Because we live in America I guess we have to give just about every natural born numbskull who isn't a convicted felon his or her chance at attaining elected office. Sometimes that's a painful proposition and I give you Exhibit A: George Hutchins, who claims that he's the Republican answer for North Carolina's 4th District.
I guess it could be worse, but I'm not sure how.
One of the arguments I hear about health reform proposals is that it will inevitably lead to socialized medicine and eventually the only people who will get "good" doctors will be those who can afford to pay cash for access to them. Well I hate to tell you but we've had a "have vs. have not" health system in place here in the US of A for quite a while and I'm pretty sure it's only going to get worse with or without reform. Check out this piece from a Greensboro blogger (h/t to Ed Cone for the lead):
I recently received a form letter saying that Dr. James Kindl, my physician for the past two decades, is joining MDVIP, "a national network of physicians who focus on personalized preventative healthcare." His letter goes on to say "In order to provide enhanced proactive care, I will be reducing the size of my practice to no more than 600 patients who may join on a first-come, first-served basis."
What his letter doesn't say, and what doesn't become apparent until one goes to his new website and actually tries to sign up for his new practice, is that this members-only service has an annual fee of $1,500, and that this fee only pays for membership; all the usual charges will still apply, billed to your insurance company.
Right now if you don't have health insurance your "safety net" is the emergency room and they must treat you if you show up. Unfortunately if you have any assets at all the provider will take them in return for services rendered and you'll end up without much to enjoy with your (hopefully) good health. Of course there are the free clinics but those offer inconsistent care at best. That's what I mean when I say that we are a nation of haves and have nots with regards to health care. I'm flummoxed by the arguments against reform that say we need to resist "socialized medicine" so we can keep seeing our doctors without interminable waits for service and we can continue to have access to cutting edge medical equipment.
As for the anti-reformers' warning that my taxes will go up with any kind of public option, well I have a hard time believing that the tax burden can be any worse that what my health insurer does to me each year. Right now my health care burden is about 15% of my gross income and it is only that low because my family has been extraordinarily healthy the last couple of years (knock on wood) and since our premiums tend to rise at a higher annual rate than inflation or my wages then I'm fairly certain that my health care burden will be approaching 20% of my income within a couple of years.
I'm not necessarily arguing for the reforms currently being proposed by Congress, but I'm pleading for the powers that be to do something because we're drowning out here in the real world. And don't get me started about the impact on small business because we could be here all day.
Sometimes Congress provides really good entertainment. Today we have Rep. Brady vs. Mr. Geithner:
Someone sent an envelope containing baby powder to Rep. Foxx's office in Clemmons and caused quite a scare for one of her staffers. As someone who lived through the whole anthrax thing in DC (my company was served by the postal facility that had to be decontaminated about 8 years ago, which meant we got some crispy mail for a while and any time we had a "clumpy" envelope everyone got a little nervous) I can tell you that if this was intended as some kind of joke then it's not remotely funny. For that matter, I don't care how much you dislike a Congress-critter, this is a reprehensible way to try and make your point.
Virginia Foxx just posted this on Twitter:
Will govt-run healthcare require monthly abortion premium? @GOPLeader has details: http://bit.ly/zvl8F
What's interesting to me is that when you click through to the link she references and read it there are links that would seem to be intended to prove John Boehner's assertion that a government run health plan would require all subscribers to pay "abortion premiums," but the link that should go to the reference material detailing the supposed required premium instead goes to another webpage with a quote from Boehner. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be an assertion that is very similar to the forced euthenasia crap that was being thrown around over the summer. From where I'm sitting the GOP strategy is:
Stay tuned to see if that's the case. What bugs me about this approach is that it distracts people from the "meat" of the health care debate. I have no problem with people disagreeing with each other on the fundamental issues like whether or not it is the proper role of the government to provide an alternative to private health insurance, whether or not there should be programs like Medicare and Medicaid, etc. I do, however, have a very big problem with people using deceptive tactics like these to try and defeat a bill rather than arguing about it on its merits.
BTW, convenient timing of this release, what with the Tea Party event on the Hill today wouldn't you say?
So maybe health care reform is just a decoy:
But other issues that once consumed Congress are now sailing into law, often without much public notice. Senior White House political adviser David Axelrod said his opponents in Congress are absorbed with defeating Mr. Obama's health-care overhaul, what he calls "the shiny object that they've chased." As a result, he contends, other measures have been left to pass into law.
