Fri
Mar 7 2014
09:26 am
Daily Show: Third world health care in Knoxville
By: R. Neal

PREVIOUSLY: Shame on you Gov. Haslam

Topics:
rocketsquirrel's picture

I posted a link to the Daily

Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 10:38am.

I posted a link to the Daily Show video over on the TeamHaslam Facebook page. As I said over there, it is time for him to stop stalling and fix Medicaid in Tennessee.

Min's picture

Brilliant.

Submitted by Min on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 11:21am.

And Dr. Brock is a hero. A hero, I say!

Andy Axel's picture

High cost of a low price

Submitted by Andy Axel on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 1:22pm.
(in reply to metulj)

It's not a spate of itinerant retirees that is currently turning Nashville into Tennlanta. If only it were. Traffic here wouldn't be such a wholesale mess.

One day the California transplants will figure out that this game was rigged.

Dave Prince's picture

Why, that's just us locals

Submitted by Dave Prince on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 1:30pm.
(in reply to metulj)

Why, that's just us locals being ruggedly independent!

smaller print: For some values of independent, ignoring contrarian liberal ratios like tax dollars going out vs. federal funds coming in.

cafkia's picture

If in fact Gov. Haslams good

Submitted by cafkia on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 3:30pm.

If in fact Gov. Haslams good judgement fails him further and he decides to jump into prez/vprez race, expect to see those pictures, still and video, the whole time. Yep, he could run the whole nation like a business. (A Papa Doc Haitian business dedicated to removing value from the nation and putting it in a very small number of already deep pockets.)

Pam Strickland's picture

+1

Submitted by Pam Strickland on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 4:35pm.
(in reply to cafkia)

+1

Just Watching's picture

I don't think any satire of

Submitted by Just Watching (not verified) on Fri, 2014/03/07 - 10:34pm.

I don't think any satire of any kind is a reason to be rude to Stan Brock. There was no excuse for the rudeness to a great human being like Stan. I didn't like the look in Stan's eyes. A PR satire bit that went wrong.

Factchecker's picture

Brilliant

Submitted by Factchecker on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 12:15am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

I'm betting Stan got clued in and is sharp enough even at his age to recognize the boost his message got from the good cop/stupid cop satire.

cafkia's picture

I might agree with you if the

Submitted by cafkia on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 2:17am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

I might agree with you if the Daily Show had done anything to obscure Brock's reaction(s). They did not. As a matter of fact, they went out of their way(time) to include his disdainful reactions to all manner of shit. If I was to go around recommending and stuff, I might well recommend that you do not try to defend a man like Stan Brock.

Bbeanster's picture

I don't think any satire of

Submitted by Bbeanster on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 12:27pm.
(in reply to Just Watching)

I don't think any satire of any kind is a reason to be rude to Stan Brock. There was no excuse for the rudeness to a great human being like Stan. I didn't like the look in Stan's eyes. A PR satire bit that went wrong.

Which is why the whole piece is linked on the RAM website, right? Stan sure must've hated it.

Mike Knapp's picture

Keine scheisse

Submitted by Mike Knapp on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 12:56pm.
(in reply to Bbeanster)

Keine scheisse

KC's picture

Since RAM isgoing to New York

Submitted by KC on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 8:12am.

Since RAM isgoing to New York and Seattle later in the year, will those communities be pilloried fpr being models of Third World halthcare as well?

Let's see, would the Comedy Central staff be as insulting to those places as they were to Tennessee? Doubt it.

Mike Knapp's picture

Tennessee as 3rd world country

Submitted by Mike Knapp on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 8:26am.
(in reply to KC)

Just ask yourself
Are there places in America that resemble 3rd world status.
If so, where?
If so, why?

9 maps that should outrage southerners

redmondkr's picture

Could Comedy Central's

Submitted by redmondkr on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 9:27am.
(in reply to KC)

Could Comedy Central's interest in Tennessee possibly have anything to do with an invasive species of red headed woodpecker they encountered here in the past?

Just Watching's picture

For satire to work, there has

Submitted by Just Watching (not verified) on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:17am.
(in reply to KC)

For satire to work, there has to be truth in it. Those people that Remote Area Medical served in Knoxville that day came from all over Tennessee, Kentucky, Virgina and West Virgina. So the bit was mostly a lie. Some people thought it was really funny. I thought that Comedy Central frontman Aasif Mandvi looked like an pompous idiot. So did most of the people in that video clip.

As far as HuffPo hating on the South, when is that news? Neither Comedy Central or HuffPo will tell you about the number of Ph.d's in Knox County and Anderson County. It is one of the highest in the world. Hard to find a comedy bit there. Doesn't fit the mold of trailer park hicks making love to their guns. Not sure why that kind of bigotry is appealing.

And yes, Stacey Campfield does make us a target for this kind of derision. Go Cheri. And let's get rid of our idiot Governor next election too. Then HuffPo and Jon Stewart can make fun of Mississippi.

cafkia's picture

If you make the rule if any

Submitted by cafkia on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:27am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

If you make the rule if any truth is told, every truth must be told, no truth will ever be told. (a win for rethugnicans) It is perhaps, valid and important information that Knoxville proper and even Tennessee may not have been the source of the majority of those served that day but it is also valid and true that the city is the regional and cultural, if not geographical, center of that population.

Ignoring the truth of the bit because the comedic entertainer performed his role in a manner someone finds unpalatable says more about the viewer than the performer.

