Domestic Terrorism Strikes Cincinnati, Ohio

A concerted effort is underway by domestic terrorists to intimidate supporters of Health Care Reform.  On Sunday night, a brick was thrown through a window at Democratic Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This was repeated at several Democratic Headquarter sites in various cities in the United States.  Also, a Congresswoman received a threatening telephone call that included veiled threats towards her children.


This effort is being promoted by a man living (and blogging) in Alabama, calling on his supporters to be prepared to take up arms to fight the federal government.


To those of you who have thought the intimidation efforts of Tea Party activists and others, including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh were funny, but not dangerous, think again

States' Rights, The Federal Government, and Left-Wing Socialism

Today is the day the House is supposed to vote on the Health Care bill.  As I was watching C-Span, a Republican Congressman was decrying the federal government's takeover of health care.  He said that people should first go to their local governments for help.  Then they should go to their state governments for help.  The federal government had no business trying to socialize health care.


Socialism has always been the second major slur to be thrown against socially necessary legislation.  (The first was communism, of course.) One problem with the Congressman's position is that he put no time limit on how long we are supposed to wait for our local governments to solve problems before seeking help at the federal level.


Everyone agrees that there are real, major problems with our health care system.  For example, almost everyone agrees that health insurers should not be allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.  But, who regulates health insurance companies?  The States.  And who permits them to discriminate?  The States.  Why does discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions need to be fixed?  Because the States have failed to protect their citizens.  


This leaves us in a terrible predicament, if we were to use the Congressman's logic.  1)   It's wrong to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.  2)  The states have failed to prevent this discrimination. BUT, 3)  the federal government should not do anything about this, because that would be socialism.  Does anybody see a problem, here?


Of course, health care is not the first issue to run up against this circular reasoning.  Voting Rights have.  Retirement issues have.  Age Discrimination has.  Sex Discrimination has.  Labor unions have.  Handicap Discrimination has.  Is there a pattern?  Of course there is.  


People get tired of waiting for local government to fix their problems.  People get tired of waiting for state government to fix their problems.  The only way these problems can get fixed, then, is to have the federal government fix them.  And it takes generations for the federal government to get around to it.


The health care bills are not perfect.  There is no such thing, and the legislative process guarantees that anything that can get passed the House and the Senate and signed by the President is going to be a three or four humped camel, at best.  But socialism and "it's not perfect" are the worst reasons for the federal government not to act.


Pass the bills.  Let the opponents fix them when they get the power to do so.  They always do get the power.  They rarely fix them, though.  They just want to defeat the other party, not act in the best interest of the public.

Is Rob Portman a Conservative?

A recent blog, http://tinyurl.com/ ybmalyy, notes that former Republican Leaders Roy Blount and Rob Portman "are running for Senate seats and discovering their Washington résumés to be something of a liability at a time when the Tea Party and disaffected fiscal conservatives have new political power. "  


Ohioans should read the paragraphs about Portman's efforts to reach out to Ohio Tea Party groups, while at the same time avoiding efforts by the same Tea Party groups to get answers from him.


Isn't politics wonderful?

Estate Planning is Not Just For The Wealthy

Special Needs Estate Planning is critically important to families that include individuals with disabilities.  Read more about this important issue at http://tinyurl.com/yzvfk7d

UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS IN NOVEMBER

Contrary to the expectation of economists and the wishes of the Republican leadership in Congress, unemployment fell in November from 10.2% to 10.0%. The number of jobs lost in November fell from 190,000 in October to just 11,000 in November. Read the article in "The Hill."

REPUBLICAN OBSTRUCTIONISM

Senator Judd Gregg (R - NH) has written a letter to his Republican colleagues reminding them of most, if not all, Rules of the Senate that can be used to prevent a final vote on any bill being considered by the Senate, but directly aimed at the current Health Care Reform bill. When one looks at these devices, it is clear that the "Greatest Deliberative Body" can be tied into knots by even one reckless Senator, much less all Republicans acting in concert.

So far, the Republicans' bark is worse than its bite. Nonetheless, the closer the Senate gets to actually voting on the reform bill, the harder it will be for the minority Republicans to refrain from using these delaying tactics.

Of course, one cannot complain about the Republicans using delaying tactics, alone. The Democrats are not totally blameless. They, too, interfered with Senate action while they were in the minority. It is time, however, to change these Senate Rules that allow, if not encourage, reckless actions on the part of a minority to frustrate the will of a significant majority of Americans when that will is not subversive to the American way of life.

Informative Comments on Health Care Reform by California Nurses Association

Once again, Medical News Today publishes a timely and informative comment about the recently House passed Health Care reform bill. Rose Ann DeMoro, Executive Director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, issued a statement on November 9th noting some of the strengths and shortcomings:

Of all the torrent of words that followed House passage of its version of healthcare reform legislation in early November, perhaps the most misleading were those comparing it to enactment of Social Security and Medicare.

Sadly no. Social Security and Medicare were both federal programs guaranteeing respectively pensions and health care for our nation's seniors, paid for and administered by the federal government with public oversight and public accountability.

While the House bill, and its Senate counterpart, do have several important reform components, along with many weaknesses, neither one comes close to the guarantees and the expansion of health and income security provided by Social Security or Medicare. More