Day: February 8, 2010

The Crisis In Health Insurance Costs: A Moral Issue!

While the Republicans refuse to negotiate on health care legislation, and the Democrats are unable to unite to accomplish necessary reform, the health care costs of the American people are skyrocketing! 🙁

Health care is already 17 percent of the total national budget for all Americans, and is expected to rise to 20 percent in the next decade if nothing is done to contain costs. And this does not even include the millions of Americans who have no health care.

Many health insurance companies are raising their health care premiums in an obscene way, some as much as 35-40 percent. There is no motivation by these companies to promote cost containment to their customers, and this will continue, unfortunately. In other industrial nations, where everyone is covered, the percentage spent on health care is dramatically lower, as in Great Britain, where the cost is seven percent of the total budgetary expenses, as compared to our seventeen percent.

The longer we take to deal with this issue on a national basis, the more we will have millions of Americans thrown off health care by skyrocketing costs, and lives will be lost, as already we know that 45,000 per year are lost due to lack of health insurance coverage.

This is a moral issue, if nothing else, but it is more, as so many lives depend on it, and decent health care costs are essential as the population increases, and more Americans are going without health care coverage.

Congressman John Murtha Dead: Had Great Impact On Iraq War

Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a conservative Democrat who rose to the fourth ranking House position as the person in charge of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on defense, and who was very close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, passed away this afternoon at age 77.

Originally elected to the House at the time of the Watergate scandal under Richard Nixon, Murtha became a powerful force in the House, and made many enemies of people who respected and also feared him.

A gruff Marine who always supported defense spending, he surprised everyone by coming out against the Bush Administration Iraq War policy in November, 2005, and after that, he suffered from constant, bitter attacks by conservatives and Republicans, but that criticism of the administration took a lot of guts and courage on his part.

Often criticized for excessive “earmarks”, and thought to be involved in crooked dealings at times, he was under attack and was facing a tough 2010 re-election challenge this fall.

While many had mixed feelings about John Murtha, he certainly made a difference in our history, if for nothing else, than his willingness to stick his neck out–this Marine and defense advocate–against the Commander in Chief and the war he waged!

Sarah Palin’s Tea Party Convention Speech

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee, was the center of attention in Nashville at the Tea Party Convention on Saturday night.

She delivered a 40 minute speech and then answered questions while sitting down with the moderator for about 20 minutes.

The speech was highly critical of Obama Administration national security policy and economic policy, not a surprise to anyone.

But the question is whether she rang a bell in the minds of independents across the country with her line of argument.

It will be a while before we know what polls say, but at this early point, there are certain points to make.

Palin criticized the fact that we have a “college law professor” as the Commander in Chief, but is it proper to condemn someone’s education and intellectual ability? Don’t we want a person who believes in the power of the law and wishes to stay within our legal system, or do we want a person who violates constitutional law and abuses the Constitution? It sounds to me that Palin is at least slightly jealous that we have a President who has taught law, but I suppose for someone who had to go through SIX colleges to get a bachelors degree in communication, it might be proper to be envious!

She also attacked the fact that Obama uses a teleprompter in his speeches, failing to realize that it is a way to make certain that what is said is very precise and accurate. Meanwhile, she had written a few words down on her hand and looked at it as she answered questions from participants in the Tea Party convention. So she felt a need to write down a few key words, as if she did not know what she believed in and wanted to say, but Obama in a speech cannot have a teleprompter! Oh, and by the way, she had her speech in front of her, and it was clear she was often directly reading it!

She also talked about representative democracy and how the people should be able to speak up, but forgot that is the whole point of representative democracy, that our representatives speak for the nation! Since the Democrats won nearly 60 percent of the House and the Senate, and the White House by nearly 54-46 percent, they have the right to make policy, as much as the Republican opposition made policy with a far less percentage of the majority and with a President who did not win the popular vote!

Palin said she gets emails from supporters and advisers to improve her knowledge of the issues and problems facing America. But the fact is she has still not demonstrated any intellectual curiosity about anything, is still exploiting her fame given to her by John McCain to enrich herself, and still makes clear by her words and actions that she is a shallow individual, not proper for the Presidential office!

And yet, when asked, she says she might seek the Presidency, and will not close the door if it is right for her family and her country.

It is perfectly clear that Sarah Palin SHOULD NOT seek the Presidency as she is ill prepared in experience and intellect for the position. She also should not seek the Presidency for her family as she has a special needs child who needs her attention and that of her family, not the spotlight of a Presidential campaign, and god forbid, the power of the Presidency which would keep her busy with no time to do the proper job of helping her child grow and develop. This is not sexism against women as some might say! It is the question of what Republicans always emphasize: FAMILY VALUES!

So Sarah, continue to make money and enjoy the adulation of people who do not see you for your limitations, but don’t burden this nation and your political party by creating a nightmare candidacy for President of the United States!