Frank Schaeffer writes today another defense of President Obama at Huffingtonpost. This time I find myself disagreeing with his attack on Paul Krugman and others on the Left, saying they can't get over Obama beating Hillary Clinton. Schaeffer is right in his praise of the President struggling in a toxic environment and still triumphing as in the Repeal of DADT, the ratification of the New Start Treaty and the unanimous approval of the 9/11 responders bill. Frank praises Rachel Maddow for her frequent public apologies when something occurs which she has expressed doubt about. But I can't shake the feeling that Frank chose the wrong targets this time.I look forward to him blasting the House Republicans in the forthcoming weeks.
It has been incredibly calm over the past two weeks in the rhetoric department. I guess conservatives really did want to take off for the Holidays. The noise level has gone done immeasurably. I am sure by the second week of January it will be raised through the roof.
Interesting factoid--In 2010, there were more private sector jobs created than in the entire George W. Bush presidency. So much for the job-killing policies of the Obama Administration. But read Paul Krugman's piece today in the New York Times. He predicts about a 4% growth rate this year and an unemployment rate around 9 percent. What Krugman has been right over the past two years is that the rate of job creation has to go into overdrive to just get back to the 2008 level unemployment rate. He also had written with the current nature of our economy based on FIRE--Finance,Insurance, and Real Estate--it can't be done. We are looking at around 8% until we make some structural changes.
Add more lunacy to the State politics--New Hampshire's legislature now has a veto-proof majority by the Republicans. The first bill they are introducing is to eliminate the same-sex act, which has seen 3,000 couples married in the last year. The same is going to occur in Iowa. Emboldened by defeating the Supreme Court justices who voted for same sex marriage in the state, the religious right aims to outlaw same sex marriage altogether. Basically, this will end up with several Prop 8-like cases.
In Georgia, the GOP is pushing a bill that would require all taxpayers to pay their taxes in gold and silver. I'm sure that can be found in the "original constitution".
Joe Miller has thrown in the towel after filing lawsuits at the Alaska Supreme Court level and then the Federal Appeals court. He lost all judicial decisions and the election as well. But he promises that he and his brownshirts will return soon.
Christine O'Donnell, who says she's not a witch, but I guess she's a grifter, is being investigated for using campaign funds for her personal use. She does this everytime she runs for office. She claims that Joe Biden and George Soros are after her as well as the GOP establishment.
Chris Christie, the portly New Jersey governor, defended being at Disney World while the Garden States was pummelled with a blizzard. He said he had a great vacation and New Jersey didn't experience any surge in unexpected deaths during the snowfall. Democrats are grousing that Christie is rewarding state contracts out to his campaign donors without competitive bidding.
Meanwhile in Florida, Medicare fraudster Rick Scott enters office with a whopping 30% approval rate. Yet, the national GOP are saying he will become a national figure--in a good sense, not in a criminal sense. Already Floridians are barking about his holding closed door meetings with corporations and trying to cut deals before he takes office. This is a case for Carl Hiaasen and his column in the Miami Herald. Speaking of Carl, I wished Matt Tiabbi had the same sense of humor.
If you want to suck on a gas pipe, be sure to read Matt Tiabbi's "Griftopia", which documents in excruciating detail the ransacking of America by almost everyone. I can't read him except in small doses chosen by my interest. In "Griftopia", we learn that Fast Eddie Rendell of Pennsylvania went to the Middle East for the purpose of selling the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Arabs. Also that Mayor Daley did indeed sell all the parking meters of Chicago to Morgan Stanley, who were fronting for Abu Dubai and its Sovereign Wealth Fund. And the list goes on about states and cities that have sold American infrastructure and public property to foreign financial interests.
One of my favorite observers of Islamic Fundamentalism has come out with a new book called "Holy Ignorance". Olivier Roy, whose books this blog has written about before, takes on all fundamentalisms and concludes that they are all a symptom and not a reaction to the secularization of society. Roy always disappoints American audiences because first he pronounced political Islam a miserable failure and second he indicated that it was the educated,middle-to-upper class alienated Muslims in developed countries who were the new recruits for Islamic terrorism. He also has observed that Hamas and Iran really are operating out of a type of nationalism and not Islamic ideology. In his new book, he embraces Max Weber and Emile Durkheim's belief that has modernity advanced religious faith would diminish. On the surface this doesn't appear to be true but Roy argues quite the contrary. But he also includes in his analysis how globalization is re-shaping all these equations. The real Buddhist may end up in San Francisco for an authentic Buddhist experience and the Muslim reality is now found far from Mecca. Roy always provokes and I've found him to be lucid and spot on in his assessment of Islamic fundamentalism at least.
AEI's Norm Ornstein writes today in the Washington Post about the new phenomenon of Republican death panels in Arizona,Indiana and Texas. Norm writes that because state's have balance the budget amendments and the stimulus money that kept them afloat is evaporating,states are opting to cut Medicare and health programs for the poor. As a result, Arizona, Indiana and Texas have deprived patients about to receive organ transplants of funds for their operations. Already several patients have died in Arizona. Ornstein warns that this is a trend to come this year.
