Further proof of the crazy that is our current right wing: Outrage -- OUTRAGE, I tell you -- because President Obama issued this executive order under the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.
It declares the following:
There is established within the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Council).
Among other things, the purpose of said council is to:
(c) provide recommendations to the President and the Congress concerning the most pressing health issues confronting the United States and changes in Federal policy to achieve national wellness, health promotion, and public health goals, including the reduction of tobacco use, sedentary behavior, and poor nutrition;
Only in Right-Winger Land could this be a bad thing. On the one hand, they whine about our spending on health care and on the other, whine about any initiative which actually stands a chance of improving both spending and outcomes.
The Council is comprised of cabinet officers and policymakers, but that doesn't stop the wingers from jumping off into the Imagination Canyon where they opine about what "advisors" the President will appoint, naming Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers as prime examples of the evil about to descend upon our nation. Oh, and Dr. Kevorkian, so as to raise the specter of "death panels" one. more. time.
I could quote them, but then I'd have to link and it's really just too ridiculous to link. If you really want to read the insanity for yourself, try googling the term "lifestyle behavior modification" or "nanny state liberation front."
Of course, this is just a riff on the "big government is bad" set of conservative talking points. They really hate big government until they love it. They don't want to make lifestyle changes, but are outraged -- OUTRAGED -- that Big Government hasn't stopped the oil spilling into the Gulf, sent Superman to clean it up, and restarted drilling in deepwater worldwide.
Of course, if health insurers established such advisory councils (which they have) and altered their policies to encourage and reward healthy lifestyles (which they have), it would be totally okay, because the savings to those insurers would mean cheaper health insurance for the rest of us. Right? RIGHT?
Do these people ever suffer from outrage fatigue? Is there a little blue pill for that?
