Why do you suppose our President has pushed so hard for Health Care Reform legislation to be passed before the August recess? He claims it is because of the anguished letters he reads every day from folks across the land pleading for relief. Could it also be that he is in peptic distress over the earfull individual Congressfolk will receive when they return home for the summer break?
And don’t you love Rep. Henry Waxman who, because he won’t allow members of his own party to “hand over control of (his) Committee to the Republicans” is threatening to simply circumvent a 200-year process and bypass Committee action on the Health Care Bill. He did express his preference for “regular order,” except, apparently, when he doesn’t get his way. Similar situations exist in pre-schools across the land, where a “time-out” is typically the remedy.
Of course Republicans pull similar shenanigans where possible, but they are not the folk continually vowing to “clean up Washington” and “restore public confidence” to the political process. Hypocrisy practiced by politicians is akin to the vertically challenged practicing being short.
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The other day while weeding through some mental detritus I came across Winston Churchill’s oft repeated quote: “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” This helped clarify for me the status of the Hollywood elite. These folks simply live in a fantasy world ala Michael Jackson and have never grown up, hence their stunted maturity. And it confirms as well my impression of the mental capacity of that creative enclave.
Speaking of California, despite all-night sessions to resolve its financial crisis, it appears but a matter of time until the rest of America will be called upon to bail out the lifestyle that so many find economically unsustainable and often bizarre. As liberal Democrats are fond of condemning subsidies for special interests, might they join conservatives in resistance? When swine soar!
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And on health care, I’m confused (as usual) by the duel Democrat claims of massive unnecessary expenditures in the system (which I define as the outrageous cost of insuring the medical community against frivolous lawsuits) and allegations that insurance companies routinely deny necessary procedures to their clients.
Debating the morality and value of health care reform can take many voices, but the smoke and mirror approach of suggesting that exposing 43 million uninsured Americans to comprehensive health care will somehow lower costs is appallingly transparent. It is sad that simply saying “it will cost a bundle but it’s the right thing to do” is not politically acceptable. Voting with the heart and the pocketbook are as dissimilar as love and marriage.
And although it will likely be disputed, I postulate that such differences transcend political boundaries. Many years ago I was in line at the local copy center behind a magnificently attired blue-haired matron, who when asked “recycled paper?” for the 7 copies of her 2-page Garden Club letter, huffed indignantly “why recycled, of course.” When informed that it would (as in those days it did) cost one cent additional per page, she lowered her voice and said “regular, then.” Funny how economics can influence our social conscience.
Certain “inconvenient realities” persist on the landscape. Much of the planet that can afford to do so continues to breach American shores for medical treatment. Remember that Yasser Arafat, deprived of that option, chose France for his treatment and was shipped home in a box.
Yet massive dislocations do exist. As a volunteer first responder I learned that when prescription medicine is expended, the disadvantaged routinely call 911 with vague complaints, resulting in an ambulance call, a trip to the emergency room, and a free prescription refill, all at massive cost to the taxpayer. And there is no evidence I‘ve encountered to suggest that extensive demonstration programs designed to encourage healthy living among the poor do anything to improve the status quo. Childhood obesity continues unchecked despite substantial federal, state, and local spending.
Until we are willing to reward healthy living and penalize the obverse, the situation will not improve. Now to some that may sound like social engineering, and conservatives must be constantly vigilant against creeping do-goodism. Yet penalties can be defined as withholding rewards for questionable behavior, such as Medicare providing free scooters to the morbidly obese, lung surgery for smokers, and kidney transplants for alcoholics.
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As much as I am tempted to jump into the Gates/Cambridge police controversy, I have learned that while politics and religion were once the taboo subjects of polite conversation, race has overtaken that appellation. Like global warming and health care reform, in America today if you are not on the politically correct side, you are vilified as (at best) a cretin and potentially placed in physical danger.
Suffice to say I find it inconceivable that our President calmed the waters by his press conference allegation of police stupidity. Yes, he did allow as how he could have “calibrated” his remarks differently. Now there’s a thought! Might we consider passing out political calibrators to politicians everywhere?