Wise guys in D.C. are wondering whether Gentleman John Boehner will commit the same faux pas this time when he reads the Constitution. Last time he read the Declaration of Independence and didn 't know the difference.
President Obama gave his New Year's greeting to the country with his message that Americans want Democrats and Republicans to work together to solve the country's problems. He always sounds so reasonable. But I think he should batten down the hatches because the House is more right-wing than at any time in our history. Every Republican elected has a conservative rating over 92%.
Today, new elements of the healthcare reform take place. For seniors, it provides free preventive care and other goodies. But the kicker is that the health insurance industry must now devote 80% of their income to real health care costs and not overhead or lobbying. The Teabagger Governor of Maine has applied for a state waiver on the restrictions on the health insurance industry. He's the first.
Dennis Kucinich appeared on Fox News to inform the audience that any attempt to repeal the healthreform bill will trigger a new movement for the public option. While realpolitik tells me no, I believe we will be heading that way soon.
The Right says that Barack Obama is going to deliver the country to native American Overlords because of his commitment to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In fact, they say he's going to give part of Manhattan back to the Indians. So, blacks,Hispanics,gays, women and now we have Indians. Boy, the Right is becoming more appealing every day.
But we should recognize that the 111th Congress--and we will dearly miss it--passed several landmark bill for Indians, including laws overhauling tribal health care and law enforcement. Congress provided some $2.5 billion in economic stimulus money to tribes and resolved four long-standing water disputes totaling more than $1 billion. Tribal leaders and Indian advocates called the 111th Congress the most productive for American indians in four decades. Congress also provided the funds to settle the 15-year old royalties case, which covers claims by Native Americans who were swindled out of payments for oil, gas, timber and grazing rights for more than a century. $2 billion went to buy up divided Indians lands from individual owners willing to sell, with lands turned over to tribes. And another $60 million goes to a scholarship fund for young Indians. A separate deal was struck with the Agriculture Department that some $680 million would go to Indians for the improper denial of farm loans.
The Indians should celebrate these achievements as well as the legal recognition of tribes, who had been waiting for years to achieve their rightful identity. Unfortunately, there doesn't look to be many more celebrations ahead.
If you want to know one basic reason the economy is flagging, compare the price of oil during President Clinton --$20.--with that under Obama--$90. But recent reports on the oil trade indicate Americans are not going to change their ways anytime soon. In fact, the Koch Brothers paid tea party members to travel to Cancun to protest the climate change summit. The target for their efforts will be to block the United States commitment to give third-world countries the United Nations mandated funds to compensate them for taking measures to combat carbon emissions in their own societies.
Both President Obama and Secretary of Energy Chu said that the United States was at a "sputnik" moment in terms of the global rivalry in developing alternative energy sources and other modes of transportation. Rep. Sensenbrenner, who will have a major say on high-speed rail, says America can't afford it. I happen to think that the House Republicans will deny further funds for alternative fuels and transportation. Ironically, this comes when the ten-year Highway Fund is depleted and needs to be funded again. This was the opening when Democrats and Republicans could have come together and put significant funds to the development of a 21st Century Infrastructure in the country.
As we move into the last two-years of President Obama's first term in office, it's worth mentioning that if Americans want a great country, they need to pay for it. There is no indication right now that Americans really understand the investment necessary to continue the development of the country. For the next two years, we will be treated to demogaguery on the national debt and deficit. This will be accompanied by bizarre cuts in government programs, which will make no sense to rational people.
Showing posts with label public option. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public option. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Rainbow Bridge-Last Thoughts of the Day
There are now 44 votes in the Senate for the public option.
Now it's estimated there will be 750,000 jobs created by May.
Edmund Morris has surfaced again with an article of how Obama is reading his biography of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a fine biography. I used to pity Edmund because he would always drop into Olsson's to check out how his books were selling. He would ask whether the store wanted him to autograph those they had for sale. The problem for a bookseller is that once autographed, you can't return for credit. He has the historian's golden task. Ronald Reagan asked him to sit in the White House and watch a real President work. He could write anything he wanted on the condition it was after the presidency ended. He did this. He suffered from writer's block, then had a nervous breakdown because he couldn't after all those years figure Reagan out. Finally, he completed his biography but it did not meet with approval from critics. Luckily, he wrote the long-awaited second volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt and once again found his voice.
The blogosphere is like a Ouji board. With my spontaneous eruptions over my growing doubts about Rasmussen polls, Kos pens "Rasmussen Flooding the Zone". He points out that Rasmussen has conducted some 45 polls this year compared to 13 in the same span of time last year. An other blogger decided to investigate Rasmussen's client list and dragged up the usual K Street clients and other public associations. Let him at it.
But Kos' observations about three gubernatorial races bears repeating. Rasmussen's results dramatically differ from respectable polls done at the same time. Here are the comparisons:
Colorado Governor Hickenlooper (D) McInnis (R)
Rasmussen poll 42% 48%
PPP 50% 39%
Ohio Governor Strickland (D) Kasich (R)
Rasmussen 38% 49%
Quinnipiac 44% 39%
Illinois Governor Quinn (D) Brady (R)
Rasmussen 37% 47%
Rs2000 47% 32%
I am sure Nate Silver will weigh on this now that several websites are beginning to actively ask questions about the Rasmussen polls. Unfortunately, Nate has built up a relationship with Rasmussen and has been a little defensive when he addressed a similar concern about Obama's approval ratings several months ago.
