My Friend Mary

My friend Mary lost her job last year.

My friend Mary is about to lose her COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) insurance coverage.

My friend Mary is too young (60) to get Medicare health coverage.

My friend Mary isn't wealthy.

My friend Mary is a three-time breast cancer survivor.

My friend Mary isn't going to get affordable health insurance in the private market.

My friend Mary, under the new, improved, "Health Care System", as written by Sen. Max "My Job Is To Get 60 Votes" Baucus (D-Mont), won't be able to get any kind of government-sponsored health coverage.

My friend Mary will, however, be able to form a "Co-Op" with a million or so fellow cancer survivors, and, using the "Magick Of The Marketplace" negotiate an affordable health care plan with, e.g., Blue Cross.

My friend Mary can hear the insurance company executives laughing.

My friend Mary, and her fellow "undesireables" aren't joining in the laughter.

My friend Mary (and I) are astonished at the timidity of the "Democrats" in the United States Senate. No Profiles In Courage in sight.

This Is Logic?

My Students Would Get An F!

Can you reconcile the following statements?

a: "Government Is Always Wrong"

b: "The Free Market Is Always Right"

c: Therefore "Private Insurers Can't Compete With A Government Plan"

With this logic firmly in place, one wonders why we are even having a debate about Health Care.

Just how did medical care get "commoditized", anyway?

Nice

Isn't it? That we have such staunch defenders of our right to select our own doctor! Unless you're poor, in which case One Will Not Be Appointed For You. We just wouldn't feel right, denying you Freedom Of Choice.
Interestingly, many of these same Defenders Of Freedom also staunchly deny people the right to select their own spouse!
One more cynical than I might suspect a taint of hypocrisy here. But not me!
After all, if the Defense Of Marriage requires us to deny marriage to at least one - perhaps several - Detested Minorities, then sobeit!
And for those who aren't up on their Holy Bible; you should be reminded that, somewhere in The Book Of Genesis, The Lord says, and I quote: "I Said Adam And Eve - Not Adam And Steve, You Morons!" I haven't found the exact spot in the bible where it says that, but many Fox News-like commentators and bible-thumping Charlatans have assured us all that that is what the Lord Sayeth. For those few retro folk who insist on the notion that there is some sort of Separation Of Church And State, I suggest you check out the Federal Register. There's even an entire office of government dedicated to defining just who does and who does not fit the definition of Church.
Oh Well. I've drifted from my original intent a bit here. The point I wished to make: Perhaps the Defenders Of Marriage For All - those who want to include Gays(Oh, My!) and Lesbians (Oh, My!) as worthy of selecting the spouse of their choice, should buy a clue from the defenders of medical choice. Buy youself a passel of politicians!

Don't Fall For It

Madam Speaker!

Nancy Pelosi

Last Night during President Obama's speech to the Congress, Congressman Joe Wilson, from South Carolina interrupted with a nicely choreographed shout of "You Lie!" Caused a ruckus. Go figure. Now the Speaker wants an apology, in public, on the floor of the House. Bad Idea, Nancy!
The Congressman's outburst was merely his First Shout in his incipient campaign for Governor of his state: a position he (and many more) believe will shortly be coming open. Thanks for the unexpected gift, Mark Sanford

Joe Wilson

It's a dead cinch that the congressman would like nothing more than a chance to
refuse to apologize;
denounce the "Ultraliberal, Big Government, Socialistic Congressional Leadership";
Resign from Congress - a "Hero" to that certain group of voters that follow the more bellicose of lead-from-the-sideline teevee and radio talking heads.

As a populist (well, faux populist) campaigner, pledged to Restore States Rights, distance the Great State Of South Carolina to it's rightful place as a leader against that oppressive Washington D.C.. What an opportunity! A chance to run against a House of Representatives that presents a whole mess of easy targets. Not a lot of Profiles-In-Courage in that bunch. Lots of go-along-to-get-along congresscreatures on both sides of the aisle. Like fish in a barrel they are. He'll be a shoo-in.
Governor Joe Wilson...
Creating yet another Balkan-like state among the crumbling sociopolitical infrastructure of the United States.

Socialized

Groceries! (Oh! My!)

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 35 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent from June 2008 and a new record as the country continued to grapple with the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The food stamp program, which helps cover the cost of groceries for one in nine Americans, has grown in step with the U.S. unemployment rate which stood at 9.4 percent in July.

The Labor Department will release August employment figures on Friday.

June was the seventh straight month in which food stamp rolls set a record. The average benefit in June was $133.12 per person.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Chuck Abbott; editing by Jim Marshall)"

Brainwashed!

On September 8. Best if you keep The Children away from school. That awful pretend president Barack "Hussein" Obama will be transmitting evil liberal-socialist-nazi brainwaves into the schools, infecting all the innocent youngsters.
Obama goes back to school. Yes; along with keeping them away from the brainwashing sites, probably best to also fit them out with tinfoil hats - wellknown for blocking mindcontrol thoughts from aliens and secret-muslim-radical-fake-presidents alike!
As the ever-alert Jim Greer (chairman of the Republican Party of Florida pointed out: "The address... obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with our President's initiatives or be ostracized by their teachers and classmates."
WOW! How dare he!
Considering that the Redoubtable Mr. Greer is from Florida, one wonders if he was present in the school where, on Sept. 11 2001 then-President George "W." Bush was reading to The Children. Of course, nobody has ever suggested that George W. Bush had any thoughts to broadcast!
Perhaps it's a sort of Right-Handed compliment to President Obama to worry that he'll seduce all those promising innocent young potential Republican Voters into becoming eeeeuww! Liberals!
He must be a pretty persuasive guy, to be able to instruct The Children in a few minutes, when their honest hard-working family-values conservative christian parents can't even get 'em to pick up after themselves!

