Congressional Guts

It is hard to believe, but it looks like the Congress will actually deliver a health care reform bill to the  President’s desk in January, and we can all sing ‘Hallelujah’ that finally we have struck one for the un-lobbied interests and the common folk of America.  All you have to do is look at all the self righteous Republicans, who to a man (or woman) voted against the reform in lock-step with some ideological premise that had them by genitals, issued forth by the health care and pharmaceutical lobby, to recognize the bald face of self interest and immorality.

This action has been a long time coming.  Ted Kennedy and all the other Democrats have been working on this for decades and finally.... finally!, have been able to beat back the naysayers and “Chicken Littles” to the advantage of all Americans.  It ain’t perfect, but it is at least a beginning.  For the first time, we will all have equal treatment by the insurance companies, and the Federal Government will have the ability to control the most egregious abuses.

Finally the Republicans have been rebuffed, and stopped in their two-decade old jihad to create a more fractious and self interested society.  Just look at the vote in the Senate and House.  Not one Republican could find it in their cold, tightly squeezed little hearts to find something good in this effort worth voting for.  Instead their leaders are warning of horrible budget deficits and higher premiums and higher taxes.  How does the party that brought us unregulated banking and the worst economic crisis in 70 years know with such certainty that all that bad stuff is going to sink the ship of state?  They don’t.  Just like they didn’t know in 1993 that Bill Clinton’s tax hike on the richest sliver of American society and tax cut on the poorest and smallest businesses would leave America with a  $559 Billion surplus, and yet they all voted in lock-step against that action too.  In fact that was the beginning of the current vitriolic partisanship that has epitomized this era of Republican self interest and self righteousness, complete with screaming, frothing talk show conservative loudmouths.

Expect the absolute worst from them over the near term, too!

I have a different hope.   I think that this is a good thing for our country if, for no other reason, than we have a chance to see if ‘change we can believe in’ , personified by this action of moral courage by the Democratic Party, can actually be realized.  Let’s give this a chance.  It certainly could not be any worse than what we are living with now!  As Timothy Egan of the New York Times says in an editorial today, “As people get a chance to see what’s actually in the bill, sentiment will shift. Over time, it closes the dreaded doughnut hole, which makes cash-strapped seniors pay for their meds at the point when they are most in hock to Big Pharma. It forces insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. By creating an exchange where people can shop for coverage, the bill seeks to bring care to 31 million additional Americans. And it does all this, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office, by reducing the deficit $132 billion over 10 years.”

What is so terrible about those things?  Just ask a Republican and they will tell you all the things it MIGHT cause.  Like I said before, why should we believe anything they say?  Look where they have led us……

Obama may have bitten off more than he should have with all the difficult issues he is trying to deal with, but let’s give the guy some kudos for having the balls to push on this so that at least we can say we tried to make things better.  And let’s at least give the Democrats the benefit of the doubt for the present, and our admiration for trying to do something in the people’s best interest for a change. 

Let time tell us whether this is a better path.  It is certainly better than no path at all!

Playing the American Taxpayers as Fools!

I swear I think I need to ‘up’ my blood pressure medication!  I read in today’s paper that all the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the bill that just passed yesterday in the House concerning new regulation of the banking industry!  And last week during the debate, they were urging over 100 lobbyists of the financial industries to work harder to defeat the bill!  What are they smoking?

After all we have been through over the last 18 months, which is a direct result of the banks playing fast and loose with money with virtually no regulatory oversight, you would think that at least some of these idiots would agree that there should be some reform in the nation’s banking system.  No!   Instead they fight tooth and nail to preserve a system which could turn on a dime and bring us back to the brink of economic disaster all over again.

Now these morons are telling us that this legislation would limit consumer choices and stunt financial market innovation.  Give me a break!

Financial market innovation and acrobatic financial instruments nearly brought down the banking system, and as far as consumer choices, well excuse me, but do any of you have lots of financial choices now when it comes to mortgages or car loans or credit cards?

As a result of the banking industry’s careless practices and absolute disregard for regulatory controls, we came about as close to a depression as you can get without falling into the abyss.  And now the banks are fighting any kind of reform, maybe because they really liked the billions of dollars they got from taxpayers to bail out their sorry asses, and don’t want us to meddle with that gravy train should they need it again!

I say, “Screw them!”  Put as much control over those greedy bastards as we can.  I want legislation in place that allows the government to split up companies that threaten the economy or just to let them fail if they play loose with our money again, and I want an agency that will oversee consumer banking transactions as well as alert us to shadowy financial practices that risk all our stability and savings.  Aren’t you a little tired of 30% interest rates and vanishing credit lines on your credit cards?

And as far as those imbecile Republican puppets who are working overtime to defeat reform and regulation in our legislative branch of government, remember their names and vote them the hell out of office next November!  In the meantime, yell long and hard at those selfish bastards NOW to back off opposing reform, and start thinking of us instead of themselves!

A Hidden Agenda

I attended a memorial service last night for an acquaintance that I have known for the past several years.  He was a very smart and savvy businessman here in Southwest Florida who was one of those rare people who reads constantly, traveled widely and was a member of a ‘critical thinking’ group here in Naples.  The group would meet once a week and discuss world and national issues and possible solutions to problems we have all been thinking about over the last several years.  I was not a member, but at the service last night I met several of the people who were, and they were people who were not afraid to engage in conversation about anything of import.

I started talking with a man who was perhaps in his mid eighties, and as we remembered my friend, this gentleman revealed that he was very much ‘left’ of center while our friend was clearly ‘right’ of center, but they were good friends nonetheless and could argue energetically without malice.  The reason I relate this to all of you is that we spent the better part of 30 minutes discussing President Obama (who he had strongly supported in last years election) and the speech he was about to make last night.

This man, who I will call Hal, was very concerned that the President was not fulfilling the promise of ‘people mandated‘ change in the country.  Hal said that Obama was having to sacrifice the mandate he had won just to get anything done, which speaks volumes about the process in Washington of getting consensus on anything. 

Now with this moment of decision about troop commitment in Afghanistan, Hal was fearful that we would be drawn into a commitment that no one wanted, but that Obama felt compelled to pursue because of the security issues that demanded continued vigilance against the terrorist threat from abroad.

I started thinking about that, and frankly, I am not as concerned about our ‘security’ as so many on the right seem to be.  Hal agreed.  Then he asked a question that was chilling, “Do you think that perhaps there is a threat that none of us really knows about that has compelled Obama to adjust his thinking?”  I asked him what he meant (already knowing what he was going to say!)
“What do you suppose happened to the 50 or so nuclear warheads that the Russians ‘misplaced’ when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s?  No one knows where they are.  Suppose there are people who do know where they are and are afraid to let any of us know.”

That is a scary thought.  We have all been told repeatedly that there are controls on those devices and ‘as far as we can tell’ all are still secure. 

Do I really believe that?  Do you? 

Is it possible we feel compelled to pursue this band of rag tag Al Qaeda terrorists because there is a threat out there that no one is talking about publicly?  Hal just looked at me and his face took on a kind of pitiful smirk.  “There are many people who think we are not being told the entire truth about the threat.”

Suddenly, Obama’s position makes a little more sense. 

My own personal view is that we are on a fool’s errand in Afghanistan.  There is no way the  President can guarantee that we will start withdrawing troops in 2011.  Too many variables can disrupt that timetable.  But if there is a hidden agenda that we don’t know about, it might explain his compulsion to pursue this course of action, rather than to be strong enough to disengage and start focusing on nation building in the United States.

Hal looked at me, shook my hand and said, “Nice to meet you!”,  and I was suddenly more concerned than before we had met.