One of the things that started ringing bills for me were the strange approval ratings Republican candidates started having several months ago. Many of these people were unknowns even in their own states but would show large approval ratings that made no sense. If this were also true of Democrats, you would think it were just an aberration of the polls in general. But throughout the nation, even in the most Democratic states, Republican candidates would show these very strong approval ratings. And with Obama, we have other reputable polling outfits to compare with. In the presidential approval ratings, usually Gallup will serve as a benchmark to measure the reliability of others. And Rasmussen has failed this simple test for over a year.
The backlash finally got too much with Governor McDonnell here in Virginia. He had to over-ride his Attorney-General and issue executive orders protecting gays from discrimination. The lesson in this is "Fight Back."
Speaking of strange polls, Quinnipiac has been polling the issue of whether Governor Patterson of New York should resign or complete his full term. Last week, over 60% of New Yorkers said he should resign. They polled again this week and 50% say he should serve the compete term and only 38% believe he should resign. Go figure.
Meg Whitman has really been an ace campaigner for Governor of California. The former Ebay lady called a press conference at a location where she was to be seen with other business executives showing her businesslike characteristics, which will bring full employment to all the people of that state. But she refused to answer questions from the press or make a statement or even be filmed meeting with the executives. The TV anchorwoman quipped,"It's always great to see a candidate in charge of her own campaign". She must have taken lessons from Sarah Palin but she doesn't tweet.
Those social gospel fanatics are at it again. "Heaven has no boundaries" is the slogan of the Catholic Church's push for immigration reform. Hispanics are antsy the Obama Administration has deported the same amount of people that the Bush Administration did in its last year. Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham have a draft bill for the Senate but there is no second Republican sponsor. The House already has its bill ready.
Politico is making mischief again by saying Obama's intentions are unclear over immigration reform. They might want to review the contents of the Kennedy-McCain bill which had been sabotaged by the right. Obama was one of the key drafters of the bill. There is no ambiguity here. After the health care reform bill, I think this will be the last major domestic reform Obama will get through this year.
The Senate did finally get around to cleaning up the mess that Bunning caused by passing a bill to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA for another year and to patch up the holes in Medicare funding. Even six Republicans joined the parade.
Tom DeLay of Dancing with the Stars fame said that unemployment compensation made people lazy and not get a job. This is a throwback to the days of welfare queens, except now the people are white. How one can say this during a severe recession is too much. But what really takes the cake is the Washington Post actually printing an article taking this premise seriously,"Some Worry that Unemployment Insurance Make People lazy" or a headline similar. Naturally, they have to quote Jim Bunning and other Republicans as if this is a legitimate position. They did the samething by giving Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol an opportunity to respond to the critics of the Al Qaeda 7 ad.
The unions are now playing hardball on the healthcare bill. They are saying they will oppose anyone who votes against it. Now, of course, this gets played in Drudge as Illinois mob tactics. Well, good for them. Howard Dean again said he would work for the public option until it was done. Hopefully, he knoww something. The Left is getting annoyed with Dennis "the Menace" Kuchinich because of his outspoken criticisms of the health care proposals. President Obama is travelling to Cleveland again next week to hold another one of his health care townhall meetings. He's hoping to persuade at least two more Ohio congresspeople to vote in favor.
And Hapless Harry Reid is promising filibuster reform. That was earlier today and then about an hour ago he said,"Next year". And you wonder why people have problems with Congress.
Now it's estimated there will be 750,000 jobs created by May.
Edmund Morris has surfaced again with an article of how Obama is reading his biography of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a fine biography. I used to pity Edmund because he would always drop into Olsson's to check out how his books were selling. He would ask whether the store wanted him to autograph those they had for sale. The problem for a bookseller is that once autographed, you can't return for credit. He has the historian's golden task. Ronald Reagan asked him to sit in the White House and watch a real President work. He could write anything he wanted on the condition it was after the presidency ended. He did this. He suffered from writer's block, then had a nervous breakdown because he couldn't after all those years figure Reagan out. Finally, he completed his biography but it did not meet with approval from critics. Luckily, he wrote the long-awaited second volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt and once again found his voice.
The blogosphere is like a Ouji board. With my spontaneous eruptions over my growing doubts about Rasmussen polls, Kos pens "Rasmussen Flooding the Zone". He points out that Rasmussen has conducted some 45 polls this year compared to 13 in the same span of time last year. An other blogger decided to investigate Rasmussen's client list and dragged up the usual K Street clients and other public associations. Let him at it.
But Kos' observations about three gubernatorial races bears repeating. Rasmussen's results dramatically differ from respectable polls done at the same time. Here are the comparisons:
Colorado Governor Hickenlooper (D) McInnis (R)
Rasmussen poll 42% 48%
PPP 50% 39%
Ohio Governor Strickland (D) Kasich (R)
Rasmussen 38% 49%
Quinnipiac 44% 39%
Illinois Governor Quinn (D) Brady (R)
Rasmussen 37% 47%
Rs2000 47% 32%
I am sure Nate Silver will weigh on this now that several websites are beginning to actively ask questions about the Rasmussen polls. Unfortunately, Nate has built up a relationship with Rasmussen and has been a little defensive when he addressed a similar concern about Obama's approval ratings several months ago.
