Do you REALLY want a democracy? The healthcare reform farce we see in Congress is proof positive that we do not actually enjoy a democracy in the United States.
Who is to blame? You and me. Who can bring back democracy? Only you and me. How, you ask. Well, that’s what I’m here for. I have the answer. While I have the answer, that doesn’t mean that I can do it alone. I need your help.
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This is not a prediction. It is only what I see as an optimistic scenario.
What’s going to happen with healthcare reform in Congress? Your guess is as good as mine. Because there is no leadership, no one knows what the outcome will be.
We do know a few things, however. Since it was given away before the issue was put on the table, there will be no single-payer system. In other words, there will be no real reform. My optimistic scenario really devolves into a hope that we get a couple of the crumbs that remain.
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What? He’s writing about something other than the circus in the Harem on the Hill?
Yes. I need a break. You could likely use one too. As funny as Congressmen are, however unintentionally, I am easily bored by the collection of dolts that composes our national zoo.
I’m working on another book when it hits me how ironic that is. Back in high school I hated English. I was convinced that diagramming sentences was a violation of the Geneva Accords.
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President Obama is a politician. He is a Constitutional expert but, by and large, he is a generalist.
Being a Constitutional scholar comes in handy in the Congress and on the Supreme Court. It’s not necessarily a bad thing in the Oval Office but being a generalist can be a positive. It can also bring disaster.
A generalist needs to know his limitations. He needs to know when to call on the experts. But, he also needs to recognize the limitations of the experts.
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Change. Change? What change? How about some meaningful change?
Three issues are at the top of the agenda. They share a commonality. They are healthcare, the economic crisis and the impending decision by the Supreme Court on Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission.
The commonality they share is the usurpation of power by corporations and the destruction of a government of, by and for the people.
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Jody Powell passed away this week. Only last year we lost Ham Jordan, the other half of Jimmy Carter’s whiz kids.
These two, in many ways, personified what I see as a special type of Southern spirit. It wasn’t just that they wore jeans to social functions with the establishment in Washington. It wasn’t just their sense of humor.
It was also their intelligence, their willingness to cut through the waste product, their dedication to doing good.
I was fortunate enough to meet Jody, however briefly.
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It seems that I have reached the age where history and autobiography become the same.
Senator Joe McCarthy’s antics permeated every aspect of the politics of his time. He was none too bright, as Joseph Welch and Ed Murrow showed. His accusations came from whole cloth. He played upon the fears and ignorance of the time for his own aggrandizement and agenda.
Today we have a bunch of little McCarthys running around. We call them deathers or birthers or Sarah Limbaugh and Rush Palin. Actually, we have lots of other names for them, both general and specific. They are playing upon the fears and ignorance for their own personal aggrandizement and agenda. It’s as though I’m experiencing déjà vu.
Though I am on Medicare, I have no concern for the claims of the deathers but it does bring back a very personal threat I experienced during the 1960s.
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Why isn’t Congress embarrassed that even a country such as Costa Rica outranks us in healthcare? Are we, as a country, really that incompetent? Though our politicians obviously are, I prefer to think that we, the people, are not.
The statistics come from a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) done in the year 2000. They no longer conduct that study. It seems that we dropped from the previous one and the United States found it too embarrassing and pressured the United Nations to not do any more followup studies. One might be forgiven for assuming that a current study would show a further decline.
Maybe, instead of lamenting that fact, we should change our mood and celebrate it. Paul Hipp has taken that approach. I think you will enjoy his efforts. Perhaps even a temporary lightening of our mood will help us get through this mess.
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Can there be such a thing as too much money? Apparently. There can be situations where the amount becomes an embarrassment.
That point of embarrassment may come when you are among the very top recipients of bribes from the healthcare industry. A little blush in the cheeks does not quell the desire for financial rewards, however.
All that is necessary to keep the money coming in is to find another pathway. Last night, some time after publishing my last post, I was relaxing, watching the news. There it was.
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Aren’t you somewhat bewildered when you hear the story of Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of porridge? How could he be so stupid? How could he trade away his inheritance, his special place, for a bowl of soup?
He isn’t the first one. He won’t be the last. Former Senator Bill Bradley caught my attention by getting involved in a battle that I doubt he understands. That’s not a put-down. Most people don’t realize what the issue really is. Bill, as many others, throw around numbers that they can’t support.
I knew they were wrong but I didn’t have the real numbers in front of me. I had to go back and look them up again.
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