It's hard to believe that someone could come up with something worse than the soda ban, but don't underestimate the sheer arrogance of New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Soda bans, trans fats bans, idling car bans, gun bans, smoking bans - what’s next? The progressive icon who doesn't think you know how to take care of yourself has proposed a new rule to limit the amount of pain killers available at NYC hospitals. Even worse, he said that the many patients with legit pain may have to "suffer a little bit" in order to stop the few that would abuse the medication.
"Michael Bloomberg over the weekend unveiled a new initiative to limit supply of prescription painkillers to the city's emergency rooms as a way to combat what he described as a growing addiction problem in New York," Glenn explained.
"Now, if there's one place that I would think that the addiction problem would not be coming from, it would be the emergency rooms, and this is a medical decision. Now, if it's a ‑‑ if it's a ‑‑ and you'll never get this part of the story. If it is a problem of addiction coming from the emergency rooms, that means the people who use the emergency rooms as their primary doctor, usually the poorest among us or the immigrant population, if that is ‑‑ immigrant, I shouldn't say that. Illegal population. If that's the case, then we've got something else going on that we need to talk about," he said.
"But he says it's a growing addiction problem. Well, that means that your doctors are knowingly or unknowingly maybe making the wrong calls. That should be something we should talk about. If our doctors in our emergency rooms can't tell the difference between real pain and a drug addict, then we have a problem with the doctors. But what Bloomberg is deciding to do is to limit the number of painkillers and the amount of painkillers and so if there is an emergency, the hospitals will not have the right amount of painkillers."
While Bloomberg's efforts are targeted at those who are going to the emergency room as their primary doctor, Glenn said the people who will suffer - in this case in real, physical pain - are the law abiding citizens who go to the hospital because they have a legitimate need for medicine.
"So Bloomberg can take care of another problem that he doesn't really even fully explain how this is even going to help. What are we turning into? This is the nanny state. He knows better and he's going to take care of it. First it's your sodas. Now it's your painkillers in the hospitals. And what kills me, it's a politician telling the hospitals exactly how to prescribe medicine," Glenn said.
Rather than have the government rationing and monitoring painkillers, Glenn said it should be up to the individual to be a responsible adult. As a recovering alcoholic, Glenn understands the dangers of addiction and goes through great lengths to make sure he doesn't develop dependencies or over-medicate.
"I know a lot of people that have painkillers. Tania is a great example. If you give me painkillers, I'm going to take them. That's why I have painkillers. She takes care of them. They're in a safe in our house that I don't have the combination to. I don't want the combination to that safe. If I need a painkiller, she gives it to me. And she looks at me, 'You really need a painkiller?' I'm dyin' here. That's how it happens in my house because I'm a raging alcoholic. I know. I'm a responsible adult. She has the painkiller; she puts it in there. What's the problem with that? That's being a responsible adult," Glenn said.
Unlike Glenn, Tania Beck and Pat Gray both keep painkillers in the house for their bad backs. But the doctors don't tell either of them they can't keep painkillers because they associate with Glenn. But by Bloomberg's rationale, people who don't have problems with addiction will have to suffer pain because some people aren't taking care of themselves.
"There is no reason for anybody in this country to ever be in pain. If you are under a doctor's care or you're in a hospital, make the pain go away. There is no reason for anybody to be in pain, unless it's therapeutic pain," he said.
Stu pointed out that there is no way that Mike Bloomberg is denied painkillers if he is ever in pain and needs to be rushed to the hospital. Stu brought up the story of how Bloomberg had a window A/C unit cool off his SUV during a heatwave. Bloomberg had pushed an environmentally friendly anti-idling law, and the window A/C unit in his vehicle seemed to be a way for Bloomberg to use his resources to circumvent his own rules.
"He can't take the heat of a hot car that is parked outside of his office building. He takes a window air conditioner and wheels it ‑‑ had a device made to hold it up and wheels it into the window of his car so it can be cold when he gets in. You think that guy's going to wait a second for pain relief?" Glenn asked.
"He might not be number one necessarily on conservatives like, you know, a list of annoying progressives but, man, he might be the most pure one because in a way he comes off sometimes as this ‑ he used to be a Republican. But he's such a progressive. He's such a 'I know better than you' guy. Even more than sometimes like a Nancy Pelosi," Stu said.
