New ads on television and conservative pundits like Michael Gerson are giving the Republicans much more credit for compassion than the Party has evinced in the past fifty years, if not more. Despite the rhetoric, there is no commitment to care for anyone beyond those least in need of any help. Charity cannot be found where none exists.
The truth is that most of the major initiatives that have moved our society forward have come from moderates or liberals. There is absolutely not one “conservative” idea that has benefited our society; certainly many of their notions have been a boon to the wealthiest of our citizens, who at present enjoy the lowest tax rate in our nation’s history. And this while we suffer through one of the worst economic periods in our history.
It has come to the point where the driving force in the party is the most extreme element; for example, people like Bachmann and her conservative cohorts, see no need for government at all, and it makes one wonder what many of our members of Congress are doing in Congress when they don’t even believe in government. That is, until they need it. But Bachmann who in fact is doing quite well in what are still the early days of the presidential campaign, has gone on record as being favor of having "Intelligent Design" taught in the schools. At the moment, her line is that the raising the debt ceiling is a bad idea. So much for enlightenment.
The current entrenchment of debt ceiling talks is a lesson for us, as we watch Republicans go as far as to tell us that “defaulting” is no big deal. It is difficult to believe that anyone with a grain of intelligence or an iota of responsibility would say such a thing. But other Republicans aside from Bachmann have done so. They are the poster children for why we should spend more on education.
No side is perfect here, but Republicans have been far more guilty of raising false arguments, and they have also been more willing to put our country at risk, no doubt in the mistaken belief that if the country defaults, Obama would then have a “failed presidency.” Another delusion.
While Republicans love to harangue the rest of us on patriotism, they play fast and loose with our future, resolutely loyal to “values” that have more to do with greed than responsible governance. I think it's a wonderful idea for Congress to stay on the job until they work out the issue of the debt ceiling. To fail to raise the debt ceiling for the first time in our history is an embarrassing, shocking, stupid path toward disaster.
A compromise must be worked out. And for those who are not familiar with the term, it means both sides give a little. You know, if you can't bend a little, you are in danger of breaking. So it must be worked out, and we can only hope that they do so with a bit of humility, a great deal of common sense, and an absence of the ubiquitous posturing. It may be too much to hope for; nonetheless, hope we must.
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Rape is Rape is Rape
It saddens me deeply that so many people were duped into believing the lies. So much so that they elected all these Republicans back into Congress. Such short memories. So many people who can't seem to think for themselves, but let the latest political slogans, much like the prime-time ads for pharmaceuticals, make up their minds for them.
How prescient Jefferson was in declaring that it takes an educated electorate to have a successful democracy. The majority in the country used to be fairly well educated, and now it would be safe to say that the majority are rather uneducated. Precisely when this happened is unclear. But clearly much of what is happening today would not be so were there more savvy people among the voters.
This week, in Congress, the House found further distractions to keep them from doing the business of dealing with the real problems we have in this country.It appears that a group of MEN have decided to change the definition of a rather old, established word that denotes a crime almost always committed against WOMEN.
Amid this great display of arrogance and ignorance, they somehow have extrapolated that should the definition of rape be changed, some cases of rape would not pass muster as "real" rape. Exactly what would constitute real rape and "phony" rape should be an interesting exercise in semantics although it seems that some of the men in Congress have got the strange notion that if the alleged rape did not involve some sort of violence, well, then it's not really rape, is it?
Now the truth is that I suspect these men don't give a damn about rape. Or, more to the point, any woman who has been raped, since this entire charade is solely for the purpose of denying women the right to an abortion should pregnancy result from the attack. The temerity of changing the meaning of a word in order to attempt to erase the actualization of rape is unbelievable. To deny help to these women (and sometimes children). What a very sheltered group of men. Also very mean spirited.
How prescient Jefferson was in declaring that it takes an educated electorate to have a successful democracy. The majority in the country used to be fairly well educated, and now it would be safe to say that the majority are rather uneducated. Precisely when this happened is unclear. But clearly much of what is happening today would not be so were there more savvy people among the voters.
