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Tuesday, July 07, 2009
We can still lose without you


Here we are, more than halfway through 2009, and still, 48 million Americans have no access to health care. I wrote about this almost five years ago, and at the time, George W. Bush was president, and both houses of Congress were run by Republicans. Remember? Karl Rove's permanent majority?

The point is, there was no way that the people of the United States were going to get health care, because it was more important for these bought-and-paid-for stooges to protect their corporate masters' short-term profits, than to save a few thousand meaningless American lives. Hell, these people wouldn't even pony up to protect the health of children. But that was then.

Now, we have Barack Obama as president, who is, according to the best and brightest in Conservative thought, a Socialist. And as I recall, an Arab.


The main thing is, he wants health care for all Americans, as do 72% of us here in the US. But here in 2009, Obama has a Democratic majority in Congress who can get it done. Hell, as of this week, with the addition of Al Franken, it's an unfilibusterable (just made that up) super majority. Yay! We're getting a public option for health care NOTSOFAST.

I find it interesting that when anything important needs to be voted on, the Republican party can pull the leash on its members, and get them to vote in unison for whatever they're told to do. I don't like party-line politics as a rule. Truthfully, I have no use for political parties, and would never join one. But hey! If the GOP can get their ducks in a row, then there's no reason that the Dems can't do it to pass something important like health care, especially since, and I can't put too fine a point on this, 72% of the people in this country want a government option. Will we get it? Doubtful.

The problem is that the Democrats in the Senate have a preponderance of members suffering from chronic cases of being too old and too self-important. I'd also like to add "useless." Max Baucus, for example, Democrat of Montana, has said on many occasions that a public option is "off the table." Ben Nelson of Nebraska, has echoed these sentiments, as has Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. I'm sure their boss, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada will pull rank and get these guys in line, right? Because, as you may have heard, 72% of Americans want a government health care option.

Well, Reid has flip-flopped all over the place on this issue, as well as most others of importance, and cannot be counted on to get this done. What can we do? Hmm, wait a minute...

Montana. Nebraska. North Dakota. Louisiana. Nevada.

These are mostly large, windy, empty places, represented by people who resemble that description. What else do they have in common? There are sure a lot of white people in those places who think of themselves as rugged individualist Libertarian types. These states are, historically, red ones, and vote Republican. Louisiana too, now that New Orleans has been rid of so many black voters, thanks to Bush's indifference before, during and after Katrina.

You want to pass real health care reform with the necessary public option, President Obama? Easy as pie, just do this:

Call each of these senators, and any other Democrats who are being weaselly about this, into your office. Ask them if you can count on their vote for your health care plan, and please do not fail to mention that 72% of Americans want this, with a majority even willing to pay higher taxes to get it.

If they are unable to pledge their support on this, make a vow to them. Promise to support a Democrat against him or her who will help you in next senatorial primary in their state. Even if they prevail, it will cost them millions of dollars, and leave them in a weakened position when the general election comes up the following November. Remind them that they are in states that have found it very easy to elect Republicans to office. If any of them are actually stupid enough to ask why you would be willing to cede Democratically-held seats to Republicans, explain the obvious:

"We can still lose without you."

Explain that the American people want to have guaranteed access to health care, and that the fact that we are the only major industrialized country without it is a miserable embarrassment at every level. Make them understand that this is not simply a smart move economically in the long term, but the right thing to do morally.

But mostly, make them understand that if you are unable to pass this legislation, it makes no difference to you whether it fails 59-41, 55-45, or 52-48. You can lose it with or without them, they are not special, and if they are unable to see how vitally important this is to the future of the United States, they are not even necessary.

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posted at 8:31 AM

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Saturday, September 03, 2005
What I did last summer

By George W. Bush

"I took a five-week vacation, ignored a bereaved mother, and slept while I should have been ordering National Guard troops to evacuate New Orleans. Then I got ice cream!"

Oh, summer with George. He knows how to take it easy, that's for sure. Remember his back to school essay from summer 2001?

