http://www.scientificamerican.com/article....

When President Barack Obama promised change, he put two kinds on the agenda. The first was substantive change: reforms to key sectors of the economy, such as health care, climate change, financial markets and arms procurement.

The second was process change: improvements to how public policies are shaped and how decisions over public funding are made. Against the odds, the Obama administration is making some progress on the first—but at the sacrifice of the second.

I'm filling out grades for the semester. Some are very clear. Some students are borderline between a C+ and a B-. Some worked hard and didn't quite get the A. Some were realistic about what they achieved, as opposed to what they hope for or the 'effort' (not measurable) they want to be graded on.

I know that many have recently taken to grading President Obama's first year in office. I won't do that. I will say, however, that while I expected him to make mistakes, and also expected him to learn on the job, and as well expected the daily details to reflect a longer vision - a focus occasionally flashed (as in his health care speech), overall I am pleased with his leadership, except...

Except that I'm very, very uncomfortable with his Afghanistan decision. I understand the dilemma. I understand that there was no good answer. But I came of age during Vietnam. If, if, if... I'm willing to be uncomfortable here, because Mumbai is only a year old. To use perhaps not the best analogy: when a supposed friend has dumped leeches and slugs on you, you can not rip them off. They have to be removed slowly and carefully, painfully and often one at a time. And removing them makes you bleed. But leaving the bloodsuckers on, while perhaps less painful, cripples and vampires the life out of you.

BushCheny dumped slugs and leeches on America, especially in its overseas war profiteering.

Health Care - No - INSURANCE REFORM is a different matter.

I'll admit to a bit of anxiety over the summer, especially in August, which might as well have been renamed "hate and lie" month. But September brought a brilliant bit of oratory. OK, so single payer wasn't going to make it - the only insurance reform that makes sense - because InsPharma is too big. Some public option, at least? An earlier medicare buy-in? Something, please, to indicate an awareness of the needs of the people, that health care is for the people.

But this cave-in to Joe Lieberman, who is betraying more than liberal principles and the Democratic party; he's betraying the Torah dictate to "heal the sick" - either out of spite or because he is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance companies in Connecticut - this I do not understand. I understand compromise, I understand modification (incentives for taking care of one's health, for instance), I understand that change and progress sometimes takes time. I do not understand how Joseph Lieberman can turn a blind eye to bikur cholim (heal the sick), tikun olam (repair the world) or Chanukah (the weak overcoming the mighty).

More, though, I do not understand how President Barack Obama allows this to happen. It is potential political suicide, for himself and the Democratic Party. Surely he sees this. Since the Republicans have all said no (except Rep. Cao and Sen. Snowe), insurance reform belongs to the Democrats. If it doesn't work - and Lieberman seems intent on sabotaging it - the blame will go not to the obstructionists, but to those who did not have the strength or faith - or both - to do it right.

The game is not over. There is overtime. There are penalties.

But I pray that insurance reform does not become a third Bull Run or domestic Bay of Pigs.

For a class I'm teaching, students are writing about the health care/insurance reform debate. Several allude to the "Canadian Wait List" issue. Does anyone have a reference to reliable sources that have statistics and/or explanations? Testimonials for or against the Canadian system can help, but what I need are facts and figures. Thanks in advance.

acupuncture

biofeedback

etc.

Will the plan address that?

(She's a former REpublican)

Not just content, but rhetoric.

I note the balance. The recognition of McCain. The reference to the late Ted Kennedy.

Tort reform - we need to be careful with that. LEGITIMATE law suits protect us.

There's an easy way to address the frivolous suits.

Anyway, what would you like freshmen in college to think about, take note of, respond to, etc?

Forget the wingnuts. Watch McCain and Hatch.

This is personal. So just move on if you have anything negative to say.

I want to start by thanking the DU community for the support they gave me, and others from the Gulf Coast, during those difficult days and months. By extension, you also helped my family.

