GARRISON KEILLOR ON THE GOP

    In the years between Nixon and Newt Gingrich, the party migrated southward down the Twisting Trail of Rhetoric and sneered at the idea of public service and became the Scourge of Liberalism, the Great Crusade Against the Sixties, the Death Star of Government, a gang of pirates that diverted and fascinated the media by their sheer chutzpah, such as the misty-eyed flag-waving of Ronald Reagan who, while George McGovern flew bombers in World War II, took a pass and made training films in Long Beach.

    The Nixon moderate vanished like the passenger pigeon, purged by a legion of angry white men who rose to power on pure punk politics. “Bipartisanship is another term of date rape,” says Grover Norquist, the Sid Vicious of the GOP. “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” The boy has Oedipal problems and government is his daddy. 

FOR MORE GO TO http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/were_not_in_lake_wobegon_anymore/

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

       In the great debate over health care reform the issue comes down to whom do you trust to get it right - the private sector or the government.  In reading the Oregonian and watching CNN one can find plenty of reasons for thinking government is either incompetent, stupid or hopelessly bureaucratic or all of the above!  And we don’t have Dubya to kick around anymore, damn!                       

        Washington County’s state child welfare office (DHS) is apparently the worst in the state in tracking children in our foster care system.  At the federal level there is now a raging debate over mammograms.  A federal task force says they aren't necessary for women in their 40s, while the cancer lobby says this is wrong.  So who is one to believe? 

        How about using some common sense? 

        Given the budget cuts in Oregon since Measure 5's passage in 1991 DHS case loads have gone up so why are we surprised?  As Governor Barbara Roberts said "people will die."  She was right and sadly still is!  Our children get the quality of care we are willing to pay for.  Oregonians are unwilling to pay for quality child services!  So kids are put at risk and some die.  Well, dah?

        On the "mammogram" front my own family physician might say - are you a statistic or a real person?  Yes the stats indicate that women need not have annual exams.  But what about family history?  What about early detection?  If 15% of breast cancers are caught by early detection, then I want my spouse to have a check up when she feels it is necessary not when committee of medical bean counters thinks it is.

        We are in the middle of a great debate over health care reform.  The opponents of reform will argue “you see what happens when you let the government take charge?”  Now the committee was not a government agency.  Its report will go to various agencies in the vetting process.  I'm confident Congress will fight back on this one!  And the “Race for the Cure” folks are well connected. 

        What one worries is that such reports will cause the "private" insurance system to refuse payment of early detection mammograms based on such data.  Some may be hoping this is a way to cut costs.  That would be a mistake - it's to old delay and denial syndrome - don't check up now – but you get a bigger surprise later - maybe a death sentence.  Is that an option you want for your spouse?

        But then consider who has been minding the medical cabinet in the USA for most of our history - the market place - i.e. the Medical Industrial Complex.  Do you really trust a system that has left 50 million out in the cold?  Do you trust big Pharma who is announcing a 9% increase in brand named drugs, 90% of the consumer market, just prior to a major reform vote?  Do you have "stupid" on your forehead?

        Come on folks - every democracy in the world but the USA has a system of universal health coverage.   Medicaid and Medicare are well run programs.  Forget about what the talk show jocks scream everyday.  They are certifiable lunatics and liars.  “Socialism” is not on the march in the USA – too bad!  What Congress and President Obama are working on is a reform of the private system with a tiny public option.

        How many of you out there in the “real America” are happy with your insurance company?  How many times have they denied you coverage or refused to pay a bill?  You trust your HMO, why?  If the government screws up we can elect new people to work for us.  When was the last time you attended a shareholders’ meeting of Big Pharma, Big Hospital Or Big Insurance?  Humm?

        But go ahead and join the 50% of Americans, according to the most recent Gallup Poll, who now oppose reform of the American health care system.  Go ahead and make the day of Dick Armey’s "Tea Party" fanatics, the GOP spin machine, the Medical Industrial Complex’s K-Street lobbyists.   Before we witness another chance of reform go down the tubes – answer the questions of the kids on this "Organize for America" video! 

