another Monday

I really have nothing to say, but that hasn't stopped me before.

A friend of mine, (well, an acquaintance), recently switched his/her blog to the new system, and from all indications, he/she is screwed. It was reported to me that even logging in is difficult, sometimes requiring multiple attempts. I have had no trouble reaching the blog from the outside world, but was unable to comment with my current ID, (thus mandating the 'signed' anonymous comment).

This sucks.

I am no friend of the Windoze operating system, or the corporate oligarchy that produces it, but even these folks, who, until now, were considered by me and at least one other to be the f**kups f**kup of the digital realm, occasionally get something right. It seems to me that the search engine sometimes known as g 00 gle has a ways to go before they are any threat to the big dogs.

But enough of that.

A couple of posts back, I was lamenting the altogether inadequate plan proposed by the lame duck regarding health insurance. While in that particular frame of mind, I had an experience that I will share with you. Last month, I made an annual visit to a doctor to make sure that certain issues in my bio-domain were still under control. I was billed for the vsit, and, having already plowed through my altogether outrageous deductible, the insurance company ante'd up and I was mailed a bill by the clinic for a small amount. That same day, I also received a bill, from the same clinic, for lab work that was a bit over the top, (over $700.00). I called, and they indicated that they had no record of my being insured. Not wanting to be argumentative with a clerk who had no clue anyway, I dutifully read my insurance info and > BINGO! <, the amount due instantly dropped to a figure just over $100.00. that is before the bill was submitted for payment. I don't know what insurance will pay, but that is not the point. The point is that I really don't know the cost of the service that was rendered, nor did the person who was making a poor effort at intimidation over the amount due. If I was in one class of people, (and it could be argued that this class is least able to afford healthcare), the bill was exhorbitantly high. Just as soon as I was confirmed to be in another class, the amount of the bill dropped, and, like I said, that is before the actual insurer gets into the act and 'negotiates' the rate down even more. I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago, with an optometrist.

I was placing an order that was very clearly not covered by anyone for anything, but, since I had health insurance through the carrier that I do, I got an instant "discount".

My first problem with the current proposal is that it does nothing to level the playing field, as the administration claims. Its purpose is not to extend coverage to more individuals, it is to relieve business of what is seen to be an onerous expense, and to grant further means of obfuscation of costs and services to those that benefit from this situation----the insurance industry.

Agree or not, what do you think?

Stay focused.

I'm back

And simply rarin' to go, having been away from most things civilized for the past three days.

I have much to say, but haven't sorted it out just yet, and may not. Time moves on you know...

The President addressed the nation last tuesday evening, and I confess that I missed much of his speech, but did tune in in time to hear the various talking heads and the rebuttal, eh, response by the Democratic party spokesperson, Jim Webb. (Didn't he used to write songs for Glen Campbell?).

From what I gathered from the tube, and the newspaper articles that followed, it was pretty much what I expected. The displacement of a perfectly good episode of "Deal or No Deal".

In the news this week there has been a lot of hot air flying out of the Captitol building, much of it uttered by Democrats who now are trying to lay the groundwork for explaining why they were not able to stop the President from escalating the conflict in Iraq. In the next ten days or so, we will hear or read about a few resolutions, mainly in the Senate, that are floated as trial balloons, to see which, if any, capture the imagination of the public or at least sound good as a bite on the evening news. Pay little attention to them. Chances are this conflict will end just after Jan 20, 2009.

I will confess that i was a bit intrigued by the notion that there shgould be a special civilian agency that works with peoples, such as the Iraqi's, or who knows what others, in the worlds trouble spots. I confess that I haven't quite thought this through, but I have to compare it to the notion of the "faith-based initiative", where churches and private charities step up and do some of those things that we paid through the nose for already...

So, how have you all been? I see that Roy is on a fashion bender, and Anne has changed the name of her blog, (see the sidebar here, I am up with this stuff...), LeeLee has established for herself a new, somewhat aristocratic sounding title, and Woozie is having some trouble with a classmate that sheds something or other, and the image of Jimi Hendrix is being exploited by a sports/energy drink. Woozie thats the way things go. Depending on the outcome of certain things, we might see Bill Clinton hawking Viagra in a couple of years. Imagine that Bill Clinton sneaky smile, as if he was saying, "I have a pill here, who's next?"...

what will he think of next?

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that the President was pushing a new plan for health insurance for the poor. At that time, I mentioned that I was not real impressed, but I had no idea just how unimpressed I would be.

