Small Things

I like the taste of a sandwich with just turkey, lettuce, tomato, maybe some cheese and olives, and a little salt and pepper. Even without the cheese and olives, the fresh flavors of the turkey lettuce and tomato, tho delicate, are quite satisfying. Do we really need, mayo, mustard, Italian dressing, roasted red pepper pesto? OK, I admit, that last one sounds good - but my point is why do we seem to always need more?

When I open the hood of my car these days, I am lost. All the wires and computer chips - what does it all mean. I can't just spend a Saturday morning up to my elbows in my car any more. I have to take it to the dealer, or a Jiffy-lube or Valvoline place. But which place is best and for what type of service.

And isn't my high definition TV experience awesome enough - do I really need to go 3-D HD now? I was happy in the 80's watching TV on a 26 inch color screen - color being the important factor back then, the size of the screen maybe varied between 19 inches and 27 inches. Still much easier than deciding between 22 inches and 65 inches much less figuring out how many Hertz (60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz) and p's (1080 or 720) you want and in what combination - and now there is something other than a 'p' you can get - I forget what it is.

Sure, some changes are good - watching movies on reel to reel at home is a pain - video cassettes and audio cassettes for that mater were liberating. Then Cd's eliminated the cassette tape and then digital music (iTunes) eliminated to CD - but now it seems much less liberating. People are being prosecuted for copying songs - something we all did on our cassette tapes in a huge way in the 70's and 80's. I guess it just takes much less time to 'dub' songs now than back then.

But it's all so much more complicated now.

Facebook/MySpace/Twitter, iPods/iPads; Cell phones - no, make that Smart Phones, XBox/PlayStation; 3d-HD1080p240Hz TV's; TV, phone and internet packages by cable companies or on fiber optic networks; cars that park themselves or warn you when you are drifting lanes or hit the brakes when the car in front of you stops unexpectedly (available only to the rich); crossovers, hybrids; blu-ray, blue tooth; Greek Olive Hummus with pine nuts, and yes, roasted red pepper pesto all make life so excitingly insane.

So forgive me if I just stick to my simple turkey sandwich, listen to my music on radio, watch TV on basic cable (antennas were never any fun), reading books and magazines and enjoy the fresh air of an autumn day with as few other distractions as possible.

The Healthcare Debate

There are 2 sides to every story -

Apparently the Republicans are evil corporate sponsored thugs in the pocket of big insurance; and democrats are socialist grandmother killers hell-bent on destroying the USA... That is of course if you listened to pundits on both sides of the political spectrum spewing vitriol as if this had no consequences.

It does folks.

Or more reasonable people could say that republicans are fiscally concerned about the consequences of a public healthcare system overtaking private institutions at considerable cost to US taxpayers; and democrats are socially concerned about the consequences of our nation not making sure that of it's citizens have basic healthcare - the cost to US taxpayers is already substantial and growing if nothing is done.

The number of uninsured in this country seems to differ depending on what argument people are making. My understanding of the basic facts is this:

1) about 30 million uninsured Americans

2) about 50 million if you include non-Americans (the 'illegals').

Regardless of the argument you make - we are in one way or another bearing the cost to cover those 50 million uninsured people through medicare, medicaid and other programs right now. Also, hospitals are covering many of those costs themselves and passing it on to you and me as overhead when insurance companies then pay $120 for a single tylenol tablet without blinking an eye. Patient has no headache, hospital covers it's 'irrecoverable' costs, insurance premiums go up and everyone is happy... except people and companies now struggling to pay for insurance.

There is huge inefficiency in the current healthcare system and the private market in it's current form has no tools at it's disposal to correct these problems from spiraling out of control. The evidence is here and our economic survival is at risk as a result.

Simply stated - the 'private' healthcare market in it's current form does not work, particularly in hospitals and pharmacies - where the rubber meets the road. Why?

Because in no other industry are services still performed for you even if you can not pay. You simply go without. This is not the case with healthcare - it is ethically untenable for healthcare providers and institutions to refuse to take care of patients in their care. They are forced to do it (as they should) and someone has to pay... The above example is just one of the examples of problems facing this industry as a whole - and Americans are footing the bill already.

Here is a link to a 60 Minutes spot that should supply side fraud that insurance companies and gov't oversight has done little of anything to curb. The costs here are staggering.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5419844n

So - is reform necessary - both sides will agree that yes, something needs to be done. But constructive dialog is completely overshadowed by outlandish claims of 'death panels' and the like put out on the 24 hour cable news networks with absolutely no responsible editing by the networks that carry these shows.

Either the networks should take legal responsibility for things said by pundits on their payroll or this cycle will continue and the rift dividing this country will continue to grow.

My fear is that the bill that was passed was done under the duress of these cable news programs and the end result is going to be skewed - not the common sense, bipartisan amalgamation that has defined the constitution and laws our democracy is founded on.

出る釘は打たれる (The Nail that Sticks Out Gets Hammered)

Originally posted on SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2010

The election of Scott Brown initially had my head spinning - what the heck was MA thinking? I mean, they made Teddy Kennedy a life time Senator - and his life time wish was to have comprehensive healthcare reform... how could they do this to his legacy?

He was not able to live long enough to see his wish carried out or buried, and perhaps that was for the best - it got pretty messy towards the end of the Senate round of initial voting with Dems selling their mothers to ensure they could get the 60 requisite votes in the Senate (and why did they need 60 votes when a simple majority wins?)

But still, here it is that his home state - the one he did so much for during his tenure as their senator - is the one that has now apparently set back the whole healthcare reform movement that was so close to being passed.

No matter your politically affiliations - right minded people will recognize there are many good things in that bill. Is it perfect no, but it is a start. No doubt, much work still needs to be done on both sides once this first step is hopefully taken.

Could it have included more Republican ideals, I think certainly yes. Tort reform for one is badly needed and has clearly been shown to increase costs for doctors which is passed on to patients.

But the dems, in order to appease their radical-left associates, could not consider such measures because they had to pull the universal coverage they wanted (which radical-right republicans falsely called Gov't takeover of the healthcare industry...). If the Dems could not have what they wanted, they didn't want the republicans to have what they wanted either.

Tit for tat - and so it goes in Washington.

But there are moderate republican senators like Olympia Snowe of Maine who could and should be leaders in the Congress. If Scott Brown follows in her footsteps as a serious Senator who wants to work with both sides to get a comprehensive bill passed - then I think we will all be better off for it. Especially if it starts to pull the suicidal drive of the Republican Party leadership away from the radical right and more toward the center.

If we let both far wings of each side of our Gov't control the process, we will be lost. It is up the the centrists, the moderates, to wrestle control from the radicals.

Which brings me to the title of todays entry - "The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down."

Today, the voice of reason has so little 'bite' compared to the radical intonations of the media savvy far right or left. Especially in this era of cable news and online media organizations who can't wait to get their paws on a juicy controversy of any kind.

It'd be nice if the rabble rousing radicals on both sides would get hammered down in favor of centrist views in Congress. They often do get hammered through scandals, etc., but not for their radical views which get way more 'exposure' than deserved in today's 24 hour media frenzy. And always a new radical pops up to take the ousted radicals place in the spotlight - where's the 'voice-of-reason' hammer? Shouldn't that be the media? It's not.

This is a huge advantage for the radicals over the moderate center and a dilemma for our society that we either must resolve, or go the way of other failed democracies.

Com'on - Nonsense

I'll use this blog to post my political views, economic insights, etc. and in the process, hopefully point out those ideas that I feel are worthy of consideration as well as those that are just bunk. And there is a lot of that going around these days - so plenty of fodder for this blog.