Four years later, I am, ironically, in NJ, visiting my parents - my father is in a VA hospital, his Alzheimer's having been accelerated by the trauma. I've been back, and rebuilding, and in many ways New Orleans, though scarred, is and has been recovering. Of course, it would have been nice had the federal government, the governor or mayor shown any leadership over the last four years, but we've had Republicans in charge (Nagin was a Republican first, got re-elected because of rich white Republicans, Jindal got elected because Blanco, the only one trying to do her job, was vilified by Bush.)

At this moment of reflection, I've got lots of questions. Here are a few:

Why are we still in Iraq?
Why are we still in Afghanistan?
Why is Bin Laden still at large, or not known to be dead?
Why is Gitmo still open?
Why aren't the detainees being tried?
Why are there still secret prisons?
Why hasn't the investigation of Bush-Cheney war crimes, violations of the law, breaking their oath of office (doesn't count, but still..), violation of the Constitution, not begun?
Why aren't Bush, Cheney and Rove in jail?

Why does anyone other than a doodlehead believe that Bush won '04 - or '00?

Why does anyone other than a doodlehead believe Katrina was "the worst natural disaster"? It was a terrible natural disaster, but New Orleans drowned because Bush didn't care and couldn't get his own cabinet to do its job. The drowning of New Orleans resulted from criminal negligence by the federal government before and during, and criminal neglect after.

Why haven't the Democrats figured out that their enemies see politics as a blood sport? (Not all Republicans are their enemies, nor are all commentators?)

Why don't we have universal health coverage already?

Why hasn't Obama done what FDR or JFK would have done on the issue? Why doesn't he realize people want his leadership, his oratory?
Why don't more beck-outs occur?
Why aren't there more honest dialogues? Why are Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow the only ones who can hold an intelligent, civilized conversation even with those who they disagree with? Why is Keith Olbermann the only one with the verbal dexterity to make commentary interesting?
Why don't the thinking conservatives (it's not a contradiction in terms, at least not always) participate in a debate and contribute something?

(This one may anger some on DU, but I don't care. The truth hurts.)
Why haven't more people realized that Obama's approach to Iran has helped the unrest, as Bernard Lewis said it would?
Why doesn't Obama, and why don't more Democrats, realize that Israel, for all its shortcomings and mistakes and American-like policies, is not the villain of the middle east, that Arabs who want to repeat the Holocaust are? Why don't they realize that teaching five year olds to butcher other five year olds, as the Palestinians do, is not the same as building houses on "disputed territory"?

Why don't we read more? From Dickens to the Shock Doctrine?
Why doesn't poetry matter? (I know the answer to that one, unfortunately.)

Why hasn't New Orleans gotten the money promised to rebuild its infrastructure, etc.?
Why is David Vitter still a Senator - or anything?
For that matter, why are Scalia and Thomas still on the Supreme Court?

Why are teachers underpaid - and often undertrained?

Why isn't there a "lost Beatles album" - or at least a lost "Lennon-McCartney" song?
Why aren't the Beatles on iTunes (that may be remedied soon ?

Why haven't the Saints won a Superbowl? (That may be remedied this year!)

And rhetorically, since we all know the answer, why is DU such a great website?


I was one of the lucky ones, after Katrina. I had family, friends, resources. But i have occasion to drive by the areas where the unlucky ones lived.
Katrina, four years later, should remind us all that we need to take care of ourselves, but we also need to take care of each other.

This is personal. So just move on if you have anything negative to say.

I want to start by thanking the DU community for the support they gave me, and others from the Gulf Coast, during those difficult days and months. By extension, you also helped my family.

Four years later, I am, ironically, in NJ, visiting my parents - my father is in a VA hospital, his Alzheimer's having been accelerated by the trauma. I've been back, and rebuilding, and in many ways New Orleans, though scarred, is and has been recovering. Of course, it would have been nice had the federal government, the governor or mayor shown any leadership over the last four years, but we've had Republicans in charge (Nagin was a Republican first, got re-elected because of rich white Republicans, Jindal got elected because Blanco, the only one trying to do her job, was vilified by Bush.)