In some reports, the new plan will make the cost of insurance tax deductible for some, while making employer-provided insurance taxable income, thus, upping the cost of the mess for those that use it, and providing a huge windfall for the insuring companies.

Is there no beginning to this man's intelligence?

Listen to the President this coming Thursday evening. Then, waste no time in telephoning, emailing, and writing to your Congressman and Senators to express your opinion on the ideas that this pathetic excuse for a human puts forth.

It seems clear to me that a revolution is coming, and that most everyone knows it. it might be at the ballot box. I hope so. But it might take another form as well.

What we are seeing from the White House is an attempt to get all that can be had before the bell rings and George is shown the door.

winter weekend

It has been a heck of a week in my own normally reclusive life, but I will spare you those details right now.

In news this past week, Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, Sam Brownback have entered the race for the White House in 2008. I'm sooooooo relieved, I was really worried about that.

China has successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon, shooting down a weather satellite that is near the ends of its life. This is significant for the US, as our command and control network is dependent on rapid, dependable communications. It is not clear that this weapon has any application as an ABM system, the mechanics of hitting an object in a known orbit are much less complicated than hitting say, an inbound nuke, but it does give pause. In a crisis, the Chinese may be able to cripple US ability to monitor, and therefore react to, military developments. It may not seem like a big deal, but this may be as significant as the threat of smaller nuclear powers emerging in the region.

The President has decided it is time to reform the nations health care system. I am not amused here. In the first place, the plan, like that in California, only enlarges the network of health care insurance, (I admit that is better than nothing), it is simply enlarging the single largest source of inefficiency and waste in the present system. That those inefficiencies directly translate to profit for the insurers complcates matters further still. Secondly, this comes from a man who has a bit less standing with the public than Ronald McDonald. The fact that he is rolling this out smacks of legacy building rather than an effort to actually improve the lives of his constituents.

It is snowing here on the plains, this following a storm that deposited several inches of ice this past week. Winter is definately here...

Whats up with any/all/either of you?

...and he complains of activist judges?

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in a speech to be delivered to the American Enterprise Institute, states that federal judges are not qualified to issue rulings that affect national security policy, and should defer to the will of the President in such matters. In the same speech, he chided judges that "apply an activist philosophy that stretches the law to suit policy preferences."

Well. Isn't that special?

I am not really worried about the AG or his impact on much of anything, (he is on his way out the door in two years or less), but he has a lot of room to talk about "stretching the law to suit policy preferences". His boss is the guy who attempts to make his own laws, in the form of signing statements, and generally feels that he, and his actions, are above the legal system and possibly the Congress when it suits them.

What we are looking at is not simply the ravings of a neo-con AG and the administration he represents, it is a philosophy that appeals to people who are frustrated by having to live within the framework of laws and legal precednts that we have commonly accepted as the way we do business. I am not blaming the President, the AG, or anyone for this frustration, but those are the rules. There is a way to change them, through legislation, (admittedly not likely given the makeup of the legislative branch), or amending the Constitution. These people don't want to have to go through that, I mean, can't you simply see that they are right and those who don't agree don't matter?

I too, am frustrated by the same system.

But I am willing to live with the results that the present rules produce, like them or not, until things come around, (and they most generally do). To hear the AG, who also notes that judges who interpret the laws, "actually reduce the credibility and authority of the judiciary", we might see his attitude as accepting the word of a police or government officer as true fact and find all accused guilty and save a lot of time and money. He does not see that he too, reduces the credibility of the judiciary by relegating them to the role of yes men (or women).

Looking at things from a historic perspective, things are pretty cramped for those who make laws and decisions on how to enforce them. The founding fathers probably had no idea of how times would change over the centuries, and it is possible that some adjustment in the Constitution is called for.

But not by these people, and not just because they say so.

The AG's deportment is a lot like a toddler who is not getting his way, and jumping up and down and screaming until someone appeases him/her in some way.

I predict that AG Gonzales will be something akin to the next Bill O'Reilly ort Rush Limbaugh, one of those who does nothing but gripe that things are not going how they want them to...

what is going to happen?

The news this weekend reported the executions of two of Saddam Husseins officials who were convicted of the same crimes that the President-for-Life was hanged for. Though there was no video, the event was again marred by an unfortunate mishap that caused one of the men to be decapitated by the noose.