One of the things that started ringing bills for me were the strange approval ratings Republican candidates started having several months ago. Many of these people were unknowns even in their own states but would show large approval ratings that made no sense. If this were also true of Democrats, you would think it were just an aberration of the polls in general. But throughout the nation, even in the most Democratic states, Republican candidates would show these very strong approval ratings. And with Obama, we have other reputable polling outfits to compare with. In the presidential approval ratings, usually Gallup will serve as a benchmark to measure the reliability of others. And Rasmussen has failed this simple test for over a year.
The backlash finally got too much with Governor McDonnell here in Virginia. He had to over-ride his Attorney-General and issue executive orders protecting gays from discrimination. The lesson in this is "Fight Back."
Speaking of strange polls, Quinnipiac has been polling the issue of whether Governor Patterson of New York should resign or complete his full term. Last week, over 60% of New Yorkers said he should resign. They polled again this week and 50% say he should serve the compete term and only 38% believe he should resign. Go figure.
Meg Whitman has really been an ace campaigner for Governor of California. The former Ebay lady called a press conference at a location where she was to be seen with other business executives showing her businesslike characteristics, which will bring full employment to all the people of that state. But she refused to answer questions from the press or make a statement or even be filmed meeting with the executives. The TV anchorwoman quipped,"It's always great to see a candidate in charge of her own campaign". She must have taken lessons from Sarah Palin but she doesn't tweet.
Those social gospel fanatics are at it again. "Heaven has no boundaries" is the slogan of the Catholic Church's push for immigration reform. Hispanics are antsy the Obama Administration has deported the same amount of people that the Bush Administration did in its last year. Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham have a draft bill for the Senate but there is no second Republican sponsor. The House already has its bill ready.
Politico is making mischief again by saying Obama's intentions are unclear over immigration reform. They might want to review the contents of the Kennedy-McCain bill which had been sabotaged by the right. Obama was one of the key drafters of the bill. There is no ambiguity here. After the health care reform bill, I think this will be the last major domestic reform Obama will get through this year.
The Senate did finally get around to cleaning up the mess that Bunning caused by passing a bill to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA for another year and to patch up the holes in Medicare funding. Even six Republicans joined the parade.
Tom DeLay of Dancing with the Stars fame said that unemployment compensation made people lazy and not get a job. This is a throwback to the days of welfare queens, except now the people are white. How one can say this during a severe recession is too much. But what really takes the cake is the Washington Post actually printing an article taking this premise seriously,"Some Worry that Unemployment Insurance Make People lazy" or a headline similar. Naturally, they have to quote Jim Bunning and other Republicans as if this is a legitimate position. They did the samething by giving Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol an opportunity to respond to the critics of the Al Qaeda 7 ad.
The unions are now playing hardball on the healthcare bill. They are saying they will oppose anyone who votes against it. Now, of course, this gets played in Drudge as Illinois mob tactics. Well, good for them. Howard Dean again said he would work for the public option until it was done. Hopefully, he knoww something. The Left is getting annoyed with Dennis "the Menace" Kuchinich because of his outspoken criticisms of the health care proposals. President Obama is travelling to Cleveland again next week to hold another one of his health care townhall meetings. He's hoping to persuade at least two more Ohio congresspeople to vote in favor.
And Hapless Harry Reid is promising filibuster reform. That was earlier today and then about an hour ago he said,"Next year". And you wonder why people have problems with Congress.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
It is USA! USA! and, of well, Canada
My blogeater ate the last post before my conclusion and editing. My bottom line is that the health care bill must pass soon or we are in deep trouble as a country. The public option, which I really never cottoned to, would provide us all with an escape hatch when the medical insurance industry implodes which I am convinced now it will. And that, when there is enough political backlash, Senator Sanders will be proved correct, the United States will have to adopt the single-payer system. The CBO has costed out a bill with the public option--it saves more money on the deficit than the existing bills; and the single-payer actually saves the most.
Now, the United States won its first Winter Olympics since 1932 in Lake Placid. And Canada came roaring back to tie the record for most gold medals. And, I got to relive my youth as our skiers ,after scoring medals, did begin to fall down and wander off the course. Congratulations to Steve Colbert for the best media coverage.
Peggy Noonan says the Obama has again entered his boorish stage. I guess he's lecturing us too much.
The Coffee Party people now have 30,000 members in 24 hours, making it the most rapidly growing political movement in American history. What it believe in escapes me but anything to counter the Tea Party gang.
For all those who think China is about to take us as the superpower du jour think again. China has experienced an explosion of domestic disturbances, particularly in ethnic areas. And it still does not have a convertible currency. We just take their word on the exchange rate, which economists believe could be over-valued by fifty percent. As I've mentioned in past posts, the Chinese growth rate is not actually figured factually but astrologically. I expect we will see some implosion within the next one or two years. Not necessarily civil unrest and violence but a crashing or levelling out of the economic boom.