At this moment of reflection, I've got lots of questions. Here are a few:

Why are we still in Iraq?
Why are we still in Afghanistan?
Why is Bin Laden still at large, or not known to be dead?
Why is Gitmo still open?
Why aren't the detainees being tried?
Why are there still secret prisons?
Why hasn't the investigation of Bush-Cheney war crimes, violations of the law, breaking their oath of office (doesn't count, but still..), violation of the Constitution, not begun?
Why aren't Bush, Cheney and Rove in jail?

Why does anyone other than a doodlehead believe that Bush won '04 - or '00?

Why does anyone other than a doodlehead believe Katrina was "the worst natural disaster"? It was a terrible natural disaster, but New Orleans drowned because Bush didn't care and couldn't get his own cabinet to do its job. The drowning of New Orleans resulted from criminal negligence by the federal government before and during, and criminal neglect after.

Why haven't the Democrats figured out that their enemies see politics as a blood sport? (Not all Republicans are their enemies, nor are all commentators?)

Why don't we have universal health coverage already?

Why hasn't Obama done what FDR or JFK would have done on the issue? Why doesn't he realize people want his leadership, his oratory?
Why don't more beck-outs occur?
Why aren't there more honest dialogues? Why are Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow the only ones who can hold an intelligent, civilized conversation even with those who they disagree with? Why is Keith Olbermann the only one with the verbal dexterity to make commentary interesting?
Why don't the thinking conservatives (it's not a contradiction in terms, at least not always) participate in a debate and contribute something?

(This one may anger some on DU, but I don't care. The truth hurts.)
Why haven't more people realized that Obama's approach to Iran has helped the unrest, as Bernard Lewis said it would?
Why doesn't Obama, and why don't more Democrats, realize that Israel, for all its shortcomings and mistakes and American-like policies, is not the villain of the middle east, that Arabs who want to repeat the Holocaust are? Why don't they realize that teaching five year olds to butcher other five year olds, as the Palestinians do, is not the same as building houses on "disputed territory"?

Why don't we read more? From Dickens to the Shock Doctrine?
Why doesn't poetry matter? (I know the answer to that one, unfortunately.)

Why hasn't New Orleans gotten the money promised to rebuild its infrastructure, etc.?
Why is David Vitter still a Senator - or anything?
For that matter, why are Scalia and Thomas still on the Supreme Court?

Why are teachers underpaid - and often undertrained?

Why isn't there a "lost Beatles album" - or at least a lost "Lennon-McCartney" song?
Why aren't the Beatles on iTunes (that may be remedied soon ?

Why haven't the Saints won a Superbowl? (That may be remedied this year!)

And rhetorically, since we all know the answer, why is DU such a great website?


I was one of the lucky ones, after Katrina. I had family, friends, resources. But i have occasion to drive by the areas where the unlucky ones lived.
Katrina, four years later, should remind us all that we need to take care of ourselves, but we also need to take care of each other.

MARGARET CHASE SMITH:
I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny - Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.


(But that's all it is, these days.)

Protect patients, not profits

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness shouldn't stop when you get sick

(same idea, a bit longer The Founders WANTED health care reform. What do you think life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness means?