Let me say that the deaths of these men matters not one bit to me. I am not a believer in the death sentence, but there are some things that life in prison just doesn't do justice for. But the manner that the sentences were carried out, (in both cases the rule of law was sidestepped, to one degree or another), leaves me wondering what will happen to this country, even if we "win" the military battle.

As I see it, (and I might be wrong), we are battling a couple of sectarian insurgencies in Iraq, in support of the elected government. So far, so good. But it appears to me that the government is one of the sects that we are seeking to quell. Iraq is a predominantly Shiite nation, and the makeup of the government reflects that. The Sunni segment of the population, (Saddam and his government were Sunni's), now out of power and influence, seem to be rebelling against the tyrrany of the majority. The new majority is using their own militia's to enforce the new political line. Those militia's, to a great extent, are embedded in the Iraqi military, the ones we are training, to go after the guys causing all the hub-ub....

This just doesn't add up.

What is needed, if we are going to surge the military presence in Iraq, is to establish certain political parameters that won't be easily undone when we leave, that will empower the various groups and interests , locally, while preserving the federal authority.

That sounds easy enough, but it is a lot like erasing the racial tensions that have existed since the Civil War in the U.S. A speech and a policy just don't cut it. What we can do is immediately help to rebuild the national infrastructure that has been destroyed or debiliated by Saddam and then us. Every citizen should have access to clean water, usable roads and a communications network, (even if it means by satellite). Haliburton, Bechtel, are you listening? Time to pony up with a little effort here guys, break loose some of that spare change that the administration sent, and get it moving.

It is clear that the end of this is not in sight, even under the most optimistic circumstances. if we are to be involved, our participation must show the Iraqi's, and the world, that the American people, (as opposed to the government), are trying to get it right.

I don't know what to say

I watched a little bit of TV on Sunday, what with being iced in and the playoffs and all that. I saw the Governator on a Sunday morning news show and was pretty favorably impressed. He came across as humble and practical, and not (overly) ideologically driven. I might be mistaken, it was a pretty short exposure to the political man as opposed to the action hero guy that I usually avoid. Then there was football. I usually simply follow games on a peripheral level, but today I watched da Bears feed on a few stray Seahawks, then watched as a pretty good guy, Marty Schottenheimer, maintained his record of disappointing playoff season(s). Sorry coach, maybe next year. In any event, I hope that the Colts make it to the big game, then get beat.

I saw the President on 60 minutes, and I will say that it was probably the best that he has come off to the public since he has been there. It wasn't good, it was just the best of the worst showings so far. To his credit, he did not come off as an egotist, (he hid it well), and even sounded close to human as he acknowledged a few things that most folks tend not to like. It did not change my opinion of him, but it was a step forward for him as a leader. I note that the phrase "dumb motherf***er did not pass my lips" as I watched, nor did I throw anything at the TV.

Aside from that, I have nothing really to write about, though there are plenty of ideas that might take root any minute now. I have a vague feeling that things in the world are pretty much set, and all the human intervention or working for change that humanity can muster aren't going to change a thing.

How's that for an attitude?

the new face of the party?

Something interesting is happening in California. The Governator, Arnold I, is actually doing something about one of the more significant social issues of our era--health care coverage for all. I don't know if I completely agree with his plan or strategy, but the thing is, a high profile Republican is advocating doing something rather than the usual "let the market sort it out" do-nothing-and-brag-about-it approach that is a characteristic of that party.

Forget for a moment the issue of immigrants, legal and/or illegal, it is a separate issue. The Governor is sure to be labeled by the usual media suspects as a California Socialist, and held up by certain special interest groups as being business unfriendly.

Bummer.

What I want to know is, does this portend a change in the philosophy of the party?; Is it a regognition that some things in our technically and socially advanced society should be universal, or is this a PR campaign of some sort?

The ramifications of this are far reaching. I don't expect many states to immediately jump on the healthcare bandwagon, but if he pulls this off, with a generally favorable view by his constituents, his smiling, progressive, face could provide cover for all manner of other republican pogroms, (eh, I mean, programs). (I'll say this once only, but if W had the charisma and projection that his predecessor did, many of the scandals that have rocked his party would have been noticed, but not the show stoppers that they turned out to be....).

more on this as I get bored...

...think I'll call in sick that day...

It was bound to happen. An article in Popular Science notes that our fair planet is in the crosshairs of an asteroid, that is, we might be as high on the evolutionary scale as we are likely to get...