"I took a month-long vacation! I cleared brush, and wore checkered shirts! And I read a memo about some bad man with a beard who wants to fly planes into buildings. But I didn't understand very much of it. Summer rocks!"

Now obviously, these are not the President's writings. I have corrected for grammar and spelling.

But where the hell was George? The hurricane hit New Orleans Monday morning, and they knew it was going to land there on Saturday. What was the administration doing for that 48 hours? Defending Iraq, comparing Pearl Harbor to September 11th (now corrected to have Iraqi pilots in those Mitsubishi planes), and just generally being an absentee landlord. And no one is more sickened than I that my previous posting was so dead-on.

No assistance showed up until Thursday. Nothing. The people stranded in the city were completely ignored by the federal government. There is a lot of talk that the reason is because they are black. That's really just part of it. The main issue is that, they are poor. The people with money, that is to say, who vote, got in their cars, and left. If you have no car, it's probably tough to evacuate with five days worth of food, water, and clothing. And it's not as if there was anyplace you could walk to, lugging all of that stuff, that would have been safe.

And now the backlash begins. Against the administration? Don't be stupid. We have to blame the media. "Look at them, covering the looters. What about all the people who got rescued? "

Come on.

The people who got rescued are the saddest of all. They are stuck in areas with far too many other people in the same situation, with no food, no water, no toilets, and all in 90+ degrees and 90% plus humidity. Under normal conditions, New Orleans is unbearable this time of the year. And the stench of death, and shit, and thousands of people stuck in the sun with no soap has got to be stultifying. It is a nightmare.

Could all of it have been prevented? Probably not. But nothing was done in advance. Nothing. I don't think George gave this thing a second thought, and if he did, maybe he prayed for his favorite philosopher to move that big bad hurricane away. Bush is simply disconnected from what the average person goes through. He hasn't got any understanding of what it's like to struggle. I don't know if he looks at all this, and just doesn't care. I think he sees it, and it's like a dog looking at a physics problem. He just doesn't see it, and what he does see, is alien to his mind.

"Your highness, the people have no bread to eat."

"Then let them eat cake."

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posted at 1:58 PM

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Sunday, August 28, 2005
Katrina

It is Sunday evening, and a massive hurricane is about 180 miles south of New Orleans. The best information indicates that this storm is going to hit the city almost dead center. If you are unfamiliar with the particular geography of New Orleans, and the surrounding area, I would encourage you to read this article. It's a few years old, but it is still accurate.

The point is, it is not out of the realm of possibility that in one week's time, perhaps 100,000 Americans will be dead from this storm. Even if it is only a small percentage of this amount, it will be catastrophic. There will be no outrage. There will be no telethon. There will be no massive federal bureaucracy created to move vulnerable Americans away from this dangerous stretch of coast. Available national guard troops will be mobilized to gather up bodies and attempt a cleanup of devastated areas, which may not be inhabitable for at least six months. Insurance companies will file bankruptcy, and the government will once again bail out industrial interests.

What am I getting at? On September 11th, 2001, three thousand Americans were murdered by terrorists, in an event that, to be fair, was not likely to have been prevented. We shall see what happens this week, but sadly, the carnage of 9/11 will be multiplied many times over along the Gulf Coast. It may be entirely similar to the horrors that followed the tsunami that hit Asia last December. We have spent, between creating a new Cabinet-level agency, and fighting a war, the better part of one trillion dollars to avenge the deaths of, and prevent further killing of Americans in the United States.

The deaths that will occur in the American south over the next several weeks were preventable, every single one of them. Almost nothing is spent on the type of civil defense that would be used to evacuate a city like New Orleans. The government could easily declare this area unsafe, or claim eminent domain to move people out of harm's way. We concern ourselves with remote possibilities like being killed by terrorists. It ain't gonna happen. You're a thousand times more likely to be killed in a car wreck, die of a heart attack, or be stabbed or shot by a loved one.

Our lack of perspective, and willingness to give in to the politics of fear are killing us.

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posted at 6:25 PM

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