And yet his straightforward approach to diffuse the issue – inviting Gates and Crowley to the White House “for a beer,” and what will certainly be a Kum-bah-yah moment, is not rocket science but a master stroke. If a similar approach might work with Ahmadinejad and Kim Jung Il, the Vatican may be tempted to launch sainthood proceedings at an early stage. It’s not the mistakes we make but how we correct them.
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I rose early today and found John Conyers addressing the National Press Club luncheon on C-SPAN. A true Comedy Central presentation, mocking all things Republican and conservative. Not debating, not disagreeing, but mocking. And not surprising. The laughter was raucous. A fine time was had by all.
At the conclusion, the speaker’s schedule for the next 2 months was announced: Barney Frank, John Kerry, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Ken Burns. And finally a discussion of the need for diversity in journalism. But certainly not political diversity, judging from the unbroken string of liberal Democrats on the speaker invite list. To be certain they do toss in a conservative or Republican now and then to (I assume) maintain their tax exempt status. But the trend is unmistakable.
And my liberal friends continue to be angered by allegations of a liberal press and biased media. Despite the overwhelming sentiment, I recall in my lifetime only Jack Germond of the Baltimore Sun having the honesty to admit his liberal bias. Not to be confused with O’Reilly, Olbermann, et al, “analysts” who are free to wear their bias openly.
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Almost August and not a murmur in the Atlantic. The Adventure stands at the ready despite fair winds and azure skies…
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
2009-19 GEORGETOWN
History (for those intrepid enough to study it without bias and spin) tells us that in time of national crisis governments tend to overreact. Just one comparison in my own backyard, that of WW-II and 911, shows us that in the former, the Roosevelt Administration indiscriminately jailed Japanese-American citizens and the Truman Administration firebombed civilians in Dresden and of course unleashed atomic terror on Japan. Though widely applauded at the time, history has come to question such extreme acts, and that is what history is designed to accomplish – dispassionate analysis from a distance, after the fervor of the moment has dissipated.
Conversely, the alleged overreactions of 911, including portions of the Patriot Act, NSA wiretaps, Guantanamo detentions, et al, have received widespread condemnation, with scant acknowledgement that to the extent they were overreactions, they were a predictable response to an unprecedented attack upon our homeland.
It is interesting to contemplate why liberal darlings FDR and Truman both then and now get a pass for their actions while Cheney and Bush are labeled war criminals and produce a blood lust for vengeance on the left.
If excesses motivated by Pearl Harbor can be explained by historical occurrence, why not similar reactions inspired by destruction of the Twin Towers? Might it be just another example of the left forever excusing its actions due to perceived moral superiority while condemning all actions from the right as brutish thuggery? Perhaps.
#####
As much of the nation bakes under an unrelenting sun, I continue to begin each slumber under 2 blankets, though by morning one (but never both) is often discarded. And this, absent the ubiquitous A/C, without which the planet would appear to shrivel and expire. Notwithstanding that the 2nd century Chinese inventor Ding Huan invented a rotary fan for air conditioning, modern A/C was virtually unknown a scant half-century ago, yet we somehow survived the centuries, if uncomfortably so. Are we tough, or what!
#####
Interesting though predictable that Judge Sotomayor has emerged with twin yet diametrically opposed personas – the first a dispassionate, letter-of-the-law, no nonsense, down-the-middle, respectful of precedent jurist, conversely the biased, emotionally disposed, liberally inclined, sentiment-trumping-Constitution adjudicator. We should know the truth in a few years. But it is interesting that her supporters on the left portray her as the former, while it is painfully obvious that they hunger for the latter. Similarly, Roberts and Alito said much and revealed nothing in their confirmation hearings, the rationale being not to tell the truth but to be confirmed. And so Advise and Consent becomes Much Ado About Nothing.
#####
One aspect of my struggle with religion (I find that as one ages there is a tendency to grapple with issues that escape the radar of the young) is the concept of using to the fullest one’s God given talent as opposed to subsuming reason in favor of belief. The twin theological juggernauts of “don’t question, just believe,” and “don’t ask, because we can’t tell,” are vexing restrictions in an atmosphere where we are admonished to “reach high and far”.