April 13, 2029 may be the day. Asteroid Apophis will cross the earths orbit, and possibly pass as close to 20,000 miles of the planet. (That would put it inside the orbit of our geosynchronous satellite network...). The article also notes that the close encounter could cause a very slight shift in the asteroids orbit, that would cause an impact with our planet on its next pass, 7 years later.

I just don't know what to think.

Read the article, it is interesting. With the data that is known today, the probable impact area is charted to pass across Siberia and the North Pacific, along the western seaboard of the US, then across Central America.

Ever get those enails advertising property in Costa Rica? The value of that land could go way down in 2036.....

Do you think we should do anything about it? Do you think it will pay off to worry about it?

I don't know either, but, I can tell you, that if I am still around in those two potentially apocalyptic years, I won't file my taxes until the rock goes on past....

What'd he say?

OK, the president spoke to the nation tonight, and announced the expected escalation of the conflict in Iraq, but did not make clear what he expected this to accomplish or how long it might take. The statement that victory will not look like what we are used to, was telling. (I have to admit that I was a bit put off by his acknowledgement that there would be no ceremonies on battleships, no surrender documents, but that is, I suppose, in the past). I don't know if he or his advisors know what victory will look like, or when we reach, or pass it. This is not much of a strategy in my estimation, it is more like a reaction to changing circumstances, (something that he noted, we may do yet again...).

It really must suck to be him right now.

I don't have too many good things to say about the man, but sometime he will have to realize that he has put the country and an untold number of lives (American and Iraqi) into the toilet for reasons that he knew at the time to be irrelevant, and that the situation that he created will far outlast his presidency.

The way that history will remember the man is a lot like the way it remembers Herbert Hoover. I believe that this operation was intended to be like Grenada during the 80's, a quick show of force, (against a hopelessly incompetent military opposition), sweep up and get out that would elevate his and his parties stature in the eyes of voters.

Not even close Georgie.

What he got instead was a situation that changes from day to day. There are no hard and fast loyalties in the region, or in this war, only that which is expedient. It is really hard to be expedient and right at the same time, and that is what we are going to have to do.

For the time being, the president has more of a battle on his hands than the troops in the field. He has to sell this plan, and make it work. Like the Democratic Congress, he has to show some progress real quick, and, like the Congress, we have to recognize it as progress.

This is going to be a rough year. 2008 will be an election season, and George will be inconsequential.

He'd better be right on this.

is it just me....?

or does our illustrious President look a lot like Will Ferrell? Is it possible that he is leading two lives? It couldn't be, no, it's just not possible...

I think.

man rediscover's fire

A couple of days ago, a posting appeared on Anne's page lamenting the issue of anonymous commenting on blogs here and there, specifically, anonymous postings whose intentions were clearly malevolent, spiteful or hateful.

I won't make any attempt to defend hatred of any sort, and those who would use the (apparent) anonymity of the internet as a shield are simply a bunch of assholes, however, I would like to segregate a small number of anonymous posters from the rest of the group, and take a look at their actions.

Flame-Warriors! Come on down!!

We have all seen flame wars here or there, many of us have enjoyed them, and even participated in them. I believe that many of these instances are healthy for the community, (yeah, I know, quite a few also get a bit out of hand, but thats another post...); they are an outlet for emotions, (cyber-emotions?), and allow a means to aire and debate what may be an unpopular opinion on an issue or individual without actually upsetting the decorum of the general community. I am certain that in many instances, the identity of anonymous posters is known to most or all of the community, but the veneer of anonymity allows for expression, if not always resolution, of simmering sentiments. Other times it is a good way to simply wrestle with a fellow blogger, sometimes over nothing in particular, just to let it go. A return to one's normal identity, (as if that is not anonymous enough), signifies a return to the polite conventions of the blogsphere.

The internet is becoming a larger presence on the social scene. People meet, make deals, have affairs, and sometimes fall in love online. The pheonomenon of flaming is (sometimes) simply a natural response to an unfulfilled need on the part of the community, and its members.

Those in disagreement can sign on as anonymous and let me know what kind of ******** I really am.....

where will it stop, part 2

This by way of observation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been quoted as saying that the Congress will give the "harshest scrutiny" to a plan to put more troops into the battle for Iraq.

I hope so.

The real tale will be told if the Congress is able to impose its will in any significant part on the President as it pertains to the continued prosecution of the conflict. This has the potential to be as significant as the resignation of Richard Nixon in terms of our national charter at work. If the W proceeds as he see's fit, and is not called on it, then we might as well hang it up.

