# I am so sick of the damned fear-mongering. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 8, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265 "2009-09-08T10:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/101 "2009-09-13T03:26:27Z")
Well since this is the pit, weren’t there people on the left screaming that Bush was going to cancel the 2004 elections? And the 2008 elections? And 35% of Dems believe that Bush knew about 9/11 before it happened? Seriously, what percentage of conservatives give a shit about BHO’s birth certificate? I can think of only one time that a conservative mentioned it to me. I told him it didn’t matter to me at all since BHO’s mom was clearly American, and he said something like: Yeah, you’re right. And in terms of waiting lists for medical care, what would you suggest we do when we learn about what goes on in countries which have more government control of health care? Should we keep it a secret? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/102 "2009-09-13T03:28:27Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Hillarycare, IIRC, actually proposed penalties for anyone trying to get private care, as well as more severe penalties for physicians who would provide it. In Canada, it is illegal for private care clinics to treat conditions covered by the government, and to the extent that private care clinics do exist they are criticized for taking doctors from away from the government program and creating even longer wait times. (Also, **CC** , there are no private letter-delivery companies, are there? Know why that is?) I’d ask for a cite, but you’ll graciously explain that you’re very busy with… something, and promise to provide one in three days, by which time you will (correctly) assume that I will have forgotten. FedEx, UPS and DHL will happily deliver a letter, and last I checked were all private, for-profit entities. The reason there are no _competitive_ private letter-delivery companies is because there is no reasonable business model under which a private company could or any assortment of private companies could provide national letter-carrying coverage at a reasonable cost. If you thought for more than six seconds before posting it might have occurred to you that government-mandated postal services are more or less universal in civilized countries, and have been for centuries. Public postal service is one of the essential elements of infrastructure which allows for national and global commerce. There are no private issuers of coinage and/or paper money, either. Think about why that could be. > [@](#): > > And in terms of waiting lists for medical care, what would you suggest we do when we learn about what goes on in countries which have more government control of health care? Should we keep it a secret? By all means, share the information. Don’t make shit up. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/103 "2009-09-13T03:31:01Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Elmer? Not Fudd, FUD: > **[Fear, uncertainty, and doubt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt)** > > Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in technology sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information and is a manifestation of the appeal to fear. > In public policy, a similar concept has been referred to as manufactured uncertainty, which involves casting doubt on academic findings, exaggerating their claimed imperfections. A man... Fear, uncertainty and doubt. But he does remind me of Elmer Fudd with his logic. [What a maroon!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/104 "2009-09-13T03:34:24Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And yes, the fear (and the assumption) is that once a government plan goes into effect it will only be a matter of time before it grows and grows and becomes a great deal more than is being proposed now. Have Social security, and Medicare/Medicaid grown detrimentally? If yes, why? ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/105 "2009-09-13T03:39:27Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Not Fudd, FUD: > [Fear, uncertainty, and doubt - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt) > > Fear, uncertainty and doubt. > > But he does remind me of Elmer Fudd with his logic. > > [What a maroon!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo) 🙂 It was a joke. I’m going to have to stop making jokes after a couple glasses of wine - I’m the only one laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/106 "2009-09-13T03:47:40Z")
> [@Plan\_B](#): > > Well since this is the pit, weren’t there people on the left screaming that Bush was going to cancel the 2004 elections? And the 2008 elections? Supposedly. I was never worried about that. > [@Plan B](#): > > And 35% of Dems believe that Bush knew about 9/11 before it happened? In the sense that he was warned that Al Qaeda was determined to attack us soon, yes, since we have proof of him receiving that memo. In the sense of him engineering it or wanting it to happen, of course not. > [@Plan B](#): > > Seriously, what percentage of conservatives give a shit about BHO’s birth certificate? Given that multiple members of Congress have expressed their doubts, I’d say it’s not unrepresentative of the party as a whole. > [@Plan B](#): > > And in terms of waiting lists for medical care, what would you suggest we do when we learn about what goes on in countries which have more government control of health care? Should we keep it a secret? Oh, by all means, let’s hear about the millions of Canadians and Britons who love their health care, but let’s also keep in mind their systems are not like anything seriously debated in Congress. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/107 "2009-09-14T16:29:02Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Have Social security, and Medicare/Medicaid grown detrimentally? If yes, why? We have known about the boomers for a long time. They are getting old enough to impact Medicare now. But they are in their 60s. They will be doing you all a favor and are dying off. In 10 years they will become less of a problem. In 20 or so they will mostly be gone. Problem solved. Then we will have a huge Medicare surplus. What corporation should we give that money to? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/108 "2009-09-14T16:35:34Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > We have known about the boomers for a long time. They are getting old enough to impact Medicare now. But they are in their 60s. They will be doing you all a favor and are dying off. Tell them to hurry up. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/109 "2009-09-14T16:55:58Z")
> [@](#): > > We have known about the boomers for a long time. They are getting old enough to impact Medicare now. But they are in their 60s. This is a frequent gripe of mine, and was the immediate reason for my joining this Board, so i could complain about it. Most of the Boomers are NOT in their 60s. The media latched onto the front of that population wave and focuses on it, to the exclusion of the bulk of it. “Boomers” run from about 1945 to about 1964, with the peak in 1955. Only those born in the first four years are in their sixties. Most Boomers are in their fifties. Some are actually in their forties. Most of us were too young to see Howdy Doodie live, or to become Hippies in the Summer of Love, or to go to Woodstock. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/110 "2009-09-14T17:04:58Z")
…and we’re still fucking bitter about it. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/111 "2009-09-14T17:12:50Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Most of the Boomers are NOT in their 60s. The media latched onto the front of that population wave and focuses on it, to the exclusion of the bulk of it. “Boomers” run from about 1945 to about 1964, with the peak in 1955. Only those born in the first four years are in their sixties. Most Boomers are in their fifties. Some are actually in their forties. That’s right. I’m an early-day boomer myself and I’m only 60. (And if my great-grandparents, my mother, my aunt, and my step-mother (;)) are any indication, I’ve got a quarter-century to go yet.) And remember, people get more conservative as they get older. You guys’ll really be screamin’ for us to croak by the time we finally do, but in the meantime you’ve got a 35 to 40-year wait to live through. (And by that time you’ll be conservative old geezers yourselves.) The future looks bright. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/112 "2009-09-14T18:38:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And remember, people get more conservative as they get older. Some people, you mean. Some people get more liberal. Some people stay the same. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265/113 "2009-09-14T18:53:01Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And remember, people get more conservative as they get older. Hence the death panels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-the-damned-fear-mongering/509265.md?page=5)