Reminds me a bit of the young woman from my former hometown away attending a Christian college. While strolling with a friend on a trail atop a steep hill, the ground gave way and she experienced a terrifying tumble of nearly one hundred feet that left her gravely injured. Upon her recovery while still in hospital she announced that Jesus was with her at the bottom and saved her life. Should one assume that as her fall commenced the Son of God was on a coffee break and therefore missed the opportunity to save her from this trauma?
And while on the subject, I note that religion, so mocked and derided during Republican days in Washington has found favor now that some other folks are in charge. I have never once seen nor heard a single slur against the Black Church (the flak over Obama’s minister was targeted solely at him and carefully avoided any slight against his institution), while snide smirks and spiteful smears against the Evangelical community are an enduring staple at toney gatherings of liberal sophisticates across the land.
Incidentally, lest cynics take heart or true believers umbrage, I find it the existence of a creator to be above debate. I have no clue as to what form he/she/it takes, but the idea that billions of neurons in each human brain firing in perfect sequence were created by random explosion is farcical.
#####
I was pressed, several evenings ago, into domestic service when a server on our special dinner train acquired a malady rendering him unfit to pursue his duties. Inching down aisles barely able to accommodate my modest girth (I had welts on both thighs the next morning) with red in the left hand and white in the right, it was amply reconfirmed that the dispensation of comestibles is trivial in comparison to the need to parry boorish and inane commentary from the assembled throng.
There was some comfort in the knowledge that truly excessive behavior could be dealt with by expulsion from the train, while such solutions are not available to those who dispense similar services in the skies. Although, perhaps…
#####
There appears occasionally in the press some report of a loyal employee feted upon retirement after 40+ years in a position acquired out of high school. Such consistency is judged commendable and it got me to thinking that in both métier and geography I have been a bit flighty. Without having given this much prior thought I now realize that for reasons not entirely apparent, such peripaticity has been an essential element of my passage on the planet.
While I have greatly enjoyed my time in many locations (Paris, Nairobi, Singapore, Hattiesburg, Georgetown) and languished in others (Taiwan, Tokyo (but not the rest of that glorious country), Galveston) and experienced similar emotional highs and lows in various positions I have held this past half-century, it occurs that the element of change has been crucial to the process. Running toward or away from, perhaps, a sort of wandering Gentile in pursuit of the unknown.
While working in Paris decades ago a friend from the rural south confided that his fiancée had never ventured from the South Carolina county into which she was born, had no desire to do so, and let it be known that she would resist any geographical shift. As he discovered the pleasures of new continents and cultures I could see his pain in the inevitable choice he would eventually be forced to make. I wonder what happened?
And that illuminates my own decisions yet to come. While I have quite enjoyed Clear Creek County and the front range of the Rockies, it will soon be time to skedaddle. So many possibilities to which the Adventure has yet to be exposed…
.
.
Conversely, the alleged overreactions of 911, including portions of the Patriot Act, NSA wiretaps, Guantanamo detentions, et al, have received widespread condemnation, with scant acknowledgement that to the extent they were overreactions, they were a predictable response to an unprecedented attack upon our homeland.
It is interesting to contemplate why liberal darlings FDR and Truman both then and now get a pass for their actions while Cheney and Bush are labeled war criminals and produce a blood lust for vengeance on the left.
If excesses motivated by Pearl Harbor can be explained by historical occurrence, why not similar reactions inspired by destruction of the Twin Towers? Might it be just another example of the left forever excusing its actions due to perceived moral superiority while condemning all actions from the right as brutish thuggery? Perhaps.
#####
As much of the nation bakes under an unrelenting sun, I continue to begin each slumber under 2 blankets, though by morning one (but never both) is often discarded. And this, absent the ubiquitous A/C, without which the planet would appear to shrivel and expire. Notwithstanding that the 2nd century Chinese inventor Ding Huan invented a rotary fan for air conditioning, modern A/C was virtually unknown a scant half-century ago, yet we somehow survived the centuries, if uncomfortably so. Are we tough, or what!
