Here We Go -part 2
Continuing the train of thought from my previous post ...
Within an hour of the release of the Supreme Court's decision on the health care law this morning, I received 16 emails pitching guests with reactions to the decision. Thirteen were from 'experts' who disagreed with the outcome and the rest praised it.
As soon as the news broke I checked two news web sites to see if I won a bet I made with myself about their coverage. I won! The msnbc site called it breaking news and the article almost seemed to have been written by a Democratic Party spokesman. The Fox news web site had nothing more recent than a speculation pieces written hours earlier. They are both so predictable. And some people dare to call either of them 'news'? And I heard that CNN initially posted the wrong headline. Fail.
So the very same people who are whining about this Supreme Court decision forgot that a Supreme Court decision made it possible for Bush to become President even though he didn't win the election.
By the way, it is called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, not Obamacare.
So what does all this mean for 'us'? Paraphrasing Senator Reid’s statement today: Seniors save money on prescriptions, children can’t be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions, we won’t have to fear losing health insurance because we lose a job, we won’t be a heart attack or a car accident away from bankruptcy. Wow, who would want any of that?
Is it perfect? No. Is it better than what we had, or more accurately didn’t have? Yes. Is it creepy having the government mandate that we all have insurance? Maybe, but most of us are required to have auto insurance, so what’s different? It’s a requirement with a good reason. Should we be skeptical of the government and be extra vigilant to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand? Hell yeah!!
The problem with other government programs intended to help people isn’t the program, it’s the administration of the program that often gets bogged down in bureaucracy. And people take unfair advantage some programs. Those are the things to fix, not the programs themselves, usually.
So now the election will be all about health care. Meanwhile the country will continue to be in debt, our roads and bridges will continue to crumble, our education system will continue to slump resulting in our country’s continued loss of importance in the world. And why? Because so many of our elected officials spend more time worrying about elections than about getting anything done.
I usually don’t believe things were better in the “good old days’ but I grew up during a time of “can do” in America. In the middle of social turbulence, protests and riots over racial discrimination and unjust wars, our great country also built the Interstate Highway system and made significant advances in science and health. We were leaders in the world on so many levels. We still should be the leaders. Partisan politics will NOT get us there.
A toast … to good health! And good health care! Cheers!
Within an hour of the release of the Supreme Court's decision on the health care law this morning, I received 16 emails pitching guests with reactions to the decision. Thirteen were from 'experts' who disagreed with the outcome and the rest praised it.
As soon as the news broke I checked two news web sites to see if I won a bet I made with myself about their coverage. I won! The msnbc site called it breaking news and the article almost seemed to have been written by a Democratic Party spokesman. The Fox news web site had nothing more recent than a speculation pieces written hours earlier. They are both so predictable. And some people dare to call either of them 'news'? And I heard that CNN initially posted the wrong headline. Fail.
So the very same people who are whining about this Supreme Court decision forgot that a Supreme Court decision made it possible for Bush to become President even though he didn't win the election.
By the way, it is called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, not Obamacare.
So what does all this mean for 'us'? Paraphrasing Senator Reid’s statement today: Seniors save money on prescriptions, children can’t be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions, we won’t have to fear losing health insurance because we lose a job, we won’t be a heart attack or a car accident away from bankruptcy. Wow, who would want any of that?
Is it perfect? No. Is it better than what we had, or more accurately didn’t have? Yes. Is it creepy having the government mandate that we all have insurance? Maybe, but most of us are required to have auto insurance, so what’s different? It’s a requirement with a good reason. Should we be skeptical of the government and be extra vigilant to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand? Hell yeah!!
The problem with other government programs intended to help people isn’t the program, it’s the administration of the program that often gets bogged down in bureaucracy. And people take unfair advantage some programs. Those are the things to fix, not the programs themselves, usually.
So now the election will be all about health care. Meanwhile the country will continue to be in debt, our roads and bridges will continue to crumble, our education system will continue to slump resulting in our country’s continued loss of importance in the world. And why? Because so many of our elected officials spend more time worrying about elections than about getting anything done.
I usually don’t believe things were better in the “good old days’ but I grew up during a time of “can do” in America. In the middle of social turbulence, protests and riots over racial discrimination and unjust wars, our great country also built the Interstate Highway system and made significant advances in science and health. We were leaders in the world on so many levels. We still should be the leaders. Partisan politics will NOT get us there.
A toast … to good health! And good health care! Cheers!
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