Coburn's office said the senator's objection hinged on the possibility that an employer who provides health insurance for its workers could be sued both as an insurer and as an employer. That means employers could be sued for much higher damages than insurers by genetic freeloaders.
According to one of my state Representatives who is not (and never was) a goat-roper, Louise Slaughter (Dem-NY), she'd never heard of that particular dumbass objection from any company in 12 years of campaigning on behalf of GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act). "But it's pretty creative," she admitted, which, translated is liberalspeak for "he redefines petty stupidity."
Source
This is too stupid to be real: Did I make up this story? Um, sorry, but no.
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*sigh*
So happy to have escaped Oklahoma, where my senators were Inhoife, Nickles, and Coburn. Stooges all.
*sigh*
So happy to have escaped Oklahoma, where my senators were Inhofe, Nickles, and Coburn. Stooges all.
I can easily believe this, and also believe that the American public would support it.
I recently attended a Federal workshop for public input on developing a Tier System, basically a time table, deciding who would first receive the vaccine (two injections about 30-40 days apart) should there be a pandemic (potentially avian flu) situation in this country.
Attendees from the community voted to move teenagers down on the Tiers, meaning they would not receive their vaccines for many months...and teenagers, by the way, are the most likely to die from avian flu and also the least likely to be successfully treated with Tamiflu due to side effects such as mental instability as experienced in Japan recently.
It was voted by about an 89% majority to move the disabled and ill people to the bottom Tier. A very pleased "gentleman" yelled out,"This is Survival of the Fittest!" and the majority of people in attendance applauded and nervously laughed.
I can see this repulsive situation growing. I was sadly reminded of films of Hitler stirring up the masses by assuring them of their superiority and the need to rid their society of the 'inferior'...I'm just not sure when teenagers fell into the 'inferior' range, nor when so many Americans began to feel so superior to those with physical and mental illnesses.
Whenever I blog about Coburn I always refer to him as Senator Tom Coburn (R-Section 8).
As for why I blog about him, it's because he's a good cautionary tale for us Texans. While our lege may be the National Laboratory for Bad Gubmint (RIP Molly Ivins) but at least we don't have Coburn.
Lea,
I hope that at least the people who will actually keep the infrastructure running (medical personnel, emergency responders, utility personnel, etc) were in the first tier. Otherwise, we're really going to be up sh*t creek without a paddle when a pandemic happens
Tlazolteotl,
Tier 1 includes deployed military forces, health care and public health workers, emergency responders (fire, police, EMS), government leaders, pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
Utility workers are one of the groups included in Tier 2.
Ah, the crime of being unemployed. You get punished for that on this side of the Atlantic too, as I well remember!
In fact if I don't find a new job by the end of January I'll be committing that heinous offence once again when my current job comes to an end. I suppose it must be my fault somehow - after all society keeps saying so!
As an Oklahoman I can't tell you how embarrassing Coburn and Inhofe are to many of us. Seems to me that since African Americans are the principal victims of sickle cell anemia Coburn is trying to open a way to legally discriminate against them. Or any other racial group that may predisposed to certain illnesses.
As for bad politicians at least George W. Bush is a naturalized Texan and not an Okie.