The ratings of talk radio shows have come out and 9 out of 10 are right-wing shows who are constantly criticising the Obama Administration. What about Radio Free America. Radio America has gone bankrupt and disappeared. What's amazing about these right-wing shows is that their hosts make a mint--not one of them earns less than $250,000 and that's for a local market. Frank Rich takes them on in the New York Times as the lock-and-load crowd, which is inciting violence in the hinderlands.
Received more anti-climate change e-mails. Wished the sender luck and said maybe some day he and Jim Inhofe will be proved right. But don't bank on it. The scientific community is shell-shocked before they had never dealt with our newsentertainment industry before. The Tsunami warnings have been called off. One wag posted a picture of Obama surfing--saying President on way to Hawaii to monitor the situation.
Any time you see a former government official or retired politician talking about health care, remember you are paying for their government plan. Newt may talk a good game but one of his perks is receiving free health care until he dies. Look at Dick Cheney--five heart attacks. For most of us that would indicate a pre-existing condition. But Dick is on the government tit or he would be dead. No comment.
And speaking of torture--the one word that comes to mind about our former Vice President--, the Obama Administration may have thought they kicked the issue under the rug but human rights advocates are saying that now that the administration has refused to sanction the torture lawyers, the ICC can now bring a case against them. While the United States is not a member to the ICC, despite America writing its statutes, a case can be brought if the crime has been committed on the territory of the signatory states. In this case, they are Poland and Afghanistan. Poland has already admitted that the CIA used old KGB prisons for the rendition program and we know the history of cases at the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. I rather doubt Poland or Afghanistan would bring charges against an old ally but it's feasible. The more likely case is in Spain where the judicial system is going after the torture lawyers and Doug Feith for the torture of a Gitmo detainee who was a Spanish citizen. This has a precedent in their going after Pinochet because he disappeared Spanish nationals. Just don't expect this issue to go away anytime soon.
Now, the United States won its first Winter Olympics since 1932 in Lake Placid. And Canada came roaring back to tie the record for most gold medals. And, I got to relive my youth as our skiers ,after scoring medals, did begin to fall down and wander off the course. Congratulations to Steve Colbert for the best media coverage.
Peggy Noonan says the Obama has again entered his boorish stage. I guess he's lecturing us too much.
The Coffee Party people now have 30,000 members in 24 hours, making it the most rapidly growing political movement in American history. What it believe in escapes me but anything to counter the Tea Party gang.
For all those who think China is about to take us as the superpower du jour think again. China has experienced an explosion of domestic disturbances, particularly in ethnic areas. And it still does not have a convertible currency. We just take their word on the exchange rate, which economists believe could be over-valued by fifty percent. As I've mentioned in past posts, the Chinese growth rate is not actually figured factually but astrologically. I expect we will see some implosion within the next one or two years. Not necessarily civil unrest and violence but a crashing or levelling out of the economic boom.
The ratings of talk radio shows have come out and 9 out of 10 are right-wing shows who are constantly criticising the Obama Administration. What about Radio Free America. Radio America has gone bankrupt and disappeared. What's amazing about these right-wing shows is that their hosts make a mint--not one of them earns less than $250,000 and that's for a local market. Frank Rich takes them on in the New York Times as the lock-and-load crowd, which is inciting violence in the hinderlands.
Received more anti-climate change e-mails. Wished the sender luck and said maybe some day he and Jim Inhofe will be proved right. But don't bank on it. The scientific community is shell-shocked before they had never dealt with our newsentertainment industry before. The Tsunami warnings have been called off. One wag posted a picture of Obama surfing--saying President on way to Hawaii to monitor the situation.
Any time you see a former government official or retired politician talking about health care, remember you are paying for their government plan. Newt may talk a good game but one of his perks is receiving free health care until he dies. Look at Dick Cheney--five heart attacks. For most of us that would indicate a pre-existing condition. But Dick is on the government tit or he would be dead. No comment.
And speaking of torture--the one word that comes to mind about our former Vice President--, the Obama Administration may have thought they kicked the issue under the rug but human rights advocates are saying that now that the administration has refused to sanction the torture lawyers, the ICC can now bring a case against them. While the United States is not a member to the ICC, despite America writing its statutes, a case can be brought if the crime has been committed on the territory of the signatory states. In this case, they are Poland and Afghanistan. Poland has already admitted that the CIA used old KGB prisons for the rendition program and we know the history of cases at the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. I rather doubt Poland or Afghanistan would bring charges against an old ally but it's feasible. The more likely case is in Spain where the judicial system is going after the torture lawyers and Doug Feith for the torture of a Gitmo detainee who was a Spanish citizen. This has a precedent in their going after Pinochet because he disappeared Spanish nationals. Just don't expect this issue to go away anytime soon.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Obama's Townhalls
I have now viewed President Obama's townhall meetings at AARP, New Hampshire, Montana, and Colorado and wonder what the hubbub is about concerning healthcare reform. As he said in his last three townhalls eighty percent of the work on the healthcare bills has been done and the remaining needs to be negotiated out.