Critical

As I mentioned in a footnote to a previous post; It's time for President Obama to start opposing the things he formerly proposed. So that he can get the I'm Against Whatever Obama's For congresscreatures to pass the legislation he actually supports.

Now's The Time:

Obama to address Congress as health care debate grows

Time for the President to toss the "Public Option" overboard. How about proposing Privatizing Medicare? Sounds Good To Me. Get rid of that evil Socialized Medicine. Your Taxes (Your Hard-Earned Dollars) Will Go Down! Yes!
What you pay for health care will, of course, go up. Waay Up. But at least the money won't pass through the hands of those Government Bureaucrats. It'll pass into the hands of those Insurance Company Bureaucrats. Where a large part of it will stay.
It's the Capitalist Way. Let the deserving company presidents and CEOs have as much money as they can arrange to wring out of their customers.
Slightly (only slightly) more seriously: it might be a really good idea for people to step all the way back to an examination of First Principles of Society. What's appropriate in the Public Sector, and what's appropriate in the Private Sector?

Examples:
1. Public Police Department protection from criminals?
2. Public Fire Department protection from fires?
3. Public Health Department protection from disease?

Does that third department seem appropriate? Actually, there's already such a thing; tasked with seeing to the health of the population at large. Working to insure sanitary conditions and guard against epidemics. I don't hear a lot of complaining about those functions. Especially now that there's a New Flu scare. Let's get the government to make a vaccine!
There are some, of course, who consider vaccines to be a Liberal Conspiracy to infect The Children with that infectious Liberalism. Or perhaps to make them gay! Still, most people Trust (Oh My!) the Government's ability to deal with infectious diseases. So why not trust the government health system with health issues generally?
Not positive here, but I suspect it's that old paranoid Dog-In-The-Manger feeling that My money might wind up being spent on Your care.
I pay taxes for all three of the departments I listed above, not to save you from crooks, fires, illness. Those government programs (socialized police, fire, health departments!). I just don't want those plagues visited on you to spread to me!
When it comes to my own personal care, I trust that my special virtue - the same one that makes it certain I will win the lottery someday - will protect me from fire, flood, crooks, liars, cheats, thieves and, yes, cancer, stroke, heart failure, and all health problems taken together. Except for the problems I already have; for those I can take a pill. Courtesy of the new Medicare Prescription Drug (Company) Benefit.
So there's really no reason to change things is there? We're all happy the way things are now.
QED

What Does "Winning" Mean?

Last year, one of the things Candidate Obama campaigned on was the need to "win the war in Afghanistan". So: More Troops, New Commander, More Money. Also, somebody assigned to create some "Metrics" with which to measure "Progress". Come up with something like the fabled (and fabulous) "Body Counts" of Vietnam War era fame. Still, one really must decide first what it means to "Win" before one can measure "Progress", mustn't one?
A common definition of winning, or success, when talking about Iraq has been the phrase "...stable democratic government that is friendly to the USA".
Well. That's not going to happen. Democracy isn't going to exist in that part of the world today any more than it existed in fifteenth century Europe. Not to mention that Puppet Governments are never popular, not even with their Puppet Masters. As we see, the "Government Of Afghanistan" is much more a State Of Mind of old leftover Cold Warriors. So, sorry, Winning: Not In The Cards. We've already Lost The War. And yes, it's Obama's Fault. In the previous administration, the plan was to neither Win nor Lose the war. An Endless War; a Perpetual Profit Center for the Arms Suppliers. A Full Employment Plan for Soldiers OF Fortune (note: now constituting 57% of US forces in Afghanistan - New York Times, Sept. 1). A Rapid Promotion Plan for REMF's (Rear Echelon... I leave the rest to you to fill in). Yes; Keep It Simmering.
"... With contractors focused on preserving profits and filing paperwork with government auditors, he said, 'you grow the part of government that, probably, the taxpayers appreciate least.'
Congress appropriated at least $106 billion for Pentagon contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 through the first half of the 2008 fiscal year, the report says." (Ibid)
What's really eerie; for seven years, Nobody Complained! Now, with the new president actually considering the idea of an End To The War In Afghanistan, people are worried! I even read that some Pentagon REMF's are afraid that the new president doesn't have a Bushlike commitment to the war!
An odd sidebar: With the likes of Cold Warrior George Will advocationg an end to the war, causing one to wonder if the End Times are upon us, we see an interesting phenomenon. Perhaps the Party Of No can be manipulated by a sort of Automatic Whiplash process. Perhaps if the President now declares his opposition to something, the People United Against Everything The President Is For will advocate for it. Health Care Reform might end up being a Republican Issue, passed by 100% of Republican Congressmen, abetted by a small number of Blue Dog (read; 'Fraidy-Cat) Democrats.
President Obama can scream and yell and threaten to Veto any health care bill. Then (hiding his smirk), Reluctantly sign it. Handing out the symbolic pens to the Republican Sponsors!
Well, it's a nice scenario, isn't it? Goes along with the general fantasy world we appear to have slipped into in this century.