Thank you, Olympia!

Ok, I still haven’t written about some of the developments in Europe. But in the meantime, thanks to Olympia Snowe, we do have a bill coming out of the Finance Committee!

Health Care Woes

I haven’t blogged in a long time, mostly due to family issues: Second child was born in August and has kept us very busy.

But I’ve followed the developments about health care and they’ve made me, literally, sick. In the next couple of posts I plan on writing about some of the experiences I’ve had with the much maligned public healthcare system in Europe (Germany and Austria). Keep looking.

The Immeasurable Cost of Ignorance

Vartan Gregorian made this very succinct statement about the dangers of underfunding higher ed: “You think education is expensive? Try ignorance.” Watch it here.

Tax Amnesia

As someone who supports the Obama administration wholeheartedly, I say this with deep regret: Daschle needs to step aside. It was already problematic when people excused Geithner’s sloppy attitude towards paying his taxes with a cavalier “human beings make mistakes.” With Daschle, this excuse doesn’t work, and, if tried, would seriously undermine Obama’s standing. As the NY Times editorial writes today, the American tax system relies on “voluntary compliance.” If Daschle’s forgetfulness is not such a big deal, why should WE bother paying?

But the Daschle case brings up another issue: If even our trusted public servants do find it alright to at least try at reducing their tax burdens through improper means, how much is owed by the fat cats, those who don’t even have to create the appearance of trustworthyness? What would happen if the IRS took its job seriously and went after the big tax violators? Perhaps, our stimulus packages wouldn’t have to be that high...

Time for a revolution?

Paul Krugman writes about a “populist rage building in this country” because of the imbalance of corporate bailout versus lacking safety net for private citizens. I hope he is right, not just with regard to health care. But, this is the US and we are dumb and complacent. In France, people are marching in the streets already...

America in Ruins

Let me see if I get it together: “Private is good, public is bad. Private is good, because we care for what we own. Public is bad, because everything gets wasted.” Oh well, a recent report about America’s infrastructure (I heard it on Georgia Public Radio Jan 29, 2009 but was unable to find an online link) gave the nation a D (and Georgia a C). And, as the spokesperson of the surveying engineering association emphasized, this has to be addressed, economic crisis or not. Thank you to all those who have plundered and wasted our public funds for huge tax giveaways and unnecessary wars over the last eight years instead of providing for healthcare and a decent infrastructure! You have done a wonderful job, now please go and hide.

Slapping Obama in the Face

Not that we needed any more proof of Republican hypocrisy, but their refusal to go along, even with a few symbolic votes, with the Democratic stimulus plan belies previously announced intentions of reaching across the isle. The reasons for this refusal, given by Republican leader Boehner, also indicate that Republicans have not realized the utter failure of their mainstream governing philosophy: Privatization, massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and the trickle down effect did not work! In fact, these ideas were never conservative to begin with, at least in the true sense of the term conservative. There’s an interesting op-ed piece in today’s (Jan 29, 2009) Atlanta Journal Constitution by Mickey Edwards, former congressman from Oklahoma and author of “Reclaiming Conservatism”, in which he argues that the current GOP cannot claim the label conservatism nor the mantle of Reaganism. While I have some reservations about his characterization of Reagan as a reformer of government, his piece is, overall, a pretty sober analysis of the ruinous state in which the GOP finds itself.

Rev. Wright, or, 'Don't mess with the press!'

Alessandra Stanley’s TV-Watch column about Rev. Wright’s appearance before the National Press Club is further proof of how the press neglects its duties. Instead of informing potential voters about the actual contents of what is being said, reporters deliver a meta-critique of a person’s body language, his clothing, and his facial expressions. And instead of focusing on the validity of the speaker’s points, reporters muse about the potentially scandalous effects a given speech might have on any one of the candidates. In this specific case, Stanley called Wright’s appearance a “rich, stem-winding brew of black history, Scripture, hallelujahs and hermeneutics” and she described his behavior as “cocky, defiant, declamatory, inflammatory and mischievous.” I watched Mr. Wright’s appearance on Bill Moyer’s show and listened to the full-length speech before the National Press Club. What I saw and heard was, in the first instance, a thoughtful and broadminded listener and, in the second instance, an eloquent and refreshingly provocative speaker who does not shy away from telling an inconvenient truth to power. Wright’s overview of black history and his attempt to explain the meaning of the black church to people who don’t know much about it (and I don’t) was helpful. The Reverend’s examples as to how faith, which, according to Americans, is very important in life, is related to socio-political issues were convincing. I saw a person who does not just claim that “God changed his life” and who, as a result, tries to influence other people’s lives in moralistic and hypocritical ways--yes, I am alluding to the current occupant of the Oval Office--but a person who tries to live up to the challenges his faith points out to him: working with the poor, the sick, and the social outcasts. There was more street credibility in the speech of Rev. Wright than in all of Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s campaign appearances combined. And if Rev. Wright should indeed have a damaging effect on any campaign, then it should be Clinton’s, who said she “would have left the congregation” if her pastor had said such unpatriotic things. If Clinton denounces Wright’s admittedly harsh but justified criticism of America’s foreign policy, I do not want her to pick up the phone at 3 a.m.! Finally, Stanley’s caricature of Wright as “vain” is laughable. It seems to me that the press is unable to listen to a speech that is also critical of the way the media report half-truths and spin. If Wright came across as cocky it’s the fault of those--forgive me--stupid questions that were given to him by, I assume, members of the press: “Do you think God wants Obama to be president?” This question is an insult for any educated person and so is Stanley’s article.