I saw part of the Orly (Oily) breakdown, and this obsession with Obama's birth certificate. But according to Lexis-Nexis, he doesn't need one to be a U.S. citizen. Here's the excerpt:

What are the rules for people born between December 23, 1952 and November
13, 1986?
Again, children born abroad to two US citizen parents were US citizens at birth, as long as
one of the parents resided in the US at some point before the birth of the child.
When one parent was a US citizen and the other a foreign national, the US citizen parent
must have resided in the US for a total of 10 years prior to the birth of the child, with five
of the years after the age of 14. An exception for people serving in the military was
created by considering time spent outside the US on military duty as time spent in the US.
While there were initially rules regarding what the child must do to retain citizenship,
amendments since 1952 have eliminated these requirements.
Children born out of wedlock to a US citizen mother were US citizens if the mother was
resident in the US for a period of one year prior to the birth of the child. Children born out
of wedlock to a US citizen father acquired US citizenship only if legitimated before turning
21.

--
Two simple questions: How old was Obama's mother when Obama was born? How many of those years did she live in the U.S.?

So it seems the simplest answer to the birthers rant about a birth certificate: HE DOESN'T NEED ONE!

But then, we're arguing with lunatics.

and/or the following:

V For Vendetta
"Repent Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman"
Some of The Daily Show's skewering of media complicity or hypocrisy

I've come up with these possibilities:

Revolution
Blowin' in the Wind
The Times They Are A'changing
Give Peace a Chance
Blackbird

(Yeah, I'm dating myself - but I'm looking for songs that are easily recognizable and hit the same 'think for yourself, beware the corporations on one end, the anarchists on the other that matches the other works)

The Health Care Debate, or Too Little, Too Late

The old woman curdles on the sidewalk,
soured, in her dried up life,
and spasms, once or twice -
a stranger might interrupt his call,
or ambulance through the traffic crawl.

A child, with curly hair, sniffles, and wipes his nose,
as his songless mother coos in vain
to the infant confused by pain
and answers who will pay - who knows

And the man with the million dollar ears
spews his golden lard, and cannot hear.

For twenty, thirty year with hand and steam
the factory line, not sick a day, he worked
and then, oh just a little twinge, his back was fine -
though surgery takes its toll, and houses, too.

The doctor goes with stethoscope
from room to room dispensing hope,
then in the lexus of his luxury
at night, at home, he fears the healing touch
just out of reach, in worry, might slip away.

Listen to the story of rant and cant
or preserve our profit, our lies transplant.

And in the halls I hear them talk
of bitter pills, and chicken hawks
who blame disease upon the ill
and cure a fever with a chill.

He tried to steal the election by a landslide. Bush, Cheney & Rove could have told him, if you're going to steal an election, do it by a small majority. Then the pundits will believe that the screwed results are just numbers games and statistics. Good grief, doesn't one right wing dictator learn from another?

I've had it. There's only one way to deal with slime like Dick - scorn. Make him laughable and irrelevant. Here's what every sensible human being should do when Cheney's name is mentioned. (Note: normally I abhor ad hominem argument, but in this case ad hominem is not a fallacy, but an accurate portrayal.) Now I realize that "sensible human being" precludes the right-wing hate mongers, i.e., Fox and friends. But everyone else - liberal, moderate, conservative, etc. - should do one or more of the following:

1. NEVER EVER - NEVER!!! - REFER TO THE S.O.B. AS "VICE-PRESIDENT". DON'T SULLY THE OFFICE THAT HE USURPED. He's either Mr. Cheney, said with derision, or "Dick" - see Jon Stewart for how to pronounce that.

2. Dick Cheney? You mean the guy who shot his friend in the face? You want to trust his judgment?

3. Oh, you mean Dick Cheney, the draft-dodging coward who had better things to do than serve his county. Yeah, he's an expert on security.

4. Dick Cheney? Wasn't he in office on 9/11? Didn't he ignore all the warnings about Al Qaeda? You want to listen to the guy who let Bin Laden attack us, and then get away?

5. Oh, I remember Dick Cheney. He's the one who couldn't be bothered to help New Orleans. Too many poor, too many Blacks. Oh, wait. He did get Haliburton another sweetheart deal - after the city drowned and people died.

Use one or more lines, with derision, scorn or disgust. Always mention at least one of these points and let's make sure everyone sees him for the evil scum he is.