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08viddonateyt?source=20091117_DP_ytwinner_d

WHO'S YOUR MAMMA, BARACK?

    Apparently there is behind the scenes talk within the Obama administration about the "red" ink and the deficit.  This may pose a serious political challenge for the Demos in the upcoming 2010 elections.  The flow of red ink has been increased by war spending for Iraq and Afghanistan, recession-fighting stimulus and bank bailout spending and by reduced tax revenues from high unemployment and reduced personal and business income.  Now unless Barack has morphed into "The Gipper" where cuts should come from is clear: 

• Finish the job of bringing "real" universal health care reform to the USA; 
  

• End the spending on the war machine in Iraq and Afghanistan;

• End the Wall Street bailouts and make the banks et al pay back "with interest" what the taxpayer gave them;

• Increase personal and business taxes by moving to a truly progressive income tax;
  

• Support Senator Chris Dodd's tough regulatory reform legislation on the finanacial industry;  

    Barack you've never delivered on helping the middle class - like a typical "corporate liberal" you've given Wall Streeters taxpayer lined "golden parachutes" to shield them from their continued speculations.  The Dow is up and banks are doing well, like the bandits they are!  That's where the Tea Party types and Progressives are united.  You along with your predecessor created "socialism" for the rich while leaving the rest of us out in the cold.  The votes in New Jersey and Virginia while "local" also may tell the tale for November 2010. 

From Yahoo News:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091114/ap_on_bi_ge/us_battling_deficits

Check out the interview of Harvzrd Professor Elizabeth Williams on NOW - it will make your blood boil... http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/546/index.html

Then read Nicholas Kristof's op ed on the trade off between health care and war...   http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/where-to-spend-100-billion-health-or-helmand/

 

WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?

     According to the  Washington Post  the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, General Karl W. Eikenberry, "sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, senior U.S. officials said."

    "...Eikenberry's memos, sent as President Obama enters the final stages of his deliberations over a new Afghanistan strategy, illustrated both the difficulty of the decision and the deepening divisions within the administration's national security team. After a top-level meeting on the issue Wednesday afternoon -- Obama's eighth since early last month -- the White House issued a statement that appeared to reflect Eikenberry's concerns.

    "The President believes that we need to make clear to the Afghan government that our commitment is not open-ended," the statement said. "After years of substantial investments by the American people, governance in Afghanistan must improve in a reasonable period of time."

    RAD:  Anyone who is old enough to remember the Vietnam War instantly recalls a similar situation in 1963 when President John Kennedy became frustrated with the corruption and incompetence of the Diem regime.  JFK's frustration led to the USA's acquiescence to a CIA enabled coup which toppled Diem.  Unfortunately, Diem's replacement General Ky was no better.

    The rest is history but the price was 50,000 American lives lost in Vietnam between 1963-73.  Estimates are that for the US to prop up President Karsai in Afghanistan will cost us $50 billion per year!  If you read the two linked articles below you will question whether this is a wise investment.  The pattern of not learning from our Vietnam quagmire never seems to end!

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091130/schell

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111118432.html?wpisrc=newsletter

