Robert Gehl reports that Ted Cruz is on the attack.
The Texas Senator and former presidential candidate has issued a series of blistering press releases denouncing fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders in his endless push for socialized medicine.
Released Tuesday, the three press releases point out the flaws and failures of universal health care – or Socialized Medicine, fact by fact and country by country.
The first, titled “FACT SHEET: Socialized Medicine Is a Failure Everywhere It’s Been Tried,” Cruz points out the wait times for health care in countries with a national health system.
In the United Kingdom, for example, Cruz points out that 3.7 million Britons are on the waiting list for non-urgent operations, up from 2.4 million nine years ago.
In Canada, the wait time to see a doctor has risen from 18.3 weeks to 20 weeks in only one year. In 1993, the wait time was 9.3 weeks.
In Denmark, the wait time for knee replacement surgery is almost two months; in Norway, that wait is 154 days.
In the second press release, “Sen. Sanders’ Medicare-For-All Plan Would Bankrupt Our Country and Destroy Healthcare Quality,” Cruz talks about the debate between the two on CNN’s Town Hall on the future of Obamacare.
Sen. Sanders claims his plan would require an additional $15 trillion in taxes. According to the Urban Institute, under this Medicare for All plan, federal spending would increase by about $2.5 trillion in 2017 and by about $32 trillion over the next decade. This spending would essentially triple every American household’s income taxes. Additionally, $2.5 trillion is more than the market value of Apple ($677B), Google ($557B), Microsoft ($494B), Facebook ($384B), and AT&T ($258B) combined. The government could tax the income of those making $1 million or more at 100 percent and only collect an additional $983 billion—less than half what would be required to pay for the plan for one year.
In his final press release, simply titled “Obamacare Is A Failure,” Cruz succinctly summarizes why the Affordable Healthcare Act has been such a dismal disaster: “Obamacare has failed to deliver on its promises. In order to stop the harm being done to hardworking Americans, it must be completely repealed and replaced with market-based reforms that will expand access, provide greater choices, and lower the cost of care and insurance.”
Cruz writes that “Obamacare has failed the American people. It has… Increased taxes… increased health care spending… increased insurance deductibles… increased insurance premiums… decreased choice and competition and has broken promises.”
Amen, Sen. Cruz.
Ref.: http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/brutal-truth-what-fairness-really-means-under-socialism
Socialism Kills. Venezuela Is Hell.
Venezuela: 75% of population lost 19 pounds amid crisis
A woman shops in the cleaning supply section of a supermarket where some food supplies are no longer available in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 11, 2016. A recent survey found that nearly 75 percent of the population lost an average of at least 19 pounds in 2016 due to a lack of proper nutrition amid an economic crisis. File Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
Feb. 19 (UPI) — Venezuela’s Living Conditions Survey found that nearly 75 percent of the population lost an average of at least 19 pounds in 2016 due to a lack of proper nutrition amid an economic crisis.
The survey, called ENCOVI, is a joint effort conducted by the Central University of Venezuela, the Andrés Bello Catholic University and the Simón Bolívar University, along with the Fundación Bengoa food and nutrition group and other non-governmental organizations.
Venezuelans are not consuming the 2,000 recommended daily calories needed, the survey said. Venezuela’s extreme poor said they have lost more than 20 pounds.
In the survey, researchers found that most Venezuelans substituted red and white meats with vegetables and tubers — such as potatoes. According to the survey, 82.8 percent of Venezuelans are considered poor due to their income.
Venezuela is facing a political and economic crisis in which basic goods such as food and medicine are in short supply, unavailable or unaffordable. The United Nation’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean predicts Venezuela’s gross domestic product will decrease 4 percent in 2017, while the International Monetary Fund estimates inflation will increase 1,600 percent.
Martiza Landaeta, a doctor specialized in nutritional food planning who is the coordinator of research and teaching at Fundación Bengoa, said the government of President Nicolas Maduro needs to urgently address the “intensive” food crisis in Venezuela, RunRunes journalist Lorena Meléndez reported.
“Our children, adolescents, mothers and elderly are dying,” Landaeta said.
The survey also found that 93 percent of Venezuelans do not have enough money to cover their food expenses. In the Venezuelan daily diet, healthy fats and snacks have nearly disappeared. Only 78 percent of people said they eat breakfast and 32 percent of people said they only eat twice a day, the survey found.