Where will it stop?

There is an old saying, "I only know what I read in the papers...", but today that would have to be modified to include all of the various forms of media that we get our news from.

It is hard to tell from here, but I am reading about the real and imagined backlash from the hanging of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. So far, at least as far as I can tell, there has been no violent backlash, (at least nothing that can be distinguished from the rest of the carnage), and it remains to be seen as to whether some analyst or another will blame the situation on that event, but it is clear now that Saddam is being viewed, even by those that hated him most, as a victim of sorts, a victim of the invaders and a victim of the vengeance minded Shiite government. The fact that he was killed is insignificant compared to what is known about the manner in which the execution was carried out. There is an official 'investigation' regarding the illegal videotaping of the event, but the issue on the streets appears to hinge on the antagonism towards the prisoner displayed by the executioners, the date of the execution, (seen by Sunni's as the first day of Eid), and finally, the fact that he was killed before he could finish his prayers. The Prime Minister is calling this an internal matter, and is warning those nations who have objected to the hanging that Iraq could reevaluate its relations with them if they don't butt out.

Holy North Korea, Batman!!!!!!

The country that is unable to run its own government, let alone the nation and infrastructure, is now sternly lecturing the hands that feed them and inferring vague warnings of repercussions if those hands don't simply behave as Iraq wants them too.

Folks, if there is any deeper evidence that this conflict is over and lost, I don't know what it is.

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, the President has shuffled his staff to align the most strident yes men in the administration between him and the vision that he fears as the man who lost the mideast. It is reported that the Bush administration plans to throw another 30,000 soldiers into the battle for Bagdhad, in order to allow the Shiite government time to get settled and get its act together, suppressing the Shiite uprising.

I used to be impressed by a Harvard education.

I hate to say this, but I think that the only sane option that we have available to us is a bill of impeachment, of Bush & Cheney, and a trial by the Senate. I know that this sounds draconian, but there might not be any other way, short of insurrection here.

Stay focused. Be wary.

Dem's, day two

The Democratic-controlled Congress passed a piece of legislation that it says would help to reign in the cost of doing the national business. The gist of the law is that any spending increases or tax cuts have to be offset by a corresponding reduction in some other barrel of pork, eh, I mean, federal program. This is not a new idea, and has been tried before. Previous laws in this vein were riddled with loopholes that allowed the priveleged few (meaning the GOP) to push their own agenda through unencumbered by the nuances of the laws that everyone else has to follow. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic version of this particular discipline has the same (or similar) trap doors and tunnels to circumvent the new protocol.

On another front, the President issued yet another of his (in)famous 'signing statements' last week with the approval of a Postal Reform bill. The President's statement, which is intended to modify the Constitutionally passed legislation, expands the power of the Executive Branch to open or search mail without a warrant when they say it is an emergency.

When, oh when, will someone haul this S.O.B. up before the Supreme Court? I don't know if the court in its current configuration would do anything, but this definately needs to be addressed.

Stay focused.

the end of the beginning

Well, we have a new Congress, and an old president eager to work with them to hose up those things he hasn't yet hosed, and to lock in the hosings that he has accomplished to date. In other words, this is going to be either a boring two years, with lots of heated rhetoric and little action, or it will be a real entertaining two years, with lots of heated rhetoric and little action.

The President wants to balance the budget by 2012. Really? Wow, would that ever be an achievement, to restore what we had when he stumbled in....

The balanced budget is nothing more than a poison pill. It will cause little pain or distress before the election, thus giving his cronies something to brag about, but will cause the next administration, (presumably a democratic one), much grief as they will have no money to work with while they attempt to fix the inequities and special-interest advantages wrought by the GWBush administration.

Oh well, this is really not new, it is politics as usual, albeit raised to an extreme power by the current bunch of thugs.

Which brings me to the new Congress.

I wonder what they will really accomplish? I expect a few largely symbolic items to pass very quickly, but I ask, how will I benefit from the new legislative regime? As a voter, I need to be impressed fairly quickly, and then stay impressed. I have low expectations on this.

I will ask you, my friends, peers and fellow bloggers, what do you want to see from this Congress? List as many things as you like, but try to be realistic, and prioritize if you can.
Maybe we can send this post and whatever comments get attached to our various representatives for their consideration. Or not.

Go on, I dare ya!


Stay focused.