From the Left, there are cries that the single-payer system is not being considered. President Obama never campaigned on a single-payer platform either in the primaries of the general election. The Right has been disingenous from the very beginning about this,raising the specter of "socialized health care". But the more they argue the more I realize that probably is the right way to go if the United States can ever be a fully realized 21st century economy. The whole health care debate has brought forth in stark terms the reality that this is all about the enrichment of the so-called health insurance industry. With the economy cratering, the health insurance industry has been immune from the catastrophes affecting American lives. Their top executive earn salaries and stock options that exceed even productive elements of our society like say a Steve Jobs at Apple or someone who actually has done something worthwhile. The endless rate charges by the insurance companies--like Connecticut Blue Cross-Blue Shield's 35% hike--are unsustainable for a modern political economy. Where President Obama erred in his presentations was the claim that Blue Cross was a non-profit. It used to be but no longer.
So far, President Obama's presentations have dealt with the whole issue of small businesses and the range of reforms the insurance industry will have to make about excluding pre-existing conditions, caps on payouts, and a whole host of details that have eliminated millions of Americans from health care. So far so good. He really hasn't publicly talked about the insurance companies' near monopolistic practices in a variety of states. For instance, the state of Alabama and,I believe, Arkansas only have one company to insurance their entire states. He also hasn't talked about the situation in New Jersey where the insurance companies are not reimbursing providers for emergency room care. Yet, he has made considerable progress--more than anyone in recent memory on this vital issue.
The astro-turfing of anti-health reform issues is a sight to behold. The predominant class of people showing up to heckle members of congress and the President are senior citizens. In other words, people who are on Medicare, a government-run system. The whole demagogic claims by Republicans over euthanasia and death panels are aimed at senior citizens, who should be reminded that no Republicans ever voted for Medicare at its creation. And, in fact, the Republican long-term strategy is to eliminate Medicare, which I will get to. Another anti-health care group are the evangelicals or fundamentalists who are claiming that the bill would pay for abortions. Since the bill won't, it seems to me as a former Divinity School student that these so-called Christian sectarians are running straight against the teachings of the central figure in their religion. I just can't comprehend the religious motivation against providing healthcare for the poor, the indigent and now even the middle class.
President Obama in Colorado finally corrected what I have felt has been a long-standing error when he kept referring to inheriting a deficit of $1.5 trillion. Yesterday, he finally added the $10 trillion in structural deficit spending that had also been racked up over the last eight years. As he has made clear, if health reform isn't adopted, Medicare goes broke in eight years. He also chided his critics who are bemoaning the deficits but who passed Medicare B--the prescription drug plan--without having a way to pay for it. And, finally, he pointed out the same about the Iraq war, which was fought off budget--another $1 trillion which was not paid for.
So, let's go straight to the motives of those opposed. The Republicans have made it clear that they are banking on a revival by defeating health reform. They did this in the 1990s and believe it will work again. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma let the cat out of the bag at his townhall meeting by saying he wants to eliminate Medicare and eventually wants to privatize Social Security like George W. Bush wanted. The long-term strategy of Republicans is to eliminate Medicare. Some estimate Medicare costs will add some $40 trillion to our national deficit over the decades. Prior to it runnng out of money, look to Republicans to seek drastic reductions in benefits and then to its elimination or some gimmick to privatize.
The funding by the insurance companies--some $245 million spent on lobbying this year alone--and their financial support to organizations organizing these rallies is aimed at only one thing--to eliminate any public option that will put a break on their profit margins. That's all. They want the big bonanza of an additional 42 million customers, subsidized by the American taxpayer, without any restraints on their monopolistic activities. That's the beginning and end of the insurance agenda. At some point, the divergence between the Republican and the insurance agenda will become obvious in the fall. Can the insurance companies continue to obstruct progress since they have already forecast a less properous future for themselves with no change?
As for President Obama's performance at these townhall meetings, can you imagine President Bush answering any policy questions in such detail--especially with real opponents in the crowd? Remember his meetings were tightly controlled and scripted events. Even those who dissented from his policies and managed to sneak in were arrested. In Colorado, three were jailed for having "no war for oil" bumperstickers.
President Obama has hit the points for reform in all his townhalls. We can not afford the status quo--literally. Millions more Americans are going without health insurance. Thousands are having to declare bankruptcies because of medical expenses. Even those with insurance are finding the cost of medical care not covered and sometimes deprived by the insurance companies. The insurance companies have no mechanism by which they can be kept honest. And, he has raised the unpleasant truth that we spent over $6,000 more per person than the closest industrialized country for healthcare, which produces worst results. In short, no, we don't have the best health care system in the world.
More devastating is the fact that over 6 million Americans will go abroad for medical care next year.
In all probability, a heath reform bill will pass this year. Not enough Blue Dog Democrats will have been intimidate by the mobs to back down. The real issue is what form a "public option" takes? As of today, the press has Obama backing away from the public option. Kathleen Sibelius said that it wasn't "essential" to the health reform plan and that President Obama would settle for an "insurance cooperative". Before everyone screams, we should wait and see what this means.