The main intake of Venezuela’s poorest are carbohydrates, while 30 percent of their diet is made up of protein. About 80 percent of Venezuelans said they do not eat away from home.
The food crisis has also created an education crisis, as more than 1 million children no longer attend school, mostly due to hunger and a lack of public services.
About 30 percent of students who now stay home do not attend school because of water problems at home or on campus, 22 percent do not attend because of electricity blackouts and 15 percent do not attend due to school strikes, the survey found.
About 10 percent said a lack of food at home or in school was the reason for their absence. The survey said those in that category are considered among the poorest who previously never skipped school because they did not have food at home.
Ref.: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/02/19/Venezuela-75-of-population-lost-19-pounds-amid-crisis/2441487523377/
US demands release of Venezuela political prisoner Lopez
Socialist hardliner Nicolas Maduro warns the US of a ‘firm response’ after Trump and State Department back the release of Leopoldo Lopez
Supporters called for Venezuelans to press for change. “His only crime was to demonstrate nonviolently. Now more than 80% of Venezuelans want [President Nicolas] Maduro to leave power,” said David Smolansky, mayor of metro Caracas’ El Hatillo district.
Smolansky said the elected socialist Maduro’s government amounted to a dictatorship that makes “Venezuelans go hungry while it protects criminals”.
“We urge the international community: no more dictatorship. We want to live in a free country where decency can overcome violence,” he said.
The State Department issued a new call for the release of Lopez and other dissidents, days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court upheld his imprisonment.
Lopez is serving a nearly 14-year sentence on charges of inciting unrest at antigovernment protests in 2014.
“We call for the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience, respect for the rule of law, the freedom of the press, the separation of constitutional powers within the government and the restoration of a democratic process that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people,” Mark Toner, the department’s acting spokesman, said.
“The US reiterates its dismay and concern about these arrests, and other actions taken by the Venezuelan government to criminalise dissent and deny its citizens the benefits of democracy,” the statement read.
The court ruling on Lopez’s appeal, which was filed in July, came a day after US President Donald Trump received Lopez’s wife, Lilian Tintori, at the White House and posted a tweet calling for the prisoner’s release.
Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately. pic.twitter.com/bt8Xhdo7al
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017
“Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met @marcorubio) out of prison immediately,” Trump tweeted following the meeting.
Lopez is the founder of Popular Will, one of the most hardline parties opposing Maduro.
Shortly before Trump’s Twitter missive last week, Maduro had warned the US Venezuela would “respond firmly” to any action deemed aggressive.
“Those who tangle with us will get an appropriate response,” he said.
Ties had already been strained on Monday, when the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Maduro’s powerful vice-president, Tareck El Aissami, and a businessman, whom the US authorities accuse of being involved in drug trafficking.
Washington has had a shaky relationship with Caracas since the late Hugo Chavez rose to power in 1999.
The former Venezuelan president was famous for his anti-American rhetoric, which has persisted under Maduro, who blames his country’s deep economic woes on a US-backed capitalist conspiracy.
The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, but do share important economic relations, especially in the oil sector.
Ref.: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/americas/2017-02-20-us-demands-release-of-venezuela-political-prisoner-lopez/
Where are you most likely to get MURDERED? These are the world’s most DANGEROUS cities
A LIST of homicide rates shows the cities to avoid on your next holiday – if you value your life.
Cities can be dangerous for all sorts of reasons, but one way of measuring them is by comparing rates of murder and crime.
These are five of the most violent cities on on the planet, best left off your travel bucket list.
Caracas, Venezuela
Venezuela’s crime rating is listed as “critical” by the United States Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The capital city tops lists for numbers of homicides. Last year there were 119.87 murders per 100,000 people – 3,946 altogether.
Venezuelan vice president is blacklisted by US for ‘drug trafficking’
Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami has been blacklisted by the United States as a drug trafficker.
The US government is to impose financial sanctions accusing him of facilitating shipments of narcotics of more than 1,000 kilograms from Venezuela to Mexico and the US on multiple occasions.
Venezuela’s government has not yet responded but President Nicolas Maduro has in the past accused Washington of trying to smear his administration. More ..
Justifiable anger – Corruption and extortion: Saime immigration (sede central) Caracas, Venezuela.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is A Socialist, Feminist, Racist, SJW Witch, Who Wanted To Be A Single Mom
