There are many interesting ideas in this world. This blog is dedicated to pursuing them wherever they go. Politics, philosophy, religion, environment, and anything else that captures imaginations and leads to healthy discussions. Never take the world for what it is, there's always a better way to do something.
The House’s healthcare reform bill passed yesterday, 220-215.
It still needs to be passed by the Senate, but considering nothing like this has passed through the House in 40 years, it’s reason to be excited.
Among other things, the version of the healthcare reform bill that passed would:
-Expand Medicaid eligibility to anyone below 133% of the federal poverty line (FPL).
-Allow people between 133-400% of the FPL to purchase the “public option” government insurance plan.
-Require people to get insured (this was favored by Clinton and opposed by Obama in the primaries and seemed to be the main point of disagreement in their debates)
-Not allow insurance companies to reject people based on pre-existing conditions
-Kill your grandma (no not really)
CBO estimates it would reduce the number of uninsured by 36 million.
A yay vote came from 1 Republican, Joe Cao of Louisiana. Thanks, Joe. I’ll drink a cup of you in your honor. I hope you wont be offended that it’s instant.
The NY Times published an analysis of the 39 House Democrats who voted nay. They emphasize that a lot of them tend to be in districts where they either won narrowly in their last election or their district favored McCain in 2008. There are a few exceptions to these conditions, however, such as Dennis Kucinich (who only supports single payer healthcare), Brian Baird, John Barrow (Blue Dog) and Artur Davis.
A few weeks ago, on October 7th, we marked the eighth anniversary of our engagement in Iraq. I wonder how many people celebrated? Along the way we marked over 1,000 deaths of coalition forces, countless Taliban fighters, and the ultimate victims: Afghani civilians. It is a war which the public of United States, Afghanistan, and probably the rest of the world is against. At this point, I don’t think many people even remember why we’re fighting there in the first place.
I don’t think we’ll fully comprehend the impact 9/11 had on our society. It scared us, made us feel very vulnerable and very mortal. We realized the oceans that wash our shores aren’t so wide as to fully insulate us from the strife that plagues the rest of the world. We are very lucky in that respect. While we have had terrorist attacks against our country, few American civilians have lived through war. The last time we had a war within United States was over 130 years ago. Aside from those soldiers who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and other US conflicts, no one really knows what war is. Europe knows war. They remember well the destruction and loss of life that resulted from Hitlers ambitions to rule the world. Unfortunately, we are not as wise. And even more, unfortunately, we had men in power who capitalized on our feelings of fear and vulnerability after 9/11. The public was rallied to war. Some wanted revenge, others wanted terrorist wiped out to ensure safety, and few believed that we were going there for humanitarian reasons. I doubt any of those were real reasons for war. In reality, we either wanted another base in the region or we just wanted the resources the country had to offer.
I don’t know whether to begin with the positive or the negative. Oh, if only I remembered what the I/O literature said to giving feedback.. is it negative positive negative.. or the other way around?
Lets start with the positive. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid announced earlier today that the sweeping healthcare reform bill will include a public option. Although the White House has been indecisive at best on the issue, I’m glad the Senate is moving it along. With 57% percent of the population supporting it, there is no reason not to pass it.
There is another interesting story relating to healthcare today. A Thomson Reuters report today detailed that United States healthcare system wastes around $500 to $800 billion annually. Of that figure, 37% percent is estimated to be spent on unnecessary procedures and another 20% is lost due to fraud.
In the last few days there have been rumors flying around a ’seminar paper’ written by Obama in his Columbia days. According to the bloggers that have helped spread the story, in the paper, Obama wrote about the plight of the poor, the faults of the current economic system, and about taking another look at the founding fathers. The story garnered enough buzz and interest to make it all way up to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show. Since Mr. Limbaugh keeps his focus on the negative things about Obama, and anything democrat/liberal in general, it becomes clear that this ‘potential thesis’ wouldn’t been seen as good.
First of all, it was untrue. Rush Limbaugh was told in the middle of his show that it was a hoax, although he said it was believable. For my part, I am disappointed it was a hoax. From the little exert that was passed around.. I don’t see any destructive or negative ideas. Here’s what Obama didn’t actually write:
There are not a lot of people in the government and media that I dislike. I see most politicians as just players in a faulty system, you can’t blame them for the things you do. I never really disliked Bush. I hated his policies, but I always felt sorry for him. Being a president is a tough, tough job. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live with that bulls-eye on your back. When you really think about it, the president is a powerful man, but he isn’t all powerful. Yet people still treat him as if he was.
Cheney is one of the men I dislike. I think he played a big role in America’s involvement in Iraq. I believe he played on people’s fears to get us there. And now I just want him to go back to his ranch, turn-off his phone, play with his grand kids, and stop sticking his nose into current administrations business. That’s exactly the reason I have developed more respect for Bush. After he left the White House, he hasn’t talked negatively about Obama. Cheney, on the other hand, is like herpes, he won’t go away.
Now he’s out giving press conferences again. This time around he’s criticizing Obama’s decisions on Afghanistan. I guess you CAN complain about how someone else cleans up your mess. He terrorized America and the World for 8 years as a Vice President, and it seems he just doesn’t want to retire. In a recent Washington dinner Cheney stated:
“The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.”
I guess he forgot that he played a big role in putting those armed forces in danger. America would be better off if Dick Cheney left the political scene and quietly enjoyed his retirement. I just wish he realized it.