I'm for GEICOing medical insurance. The medical insurance would be sold on a national markewt not on a state-by-state basis and that all major medical insurers would participate. I'm also in favor a a regulatory commission, which would take complaints against insurance company by individual patients with the power to seek restitution. I am also in favor of a public option because otherwise the whole health reform becomes a massive TARP bailout for an already rich industry.
From the Left, there are cries that the single-payer system is not being considered. President Obama never campaigned on a single-payer platform either in the primaries of the general election. The Right has been disingenous from the very beginning about this,raising the specter of "socialized health care". But the more they argue the more I realize that probably is the right way to go if the United States can ever be a fully realized 21st century economy. The whole health care debate has brought forth in stark terms the reality that this is all about the enrichment of the so-called health insurance industry. With the economy cratering, the health insurance industry has been immune from the catastrophes affecting American lives. Their top executive earn salaries and stock options that exceed even productive elements of our society like say a Steve Jobs at Apple or someone who actually has done something worthwhile. The endless rate charges by the insurance companies--like Connecticut Blue Cross-Blue Shield's 35% hike--are unsustainable for a modern political economy. Where President Obama erred in his presentations was the claim that Blue Cross was a non-profit. It used to be but no longer.
So far, President Obama's presentations have dealt with the whole issue of small businesses and the range of reforms the insurance industry will have to make about excluding pre-existing conditions, caps on payouts, and a whole host of details that have eliminated millions of Americans from health care. So far so good. He really hasn't publicly talked about the insurance companies' near monopolistic practices in a variety of states. For instance, the state of Alabama and,I believe, Arkansas only have one company to insurance their entire states. He also hasn't talked about the situation in New Jersey where the insurance companies are not reimbursing providers for emergency room care. Yet, he has made considerable progress--more than anyone in recent memory on this vital issue.
The astro-turfing of anti-health reform issues is a sight to behold. The predominant class of people showing up to heckle members of congress and the President are senior citizens. In other words, people who are on Medicare, a government-run system. The whole demagogic claims by Republicans over euthanasia and death panels are aimed at senior citizens, who should be reminded that no Republicans ever voted for Medicare at its creation. And, in fact, the Republican long-term strategy is to eliminate Medicare, which I will get to. Another anti-health care group are the evangelicals or fundamentalists who are claiming that the bill would pay for abortions. Since the bill won't, it seems to me as a former Divinity School student that these so-called Christian sectarians are running straight against the teachings of the central figure in their religion. I just can't comprehend the religious motivation against providing healthcare for the poor, the indigent and now even the middle class.
President Obama in Colorado finally corrected what I have felt has been a long-standing error when he kept referring to inheriting a deficit of $1.5 trillion. Yesterday, he finally added the $10 trillion in structural deficit spending that had also been racked up over the last eight years. As he has made clear, if health reform isn't adopted, Medicare goes broke in eight years. He also chided his critics who are bemoaning the deficits but who passed Medicare B--the prescription drug plan--without having a way to pay for it. And, finally, he pointed out the same about the Iraq war, which was fought off budget--another $1 trillion which was not paid for.
So, let's go straight to the motives of those opposed. The Republicans have made it clear that they are banking on a revival by defeating health reform. They did this in the 1990s and believe it will work again. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma let the cat out of the bag at his townhall meeting by saying he wants to eliminate Medicare and eventually wants to privatize Social Security like George W. Bush wanted. The long-term strategy of Republicans is to eliminate Medicare. Some estimate Medicare costs will add some $40 trillion to our national deficit over the decades. Prior to it runnng out of money, look to Republicans to seek drastic reductions in benefits and then to its elimination or some gimmick to privatize.
The funding by the insurance companies--some $245 million spent on lobbying this year alone--and their financial support to organizations organizing these rallies is aimed at only one thing--to eliminate any public option that will put a break on their profit margins. That's all. They want the big bonanza of an additional 42 million customers, subsidized by the American taxpayer, without any restraints on their monopolistic activities. That's the beginning and end of the insurance agenda. At some point, the divergence between the Republican and the insurance agenda will become obvious in the fall. Can the insurance companies continue to obstruct progress since they have already forecast a less properous future for themselves with no change?
As for President Obama's performance at these townhall meetings, can you imagine President Bush answering any policy questions in such detail--especially with real opponents in the crowd? Remember his meetings were tightly controlled and scripted events. Even those who dissented from his policies and managed to sneak in were arrested. In Colorado, three were jailed for having "no war for oil" bumperstickers.
President Obama has hit the points for reform in all his townhalls. We can not afford the status quo--literally. Millions more Americans are going without health insurance. Thousands are having to declare bankruptcies because of medical expenses. Even those with insurance are finding the cost of medical care not covered and sometimes deprived by the insurance companies. The insurance companies have no mechanism by which they can be kept honest. And, he has raised the unpleasant truth that we spent over $6,000 more per person than the closest industrialized country for healthcare, which produces worst results. In short, no, we don't have the best health care system in the world.
More devastating is the fact that over 6 million Americans will go abroad for medical care next year.
In all probability, a heath reform bill will pass this year. Not enough Blue Dog Democrats will have been intimidate by the mobs to back down. The real issue is what form a "public option" takes? As of today, the press has Obama backing away from the public option. Kathleen Sibelius said that it wasn't "essential" to the health reform plan and that President Obama would settle for an "insurance cooperative". Before everyone screams, we should wait and see what this means.