Earlier in the article:
Last week, Mr. Obama signed defense-policy legislation that included an unrelated measure widening federal hate-crimes laws to cover sexual orientation and gender identification — 12 years after it was first introduced. The same legislation also tightened the rules of admissible evidence for military commissions, an issue that consumed Congress in debate in 2007 but received almost no attention this go-round.
Other new measures signed into law since the administration took office, all of which kicked up controversy in past congresses, make it easier for women to sue for equal pay, set aside land in the West from development, give the government the power to regulate tobacco and raise tobacco taxes to expand health insurance for children. Congress and the White House, in the new defense-policy bill, also killed weapons programs that have survived earlier attempts at termination, among them, the F-22 fighter jet, the VH-71 presidential helicopter and the Army's Future Combat System.
Roger Fowler is under the weather so he had someone stand in for him at the Lewisville Town Council candidates' forum.
53 Republican members of the US House of Representatives are calling for President Obama to remove Kevin Jennings from the position of 'safe schools czar'. From an article in The Hill:
The lawmakers accused Jennings of "pushing a pro-homosexual agenda" and said that Jennings's past writings exhibit a record that makes him unfit for the position.
"We respectfully request that you remove Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, from your Administration," the Republicans wrote. "It is clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in this capacity."
Apparently Mr. Jennings is a native of Lewisville. I'm not really up on this issue, but it sounds like they're trying to get rid of him based on problems they have with his background, not anything he's actually done in his position. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Below's the full text of the letter that the 53 House Republicans sent to the President. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about their logic:
October 15, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
We respectfully request that you remove Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, from your Administration. It is clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in this capacity.
As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America’s schools—an agenda that runs counter to the values that many parents desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr. Jennings wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling. Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings’ career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.
Equally troubling is Mr. Jennings’ self-described history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a child. In his book, One Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year old student confiding in him that he had a sexual relationship with a much older man. Mr. Jennings’ only response was to ask if the underage boy used a condom. As a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required by law to report child abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot serve as the “safe schools” czar when his record demonstrates a willingness to overlook the sexual abuse of a child.
As the “safe schools” czar, Mr. Jennings is also charged with ensuring our schools and students are drug free. It is clear that Mr. Jennings is unfit to serve in this capacity, as well. His own history of unrepentant drug and alcohol abuse indicates that he is of the opinion that getting drunk and high as a young person is acceptable. In his memoir, Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son, Mr. Jennings describes his use of illegal drugs, without expressing regret or acknowledging the devastating effects illegal drug use can have on a person’s life.
Everyone that deals with the education of the most vulnerable must be a positive role model. Our children are not blessed with the wisdom to discern and reject. Children presume the adults who educate them are approved by the larger society and their parents. Kevin Jennings cannot gain the approval of parents who want their children safe and their schools drug free. You should replace him with someone who has a record of educating children in a safe and moral environment.
Given these very serious issues with Mr. Jennings’ record, we urge you to remove him immediately.
Sincerely,
KING
Alexander
Aderholt
Akin
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton
Boozman
Broun
Brown, H.
Carter
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Conaway
Davis, Geoff
Fallin
Fleming
Foxx
Franks
Garrett
Gingrey
Gohmert
Hunter
Issa
Jordan
Lamborn
Latta
LuetkemeyerMarchant
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller, J.
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson, P.
Pence
Pitts
Posey
Rogers (AL)
Rooney
Ryan, Paul
Shuster
Smith, C
Smith, L.
Wamp
Westmoreland
Jones, Walter
Yesterday I wrote about the 21 year old Winston-Salem State University student Derwin Montgomery who won the Democratic primary and likely the council seat the East Ward of Winston-Salem since there's no Republican candidate. The Winston-Salem Journal has an article about how he did it. Please note that he didn't just do this on a whim and that some real strategy and planning went into his effort:
Montgomery, who had been running his campaign more or less alone, started delegating responsibility to fellow students. He had a "director of compliance" who helped WSSU students register to vote in Forsyth County. He had a "director of transportation" who organized vehicles to drive students to the board of elections so they could cast early ballots. He had two administrative assistants.
It paid off in a big way. A total of 440 people cast ballots for Montgomery in early voting, including 211 students at Winston-Salem State who were newly registered. That's more than the total number of people who voted in three of the other six primary races.
Former (maybe current) comedian and current US Senator Al Franken of Minnesota has gotten some YouTube love from his recent visit to the Minnesota State Fair. Here he draws a map of the United States from memory:
And here he debates some folks about health reform and manages to actually have a novel thing called a conversation with them. Credit also goes to the crowd for treating him with respect.
Love him or hate him I don't think there's much doubt that the man is sharp.
Befuddled 