Just Watching's picture

The bit was about Knoxville.

Submitted by Just Watching (not verified) on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:39am.
(in reply to cafkia)

The bit was about Knoxville. Not a four to six state region. What truth was there?

Average Guy's picture

I thought,

Submitted by Average Guy on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:58am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

the bit was about "The Greatest Healthcare System in the World!"

Kind of reminds me of the bets I win from Vol fans when the Vols play. Really, really liking a team, or in this case a place, often makes for serious blind spots.

The question isn't whether people should be proud about their region, the question at hand is; are the facilities where RAM sets up full?

And that's regardless the location.

CathyMcCaughan's picture

Actually, the bit was about

Submitted by CathyMcCaughan on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:58am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

Actually, the bit was about the state of healthcare in America. Stan Brock's glare melted the comedian when Aasif acted clownish. TN does have high incidences of cancer and heart disease.

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com

Average Guy's picture

As pointed out up-thread,

Submitted by Average Guy on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:14am.
(in reply to CathyMcCaughan)

and as evidenced by the placement of the clip on RAM's homepage, I think they got the joke and appreciate the larger point TDS was trying to make. (link...)

Factchecker's picture

If you think it was about

Submitted by Factchecker on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:15am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

If you think it was about Knoxville, then you have no comprehension skills. Knoxville was a metaphor for any place in a first world country that has this degree of problems. NY or California could have just as easily been used to make the same point, except for the secondary point that this issue is even far worse in the South and red states in general.

cafkia's picture

You do know that those lines

Submitted by cafkia on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:19am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

You do know that those lines only appear on the map, right? You do know that you could erase those lines and draw some other equally meaningful lines that would include the areas that contributed their populations to the RAM mission, right? You do know that this area does have high incidences of cancer, asthma, COPD and some other chronic diseases compared to the rest of the nation, right?

Yea, where's the truth in that?

Min's picture

**shrug**

Submitted by Min on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 10:57am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

Sez you. I thought it was hilarious. The satire worked just fine for me.

Mike Knapp's picture

Knoxville Capital of Appalachia

Submitted by Mike Knapp on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:17am.
(in reply to Just Watching)

So the bit was mostly a lie.

How so? Do we know the breakdown of which folks needing care from RAM were from where? Knoxville has historically been referred to as the capital of Appalachia. Appalachia is poor. Why is there is there an Appaclahian Regional Commission? Why are transfer payments and other indicators strongly indicative of 3rd world status? I'd like to hear thinking otherwise. As a southerner I find some elements hard to defend, or be defensive about. I'd rather fight for improving what the daily show is clearly exposing - concentrated pockets of poverty, an appalling lack of health care for southern citizens amidst staggering wealth and income inequality.

As far as the HuffPo piece - are we arguing the source or the data?
Would anything change if we connected to BLS and other primary data?

Yes there are a lot of PhD's in Oak Ridge and Anderson county. However I'd venture that outside of those boundaries the concentration drops off substantially; those parts as atypical of this region, not the other way around.

The satire hit close to home not because there was a "bit" of reality but too much.

R. Neal's picture

It's also worth noting that

Submitted by R. Neal on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:21am.

It's also worth noting that RAM is based in Knoxville. And I'm guessing the Daily Show producers worked with RAM ahead of time and gave them a general idea of what to expect, it being a comedy/satire show and all.

Factchecker's picture

Are you making a satirical point?

Submitted by Factchecker on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:27am.

Let's see, would the Comedy Central staff be as insulting to those places as they were to Tennessee? Doubt it.

Nah, Jon Stewart never makes fun of New York.

Factchecker's picture

See? That was satire.

Submitted by Factchecker on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 11:28am.

See? That was satire.

Min's picture

Actually...

Submitted by Min on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 1:02pm.
(in reply to Factchecker)

I think that was sarcasm. But still well-played.

jbr's picture

Stan Brock's quick list of

Submitted by jbr on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 4:57pm.

Stan Brock's quick list of countries with better health care systems, that we have the best health care, "if you can afford it" carry his view. And his other comments about RAM was originally intended for other countries but then he found it was needed so much in the US. To me that was was what the segment was about. He said it his way, Comedy Central said it their way.

Bird_dog's picture

Brock was interviewed on WBIR

Submitted by Bird_dog on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 5:07pm.

He knew what to expect and welcomed shining a light on the plight of the poor with regard to healthcare in America. "The poor should just stop being poor" Problem solved!

Rachel's picture

Ok, I finally watched this,

Submitted by Rachel on Sat, 2014/03/08 - 5:41pm.

Ok, I finally watched this, and I don't think it was particularly negative toward Knoxville at all. TDS was just using Knoxville as an example of the state of American health care.

And I didn't see anybody disrespecting Stan Brock. I must say I loved watching the total discombobulation of the FOX guy. :)

Somebody's picture

It is telling that the none

Submitted by Somebody on Sun, 2014/03/09 - 11:36am.

It is telling that the none of the conservative critiques of the piece have made any effort to distance themselves from the Fox News commentator who settled on the idea that "the poor should just stop being poor."

fischbobber's picture

Killing the messenger

Submitted by fischbobber on Sun, 2014/03/09 - 11:50am.
(in reply to Somebody)

It's much easier to kill the messenger than it is to accept accountability for the inevitable bad news. It's how the private sector works.

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