I'm for GEICOing medical insurance. The medical insurance would be sold on a national markewt not on a state-by-state basis and that all major medical insurers would participate. I'm also in favor a a regulatory commission, which would take complaints against insurance company by individual patients with the power to seek restitution. I am also in favor of a public option because otherwise the whole health reform becomes a massive TARP bailout for an already rich industry.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Public Option--Health Care
If I want to learn anything about the health care debate, there are only two people I listen to--Dr.Howard Dean and Barack Obama. The rest of the pundits and the Republican scream machine are simply nuts. Within minutes of today's press conference by President Obama, American Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross/Blue Shield warned that a "government health plan" would dismantle employer coverage in the US and would not compete fairly with private health insurance companies. President Obama today was asked whether a public option is necessary for his health care plan.
It is apparent that the private health insurance industry is terrified by a public option. Almost all the arguments being used against the public option really relate to private insurance companies. Health care is already being rationed--as they claim about any government system--bureaucrats are already deciding proper medical care, --as witnessed by the complaints by private doctors that insurance companies prevent them prescribing certain medicines to their patients, --key procedures are being denied--maybe even triggering rescinding of the health insurance policy, leaving the patrient with the bill. The health insurance industry is in terrible financial shape and they are buying congresscritters left and right to block any fundamental reform that will force them to streamline their own bureaucratic bloat--almost 40% of current medical expenses--and will cut into their profits.
One reporter asked President Obama whether he can guarantee if someone likes their insurance they can keep it ,if the company decides to go on a public plan. Talk about a red herring. Today, you can't keep your plan if your employer drops coverage or moves to a less expensive option. I couldn't even keep my own organization's plan and I was the President. I'm no longer on it.
The media is not really being straight with the American people. I have yet to hear or to see a simple demonstration of what the public option would look like. President Obama clearly knows and keeps describing it as a menu of options--but this doesn't carry to the bulk of Americans. It sounds to0 vague and iffy as if it isn't being practiced right now. You can actually look up the menu of options right now.
A major network should do the CNN electronic screen and type into the internet www.opm.gov/Insure/Health and review all the options available for employees of the federal government. Simply type in your zipcode and then decide what type of employee you are, as an experiment. I choose to be an employee of the FDIC. You are then presented with a long list of options from the top providers in the health insurance industry--Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, etc. Then click a check for all the programs you want to compare. You will be amazed by the prices of the insurance. My wife and I spend $17,000 a year on health insurance for a family plan, a comparable program under this menu would cost one-half that. Same benefits, same deductible and same coverage.
In part, it's because of the larger risk pool that lowers the rates. Another nice feature is a list of questions about doctors choice, response speed, patient satisfaction so you get an idea about the users' responses to these health plans. No wonder the insurance companies are terrified--they simply don't want this option explained--clearly and succinctly to the American people. Even the media refer to Congressmen and women as having Cadillac programs--suggesting these would not be available to the average American. This is simply not true.
It is apparent that the private health insurance industry is terrified by a public option. Almost all the arguments being used against the public option really relate to private insurance companies. Health care is already being rationed--as they claim about any government system--bureaucrats are already deciding proper medical care, --as witnessed by the complaints by private doctors that insurance companies prevent them prescribing certain medicines to their patients, --key procedures are being denied--maybe even triggering rescinding of the health insurance policy, leaving the patrient with the bill. The health insurance industry is in terrible financial shape and they are buying congresscritters left and right to block any fundamental reform that will force them to streamline their own bureaucratic bloat--almost 40% of current medical expenses--and will cut into their profits.
One reporter asked President Obama whether he can guarantee if someone likes their insurance they can keep it ,if the company decides to go on a public plan. Talk about a red herring. Today, you can't keep your plan if your employer drops coverage or moves to a less expensive option. I couldn't even keep my own organization's plan and I was the President. I'm no longer on it.
The media is not really being straight with the American people. I have yet to hear or to see a simple demonstration of what the public option would look like. President Obama clearly knows and keeps describing it as a menu of options--but this doesn't carry to the bulk of Americans. It sounds to0 vague and iffy as if it isn't being practiced right now. You can actually look up the menu of options right now.
A major network should do the CNN electronic screen and type into the internet www.opm.gov/Insure/Health and review all the options available for employees of the federal government. Simply type in your zipcode and then decide what type of employee you are, as an experiment. I choose to be an employee of the FDIC. You are then presented with a long list of options from the top providers in the health insurance industry--Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, etc. Then click a check for all the programs you want to compare. You will be amazed by the prices of the insurance. My wife and I spend $17,000 a year on health insurance for a family plan, a comparable program under this menu would cost one-half that. Same benefits, same deductible and same coverage.
In part, it's because of the larger risk pool that lowers the rates. Another nice feature is a list of questions about doctors choice, response speed, patient satisfaction so you get an idea about the users' responses to these health plans. No wonder the insurance companies are terrified--they simply don't want this option explained--clearly and succinctly to the American people. Even the media refer to Congressmen and women as having Cadillac programs--suggesting these would not be available to the average American. This is simply not true.
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