#####
Interesting though predictable that Judge Sotomayor has emerged with twin yet diametrically opposed personas – the first a dispassionate, letter-of-the-law, no nonsense, down-the-middle, respectful of precedent jurist, conversely the biased, emotionally disposed, liberally inclined, sentiment-trumping-Constitution adjudicator. We should know the truth in a few years. But it is interesting that her supporters on the left portray her as the former, while it is painfully obvious that they hunger for the latter. Similarly, Roberts and Alito said much and revealed nothing in their confirmation hearings, the rationale being not to tell the truth but to be confirmed. And so Advise and Consent becomes Much Ado About Nothing.
#####
One aspect of my struggle with religion (I find that as one ages there is a tendency to grapple with issues that escape the radar of the young) is the concept of using to the fullest one’s God given talent as opposed to subsuming reason in favor of belief. The twin theological juggernauts of “don’t question, just believe,” and “don’t ask, because we can’t tell,” are vexing restrictions in an atmosphere where we are admonished to “reach high and far”.
Reminds me a bit of the young woman from my former hometown away attending a Christian college. While strolling with a friend on a trail atop a steep hill, the ground gave way and she experienced a terrifying tumble of nearly one hundred feet that left her gravely injured. Upon her recovery while still in hospital she announced that Jesus was with her at the bottom and saved her life. Should one assume that as her fall commenced the Son of God was on a coffee break and therefore missed the opportunity to save her from this trauma?
And while on the subject, I note that religion, so mocked and derided during Republican days in Washington has found favor now that some other folks are in charge. I have never once seen nor heard a single slur against the Black Church (the flak over Obama’s minister was targeted solely at him and carefully avoided any slight against his institution), while snide smirks and spiteful smears against the Evangelical community are an enduring staple at toney gatherings of liberal sophisticates across the land.
Incidentally, lest cynics take heart or true believers umbrage, I find it the existence of a creator to be above debate. I have no clue as to what form he/she/it takes, but the idea that billions of neurons in each human brain firing in perfect sequence were created by random explosion is farcical.
#####
I was pressed, several evenings ago, into domestic service when a server on our special dinner train acquired a malady rendering him unfit to pursue his duties. Inching down aisles barely able to accommodate my modest girth (I had welts on both thighs the next morning) with red in the left hand and white in the right, it was amply reconfirmed that the dispensation of comestibles is trivial in comparison to the need to parry boorish and inane commentary from the assembled throng.
There was some comfort in the knowledge that truly excessive behavior could be dealt with by expulsion from the train, while such solutions are not available to those who dispense similar services in the skies. Although, perhaps…
#####
There appears occasionally in the press some report of a loyal employee feted upon retirement after 40+ years in a position acquired out of high school. Such consistency is judged commendable and it got me to thinking that in both métier and geography I have been a bit flighty. Without having given this much prior thought I now realize that for reasons not entirely apparent, such peripaticity has been an essential element of my passage on the planet.
While I have greatly enjoyed my time in many locations (Paris, Nairobi, Singapore, Hattiesburg, Georgetown) and languished in others (Taiwan, Tokyo (but not the rest of that glorious country), Galveston) and experienced similar emotional highs and lows in various positions I have held this past half-century, it occurs that the element of change has been crucial to the process. Running toward or away from, perhaps, a sort of wandering Gentile in pursuit of the unknown.
While working in Paris decades ago a friend from the rural south confided that his fiancée had never ventured from the South Carolina county into which she was born, had no desire to do so, and let it be known that she would resist any geographical shift. As he discovered the pleasures of new continents and cultures I could see his pain in the inevitable choice he would eventually be forced to make. I wonder what happened?
And that illuminates my own decisions yet to come. While I have quite enjoyed Clear Creek County and the front range of the Rockies, it will soon be time to skedaddle. So many possibilities to which the Adventure has yet to be exposed…
.
.
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