https://mail.google.com/a/easystreet.net/#label/Blog/124e97b7c6774064

OREGON 'MY' OREGON

    Oregonians, like all Americans, want what's best for children, the elderly and the chance for the "good life" for themselves.  However, often times the political narratives we are exposed to by the media and by political campaigns focus on the negatives not the positives - what divides not what unites us.  Poll after poll over many generations shows that we want the most vulnerable to be shown compassion be it the homeless, victims of domestic abuse or crime victims.  We also value the physical beauty of our nation and state and want to preserve it for future generations. 
    But when it comes to paying taxes for such goals to be achieved there is a great divide in Oregon and many other states.  We tend to think that the government is the enemy not our friend.  And often times it appears to be when the media focuses on the personal foibles of politicians or the ineptness of public bureaucracies which promise much but deliver less.  We all have our DMV horror story.  But those narratives only tell part of the story.  We elect our politicians and they with our tacit consent manage the bureaucracy. 
    Consider these factoids.  When you turn on the water faucet at home - who makes the water safe to drink?  Government.  When you drive to work - who makes the streets safe and sound?  Government.  When children go to public school - who pays the teachers to provide a safe and nurturing educational environment for "our" kids?  Government.  When you take the plane to Disneyland - who makes the local airport work?  Government.  These examples show how ubiquitous government is in our daily lives.  So why is it the "enemy"? 
    The simple answer is the government is not the enemy.  As our Founding Fathers felt - if it didn't exist it would have to be invented.  Government is a reflection of our choices from city halls, school boards, county commissions to the hallowed halls of Congress or the White House.  The government is not "them" - it is "us."  Unlike  societies governed by ruthless dictators or rich oligarchs - American society is based on the consent of the governed.  Isn't that what elections are all about - the peaceful process of debating the issues and the peaceful change of power? 
    The 2008 election of our first president of color - Barack Obama - was historic and a source of pride for all Americans because of what it says about us as a nation.  It is doubtful such an election could happen in any other nation of the world.  And Oregonians voted for Barack Obama and his pledge to create positive change.  Now making that promise come true is harder than one imagines as our President warned us.  But we are on the verge of passing health care reform - a goal that has eluded Presidents since FDR's time. 
    But Oregonians face a dilemma.  We face two ballot measures on January 26, 2010 - Measure 66 & 67 which if they fail will push Oregon and the most vulnerable among us back into the economic shadows.  A "no" vote will also increase class sizes making a quality K-12 education harder to achieve.  We will see other damage done to the safety net which protects the unemployed, the elderly and the poor.  That's not the Oregon way.  We can join the states of Maine and Washington and vote "Yes" for a better future or we can vote "No" and retreat from our most basic personal and social values. 
    The Pew Foundation has published a report that puts Oregon along with nine other states on the edge of a budgetary/fiscal abyss.  The legislature had to make some tough decisions last session to increase taxes on corporations and rich Oregonians in order to prevent harmful budget cuts to basic services - education, corrections, human services.  No politician likes to raise taxes but Oregon's reliance on a volatile income tax offers legislators and the governor few options.  I have been very critical of both over the last 5 years in this blog.  But the time for criticism is over for now. 
    As we know "it takes a village" to raise a child.  And you can't save the people "by burning the village down."  At some point we have to realize our interconnectedness and suck it up.  Any election including the one coming up January 26 proves that the government is not "them" but "us."  We have a choice - to have the kind of government we want which serves us all or to embrace the idea of shrinking government to a size that it can be drowned in a bathtub and will serve nobody! 
    Both the US and Oregon constitutions  begin with these words - "We the people"  which reflects the power of the people and the social contract that frames our governmental and political system.  These foundational documents don't say we the privileged, we the powerful, we the lobbyists, we the PACs, we the politicians or we the chattering classes they say "we the people."  In the hot air of political campaigns and the black and white world of the 24/7 media it's easy to lose our focus and forget who "WE" are. 
    On January 26th lets adopt the inclusive narrative of "we" not "them" and vote YES.  Granted nothing government does is perfect.  Then again neither are we, right?  If you voted for Obama you need to get out of your funk and say again YES WE CAN.  If you are a member of the "Tea Party" movement I share your anger at Wall Street and government that seems to care more for the rich than the little guy.  But voting NO only hurts kids, the weakest among us and you. 
    For those on the Right be careful of false prophets who play to your fears but will fleece your bank account.  For the Left don't let the pursuit of the perfect become an excuse for not doing the good.  For those in the middle follow your better angels and keep hope alive. We can't run our nation or state invoking the Lone Ranger narrative Besides he had his faithful side kick - Tonto.   "We" can't do it alone.  We need each other.  But politics, like us, is a day to day work in progress. 

    Check out the Pew Report:  http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/11/11/pew-report-nine-states-join-california-in-facing-fiscal-crisis/