This week, in Congress, the House found further distractions to keep them from doing the business of dealing with the real problems we have in this country.It appears that a group of MEN have decided to change the definition of a rather old, established word that denotes a crime almost always committed against WOMEN.
Amid this great display of arrogance and ignorance, they somehow have extrapolated that should the definition of rape be changed, some cases of rape would not pass muster as "real" rape. Exactly what would constitute real rape and "phony" rape should be an interesting exercise in semantics although it seems that some of the men in Congress have got the strange notion that if the alleged rape did not involve some sort of violence, well, then it's not really rape, is it?
Now the truth is that I suspect these men don't give a damn about rape. Or, more to the point, any woman who has been raped, since this entire charade is solely for the purpose of denying women the right to an abortion should pregnancy result from the attack. The temerity of changing the meaning of a word in order to attempt to erase the actualization of rape is unbelievable. To deny help to these women (and sometimes children). What a very sheltered group of men. Also very mean spirited.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
When the "Government" Complains about Itself
Is this new Congress going to waste time on grandstanding about phony issues rather than work on the real problems of the nation, such as unemployment, tax reform, immigration, the budget? As they moan about the deficit and the spending, they somehow don’t see that they are the government they complain about and they are the spenders they claim to hate. The hyperbolic Boehner doesn't recognize irony. Can anyone be surprised at the lack of intelligence of many of our lawmakers? Only if you have denied yourself the exhilarating experience of even one day of Congressional debate over anything. Those Congressmen shouting down the halls about government takeover of healthcare should consider giving up their own "government" healthcare.
Yes, there is a stupid syndrome that has struck Congress. It is also true that for years many physicians have been bemoaning the fact that insurance companies interfere with their practice of medicine. On the other hand, years ago, at the thought of taking the initiative to change how medicine was practiced and healthcare delivered, they were paralyzed by the fear of socialized medicine. Because of their inability and/or disinclination to change the practice of medicine, the insurance companies were able to step in and literally take over. Now their pockets are so deep and heavy, we can’t rid ourselves of them. You know, one of the people who frightened everyone about changes in healthcare was Ronald Reagan who, before he was president, made films cautioning everyone that any changes, and, particularly introducing Medicare, would bring socialized medicine. Now of course everyone thinks that Medicare is wonderful, and so they will come to see this new affordable healthcare law, which is quite good as far as it goes, and it goes far enough to make some very positive changes. It will need to be tweaked along the way, just as social security and Medicare, etc. had to be.
As for the best healthcare we could get, I think it’s clear to most people in the field that a single-payer system would be best (and many doctors now say they feel that way). But the greatest impediment to that is of course the health insurance companies, so we should be grateful to have gotten this far after so many years.
Yes, there is a stupid syndrome that has struck Congress. It is also true that for years many physicians have been bemoaning the fact that insurance companies interfere with their practice of medicine. On the other hand, years ago, at the thought of taking the initiative to change how medicine was practiced and healthcare delivered, they were paralyzed by the fear of socialized medicine. Because of their inability and/or disinclination to change the practice of medicine, the insurance companies were able to step in and literally take over. Now their pockets are so deep and heavy, we can’t rid ourselves of them. You know, one of the people who frightened everyone about changes in healthcare was Ronald Reagan who, before he was president, made films cautioning everyone that any changes, and, particularly introducing Medicare, would bring socialized medicine. Now of course everyone thinks that Medicare is wonderful, and so they will come to see this new affordable healthcare law, which is quite good as far as it goes, and it goes far enough to make some very positive changes. It will need to be tweaked along the way, just as social security and Medicare, etc. had to be.
As for the best healthcare we could get, I think it’s clear to most people in the field that a single-payer system would be best (and many doctors now say they feel that way). But the greatest impediment to that is of course the health insurance companies, so we should be grateful to have gotten this far after so many years.
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